4.11.2025 - Avoid the Horse Shoe Trap
Your AI innovation effort needs all the good luck it can get. One tweak will raise your odds of success significantly.
🧭 Top Insights in this Issue: Avoid the “Horse Shoe Trap”
Innovation stalls when the Problem Owner and Solution Owner are separated by layers of intermediaries—leading to delays, misunderstandings, and failed initiatives.
🧩 Put the Right People Together
Innovation flourishes when the person experiencing the problem collaborates directly with the person capable of solving it. Direct connection = better insights + faster progress.
📡 Fix the Flow of Information
Instead of info traveling up and over org charts, prioritize across-the-table conversations that align tech, support, and business teams for smoother execution.
🚧 Spot Organizational Red Flags
Look out for decision-makers removed from real problems, disconnected reporting lines, and gaps between authority and knowledge. These are early signs of a Horse Shoe Trap.
⚙️ Change How You Communicate
Move beyond traditional status updates. Shift toward insight-sharing spaces where real-time learning happens between problem solvers and solution builders.
🌱 De-risk Innovation, Accelerate Learning
This simple shift enables faster pivots, smarter AI use cases, and better outcomes—not just in tech, but across your entire org.
[perspective]
🏇What stalls meaningful innovation: the Horse Shoe Trap
Teams frequently struggle to bring ideas to reality, whether in AI or other spaces. Some trial and error is unavoidable, but smart teams are increasing their rate of success by learning to avoid an organizational glitch we call "the Horse Shoe Trap".
This was going to be great...
No doubt you've been there. I have, many times. We had what sounded like a great idea. Leadership gave the green light. We jumped in - all excited. Weeks or months later, the team had to admit the idea wasn't workable. Over and over this pattern plays out as organizations adopt new technologies, try to find good use cases for AI or drive other kinds of improvements.
Can these scenarios be prevented?
Some trial and error is always inevitable, especially where new technology or new ideas are in play. But leading organizations are learning how to watch for the Horse Shoe Trap and turn it to their advantage so they connect more frequently with success. Traditionally horse shoes are good luck. The "horse shoe trap" is not.
How to spot the Horse Shoe Trap: Diagnostic Questions
- Who is closest to the problem? Who has clearest line of line into the actual problem to solve. The actual pain point...who is experiencing that right now? This is what we call the "Problem Owner" ...they have a problem, they know it, and they are highly motivated to focus on solving it.
- Who is closest to the solution? Who has the technical or engineering knowledge of how to solve that problem in a very feasible way? This is the "Solution Owner". They have a proven ability to bring a specific kind of effective solution.
- Is the Problem Owner and Solution owner working directly together? Are those two individuals or teams working directly together? OR are they separated by intermediaries?
When you look at the horse shoe visual above, it highlights the problem of too many intermediaries. Key messages and insights get delayed, translated, or lost. Frequently orchestration, sequencing, prioritization is coming from the part of the org that is furthest removed from the problem. That lack of direct line of sight can cause unrealistic goals or misplaced priorities.
But in the corrected view on the right of the diagram, the entire set of participants are better positioned for rapid learning and success.
- The collaboration of the Problem Owner with the Solution Owner becomes a source of insight.
- From their collaboration information flows out to all stakeholders so they can be ready to support the success of the initiative.
Some examples of critical information flow:
- Here's where we really need help!
- Here's what we're realizing about this problem
- When we solve this problem, here's what's going to change (for the org, for processes, customers, customer support teams etc)
- For the solution to work here's what we need (from tech teams, Info Security, etc)
- We think we'll have to do something different (than previous expectations, rules, strategies, etc) - we need guidance on how to approach this.
This way of working de-risks AI or other innovation efforts by enabling more rapid learning and insights for the entire set of participants. It also preserves the ability of the teams to pivot as they get better understanding of the problem and find better ways to solve it.
The Horse Shoe Trap applies beyond tech innovation & large organizations - what to watch for
Yes, you may see a similar horse shoe effect outside of IT or even corporate environments.
- Watch for any cases where people who are one or more steps removed from the problem are attempting to prescribe how to solve the problem.
- Watch for cases where information flows up and over ...up through one chain of command and then over to another part of the organization, then down through that chain of command. When you see that, you need to intervene. Get the people who are closest to the problem and closest to the solution working directly together, surrounded by their stakeholders and supporters. This is what a highly responsive organization looks like.
- Watch for knowledge - authority gaps: decision-makers being asked to make decisions about things they don’t understand.
In general be alert for any signs that something is interfering with your ability to bring problem owners and solution owners together so they can directly collaborate.
How do you help an organization become aware and avoid the Horse Shoe Trap?
- Focus on the 2 roles that matter in innovation:
- Problem Owner - The team or person(s) closest to the problem. They have direct first hand understanding of the problem and they currently experience it every day. This is key.
- Solution Owner - this is the team that is capable of using technology or other enablers in a very effective way to solve problems. They have proven this through what they have built and are building.
- This enables a different approach to organizational communication and reporting:
- Typically orgs have a series of status meetings or standups where the latest information is communicated up or down. Visually this looks like a pyramid with lines of communication moving up the pyramid from project teams to management then to executives. Because this arrangement is so vulnerable to horse shoe traps, you want to think about this differently: think about the spaces where insights are being spawned by the collaboration of Problem Owners with Solution Owners.
- Ask your program leadership team members for their recommendations on how best to adjust accordingly. Share and discuss the "Horse Shoe Trap" with them. This will help everyone become aware of how we can accelerate our path to desired outcomes.
- Helping individual team members mature in their communication. Some things need to be communicated up to the next level of management and some need to be communicated directly over to a counterpart on another team. Helping team members be clear on expectations of when to do what can reduce a significant percentage of issues.
🍀Best of luck
We think of horseshoes as bringing good luck. The Horse Shoe Trap has brought a lot of bad luck to organizations. The good news is now you know what to watch for so you can address it and set your team's up for success!
🎁 Who do you know who could benefit from what you learned here today? Take a moment and share with them!
Opinions expressed are those of the individuals and do not reflect the official positions of companies or organizations those individuals may be affiliated with. Not financial, investment or legal advice, and no offers for securities or investment opportunities are intended. Mentions should not be construed as endorsements. Authors or guests may hold assets discussed or may have interests in companies mentioned.