--- title: The Secret to Problem Solving, According to the Military description: Know the difference between designing and planning. canonical: https://time.com/4101409/effective-problem-solving/ author: Shane Parrish article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-06T05:01:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T08:51:51.308Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The Secret to Problem Solving, According to the Military og:description: Know the difference between designing and planning og:url: https://time.com/4101409/effective-problem-solving/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc25c2b2fb463239a/69886fc3428a9e2b13ccff59/business-man-posters.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: business-man-posters og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Secret to Problem Solving, According to the Military twitter:description: Know the difference between designing and planning twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc25c2b2fb463239a/69886fc3428a9e2b13ccff59/business-man-posters.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Secret to Problem Solving, According to the Military ## Video: JCrew's President On How To Give and Take Criticism [Watch (HLS stream): JCrew's President On How To Give and Take Criticism](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/5rVA3aOQ.m3u8) (2:25)  _Published 2015-10-09. JCrew's President, Jenna Lyons, explains how she got started in the fashion industry, what makes a good mentor and how to gracefully take and delicately give criticism._ by [Shane Parrish](https://time.com/author/shane-parrish/) ## Shane Parrish Nov 6, 2015 5:01 AM UTC  Businessman looking at graphs and charts on glass wall in office Businessman looking at graphs and charts on glass wall in officeGetty Images by [Shane Parrish](https://time.com/author/shane-parrish/) ## Shane Parrish Nov 6, 2015 5:01 AM UTC While I’m not all that interested in military doctrine and tactics in and of themselves, I am interested in [complex systems](http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2014/04/mental-model-complex-adaptive-systems/), [how the weak win wars](http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2012/07/david-and-goliath-the-art-and-science-of-the-underdog/), and the lessons military leaders offer (for example, see the lessons of [William McRaven](http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2014/05/10-life-lessons-william-mcraven/) and [Stanley McChrystal](http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2014/03/stanley-mcchrystal-my-share-of-the-task/)). This is how I found myself flipping through [_The U.S. Army / Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual_](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0226841510/?tag=timecom-20), which was written to facilitate a common understanding of the problems inherent in counterinsurgency campaigns. There was a fascinating section on the difference between designing and planning that caused me to pause and reflect. --- > “” --- To better understand the multifaceted problems many of us face today it helps to talk with people who have different perspectives. This helps achieve better situational understanding. At best this can point the way to solutions and at worst this should help with [learning what to avoid](http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2013/10/inversion/). Often we skip the information gathering phase because it’s a lot of work. A lot of conversations. However this process helps [us become informed, rather than just opinionated](http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2013/04/the-work-required-to-have-an-opinion/). --- > “” --- Just as you can never step in the same river twice, design is not something you do once and walk away. It’s an ongoing inquiry into the nature of problems and the various factors and relationships to help improve understanding. Constantly assessing the situation from a design perspective, helps gauge the effectiveness of the planning and subsequent actions. If you don’t periodically reassess the situation, you might be solving a problem that no longer exists. [_The U.S. Army / Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual_](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0226841510/?tag=timecom-20) is full of other thought-provoking content. **_Read next:_** [**_3 Things the Greatest Generals of History Can Teach You About Strategy_**](http://time.com/3754272/3-things-the-greatest-generals-of-history-can-teach-you-about-strategy/) **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Farnam Street_**](https://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2014/12/counterinsurgency-field-manual/)**_._** **Join over 60,000 readers and get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/newsletter/)**.** ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4101409/effective-problem-solving/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4101409/effective-problem-solving/"},"headline":"The Secret to Problem Solving, According to the Military","datePublished":"2015-11-06T05:01:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:51:51.308Z","description":"Know the difference between designing and planning.","url":"https://time.com/4101409/effective-problem-solving/","keywords":["Psychology","Military","Books","strategy"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc25c2b2fb463239a/69886fc3428a9e2b13ccff59/business-man-posters.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Shane Parrish","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/shane-parrish/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc25c2b2fb463239a/69886fc3428a9e2b13ccff59/business-man-posters.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"business-man-posters","caption":"business-man-posters","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4101409/effective-problem-solving/","name":"The Secret to Problem Solving, According to the Military"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"JCrew's President On How To Give and Take Criticism","description":"JCrew's President, Jenna Lyons, explains how she got started in the fashion industry, what makes a good mentor and how to gracefully take and delicately give criticism.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/5rVA3aOQ/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-10-09T18:41:35.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/5rVA3aOQ.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4101409/effective-problem-solving/","duration":"PT2M25S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4101409/effective-problem-solving/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```