AI is fundamentally changing brainstorming, but it can’t replace what is uniquely human about it. In the 1950s, Alex Osborn, a founding partner of leading global advertising agency BBDO, invented brainstorming. It took 400 workshops to generate 34,000 ideas of which 2.000 were investment worthy. Now with AI’s help, it can take far less than that to generate the same volume of ideas. But what it can’t do is replace the uniquely human element of creativity, knowing what ideas matter.

There are two ways to solve any problem. Change what you do, or change what you have. That's it. Focusing on these two variables makes solving problems a whole lot easier.

Feeling stuck isn't a dead end, it's a sign that your current thinking patterns have reached their limits. Our brains are wired to filter out information, focusing only on what's deemed relevant. Inviting chaos into your thinking breaks patterns and unlocks creativity that leads to breakthroughs.

Writing Problem Hunter was a life milestone for me. It may not yet be a best seller, but that's not the point. The journey of writing and publishing a book has reshaped who I am and how I approach this short life we live. Here’s three things I learned as I wrote the book.

Most teams don’t fail because they can’t solve problems. They fail because they solve the wrong ones. We chase symptoms. We fix what’s loud. We jump to action because sitting in the unknown feels uncomfortable. Here are three tests I use to make sure I solve the right problem every time.

Do what you say you will. It sounds basic. But it's the biggest complaint people have when collaborating with others. That people let them down. Neuroscience research shows that consistency calms the brain’s threat detection system (amygdala). And that’s essential for high performing collaboration.

Collaboration works when we turn in, not out. When tension shows up, and it always does when we try and solve challenging problems, most people turn out. Blame the system. Blame the customer. Blame each other. It feels safer. But turning out erodes trust. Turning in builds trust.

Collaboration isn’t about avoiding disagreement. It’s about knowing how to disagree. The #1 rule when challenging someone: Make it about the idea, not the person. When people feel attacked, they defend. When people feel invited, they engage.

The most important attribute to recruit for isn't competence, it's desire. Competence can be taught. Desire can't.

The Australian Museum in Sydney holds over 22 million specimens and cultural objects. But less than 1% is on display at any one time. Why? Because the goal isn’t to show everything. It’s to give just enough for visitors to understand, connect, and care about something. To create meaning and understanding, not to overload and overwhelm.

We fear what might cost us something we care deeply about: a relationship, our credibility, our sense of belonging. But what if fear wasn’t the problem, what if it was just a sign we care?

Creativity is just connecting things—especially things that haven't been put together before. Take transparent wood. Sounds impossible, right? But scientists at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, led by Professor Lars Berglund, figured it out.

Museum curators can teach as a lot about solving problems. The Australian Museum in Sydney holds over 22 million specimens and cultural objects. But less than 1% is on display at any one time. Why? Because the goal isn’t to show everything. It’s to give just enough for visitors to understand, connect, and care about something.

The deceptively simple filter that protects priorities and keeps teams focused on what matters. Not all problems are urgent. Not all problems are meaningful. This one question keeps teams from chasing noise, patching symptoms, or fixing things that don’t actually matter.

We’re all in a rush to do. Finish the work. Hit the target. Move on. A Harvard Business School study found that employees who spent 15 minutes at the end of their day reflecting on what they learned performed 23% better than those who didn’t.

My friend Simon Dobbin, a film art director, had two weeks to turn an Olympic-sized swimming pool yellow for a key movie scene. He tried food dye, but the colour vanished in chlorinated water. It only worked in drinking water. He was stuck. He knew the chemicals were part of the problem, so asked someone the right knowledge and found the solution. It’s simple and surprising.

Quick fixes are tempting. A symptom shows up—missed deadlines, poor morale, low sales—and we rush to solve it. But treating symptoms is like taping over the check engine light. Creating valuable change starts with asking better questions.

A 2014 study from Washington University found that students who believed they were going to teach what they were learning understood it more deeply than those who thought they’d just be tested on it. The shift? It’s not just about memorising answers—it’s about organising knowledge, connecting dots, and anticipating questions.

You hear, “The issue is our software is too slow,” and suddenly every solution revolves around upgrades, patches, or speed tests. But what if the real problem is something else entirely—poor process, unclear expectations, or a lack of training? Anchoring bias tricks us into solving the first thing we hear, not the right thing. Here are three questions to ask to not get fooled by anchoring bias.