TLDR:Innovation isn’t just about fixing what’s broken — it’s about defining the problem with sharper intelligence. In this piece, Teri Arvesu unpacks the classic “slow elevator” story to show how great leaders think: they challenge assumptions, they reframe the real issue, and they solve for human experience, not just mechanics. It’s a masterclass in innovative leadership — and a reminder that the most transformative solutions often come from asking better questions, not building bigger fix

By Teri Arvesú González

This week, I was on a business trip, I was waiting for an elevator and remembered one of my favorite case studies of all time. It’s the one about “slow” elevators — and how a hotel solved its frustration problem not by speeding anything up, but by adding something entirely unrelated: mirrors.

It’s one of those stories that feels almost too simple, and yet it reveals something profound about human behavior, perception, and leadership. And it has everything to do with how we approach complex problems — in business, in systems, and in our own lives.

The Case Study

A hotel was drowning in complaints about slow elevators. Customers were annoyed. Staff were stressed. Leadership was ready to pour money into massive machinery upgrades.

Then a behavioral scientist stepped in with a counterintuitive idea:

“You don’t have a speed problem. You have a waiting problem.”

So instead of rebuilding the elevators, they installed mirrors around the elevator banks.

And suddenly — the complaints dropped. Not because the elevator got faster.

But because time felt different.

This is perception psychology in action.

Why This Matters (and What It Says About Us)

We spend so much of our lives treating symptoms instead of identifying root causes.

We speed up the elevator without ever asking,

“Are we solving the right problem?”

The elevator story is famous because it exposes one of the biggest blind spots in leadership:

We often jump to solutions without properly framing the problem.

There’s even a name for this in psychology and design thinking: problem reframing.

The Science of Reframing

Reframing is the practice of redefining a problem so you can generate solutions that were invisible before. In cognitive psychology, it’s connected to functional fixedness — the tendency to think something can only serve its obvious purpose.

Elevator?

Must go faster.

But reframing unlocks creativity:

Elevator “too slow” → “people hate waiting” → “waiting feels longer when you’re bored” → “remove boredom.”

In neuroscience terms, reframing forces your brain to bypass the amygdala’s quick, habitual interpretations and engage the prefrontal cortex — the part responsible for perspective-taking and higher-order reasoning.

Leaders who reframe see solutions others miss.

Why This Case Is So Important Today

We are living in a moment where people want the world to “speed up”:

* faster systems

* quicker answers

* more efficient institutions

* immediate results

What if the “macro-level solutions” we chase — technological fixes, reorganizations, total overhauls — aren’t always the answer?

The elevator case reminds us that:

* The most elegant solutions are often sideways solutions — unexpected, non-linear, perception-based.

* Systems change doesn’t always require a bulldozer.Sometimes it just requires a mirror.

And for those of us building, leading, or reinventing anything — platforms, organizations, brands, communities — this matters.

Because reframing may reveal that the obstacle is not the obstacle.

The experience of the obstacle is.

Permission — What This Means For You

Let this be your permission slip today:

You do not always have to fix the “machine.”

Sometimes you just have to redesign the experience.

Before you invest energy, money, emotions, or manpower into solving something…

Pause and ask:

* “What is the actual problem here?”

* “Is there something underneath the frustration?”

* “What if the obvious solution is the wrong one?”

* “What is the mirror in this situation?”

This is where clarity lives.

And where innovation begins.

The Takeaway

The hotel didn’t speed up the elevators.

They changed the way people felt while waiting.

That’s not a small insight — that’s a masterclass.

Because the solutions that change our world rarely come from pushing harder in the same direction.

They come from widening the frame, breaking the pattern, and allowing the brain to see what it couldn’t see before.

Slow elevator → mirror → peace.

What might this unlock for you, your work, your organization… or your next big idea?

About the Author

Teri Arvesu González is the founder of The TAG Collab, a consultancy helping mission-driven companies align purpose, brand, and strategy from the inside out.

A Latina media executive with more than 25 years leading newsrooms in Miami and Chicago, she has launched national initiatives, built high-performing teams, and driven transformation across industries. She writes on Latina leadership, cultural duality, bicultural identity, and the neuroscience of resilience.

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