Figure it out as a superpower

The couple was celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary, and all the guests wondered how they could have stayed that long.

- FRANCIS J. KONG

They all wanted to figure out how they could have existed this long as a couple.

The husband responded, "When we were first married, we agreed: I would make all the significant decisions, and my wife would make all the minor decisions. In 60 years of marriage, I finally figured out that we have never needed to make a significant decision."

Organizations reach maximum success when their workforce adopts a self-sufficient problem-solving approach. Another way to say this is that companies are more likely to succeed when their employees are eager to figure things out.

The head of sales at SurveyMonkey performed an anonymous survey with 15 sales managers. Seventy percent of managers surveyed agreed that their top performers displayed a growth mindset alongside grit, realistic optimism, and the "figure-it-out" factor.

The "figure-it-out" factor extends beyond problem-solving because it combines curiosity with adaptability and proactive creativity, especially when dealing with uncertain conditions. One person remains calm while the beaker bubbles over in a chemistry class, stating, "Huh. Let's figure this out."