Problem Solver — Is It Something You Can Learn?

You know these people.

No matter what question you ask — something useful comes back. Not because they’ve solved this exact problem a hundred times before. But because they’re just wired differently. A different frequency. A different default setting when faced with the unknown.

I know people like that. I’m glad I work with some of them. And I’ve been watching for years what they have in common — and what they don’t.

Methods you can learn. The mindset you can’t.

There are countless problem-solving frameworks. Design Thinking. Root Cause Analysis. First Principles. The 5 Whys. MECE. All have their place. All can be useful.

But real problem-solvers mostly don’t need them. Or at least not consciously.

What they have is something else: genuine curiosity about the problem. The willingness to not jump straight to a solution. And a specific reaction to situations nobody has seen before — namely: interest instead of panic.

That’s not a technique. That’s character.

The most important thing first: understand the problem

Before anyone should even begin thinking about solutions, the problem needs to be clear. Really clear. Not “we have an IT issue” clear — but precise, concrete, tangible.

There are two ways to get there: Either you can explain the problem so well that someone else understands it immediately. Or you can ask the right questions.

Being able to truly articulate a problem is worth its weight in gold. Because a good problem description is half the solution. Often more.

What needs to change? What would the ideal state look like? What would it mean for you if this problem simply didn’t exist next week?

These questions sound simple. But the answers almost always reveal: the real problem is something different from what everyone’s been talking about.

The “gene” that isn’t a gene

I don’t think real problem-solvers are born with it. But I also don’t think you can just “learn” it the way you learn Excel.

What I believe: it forms early. From curiosity. From experiences where you had no choice but to be creative. From environments that rewarded questions over answers. From an inner drive to want to understand things — not just use them.

It’s less a skill than an attitude. And attitudes can shift — but only if you genuinely want them to.

Why I do what I do

Give me a problem I’ve never solved before. That’s when I’m happy.

Not because I love chaos. But because I need the variety. Because a problem I haven’t seen before forces me to actually think. To actually look. To not run on autopilot.

That’s also exactly why MacNorris exists. Not because we’re the best in a specific industry. But because we can engage with the unknown — and want to. Because solving itself is the drive, not the industry, not the tool, not the methodology.

Those who carry that in them can learn almost anything. Those who don’t can know a great deal — but in the critical moment, they’ll hit a wall.

So: can you learn to be a problem-solver?

Partly. You can learn methods. You can get better at asking questions. You can train yourself to understand the problem first before jumping to solutions.

But the underlying mindset — the genuine curiosity, the tolerance for ambiguity, the enjoyment of the unknown — that’s not something you take away from a course.

It’s either there. Or it isn’t.

— Robert