A friend of mine has a very specific set of skills. The trouble with specific skills is not every situation you find yourself in will fit your skill set. Knowing how to dig snow holes is only helpful when you find yourself in Norway in the snow.
When your skill set falls short the temptation is to find the expert. In this case me. Offer up the problem and wait for the solutions. And that’s reasonable.
The problem was how to put on a stone in useful weight. And not the kind of weight Santa will be put on after he’s eaten all the pies this Christmas.
The expert now has two options. Be the smartest person in the room and focus on what they know and what others don’t. Or focus on change.
My suggestion was to create food rules. Write down the things you know. Then test the things you know by applying them to see if they work. Only then will know what you don’t know.
You are probably ahead of me here.
For so many reasons (known and unknown) the hard part is applying what you think you know. But if you care enough you will spend your time working it out.
Here is an example of design thinking that you can use as a template.