Shift the Battlefield

If you run into an issue that you absolutely cannot resolve…
Consider running from it.
Seriously.

Not right away, of course, but see if it is possible to shift the battle to another front. Not everything can be resolved simply by trying harder. Sometimes it is better to refine your approach to align to strengths rather than improve weaknesses.

Working around an issue can sometimes spur equally creative solutions as overcoming the issue. 3M applied this technique with their (now famous) Post-It notes example. The company was trying to create a stronger adhesive. One attempt produced a very weak adhesive instead. Rather than writing the effort off as a failure, 3M shifted the battlefield and designed an entirely new product line around the attributes of the ‘failed’ solution. This product line is wildly successful, yet it never addressed the problem of creating a stronger adhesive.

If you cannot resolve an issue, is there a way that you can avoid (or remove) the issue without consequence?