Designing Your New Work Life: How to Thrive and Change and Find Happiness--and a New Freedom--at Work

by Bill Burnett

Anchor Problems: These guys are just like a physical anchor; they hold us in place and prevent our forward motion. They keep us stuck, and, if we are going to practice good work design, it is important to notice when we are stuck with an anchor problem. Nathaniel wants to go sailing every weekend, but he can’t afford a boat. So Nathaniel thinks his problem is: “How do I buy a boat when I have no money?” Chelsea’s start-up is maturing and has stopped growing 100 percent a year, and the company isn’t naming any new directors in the near future. Chelsea wants to be promoted to director, and so she frames her problem this way: “How do I get a director title when they aren’t promoting anyone anymore?” You get the idea. An anchor problem occurs because we actually define the problem as one of our preferred solutions; we embed a solution in the problem. In other words, an anchor problem isn’t really a problem at all—it’s an unnegotiable and, unfortunately for you, unavailable solution masquerading as the problem. We marry ourselves to a solution that just isn’t going to happen.