The simple trick is to focus on specifying the problem.

Spend less time trying to amass all the information and more time better defining the problem so you can get the right information.

Focusing on finding good problems vs. just finding solutions produces better end results.

As Dan Pink explains in his bestseller To Sell Is Human, research shows one of the hallmarks of great advances in both the arts and sciences is spending more time on clarifying interesting problems.

The more specific you can be, the better.