Success Videos: Craig Barret's (In)Telling advice

I was listening to one of my favorite Podcasts, Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders, which was presenting a talk by Craig Barrett , former CEO and Chairman of the Board of Intel. In the middle of the podcast, as Barrett was discussing advice to the students, he mentioned this as his first concept:

“There is no replacement for sophisticated problem-solving methodology in life”

I repeat, for emphasis

“There is no replacement for sophisticated problem-solving methodology in life”



Note, he did not say “in business”. He said “in life”. This statement is the core of why this blog exists. Simple problem-solving methods don’t always work. From-the-gut “solutions” don’t always work. Life is complicated. Life is probabilistic. Modern life contains many many domains of expertise that have to be dealt with, either by learning, or by retaining the services of someone who has learned that domain. Even a “rising tide” may not lift your “boat” without expertise and problem-solving skills. Here are some of the methodologies I have come across throughout this blog, which relate to Barrett's advice:

Kepner and Tregoe "The Rational Manager"

Michel Michalko "Cracking Creativity"

Plan/Do/Check/Act , or, the Deming/Shewhart Cycle, mentioned by Barrett in his talk

G. Polya "How To Solve it"

But, in reality, this entire blog exists for the purpose of searching out methodologies that reach across domains, from business, to personal planning, to solving life problems. and Barrett's statement is a concise and telling reinforcement of this idea, probably the best statement, from a distinguished source, of what I am attempting here.