The Simplest Question That Reveals Better Solutions

Today I’m sharing a small (and slightly embarrassing) realization from my laundry room that turned into a helpful insight...

Sometimes the things that feel hardest at work aren’t actually complex — they’re just being approached in a way that makes them harder than necessary.

There’s one simple question I often ask clients that helps uncover easier, more effective ways forward:

How can I make this easier?

If something at work feels heavier, slower, or more frustrating than it should right now, this question might reveal a better solution.

• Read the video transcript

  New location today. Welcome to my laundry room.

  I was just in the middle of refilling my cleaning water bottles. So I have this great Mrs. Meyers concentrate and you just need a tiny bit. And then I just refill the same bottles over and over with the concentrate and water. Well, every single time I run into the same issue, and that is I put the concentrate in, then I start to add water.

  And look at all the bubbles. It just foams up with all these bubbles and I can't get the whole bottle filled with water to the ratio of measurements that I need, and it frustrates me so much.

  And for some reason this morning it finally hit me, oh, why don't I add the water first and then add the concentrate and shake it up?

  Very simple fix, completely solves the problem. How have I not thought of this when I've been refilling these for, I don't know, a couple years now?

  And so it reminded me, actually, of a question that I asked of a client yesterday in a coaching session, and it's a very simple question, but it's one of my favorite ones.

  And that is. How can I make this easier? Or, how can I make this simpler?

  So I want you to think of something at work that feels harder than it should right now, and just ask yourself, how can I make this easier? And don't immediately shut down the ideas that come to mind.

  We've gotta think outside the box like I did this morning, but that little question may spark a new idea that can make that hard thing just a little bit easier. How can I make this easier?