Spades, Shovels and Backhoes
I look at a lot of problems. Problems that vary greatly in size and scope. I’ve got a bit of talent at learning to classify problems and their potential solutions. One thing I’ve learned is that for any problem there is a solution out there that is simple, easy to implement and wrong. To avoid this, I’ve learned to classify problems in a number of ways. Scale is one of those ways.
For any given problem, there are a number of solutions. Take word processing for example. All businesses need the ability to write and distribute documents back and forth to each other. As such, they need a program that will take inputted text from a keyboard and save it into a file.
The solutions to this are pretty varied. You have the stripped down, I-grab-text-only applications such as notepad (or textpad if you’re a mac user). You have the I-can-do-some-formatting-stuff applications like wordpad. And then you have the Super-deluxe-did-you-know-I-also-do-your-laundry applications like MS Office or Open Office. Applications that have so many features that most users don’t know they exist.
These solutions are what I call solutions of scale. You have the simple tool, the spade. The bigger lifter, wordpad, aka the shovel. And you have the swiss army knife of an application like Office, the backhoe.
The scale of the solution should be in context of the scale of the problem. You shouldn’t use a scale that is out of sync with the problem. A lot of people like to just go for overkill and pick the biggest solution and go for it. That’s not a good practice. Just like you shouldn’t use the backhoe to dig up a weed or two, you should use a solution that is out of scope with your problem.
“Never use a canon to kill a mosquito.” -Chinese proverb
Recently, my wife applied and got a job in a dog training position at a local pet store. My wife is good with dogs. (I’m trying not to sound like bragging here, but it’s true. She’s extremely gifted in that area.) The store in question was looking to vamp up its dog training department. They couldn’t have picked a better person than her. Unfortunately, they didn’t need her. That is, their training goals were so below what my wife is capable and used to doing that the job has underchallenged her. She’s currently looking for something else. Which means they’ll end up in the short run with somebody who’s not giving their all. In the long run, a vacant position.
I’m sure I don’t have to describe a situation where the tools are insufficient. We’ve all experienced that in one form or another.
