Architects vs Archeologists

On uncovering the solution, ignoring the coins and taking the time to dig.

Welcome to the Happy Medium newsletter, where I share inspiration and bite-sized musings on creative business each week(ish). Enjoy!

When designing a solution, the first instinct can be to take on the role of Architect, building something brand new to hold all our intentions, ideas and tasks.

However, I like to think of solution design as Archeology, uncovering what has always been there.

While an Architect hands over designs to be built, an Archeologist stakes out a location and marks out where they want to dig.

Architecture is additive by nature, even if you are replacing something that is already there, you need to tear down the old in order to create the new.

Archeology is about subtraction; it has an inherent truth to it, the solution already exists, we just need to uncover it and work out what it looks like. It takes the pressure off - you are not inventing anything, you’re simply discovering it and making sense of what you find.

So how does this work in practice?

Stake your location

A clear problem and tight scope

We know what we are looking for and we aren’t going to be distracted by anything else. The number one way to derail your mission is to spend all your time on edge cases or tangential problems.

We are digging for ancient city ruins, if we happen to find medieval coins, we’ll park them to the side, let the right people know where to pick them up and keep digging for the city.

Assemble your team

Get the right people involved and tell them why they are there

I like to say ‘you’ve been invited because you either have first hand experience with the problem OR you have the expertise to help us solve it’. It empowers people to contribute and sets the tone.

If it’s a workshop, let people talk and write so the loudest people don’t use up all the airtime.

Work out what you’re looking at

Have respect for the current state

Never take down a fence without working out why it was there in the first place. Review what the current process is, what it’s strengths and weaknesses are before moving into solution mode. No one designs a bad process on purpose.

If you skip this step it will derail the solution as people will either propose something that is already in place and doesn’t work, or miss out on leveraging the strengths of what is currently working well.

Start with a shovel, finish off with a brush

Allow the solution to reveal itself

Avoid the terror of a blank page and fill in a high level solution that people can react to. Don’t get attached, it’s only there to help find the outline, hand out some brushes and let the team reveal the details.

If this is seeming a little complex, all of these steps can be ran through in a one hour workshop, with a little prep work ahead of time. If you follow the steps in the correct order, it provides the structure to move fast from problem to solution.

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Introducing Groundwork

After years of working with founders, I’ve observed that often they already have all the information they need to unlock growth in their business, they just haven’t had the time and headspace to get into to it.

It can feel like the key to feeling ‘on top of things’ is buried under a mountain of daily deadlines or unexpected drama.

I created Groundwork to create that space. Carve out time away from notifications and noise to focus on the deep things that will make your business feel great to be a part of.

It’s completely offline, monthly instalments delivered via snail mail.

Early bird pricing ends end of July with the first chapter shipping in September.

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Inspiration

Things that have inspired me this week.

How limitations in life, love and creativity can actually set you free

Conversations, David Epstein

One of the reason the archeologist’s mindset works is because it creates constraints - it’s the opposite of a blank page with endless possibilities.

This podcast breaks down why constraint, not freedom, is the key to creativity.

Thank you Gemma for this recommendation!

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That’s it for this week!

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