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Columbo: Master Problem Solver

By Peter Lloyd

Anyone watching TV in the 70s could not help seeing at least a few episodes of Columbo. Having just viewed a few seasons on Netflix—frumpy clothes, bad hair, and all—I’m reminded: What an outstanding problem solver was the lieutenant! And not just the character. The creators of the program also had to use all their creative resources to protect what would become a television classic from those masters of mediocrity, television executives.

From the short, bumbling Lieutenant Columbo, who purposely came off as a witless incompetent, the observant viewer can take away solid, problem-solving lessons. In addition to his mild manner and quiet modesty, actor Peter Falk played Columbo without a trace of pretense. We never even hear his fist name, unless it’s Lou Tenant.

Did the unkempt detective’s all-absorbing focus, like Einstein’s, leave him no time for grooming. Or vice versa? By skipping haircuts and wardrobe shopping, did he give himself more problem-solving time and energy? In either case, here come a few Columbian problem-solving techniques.

Question
Suspicious of order in a world of randomness, the lieutenant recognized evil intention in neatly packaged alibis. You could see it in his eyes. Perps would take great pains to concoct air-tight covers. Big mistake. “Something’s bothering me...” Columbo would confide modestly before posing a disquieting question.

Ignoring glaringly obvious clues, Columbo preferred to zoom in on details others overlooked or assumptions others too quickly accepted. He’d rub his chin or run his fingers through his hair, say goodbye, and walk away. Then, in one of his trademark moves, he’d turn around and return with, “Oh... one more thing...”

Incubate
The lieutenant not only lived with his unsolved crime, he walked with it, drove with it, ate with it, and slept with it. His notes, kept on scraps of paper, cluttered his unconscious as well as his pockets. Every case possessed him until the solution emerged, often from his dreams. “I was up late last night thinking about...” he would begin and then pose a question about a detail that had troubled his sleep.

Collaborate
Columbo would bounce annoying inconsistencies off his wife, whom we never saw. But his principal collaborators, of course, were the perpetrators of the crime. He played them like musical instruments. As his disarming demeanor relaxed their defenses, he enlisted his suspects in a cooperative crime-solving process that eventually left them no option but to sing.

Persevere
Commitment and hard work trump creative genius. In one episode, Columbo confessed that he was not the brightest of his fellow detective candidates. He evened the odds, he admitted, by working harder than any of his peers, reading all the required books and paying compulsive attention to every detail. As he often explained, “Once I get something in my head, I can’t rest until I resolve it.”

Peter Lloyd is co-creator with Stephen Grossman of Animal Crackers, the breakthrough problem-solving tool designed to crack your toughest problems.