Imagine a person who walks from her home to the office. Frequently she is late to work as she takes time to cover the distance. She wants to improve her pace. She goes to a walking expert to get tips on increasing her walking speed.
A radical solution to the problem is to use some other means of transportation instead of walking. If you go to a walking expert, you are going to get tips on improving your walking speed. The expert is not going to ask you to forego walking and use a different mode of transportation. Also, if you are deeply attached to the idea of walking, you might not think of a solution beyond walking. Improving your walking speed is a micro solution, whereas using some other means of transportation is a macro solution.
The above is a contrived example but something we come across in our professional and personal lives, both as problem solvers as well as ones facing a problem. Programmers sometimes try to optimize the hell out of a piece of code while the right approach might be to throw away the code and use something else. Organizations seek to nail down a process to the last mile while a sensible solution might be to do away with the process entirely.
We lean towards micro solutions when we are either deeply entwined in a problem or are the domain expert in that particular area. In these situations, we tend to think within the bounds of a problem and not outside.
When you come up with a solution, bracket it as micro or macro. Being aware is the first step towards becoming better at anything. Also, an outside view helps. Find someone who is not an expert in the domain or one who is not acutely aware of the problem. Run your solution through them. They might lead you to a macro solution or make you aware that what you have is a micro solution. Taking time and mind off a problem helps, like how Archimedes had his eureka moment.
Last but not the least, take a walk.
Abhirama's Blog 