Learning to think like Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes is the most famous detective of all time. He has the incredible capacity to solve extremely complicated mysteries, usually with enough time left over to save a few lives or prevent some sort of disaster. And he never stops: not even the most complex case will make him give up. In short, Holmes is one of the best sources of inspiration for professionals who seek to achieve excellence in their work. I would therefore like to propose a few tips based on Holmes’s reasoning and behaviour. By the time you’re finished reading, you’ll be able to say, as Sherlock did: “Elementary, my dear Watson.”

Attention to detail

The Holmes character, created by Arthur Conan Doyle, is able to determine at a glance where someone has been, what his occupation is and even his state of health – all in a matter of seconds. His deductive reasoning skills and incredible attention to detail make him exceptional in his line of work, as he would be in any other.

Holmes knows that everything has a cause. Finding the cause is his life’s work, and it drives him to imagine, analyse and explore all kinds of connections in order to reach a valid conclusion. He’s always looking for connections. But make no mistake: what some see as an unhealthy obsession with details is actually the result of time and effort spent acquiring and exercising extraordinary powers of observation. In fact, this practice is advisable – and even indispensable – for our day-to-day work.

Two brains work better than one

Another feature of Holmes’s persona is actually an external appendage: his trusted partner, Dr. Watson. This character plays an important role in Sherlock’s investigations. Watson provides support as an assistant, but more importantly, he complements Holmes: whereas one man looks at the big picture, the other prefers to piece together small clues. Two brains, working together to solve a problem, do a better job than just one.

Having a second set of eyes capable of observing and providing other perspectives is essential when trying to resolve a conflict. The key is that collaboration goes beyond simple validation; it provides encouragement to address new challenges. Throughout the process, Holmes and Watson use each other as sounding boards for theories and speculations, all while openly criticising one another. This arrangement raises the level of passion – which in turn breeds competition in the pursuit of excellence at work – while also increasing the level of trust between the two partners.

Perspective counts

On an individual level, we can admit that Watson is no match for Sherlock’s intellectual acuity. However, Watson’s experience adds great value to the “alliance”, especially when it comes to tenacity in accepting and addressing challenges. As a physician, Watson’s training and background are very different from Holmes’s, and they allow him to contribute useful details that speed up the investigation and bring the team closer to a final conclusion. In light of modern theories of multiple intelligences, it is interesting to note that Holmes, despite being very bright, needs other people – not just his partner but other collaborators, notably the police and his brother.

Holmes is aware of his extraordinary abilities, but he never stops learning. It’s clear that he is constantly absorbing knowledge and has an incredible desire to learn more. This attitude is what allows him to strengthen his deductive skills and use his unique and enormous “database” more effectively and efficiently. This continuous training places him in a process of constant improvement. We should, without a doubt, apply this mode of constant collection and assimilation to our own professions.

Continuous learning and the incorporation of multiple perspectives encourage the proliferation of possibilities and alternative solutions, and can therefore play a key role in organisations. In fact, the more disruptive a vision is, the more remote it is from the usual mindsets, and the better we can devise an appropriate response – especially when it comes to highly complex situations.

SHERLOCK

After successfully adapting several classic Victorian novels for television, Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, a British producer-screenwriter duo, pitched a risky project to the BBC: the umpteenth adaptation of the classic Sherlock Holmes stories. What could have been an epic failure instead quickly became a transmedia viral phenomenon that, in just three episodes, revolutionised the concept of the European miniseries. The show’s hook was to scuttle the usual reverence to the title character – who had previously been faithfully portrayed according to Arthur Conan Doyle’s literal description – and bring him into the 21st century.

Thus, the new Sherlock appeared in 2010 with a smartphone – his text messages shown onscreen, for viewers to read – masterfully scouring the Internet and, of course, trying to kick a habit that is the modern equivalent of an opium addiction two centuries ago: smoking. However, the modern adaptation retains certain details that help the public remain attached to the myth: Sherlock lives at 221B Baker Street and faces the same arch-enemy, James Moriarty, who is reimagined as a sociopathic hacker.

While Sherlock’s adaptation to the digital context may be surprising, that of his assistant, Dr. Watson, is more human and realistic. Watson is portrayed as a veteran of the ongoing war in Afghanistan instead of the Second Anglo-Afghan War, and Sherlock’s brother, Mycroft Holmes, occupies an indeterminate post in the service of Her Majesty.

Besides Sherlock’s peculiar adaptation, one of the best-received aspects of the series is the performance of the lead actors: Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock and Martin Freeman as Watson. Both actors won Emmys for their work in the first season of the series. On the heels of Sherlock’s success, their cachet grew so suddenly that seasons two and three had to be filmed simultaneously to accommodate the actors’ busy schedules. Fans of the series then had to wait more than two years for the fourth season, with only a special Christmas episode to tide them over. The third season drew more than 9 million viewers per episode.