It’s a strange sight that plays out in many organizations every week. A project starts with energy, commitment and high ambitions. A meeting is booked. Roles are assigned. Timetables are drawn up. Working groups are created. Budgets are discussed. Whiteboards are filled with activities. Everyone feels that something important is happening. But at the same time, strangely enough, a question arises. What were we really supposed to solve?
The question often comes much later than it should. Not because people are incompetent, but because we are programmed to want to get started. Activity feels productive. Planning feels safe. Project models provide structure. But that’s precisely why there is also a risk. We become skilled at organizing work before we have understood whether the work is really about the right thing.
This is where First Principle Thinking becomes interesting. The method is not really very advanced. On the contrary, it is based on an unusually simple approach. Instead of starting from how things are usually done, you start by asking what is actually true. You strip away assumptions, traditions, and habitual ways of working until only the most basic building blocks remain. From there, the creative process begins.
We often build on other people’s solutions
Many projects don’t start from scratch. They start in the middle of history. We start from how the organization usually works. We reuse old project plans. We use the same meeting structure, the same processes, and the same solutions that worked last time. It’s rational because it saves time. The problem is that we also risk reusing old assumptions without noticing.
It’s a bit like renovating a house that has been rebuilt for generations. Each previous owner has made changes based on their needs. In the end, no one knows why certain walls are where they are. Yet the next generation builds on the same structure.
Organizations often work the same way. Projects start on top of previous projects. Processes are added on top of previous processes. Rules are created on top of previous rules. In the end, no one is working on the original question anymore. They work with the system that has grown around the question.
First Principle Thinking helps us to tear away the layers that have accumulated over time and return to the basics.
Three questions that change an entire project
The fascinating thing about the method is that it can actually be summarized in three questions. The first question is perhaps the most important.
A. What is the real problem we are trying to solve?
It sounds obvious, but in practice it often turns out that people around the same table answer differently. An economist sees a cost problem. A user sees an accessibility problem. A technician sees a system problem. A manager sees a leadership problem. Everyone describes the same situation but from different perspectives.
Creativity already arises here. Not because someone has a new idea, but because the group begins to discover that the problem may not be the problem they first thought. The second question is at least as important.
B. What do we know for sure and what are we just assuming?
This is where many projects really start to change. It often turns out that things that have long been considered facts are actually just well-established assumptions. Maybe we think that users want a certain feature without anyone actually asking them. Maybe we assume that a certain technology is necessary because it has always been used. Maybe we assume that a regulatory framework sets limits even though no one has checked whether the rules actually look like that today.
When assumptions are made visible, something important happens. The group begins to understand which parts are truly a stable foundation and which parts need to be investigated before the project moves forward. The third question then shifts the focus from analysis to action.
C. Which smallest solution provides the most value and learning?
Here a crucial shift in perspective occurs. Instead of asking how we build the perfect solution, the group begins to ask how we learn the fastest. This means that the project is no longer guided by the ambition to create something big, but by the ambition to create something that provides new knowledge. The smallest solution therefore does not become a sign of low ambition. On the contrary, it becomes a way to reduce uncertainty and increase the quality of the decisions that come later.
From process to purpose
One of the greatest strengths of First Principle Thinking is that it changes what people talk about. In many projects, the first meetings are about processes. Who is responsible for what? What is the schedule? What documents should be filled out? How often should the steering group meet?
All of these questions are important. But they are of no use if the group does not yet agree on why the project exists. First Principle Thinking therefore shifts the conversation from activities to meaning. From process to purpose. From deliverables to value. This means that the group often reaches consensus much faster. When people share the same picture of the problem, decisions later in the project are also easier.
Creativity is about questioning the obvious
Creativity is often described as the ability to come up with new ideas. But creativity actually starts much earlier. It starts when we dare to question things that seem obvious. That is exactly what First Principle Thinking does.
Separating facts from assumptions opens up a new space of possibilities. Solutions that previously felt impossible suddenly become reasonable because the limitations we assumed may never have been real. That is why the method works particularly well in complex projects. The more assumptions that are built into a system, the greater the creative potential when these assumptions begin to become visible.
A natural tool for system innovation
From a system innovation perspective, the method becomes even more valuable. System problems rarely arise because an individual part is not working well. They arise because many parts interact in a way that no one really has an overview of. If the group starts with solutions, there is a risk of optimizing a small part while the whole remains unchanged.
First Principle Thinking instead works as a way of mapping the system’s real basic requirements.
- What is actually true?
- Which connections do we really know?
- Which relationships are just based on old beliefs?
When these questions are discussed together, it also becomes easier to identify the system’s leverage points. The group discovers where small changes can create big effects because you work with causes instead of symptoms.
Why the method fits so well in agile projects
The method also harmonizes very well with agile working methods. Agile development is fundamentally about reducing uncertainty by learning quickly. First Principle Thinking helps ensure that the right things are really being explored. Instead of prioritizing based on who shouts the loudest or which solution feels most exciting, priority is given to what provides the most learning per invested resource.
This means that backlogs become more well thought out. Experiments become more relevant. Prototypes gain a clearer purpose. Iterations begin to build knowledge instead of just functionality. It also makes projects much easier to control when the world around them changes. Since the group agrees on which assumptions are being tested, it becomes easier to adjust the direction when new knowledge emerges.
Anchoring creates creative freedom
Another strength of the method is that it functions as a common contract within the project group. When everyone has been involved in defining the problem, identifying the assumptions and choosing the first learning intervention, a different type of security arises. The discussions become less personal. It is no longer about who is right. It is about what the group does not yet know.
It creates a climate where people dare to be curious, ask questions and challenge established truths without being perceived as difficult. In this way, First Principle Thinking does not only become an analysis tool. It also becomes a tool for creative facilitation.
Visualizing the uncertain
One of the great advantages of the method is that it is also easy to visualize. For example, you can divide the project’s claims into two areas. One contains what the group actually knows. The other contains what the group only believes.
Even such a simple visualization often changes the discussion. Suddenly it becomes clear which decisions can be made immediately and which require experiments, interviews or tests before the project moves forward. Uncertainty thus becomes not a problem. It becomes the project’s compass.
The most important question comes first
Perhaps this is precisely why First Principle Thinking has become such a valuable approach in innovation. The method is not really about thinking deeper. It is about thinking earlier.
It helps us ask the questions that otherwise often come after the project has already cost time, money and commitment. By starting with the truth instead of the solution, better conditions are created for creativity, better decisions and greater innovation.
And perhaps that is precisely where the greatest gain lies. Because when people stop before they run on, something strange happens. They often discover that the fastest way forward is not to work faster. It is to first be completely in agreement about where you are really going.
Then creativity does not become something that is added on top of the project. It becomes the very foundation on which the project is built.
