Is Your Problem a Light Switch, Thermostat, or Hammer?

Business, at its core, is the continuous act of solving a multitude of problems to turn a dollar of investment into more than a dollar of return.

I see three types of problems in business: Light Switch problems, Thermostat problems, and Hammer & Stone problems. Let’s look at a hypothetical tech company—let’s call it Y (we’ll avoid using X, for obvious reasons 😄)—where hundreds of people tackle different problems every day.

What's your problem? (Image credit: Google Gemini)

1. Light Switch Problems

These are problems where the progress is known, visible, and quick—like flipping a switch and watching the light come on.

Imagine one of Y’s customers complains about being overcharged. A customer support rep verifies the issue and refunds the customer. Problem solved. But it doesn’t stop there: the rep files a bug report. A product manager reads it, identifies the issue, and creates a ticket for engineering. An engineer fixes the bug and releases the patch. Problem solved again.

Sometimes, you flip the switch and... nothing. Maybe the bulb’s out, or the wiring’s bad. Likewise, at Y, engineering might not be able to solve the bug immediately. But the key trait of Light Switch problems is this: the solution is usually known, and when things go right, they’re solved quickly.

2. Thermostat Problems

These are problems where the solution is known, but there’s a delay between action and result—yet progress is visible along the way.

Think of coming home on a hot day: it’s 80°F, you set the thermostat to 72°F. You hear the AC kick on. The air gets cooler. The temp drops—80 to 79 to 78.... Progress is slow but steady.

At Y, the quarterly product roadmap is a Thermostat problem. Dozens of features need to ship. Every two weeks, there’s a release. You can track progress. By quarter’s end, the roadmap is complete. Problem solved. Same with the sales team: they have annual targets, and they track daily progress. Hit the number, problem solved.

Of course, sometimes there’s an open window—or the AC is broken. Maybe a key sales deal falls through, or engineering runs late. Even when the solution is clear, things can still go sideways.

3. Hammer & Stone Problems

These are the trickiest: you know the solution is theoretically possible, but you can’t see progress—until suddenly, it’s done.

Imagine hammering a stone. Blow after blow, nothing changes. But inside, stress builds. Eventually, the stone cracks. You don’t know which strike did it—but every strike mattered.

At Y, this is like developing a new Large Language Model (LLM) meant to outperform existing ones. They buy GPUs, hire talent, start pre-training. Weeks or months go by. Are they getting closer? Maybe. Hard to tell. There’s no “loading bar” for progress.

Sometimes, the stone just doesn’t break. Maybe the hammer’s too small. Maybe you're swinging in the wrong spot. These are the hardest calls in business: do you keep swinging, or walk away?

Y might run evaluation tests and discover gaps. They course-correct. By the time they catch up, the market has moved ahead again. Welcome to the world of Hammer & Stone problems.

Understanding which type of problem you're dealing with—Light Switch, Thermostat, or Hammer & Stone—can help you set expectations, allocate resources wisely, and have fun in the process. Not every problem needs a hammer… but some do.