Lessons about Heuristics from Daniel Tiger

I have a 2 year old and I had to ban Daniel Tiger from our house. The reason is probably not what you think and it is actually a really valuable lesson about leadership. Let me explain...

One night, I laid awake unable to sleep. What is the reason for this lack of restorative slumber? Daniel Tiger songs were swimming around in my subconscious and wouldn't stop. They were driving insane, almost literally. I did finally manage to sneak some sleep past my active brain and in a groggy state the next morning I declared Daniel Tiger banned from our house. My daughter actually thought it was pretty funny and has moved on to Bluey.

What does all of this have to do with leadership. Well if you have read this far, I'll tell you. Daniel Tiger uses heuristics to help kids navigate life and puts them to song to make them extra catchy. Heuristics are a simple set of rules that drive complex behaviors. Here are two examples:

✅ "When you feel so mad that you want to roar, take a deep breath and count to four"

✅ "Think about what you're gonna do and pick the clothes that are right for you."

When the kid is in the situation, the songs pop into their heads, and the correct behavior is apparent to them. (Even though they don't always follow it.)

I used to work with a really good services leader. I noticed he uses heuristics a lot. Here are two of his:

✅ "Run to the fire"

✅ "Inspect what you expect"

He repeats these often and he reinforces these by calling them out when he sees it. I remember he once had the person who most exemplified "run to the fire" wear a fire fighter hat to a meeting. This method of leadership keeps the important things top of mind and is the best driving force for building a culture. Now when there are customer issues people are jumping in to solve it because the first things that pops to their mind is "run to the fire".

There are no hacks in leadership. It takes a lot of work. There are tools, however. Heuristics are one of the best tools for building or changing culture. And if you have the right culture leadership is a lot easier.