Summary: The MacGyver Secret by Lee David Zlotoff

The MacGyver Secret is about unconventional problem solving. We're living in strange times and it's not business as usual. Perhaps this book is what's needed right now.

The MacGyver Secret is a 3-step process to solve any problem you may have. You learn how to tap into your Inner Mac to find the best solution to your problem – you rely on yourself.

This is the process that Lee David Zlotoff used to come up with the idea for MacGyver, the hit TV series in the mid-1980s. In this problem-solving model, you spend a long time defining the problem, which makes you get very clear, so you solve the real problem.

The world has changed and every professional has to change to remain relevant. A book such as The MacGyver Secret helps you to come up unconventional problem solving strategies to pivot your business or career.

I recently read that creativity is the one skill that you need to succeed. Creativity allows you to generate ideas, that if implemented, can transform your life. Creativity, problem solving, decision making, and critical thinking are related skills. And learning them together makes you a more valuable and marketable professional. These are soft skills that anyone can benefit from mastering.

My Introduction to MacGyver

In 1985, the year after I arrived in Canada, in Calgary, Alberta, what turned out to be a hit television series, MacGyver, first aired. MacGyver – played by Richard Dean Anderson – is skilled at unconventional problem solving. What I loved about the show, was how MacGyver could solve any problem, get out of any tough situation, by using materials that he had access to. He was a very resourceful person. The Macgyver Secret tells us, each of us has an Inner Mac that we can call on.

Today over 30 years later, looking back, I realize that MacGyver had a large bank of general knowledge. In A Technique for Producing Ideas, Stage 1 in the 5-step creative process is gathering specific and general information. Specific information is directly relevant to what you are working on, and general information is information you gather throughout your life. Generating new ideas is combining specific and general knowledge to see how they fit together.

Lee David Zlotoff, the creator of MacGyver, published The MacGyver Secret: Connect to Your Inner MacGyver & Solve Anything in late 2016. The premise of the book is that each of us has a MacGyver within us, therefore, we can come up with a solution to any tough problem. That means you can develop an unconventional solution to any problem you face.

Have you read?

Summary: How to Get Ideas by Jack Foster

The MacGyver Secret in a Nutshell 

The MacGyver Secret: Connect to Your Inner MacGyver & Solve Anything presents a 3-Step process to resolve any problem you may face. You tap into your inner MacGyver which is your subconscious or unconscious mind to help you. Your Inner MacGyver comes up with creative solutions to the problems you face.

Think of

“the MacGyver Secret as a way to establish a hotline to that hidden or subconscious part of your mind— your own inner MacGyver.”

Part of the process in The MacGyver Secret is like other creative and problem-solving processes. Where it differs is that you write down by hand the problem that you are facing, and you give your inner MacGyver a time limit in which to solve the problem. After the time is up, start writing down the ideas that come to you and one of them will be the ideal solution.

Writing down the problem by hand forces you to clarify your thoughts.

Core Ideas from The MacGyver Secret

1. To make sure that you adequately define the problem you are trying to solve, you MUST go through a problem finding process.
   1. Construct the problem.
   2. Identify the key elements.
   3. Formulate a description.
2. When you have complex problems or questions, you may have to ask your inner MacGyver several times to get the answers that you seek.
3. Answers do not come to you from a vacuum. You need a prepared mind. Raw materials have to be available in your memory for your subconscious to explore.
4. You cannot overload your inner Mac. Your subconscious mind can manage and organize large amounts of information to present a more holistic solution.
5. Prepare your mind, input it with raw materials so that your inner MacGyver can present you with a holistic solution.

Summary of The MacGyver Secret by Lee David Zlotoff

Step 1: Getting Started

• Write down your question or problem that you have to solve. It is important to write and not type. You have to immerse yourself in the problem before your inner Mac can find a solution.
  • This is a 3-step process:
  • Construct a problem.
  • Identify its key elements.
• Formulate an apt description.
• Keep refining the problem.
• Be as detailed and specific as you can.
• Do not be concerned about overloading your inner Mac.
• You want to start a conversation with your inner Mac
• Write down any answers that come to you.
• Tell your inner MacGyver to start working on the problem for you.
• Let it go.

