This Ted Talk was entitled “Got a Wicked Problem to Solve? First, Tell Me How You Make Toast.” The speaker had a program where he would ask people to draw out something that everyone knows how to do- make toast. He showed examples of some of the responses that he has gotten in the past. These responses vary greatly. While most were just the basic steps on how to make toast (put bread in the toaster, take it out, put on butter), some focused more on the mechanics of the toaster. Some went back to the wheat being grown in the field. Others went all the way back to the Big Bang. I thought it was interesting how this simple exercise shows how differently peoples brains work.

The speaker explained that each “step” is called a node in the person’s thinking. He explained that there is a “correct number of nodes” for any given project. Too few and the project won’t be clear, and too many and it will be confusing. He explained that when participants were asked to draw out the process on sticky notes, there were many more nodes on average. This is a good thing and can then be paired down so that there are not too many nodes. This process, the speaker claimed has been used to reconstruct entire companies.

I think that this Ted Talk is very relevant to Leadership. We have talked about this a lot in this class, but sometimes problems seem to overwhelming to take on and overcome. This process of “making toast” shows how different leaders brains work differently. If a leader can figure out how their own brain works, they will be able to utilize their skills to solve the problem. Also, leaders may feel overwhelmed at time, so breaking down a larger problem into nodes and then organizing them into steps to take helps turn a huge problem into little, manageable steps to work towards the larger issue. I think this is the key to successful leadership.

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