Flank your problems

The other day I took my youngest daughter to football practice. She is 5 years old and has a lot of energy to spare. Its great fun to watch these small kids play around on the field.

When I saw them playing I noticed a pattern I have seen in software development. All the kids were chasing the ball at once. This made it a somewhat confusing match to watch. The problem was not that the girls lacked the technical skills to play football or that they didn't understand what the goal of the game was. The problem was that they were so entutiastic about getting the ball to the other end of the field that they all rushed to the ball to help the team get the ball to the other end.

I think this anti pattern should be called something like "Beeing too specialized" or "Follow the leader". The pattern to overcome this would be the "Think before you act" or "Flank your problems".

My point is that you shouldn't rush for a quick solution as there might be a better and faster solution if you're open minded.