Fogless Mirror Teaches Problem Solving!

Like many men, I have shaved in the shower for years. During that time, I have tried nearly every fogless mirror there. Most have a coating on them of some type to stop fogging, some have different layers, and other even hook up to the water source.  However, I have found none of them to work very well.

So what the heck does a fogless mirror have to do with problem solving? I will get to the mirror in a few, but lets look at problem solving. Many times, I see people looking at a problem from the wrong vantage point. There is an old saying, don’t treat the symptoms, treat the cause. This is a timely statement considering what is going on with the pandemic. The social distancing, handwashing, and other practices are treating the cause not the symptoms.   

Now back to the fogless mirror. I recently bought a mirror from a company called ShaveWell. To my surprise it basically was a piece of mirrored plexiglass plastic with a hole to hang it in the shower. The instructions on the back are simple. Warm the mirror by holding it in the shower stream for a few seconds. Then it goes on to say: It’s basic science: No temperature difference…No fog. What they did is break down the problem to the core, which in this case was temperature difference, problem solved. Granted most of the problems in our daily life are more complex and often involve humans, but you would be surprised how continuing to ask seeking questions will help peel back the layers and reveal the real cause.

So what are some simple steps in problem solving to get to the cause? What seems to work with most problems, simple or complex is to continually ask: What causes that to happen or not happen?  For each answer keep digging to the next layer. You are searching for what causes something to happen or not happen, whichever is the desired outcome. This can get exhausting but will bring items to the surface that can be a game changer for you.  Keep in mind, the most complex computer program boils down to ones and zeros at it core operation.

Take Disney here in Orlando for example. They wanted to keep guests on site more instead of having them bouncing around Florida and going to competing attractions. After several layers of questions and digging deep into this, they came up with some interesting perspectives. They surmised that if the guest didn’t rent a car, they would stay on campus more and most likely have more money to spend at the park. Enter the idea of picking guests up at the airport in a cool themed bus and deliver them to the door of their hotel. Truly out of the box thinking.

It is my hope this is of help in your business or personal life.