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At a glance:

• Quote:

• Picture

• What I’ve Learned

• Business Idea

Imagine this:

You are the owner of an apartment building.

Your tenants are complaining about the elevator. It’s old, slow, and they’re waiting…a lot. Several tenants threaten to break their leases if you don’t fix the problem.

When given this scenario, most people jump right into solution mode: We should replace the lift, install a stronger motor, or perhaps upgrade the lift’s algorithm!

These suggestions fall into what we call the solution space: solutions that share the assumption of the problem.

However, when this same problem was presented to building managers, they suggested a much simpler, cheaper, and elegant solution:

Put up mirrors next to the elevator.

And guess what?

It worked. Beautifully.

People lose track of time when given something utterly fascinating to look at:

Themselves.

The Mirror Solution is an HBR article that is particularly interesting because it doesn’t solve the stated problem: Mirrors don’t make elevators faster.

Instead, it asks for a different idea of the problem. In a different context, the problem is resolved with a solution that is 100x easier.

The mirror problem shows up in orthodontics…all the time.

Orthodontists are intelligent, driven, educated professionals who solve complex biomechanical engineering problems at a rate of 50-60 patients a day. Give them enough time, sleep, and a refreshing cup of coffee; the clinical issues are commonly resolved if internally circulated enough times.

But the business problems can lead to dead ends.

“I need more staff” is the most common business problem I’ve heard in the last five years. Yet barging ahead on consistent hiring can often fail to solve the original problem, especially if no attempt has been made to isolate root causes… and try something more manageable.

When I speak with orthodontists, most of the value has nothing to do with my product, service, or how an appliance works; it’s questioning their objectives for their practice. A good sales rep will know their product inside and out…. but a better one will question your practice inside and out.

If you’re stuck with a business problem that seems daunting, expensive, challenging, or recurring, write down the problem and twenty related questions, and seek outside perspectives.

See if what you’re dealing with …matches all that’s possible.