Lessons from the Rubik's cube

I learned to solve a Rubik’s cube during a long stretch of travel. What started as a hobby turned into one of the most useful analogies I have for thinking about problems in general. A few of the lessons.

order and disorder

The universe tends toward disorder — that’s a physical law. But the cube starts in chaos and always ends in order if you follow the method. It’s the opposite of entropy, and the trick is that the order isn’t accidental: it comes from applying correct rules in sequence.

The same happens with natural ecosystems, with broken human relationships, with corruption cases that eventually surface. Everything ends up in some kind of equilibrium or exposure.

change and growth

Professional growth is rarely about transforming individual pieces — it’s about repositioning interdependent pieces. Moving someone into the role that fits them, adjusting the environment the team operates in, gradually reorienting the business model. Abrupt changes break the cube instead of solving it.

analogies have limits

Solving a 3×3 doesn’t prepare you for a 4×4. The method changes, the pieces are different, there are parities that didn’t exist before. Each level of complexity asks you to think from scratch.

Same in companies: what got you to 10 people doesn’t get you to 50. What got you to 50 doesn’t get you to 200. Assuming otherwise is one of the more common traps.

step-by-step progress

You never solve the cube in one move. You solve it layer by layer. Once the first layer is done, you don’t touch it again — protecting it while you build the next is half the game.

In big problems, the equivalent: split into manageable pieces, make sure the resolved pieces don’t break while you build the next, don’t try to solve the whole thing in one move.

fundamentals first

Rubik’s champions aren’t the fastest at advanced tricks. They’re the most reliable at the basics. They know the method backwards and forwards, and the speed comes from never hesitating on the fundamental steps.

Companies that grow well are the same: they own the fundamentals (selling, hiring, retaining customers) before they obsess over sophistications.

a final note

Moving the cube too fast makes noise and bothers people.

It’s literal and figurative. Worth re-reading the next time you catch yourself on momentum.

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