Top designers use systems thinking instead of linear problem-solving. When a light won't work, a linear thinker replaces the bulb. A systems thinker investigates deeper, finds the lamp holder is broken, and solves the real problem.
The top 1% of designers solve complex problems. And to solve complex problems, you need to practice more systems thinking and less linear thinking. For example, you walk into your room and you turn on the bulb and the light does not come on. The first thing that comes to your mind is, oh, this bulb is bad, so I need to change the bulb. So you go to Amazon, order a new bulb, and you fix it and the light comes on. Fine. That's linear thinking because that is a familiar problem and you've been able to solve the problem just by fixing the bulb. Now the same scenario happens. You come into the room, you turn on the bulb, it doesn't come on. And then you order a bulb on Amazon and you change the bulb and it doesn't work. Then you realize that the bulb didn't come on because the bulb is bad and the lamp holder is also bad. So you need to fix the lamp holder and buy a new bulb. If you apply the same linear approach to solving that problem in the second scenario, you won't be able to solve it because you have only thought about the problem at the surface level. You haven't tried to identify the root cause of the problem.
