92 - Unlock smarter problem-solving by daring to start from scratch
This 60-second episode explores how smarter problem-solving begins by removing assumptions and starting from scratch. Learn how rethinking the system, not just improving it, can unlock business, design, and leadership breakthroughs.
Optimization is Overrated. Sometimes, You Need a Reset.
In business, innovation, and life, we’re often taught to improve what already exists. Tweak it. Upgrade it. Make it “better.” But some of the biggest breakthroughs don’t come from iteration they come from deletion.
In this episode of Pattern Cognition, we explore a foundational principle of smarter problem-solving: the power of starting from scratch. One question unlocks this mindset:
“If we had to start from scratch, how would we approach this?”
This is more than a thought experiment. It’s a tool to disrupt autopilot thinking.
1. Improving the old can lock you to its limits. When fixing what’s broken, you’re still working inside its original logic. That logic might be the problem.
2. Starting fresh removes inherited assumptions. You stop asking, “How can we fix this?” and start asking, “What should this actually be?”
3. The Wright brothers didn’t improve gliders. They redesigned the flight. By going back to first principles, studying bird mechanics, and rejecting traditional constraints, they invented a new reality.
4. Most systems carry legacy drag. Processes, strategies, and even relationships often exist by inertia. Starting from scratch forces clarity and intentionality.
5. You don’t have to burn everything, but you do have to ask the question: What would this look like if I were building it today?
This episode invites you to step away from patching and step into redesign. Not to rebel but to rethink.
Listen to this episode of Pattern Cognition to learn how to navigate these challenges and invest wisely.
Highlights:
00:00 Introduction: Keys to Smarter Problem Solving
00:04 Rethinking from Scratch
00:12 Innovative Examples: The Wright Brothers
00:47 Applying First Principles to Your Life
Links:
Website: https://www.sidmofya.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sidmofya/
Transcript:
Here are five keys to smarter problem solving number two starting from scratch and asking the question if we had to start from scratch how would we approach this? Sometimes the best way forward isn't improving the old way it's rethinking the entire system for example when the Wright brothers set out to build the first airplane they didn't just try to improve existing gliders they went back to first principles studying birds experimenting with aerodynamics and designing a completely new way to achieve flight by removing all preconceived notions they change transportation forever so what is something in your life of business that could use a hundred percent reset? If you were designing it today from scratch what would it look like?