Problems fuel great leaders, providing opportunities to learn and grow to the next level. 

The greater the problem, the hungrier they are for a solution. Leaders like Richard Branson, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates view problems as golden opportunities to disrupt the market and revolutionize the customer experience.

Great leaders acknowledge there is a problem and demonstrate the severity of the problem and the benefit of the solution to stakeholders, partners, and shareholders. 

This way, the leader not only takes responsibility for making the problem transparent, but he or she also explores different dimensions of the problem, consequently benefiting from others’ ideas.

• Get the story of the problem - a timeline with its evolution.
• Make lists of what you know and what you need to investigate. 
• Ask the journalist’s basic questions: who, what, when, where, and why.
• Refine your answers by comparing the situation you don’t like to one that’s acceptable.

• Schedule them early, before people have used up their thinking and attention on less important things. 
• Eliminate distractions: put laptops and phones on a table at the back.
• For serious problems, do more than one meeting. Do some work on the situation, then let things rest. Some people may have ideas the interim that may prove helpful.

Detectives and investigators use the process. They ask both obvious and unthinkable questions.

Get close and collect information about how the problem is manifesting.  Understand where the problem does and doesn’t happen, when the problem started, and how often the problem occurs to generate critical insight for the problem-solving effort.

• Don’t look for solutions immediately; Keep redefining the problem until you arrive at the root cause.
• Don’t try to guess the solution; try to understand how the obstacles, or challenges manifest first.
• Gather data to analyze all potential root causes.
• Consider all options, regardless of how irrelevant they currently appear.
• Find a way to connect the dots. Make better analogies. One good analogy is worth three hours of discussion.

Entrepreneurship is a selfless endeavor. It is only when you genuinely are solving people’s problems, that you are going to win.

You will only make money if you really help your customers, not because you want to make money.

While having a grand vision is great, demonstrating the essence of your idea and solving the core issues of customers, no matter how small, can put you in the path to success.

The problem-solving mindset is the way to succeed, instead of grand self-delusional plans.

The ability to solve complex puzzles involves being able to process, match and synthesize a lot of different kinds of information at the same time.

Mathematics and Music are two areas that are different yet have connections in puzzle solving.

Paradoxically, the more you get inside a puzzle with seriousness and increased effort, the harder it becomes. Just like the losing chess player who is leaning too close to the board, solving puzzles is not about sheer effort, but a playful, relaxed state of mind.

Being able to be non-serious and enjoying the moment helps form the necessary connections that are hindered if the mind is in stress.

• Make sure you've identified the real causes of your unhappiness. Keep a diary of events and problems.
• Give it a chance. Many things, like diets, require time to work out.
• Try many other solutions.
• Have a backup plan. Know what you're going to do if you quit and what you need to do to prepare for that.

Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot encourages everybody to tell their story.  Stories help Poirot comprehend what kind of person the victim was. And to uncover the murderer’ motive.

Storytelling is powerful to uncover insights, not just the truth. Design Thinking — a process for creative problem solving — leverages the power of stories to detect human desires and needs.

Sarah Linden is the least self-aware television detective.

Her dedication to her work and stubbornness are unbeatable. She never gives up. Even though she fails in many aspects of her life — like being a mother. But, she keeps showing up and trying to do better. She tries again, fails again, and fails better.

If you're overthinking an idea you can actually do something about, the best thing you can do is take action now.

This doesn't mean you have to suddenly run off to make something, it just means you start taking a step forward. We tend to overthink because we fear failure, but if we just start working, that dissipates quickly

• Relabel the ideas you're overthinking ("self-doubt," "anxiety," etc)
  
• Reframe your experience and identify your thinking errors
  
• Refocus your attention on the part that matters
  
• Revalue your brain's messages with the new information
  

These comparisons often use less energy than absolute measurements. For e.g, it’s easier to remember which of your cousins is the tallest than exactly how tall each cousin is. Human brains have likely evolved to use relative comparisons in many situations because they often provide enough information to safely navigate our environments, with very little effort.

...are sets of related components that work together in a particular environment to perform whatever functions are required to achieve the system's objective.

• Social systems: rules and structures, created by humans, that keep society functioning.
• Industrial systems: all manufactured material world, created to facilitate human needs.
• The ecosystem: which provides all the natural services (clean air, food, fresh water, minerals and natural resources) needed for the other two systems to exist.