Step 2: Let Your Inner MacGyver Get to Work

• Let your inner Mac do its thing.
• Find an enjoyable activity to engage in.
• Do something physical yet not demanding.
• Good tasks to perform while your inner Mac is working on the solution are low demand incubation activities such as:
  • Cook dinner.
  • Clean the house.
  • Work on a word find puzzle.
  • Take a shower.
  • Walk the dog.
• Activities to avoid while your inner Mac is working on a solution. They will not engage your inner Mac because they are ‘busy’ work.
  • Watch the television.
  • Read a book.
  • Engage in conversation.
  • Play intense video and computer games.
• Give your inner Mac a time limit. It can work while you sleep.

When you set aside a problem you are incubating, you want to get to a state where you can ‘zone out’ from the problem. This is a common activity in the creative process. You work on one of the recommended tasks above to pre-occupy your conscious mind, so that your subconscious mind can take over.

Step 3: Ask Your Inner MacGyver for Answers to Your Questions and Problems

• Return to your question. Have it in front of you because you want to connect to where you started the process.
• Re-read your question so that it is fresh in your mind.
• Have your pen handy.
• Ask your inner Mac, “What is the answer Mac?” You can do this silently or aloud.
• Start writing. Write anything.
• Answers will start to pop into your head as you are writing.
• Write what you want, and it will write you back with the answers.
• Give yourself enough time to recover the answers.
• If you are dissatisfied with the answers you receive from your inner Mac, ask the question again. If it responds with questions, that means it needs additional information, so keep the conversation going.
• Practice to become more skilled at this process.

Examples of How to Refine Your Questions

1. What is at the core of the problem? 
2. Is this really the problem or could it be something else? 
3. Have I really considered all the aspects of the problem yet, or am I missing something?
4. If deciding about the problem is just an either/or question, what are the real key factors behind that decision? And are there some I haven’t yet considered? 
5. Now that I have listed everything about the problem that I can think of, is there one perfect answer? Or might there be several workable solutions to it? 
6. Now that I have several answers to the problem, what do I need to choose the best one?

How to Evaluate Answers from Your Inner Mac

• Are the answers surprising, or do they confirm what you were thinking? In either case, that is fine.
• If the answer upsets you or seems way off, ask yourself, “Why does it bother or upset me?”
• It's possible that your inner Mac will returns with questions. That means it needs more information before it can find the best answers.

Your Inner MacGyver in Action

• To get better at working with your inner MacGyver, practice every day. There are countless problems you can solve at work to make you a more valuable employee. 
• Ask your inner MacGyver to solve problems at the same time every day.
• Give it the same time limit. 
• Have a special place where you ask your questions.

Have a Set Time and Place to Tap into Your Inner Mac

Instead of choosing a random time and place to ask your questions, be intentional about it. Plan to make it a habit. 

• What is the best time of day that would allow you to follow the process? 
• Is it during your lunch break? 
• First thing in the morning?
• Before you go to sleep at night? 

Make a Habit of Tapping into Your Inner Mac

When you first start to use the process, you want to be consistent, so you form a habit of tapping into your inner Mac.

• You can ask your inner Mac to solve your problem while you sleep. Therefore, you would ask the question just before you go to sleep. 
• Tell it to remember the answers when you wake up. 
• Keep your notebook and pen close so you can grab when you awake to start writing down your answers from your inner Mac. 
• Start writing to receive your answers.
• If you remember information from your dreams write it down.
• Sleeping on a problem is not always ideal or practical. Incubating while you sleep works well for complex problems.

Key Takeaways from The MacGyver Secret

1. There is a MacGyver inside you. You have creative solutions that you can tap into.
2. You can come up with a solution to any tough problem.
3. Writing out your problem forces you to gain clarity. And it signals to your inner Mac that it is real, and the question is important to you. You can edit your thought to come up with what you want.
4. To ask the right question, take as much time as you need to be as specific as possible. You want to give your inner Mac enough information.
5. Build a relationship with your inner problem solver.
6. Give Mac a time limit in which to solve the problem.
7. You have to get your brain to a resting state – you zone out before a breakthrough to the solution.
8. When the time limit is up, re-read your problem, then start writing. Your inner Mac will write you the answers.
9. If your inner Mac returns with questions, that means it needs more information. Answer the new questions, then ask your question again.

What’s Missing from the Book

Lee David Zlotoff should have spent more time writing about the prepared mind in the MacGyver Secret. The subconscious mind needs information in your memory to explore to present a solution. If you have to solve a problem, you have to do some work gathering raw materials. It is unlikely that you can ask a question without any kind of context and expect to get a holistic solution.

Next Steps

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