11 Skills AI Will Never Replace: Skill #6 Problem-Solving 

Welcome to The Learn-It-All Podcast’s 11 Skills AI Will Never Replace-- our 11-part special series exploring the essential human skills that AI cannot replicate. With the start of the new year, we’re all facing unprecedented technological disruption and workplace transformation. To help you thrive in this new landscape, we’ve leveraged a study from MuchSkills that analyzed data from 28,000 professionals to identify the capabilities that will make you irreplaceable in an AI-enhanced workplace.     

Each week, dive deep into one critical skill, providing you with actionable strategies, expert insights, and Learnit’s proprietary frameworks to future-proof your career. This series isn't just about adapting to change – it's about mastering the unique human abilities that will define leadership success in the age of AI.    

Problem-Solving in a Fast-Paced World: Breaking Free from Old Solutions 

Is your team still applying yesterday's solutions to today's unprecedented challenges? In a McKinsey study, 75% of leaders reported their teams struggle with independent thinking and problem-solving. 

 This Learn-It-All Podcast episode features Learnit CEO Damon Lembi and Dr. Mickey Fitch-Collins, LearnIt's top-ranked facilitator and leadership expert, discussing creative problem-solving strategies. Mickey introduces a practical framework called the "Five P's" that helps leaders and teams break free from conventional thinking patterns and develop innovative solutions that work in today's rapidly evolving business landscape. 

This Episode Covers: 

• The Five P's framework for reframing problems: Perspectives (how others view it), Pertinent info (relevant context), Position (relationship to the problem), Positive exceptions (when it's not a problem), and Playing favorites (avoiding default solutions) 
• Why teams often jump to solutions before properly defining the problem, leading to misaligned efforts and ineffective outcomes 
• How "rolestorming" - problem-solving from different perspectives by taking on various roles - unlocks creative solutions 
• The value of pre-mortems and post-mortems in increasing problem-solving success rates 
• Using divergent thinking (exploring multiple possibilities) and convergent thinking (narrowing to practical solutions) to develop better outcomes 

Episode Highlights  

00:01 – Why Problem-Solving Matters – How problem-solving impacts business success and why most teams struggle with it. 

05:55 – The Five P’s Framework for Reframing Problems – A step-by-step approach to identifying and solving the right problem. 

12:31 – Common Barriers to Problem-Solving – How fear of failure, risk aversion, and lack of accountability hold teams back. 

19:45 – How Creativity Fuels Problem-Solving – The importance of thinking big and small, and how asking the right questions leads to innovative solutions. 

28:30 – Lessons from COVID and Business Adaptation – Real-world examples of creative problem-solving and possibility spotting. 

32:38 – How Leaders Can Foster a Problem-Solving Culture – Why psychological safety and open-ended questionsare key to better decision-making. 

46:06 – Practical Tools for Problem-Solving – The power of pre-mortems, post-mortems, and role-storming to improve solutions. 

About Damon Lembi:    

Damon Lembi is a 2x bestselling author, the host of The Learn-It-All Podcast, and CEO of Learnit – a live learning platform that has upskilled over 2 million people. Drawing from his prior baseball career, Damon brings an athlete’s perspective to leadership. Through his journey, he has gained invaluable insights into what helps organizations grow, how great leaders learn, and why learn-it-all companies outpace their competitors every time.     

About Dr. Mickey Fitch-Collins    

Dr. Mickey Fitch-Collins is a dynamic leadership development expert who serves as a Leadership and Professional Development Facilitator at Learnit. With a PhD in Leadership in Higher Education from Northcentral University focusing on middle manager self-efficacy, her expertise spans performance management, program development, and equity initiatives, while her high-energy approach has proven effective in leading teams across educational institutions and technology companies.    

Resources Referenced: 

MuchSkills     

The Learn-It-All Leader: Mindset, Traits, and Tools by Damon Lembi    

Learnit’s Solve Problems Creatively workshop (Next offered April 11, 2025 

07:00 AM – 09:00 AM PT) 

McKinsey study on leadership and problem-solving 

Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen by Dan Heath  

Podcast Contact Information 

Website: www.learnit.com 

Email: [email protected] 

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