When a Kid’s Rules Make More Sense Than the Real Ones
The world’s moving fast — technology, ideas, strategies — it’s all changing in ways we can barely keep up with. And if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably been caught up in the endless scroll of guides, frameworks, and best practices. It’s not that those things aren’t useful; it’s just that sometimes they miss the bigger picture. They focus so much on how things should be done that we forget to ask if those are the right things to do in the first place.
That’s when I realized something: the best way to rethink problems isn’t by going deeper into the weeds. It’s by pulling back and looking at them with fresh eyes. Or, better yet, with the limitless curiosity of a 5-year-old.
The Uno Incident That Changed My Perspective
Let me set the scene. I’m playing Uno with my almost 5-year-old daughter. It’s her turn, and she’s stuck. She needs to throw a green card, but she doesn’t have one. Now, the rules of Uno are simple: no green card, no play. But instead of stressing out, she grabs a yellow card and a blue card, plops them down, and says, “Yellow and blue make green!” She even adds the numbers on the cards to match what was on the table.
At first, I laughed. “That’s not how it works,” I told her. But then I stopped. Why not? Who says that’s not how it works? She wasn’t breaking the game — she was making it better, at least for her. In her mind, the goal wasn’t just to follow the rules; it was to keep the game moving and make it fun. And she did that brilliantly.
It made me think: how often do we get stuck because we’re too busy following the “rules” to see the possibilities?
The Problem with Playing by the Rules
In our work, especially in roles like product strategy, we’re taught to rely on data, metrics, and methodologies to make decisions. And sure, those are important. But sometimes, sticking to the playbook means you miss out on the magic — the out-of-the-box thinking that can turn a stuck situation into a breakthrough.
Technology is evolving so fast that the answers we’re looking for might not even exist in the frameworks we know. The solutions we need could be sitting outside the lines we’ve drawn for ourselves. And if we’re too focused on doing things “the right way,” we’ll never see them.
Let’s Channel That Kid-Like Creativity
Kids don’t care about rules; they care about results. They’ll mix cards, invent moves, and ask questions that make no sense — until they do. And that’s exactly what we need more of.
When I approach product strategy now, I try to think like my daughter did in that game. I ask silly questions like, “What if this didn’t exist?” or “What would a totally crazy version of this look like?” I imagine possibilities that sound ridiculous. Why? Because sometimes the most ridiculous ideas hold the seeds of something brilliant.
So, What’s the Point?
The point isn’t to throw out all the rules or stop caring about best practices. It’s to stop letting them box us in. The next time you’re stuck, ask yourself: “What would a 5-year-old do?” They wouldn’t be afraid to throw down two cards to make green, that’s for sure.
We can’t outpace change by staying inside the lines. But if we keep asking bold questions, taking weird leaps, and letting ourselves imagine the impossible, we might just stay ahead of it.
