Solving Complex Problems

How do we solve complex problems?

In recent months Courtney and I have been faced with an overwhelming number of challenges that all seemed so complex there was no hope in ever solving them. So how do we do it?

We've noticed a pattern in our problem solving: the hardest part is getting started. Although this problem solving pattern has been quite relevant to our most recent projects, for today's post I want to go back and give some context to the problem solving we went through when we first built our shop.

We knew we needed to clear and level the land to make space for a building. That part was easy. Then it came time to build the building and there were a daunting number of decisions to make, and we didn't even know where to begin. Our county doesn't require building permits which left us with a lot of freedom in the build, and also a lot of personal responsibility. It was on us to make sure that what we built would be a safe structure.

A metal shop building seemed like the obvious choice. They're available as kits, they come with plans and instructions. Turning one into a living space might have some challenges but we had built a shipping container house and it couldn't be that different. Then I discovered that most of the kits out there weren't engineered for our snow load and that meant a custom engineered building. The price went up, but more importantly so did the lead time. We didn't have time to wait if we wanted our building up before winter. Steel buildings were out. So how does this play into solving a complex problem? We broke it off into one small piece: can we use a steel building? No.

So we moved onto traditional stick framing. Because this is the way buildings are built where we come from and I had helped build a stick built shop before this was (somewhat) comfortable to me. Step 1. Pour the foundation. Right away there was a problem. How are we going to pour a foundation? There's no way we're getting a concrete truck up here. We started looking into mixing it ourselves on site. This project is becoming daunting and we haven't even started.

At this point we were frustrated and discouraged. We felt like we had taken on more project than we could manage. Then some friends came to visit. This is the kind of friend that doesn't take no for an answer and faces a challenge head on. When I asked him what he wanted to do during his visit, he looked at me and said, "What are you talking about? We're building your shop!" Over next few hours we completely changed that plan multiple times. Eventually we settled on post frame construction. Why?

Post frame allowed us to break the project into a much smaller project. We could focus on only the shell of the building. Concrete slab, windows, apartment layout, electrical, plumbing, and insulation, could all come later and had almost no effect on the shell of the building. All of a sudden we had a project on our hands that was manageable.

We did have to decide on a building size. Roof trusses were the only piece of the building that was truly out of our control. And due to the snow load in our region we really wanted those to be engineered. So I started making phone calls. I found a set of 30' trusses that were already made (the original customer cancelled their order) and would work for us. So, that settled it. We were building a 30x40 building.

Within 12 hours of our friend's arrival we had gone from no plan and feeling discouraged to renting a skid steer and an auger and getting started on the layout and foundation of our shop building. All it took was a different perspective on the problem.

I think the lesson in all of this for us is that solving complex problems requires breaking the problem down into small pieces that can be solved individually. A fresh perspective can be really helpful and usually that fresh perspective is where Courtney comes in when we're working together. 

Finally, just get started.