7 Wright Brothers Way To Solving Business Problems

When Wilbur and Orville Wright, Popularly called the Wright Brothers finished the first successful manned flight on Dec. 17, 1903, they amazed and astonished the world. They also demonstrated the power of their problem solving method.
They not only solved a problem that others had found too complex and technical, but they did it without any help from outsiders. These brothers had little formal training or education, but they had amazing brainpower. Few accomplishments can match what these two former bicycle mechanics did with that flying machine. The key principles of problem-solving used by the Wright brothers are still relevant for business owners today. 

There are only eight of them, and here they are:

1. CONSTRUCTIVE CONFLICT: This conflict can be used to discover and validate new ideas/strategies to find a practical answer.

2. TACKLE WORST THINGS FIRST:  When big problems are put first, the cost for the whole is limited to this set should a solution prove unachievable.

3. JUST PLAIN TINKERING: New approaches can be created by tinkering with parts of a problem when you’re trying to understand it.

4.  RIGID FLEXIBILITY:  Flexing the mind allows for thinking of possibilities outside the realm of policy, tradition, or experience.

5. FOREVER LEARNING: Learning as a lifelong passion is essential for finding the information to solve problems.

6. METHODICAL METICULOUSNESS: The fastest, most efficient way to solve a problem is by being meticulous and methodical in your approach.

7.   EQUITABLE TEAMWORK:  The force of a group with a common purpose is multiplied by interdependence and powered by trust, effort, profits, power, and honor.

A side benefit to these steps is that there is an added financial bonus. By using these principles, the Wright brothers minimized their costs to less than $1,000 and solved the problem of flight with mind-boggling speed. Would there be any business owner  who wouldn’t want to solve a problem in his business and cut cost at the same time?  I doubt that, we are all into business to make profits. Have a wonderful day.

A Vision Of Success In Life Mapping

Success is more than economic gains, titles, and degrees.

Planning for success is about mapping out all the aspects of your life.

Similar to a map, you need to define the following details: origin, destination, vehicle, backpack, landmarks, and route.

Origin:  Who you are

A map has a starting point. The origin is who you are right now.

 Most people when asked to introduce themselves would say, “Hi, I’m Jean and I am a 17-years old, senior high school student.” It does not tell you about who Jean is; it only tells you her present preoccupation.

To gain insights about yourself, you need to look closely at your beliefs, values, and principles aside from your economic, professional, cultural, and civil status.

 Moreover, you can also reflect on your experiences to give insights on your good and not-so-good traits, skills, knowledge, strengths, and weaknesses.



Upon introspection, Jean realized that she was highly motivated, generous, service-oriented, but impatient. Her inclination was in the biological-medical field.

Furthermore, she believed that life must serve a purpose, and that wars were destructive to human dignity.

Destination: A vision of who you want to be

“Who do want to be?” this is your vision. Now it is important that you know yourself so that you would have a clearer idea of who you want to be; and the things you want to change whether they are attitudes, habits, or points of view.

If you hardly know yourself, then your vision and targets for the future would also be unclear.

 Your destination should cover all the aspects of your being: the physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual.

Continuing Jean’s story, after she defined her beliefs, values, and principles in life, she decided that she wanted to have a life dedicated to serving her fellowmen.

Vehicle: Your Mission

A vehicle is the means by which you can reach your destination. It can be analogized to your mission or vocation in life.

 To a great extent, your mission would depend on what you know about yourself.

Bases on Jean’s self-assessment, she decided that she was suited to become a doctor, and that she wanted to become one. Her chosen vocation was a medical doctor.

Describing her vision-mission fully: it was to live a life dedicated to serving her fellowmen as a doctor in conflict-areas.

Travel Bag: Your knowledge, skills, and attitude

Food, drinks, medicines, and other traveling necessities are contained in a bag.

Applying this concept to your life map, you also bring with you certain knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

These determine your competence and help you in attaining your vision.

Given such, there is a need for you to assess what knowledge, skills, and attitudes you have at present and what you need to gain along the way.

This two-fold assessment will give you insights on your landmarks or measures of success.

Jean realized that she needed to gain professional knowledge and skills on medicine so that she could become a doctor.

 She knew that she was a bit impatient with people so she realized that this was something she wanted to change.

Landmarks and Route: S.M.A.R.T. objectives

Landmarks confirm if you are on the right track while the route determines the travel time. Thus, in planning out your life, you also need to have landmarks and a route.

These landmarks are your measures of success. These measures must be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time bound.

Thus you cannot set two major landmarks such as earning a master’s degree and a doctorate degree within a period of three years, since the minimum number of years to complete a master’s degree is two years.

Going back to Jean as an example, she identified the following landmarks in her life map: completing a bachelor’s degree in biology by the age of 21; completing medicine by the age of 27; earning her specialization in infectious diseases by the age of 30; getting deployed in local public hospitals of their town by the age of 32; and serving as doctor in war-torn areas by the age of 35.

Anticipate Turns, Detours, and Potholes

The purpose of your life map is to minimize hasty and spur-of-the-moment decisions that can make you lose your way.

But oftentimes our plans are modified along the way due to some inconveniences, delays, and other situations beyond our control.

Like in any path, there are turns, detours, and potholes thus; we must anticipate them and adjust accordingly.

Have A Wonderful Day.