Principle I
Stay Curious
Curiosity, evidence, intellectual flexibility, and the refusal to accept the world merely because it is.
Explore the 42 Principles by topic
Problem Solving & Troubleshooting
A disciplined approach to troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, evidence, measurement, assumptions, constraints, complexity, failure, and solving the real problem.
Problem solving in the 42 Principles begins before the fix. The recurring pattern is to observe, question, measure, understand, and only then change the system.
The book repeatedly distinguishes symptoms from causes, activity from progress, metrics from outcomes, and available solutions from appropriate solutions.
Although many examples come from engineering and technology, the method applies equally to organizations, relationships, projects, decisions, and personal problems.
Concepts covered
Ideas that appear across the book
- root-cause analysis
- symptoms versus causes
- observation before intervention
- asking better questions
- challenging assumptions
- measurement before optimization
- reducing complexity
- understanding dependencies
- designing for failure
- small reversible experiments
- prioritization and scope
- solving the constraint rather than adding capacity
Relevant Principles
Read each Principle as its own essay.
Each Principle has a dedicated page for focused reading and search, with a link back to its location in the complete book.
Principle II
Ask One More Question
The courage to ask simple questions, challenge assumptions, resist groupthink, and admit what is still unknown.
Principle III
Understand Before Optimizing
Root-cause thinking, measurement, troubleshooting, constraints, and separating symptoms from causes.
Principle VI
Observe Deeply
Observation before intervention, pattern recognition, evidence gathering, and understanding behavior in context.
Principle VIII
Practical Beats Clever
Clarity, maintainability, service, and choosing solutions people can understand and sustain.
Principle IX
Simplicity Is Earned
Reducing unnecessary complexity through understanding, refinement, and deliberate removal.
Principle XXII
Complexity Is a Cost
Technical, operational, cognitive, and human costs created by unnecessary complexity.
Principle XXIII
Design for Failure
Resilience, graceful failure, recovery, preparation, visibility, and accepting failure as a design constraint.
Principle XXIV
Automate to Remove Toil
Using automation to eliminate repetition while preserving judgment, responsibility, and understandable systems.
Principle XXVI
Build Small. Think Big.
Incremental progress, bounded experiments, reversibility, learning quickly, and scaling only after understanding.
Principle XXVIII
Measure What Matters
Metrics, outcomes, vanity measures, incentives, human consequences, and measurement that supports judgment.
Principle XXXVII
Solve Real Problems
Prioritization, scope, user needs, problem selection, opportunity cost, and refusing to optimize what does not matter.
Questions this topic explores
Start with a real question.
- How do I troubleshoot a difficult problem systematically?
- How do I distinguish a symptom from the root cause?
- What should I measure before making a change?
- How do I stop jumping to the obvious fix?
- How can I make decisions when I do not have complete information?
Related topics
Follow the idea across disciplines.
These topic guides share Principles with Problem Solving.
Systems Thinking & Complexity
Dependencies, second-order effects, complexity, bottlenecks, unintended consequences, feedback, tradeoffs, and understanding how parts interact as a whole.
Explore Systems Thinking →Judgment, Priorities & Decision Making
Tradeoffs, priorities, reversibility, scope, opportunity cost, evidence, uncertainty, measurement, and making responsible decisions without waiting for perfect knowledge.
Explore Decision Making →Critical Thinking & Evidence
Evidence, assumptions, uncertainty, bias, inference, groupthink, competing explanations, and the discipline of changing conclusions when reality changes.
Explore Critical Thinking →Personal Growth & Self-Awareness
Humility, reflection, identity, responsibility, emotional maturity, learning from experience, and becoming more capable without becoming more certain of yourself.
Explore Personal Growth →