Peter Thiel's "One Person, One Problem" Framework To Solve A+ Problems

Peter Thiel's "One Person, One Problem" framework, developed at PayPal, is a management strategy designed to drive breakthrough innovation by enforcing extreme focus.

Rather than allowing employees to juggle multiple tasks, Thiel insisted that each person be responsible for solving a single, high-impact problem.

A+ vs B+ Problems: The Focus Hierarchy

The framework is rooted in the distinction between "A+ problems" (high-impact, difficult challenges) and "B+ problems" (important but easier tasks).

Most people and organizations naturally gravitate toward B+ problems because they are easier to solve and less intimidating.

Thiel's approach counters this tendency by forcing individuals to confront and solve the most valuable, transformative problems.

Ruthless Enforcement: How Peter Thiel Ensured Laser Focus on Singular, High-Impact Challenges

Thiel's enforcement was strict: each employee was assigned exactly one major problem to solve, and their performance was judged solely on their progress with that issue.

"Peter Thiel used to insist at PayPal that every single person could only do exactly one thing. And we all rebelled," said Keith Rabois, a former PayPal executive.

Keith Rabois says, "A+ problems are high-impact problems for your company but they're difficult-you don't wake up in the morning with a solution to them, so you tend to procrastinate... Imagine you wake up in the morning, you create a list of things to do today, there's usually the A+ one on the top of the list, but you never get around to it. And so you solve the second and third. When this behavior cascades across hundreds of employees, companies end up consistently solving B+ problems, which might contribute to growth but rarely lead to breakthrough innovations"

Thiel refused to discuss any other responsibilities or side accomplishments with employees, ensuring that all attention remained on the assigned challenge.

The Unexpected Organizational Upsides of Singular Focus

The framework delivered several organizational advantages beyond just innovation:

• Breakthrough Innovation: By dedicating all attention to a single A+ problem, employees were far more likely to create solutions that led to significant advances, rather than incremental improvements.

• Reduced Internal Conflict: Thiel noted that "Defining roles reduced conflict. Most fights inside a company happen when colleagues compete for the same responsibilities." By eliminating overlapping duties, the framework minimized political maneuvering and competition.

• Stronger Relationships: With clear, non-overlapping roles, employees collaborated more effectively and built deeper professional bonds, as there was no internal rivalry.

• Organizational Resilience: Thiel emphasized that "Internal peace is what enables a startup to survive at all." Minimizing internal strife made the company more robust against external threats.

The Psychology of Forced Focus: Why Singular Focus Unlocks Peak Performance and Overcomes Avoidance

The psychological foundation of the framework is that people tend to procrastinate on tough, ambiguous problems. By making each person responsible for only one high-impact challenge, the framework eliminates the escape route of easier tasks and forces direct confrontation with what matters most.

Thiel's broader philosophy is reflected in his belief that:

"Instead of pursuing many-sided mediocrity and calling it 'well-roundedness,' a definite person determines the one best thing to do and then does it."

He argued that allowing more than one focus is already a compromise, leading to mediocrity rather than excellence.

Shaan Puri follows a similar framework which he calls the One Big Thing instead of using todo lists to accomplish daily goals.

Thiel's "One Person, One Job" rule at PayPal wasn't about keeping people in their lane-it was about ensuring they were laser-focused on the hard problems. The one they had to bang their head against the wall to solve.

A Practical Guide to Implementing "One Person, One Problem" Framework

To apply Peter Thiel's approach:

• Identify A+ Problems: Leadership must rigorously distinguish between transformative (A+) and incremental (B+) challenges.

• Assign Clear Ownership: Each A+ problem should have a single, accountable owner.

• Protect Focus: Minimize distractions and competing demands to enable deep work.

• Clarify Evaluation: Make it clear that performance will be judged on progress with the assigned problem, not on side quests.

• Connect to Vision: Regularly communicate how each person's problem ties into the company's broader mission to maintain motivation and purpose.

Thiel's "One Person, One Problem" framework is a disciplined method to unlock breakthrough innovation by channeling all of an individual's energy into solving a single, high-impact challenge.

By reducing internal conflict, fostering collaboration, and forcing direct engagement with the hardest problems, this approach leverages human psychology and organizational structure to drive transformative results.

Top Tweets of the day

1/

This happened after Epic Games's founder Tim Sweeney, famously known for Fortnite, went after Apple and got the judge's approval to ban 30% Apple Tax for every app. Now you can use alternate payments in the App Store which probably should put you down in search.

"Show me the incentives and I'll show you the results." ~ Charlie Munger

Apple's incentive is maximum profit so they will apply every dark pattern in the playbook. Judge's ideology is anti-capitalist which is common due to "no one deserves to be a billionaire rhetoric" common in the west.

And judges won't ever be billionaires so they can't accurately judge as it doesn't affect them if they make anti-big company decision as its just a faceless coporation.

And the judges who have insane net-worth probably get some under-the-table cash if they have salaries that look anything like politicians. Makes a lot of sense when you think big businesses have a lot of money and not many people can live on principles with little to no money.

So both are going to do what they think is right. Funny how incentives work.

2/

YC is gold for 1 reason:

You give up 7% equity for $500,000 and get 500-1000 customers on launch day if you make a decent enough product since YC startups sell to each other.

This is a good reason to join an established network. Its the fastest way to make a whole lot of money without a whole lot of effort.

And B2B that makes you $1000 to $100,000 per customer is so much better. The problem is its hard to find B2B startups since they are out of sight, out of mind unless you scroll LinkedIn and Facebook with a specific profile. Whereas B2C founders market in the open since that's where their customers are.

The trick is to copy YC B2B startups that are already working ($1000 minimum tickets and $1m+ MRR with lots of noise) and riding a wave with better UX and better product while making it cheaper.

3/

The hooks on this one are good enough. Completely AI-generated. It seems like full-blown AI scriptwriting is possible now based on this demo.

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