Typically, root cause analysis is taught by explaining a variety of tools that require users to gain considerable experience before being able to apply them correctly in the proper settings. What's Your Problem? Identifying and Solving the Five Types of Process Problems simplifies process problem solving and outlines specific techniques to help you identify the various types of process problems and solve them effectively and efficiently. Arguing that there are only five types of process problems, the book explains that the Six Sigma methodology define, measure, analyze, improve, control (DMAIC) can be vastly simplified for learning, applying, teaching, and mentoring. It identifies the five types of process problems and describes how to solve them using a three-step procedure: Identify the type of problem Find the root cause Address the root cause Describing how to maximize ROI for Lean Six Sigma initiatives, the book: Facilitates the application of Lean and Six Sigma principles to both self-learning and teaching others process improvement Presents time-tested methods to help you reduce start-to-finish improvement/project times Identifies techniques that can shorten the time it takes to complete projects, reduce documentation of projects, and increase overall understanding of your projects Outlining proven approaches for seamlessly integrating Lean and Six Sigma methodologies with learning and teaching process improvement, the book will help to improve your courses so that participants acquire essential skills quicker and at lower costs. For the self-initiated, this book will get you identifying and solving the two most common process problems within hours, rather than days or weeks.

Typically, root cause analysis is taught by explaining a variety of tools that require users to gain considerable experience before being able to apply them correctly in the proper settings. What's Your Problem? Identifying and Solving the Five Types of Process Problems simplifies process problem solving and outlines specific techniques to help you identify the various types of process problems and solve them effectively and efficiently. Arguing that there are only five types of process problems, the book explains that the Six Sigma methodology define, measure, analyze, improve, control (DMAIC) can be vastly simplified for learning, applying, teaching, and mentoring. It identifies the five types of process problems and describes how to solve them using a three-step procedure: Identify the type of problem Find the root cause Address the root cause Describing how to maximize ROI for Lean Six Sigma initiatives, the book: Facilitates the application of Lean and Six Sigma principles to both self-learning and teaching others process improvement Presents time-tested methods to help you reduce start-to-finish improvement/project times Identifies techniques that can shorten the time it takes to complete projects, reduce documentation of projects, and increase overall understanding of your projects Outlining proven approaches for seamlessly integrating Lean and Six Sigma methodologies with learning and teaching process improvement, the book will help to improve your courses so that participants acquire essential skills quicker and at lower costs. For the self-initiated, this book will get you identifying and solving the two most common process problems within hours, rather than days or weeks.

"The author makes a compelling case that we often start solving a problem before thinking deeply about whether we are solving the right problem. If you want the superpower of solving better problems, read this book." -- Eric Schmidt, former CEO, Google Are you solving the right problems? Have you or your colleagues ever worked hard on something, only to find out you were focusing on the wrong problem entirely? Most people have. In a survey, 85 percent of companies said they often struggle to solve the right problems. The consequences are severe: Leaders fight the wrong strategic battles. Teams spend their energy on low-impact work. Startups build products that nobody wants. Organizations implement "solutions" that somehow make things worse, not better. Everywhere you look, the waste is staggering. As Peter Drucker pointed out, there's nothing more dangerous than the right answer to the wrong question. There is a way to do better. The key is reframing, a crucial, underutilized skill that you can master with the help of this book. Using real-world stories and unforgettable examples like "the slow elevator problem," author Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg offers a simple, three-step method - Frame, Reframe, Move Forward - that anyone can use to start solving the right problems. Reframing is not difficult to learn. It can be used on everyday challenges and on the biggest, trickiest problems you face. In this visually engaging, deeply researched book, you’ll learn from leaders at large companies, from entrepreneurs, consultants, nonprofit leaders, and many other breakthrough thinkers. It's time for everyone to stop barking up the wrong trees. Teach yourself and your team to reframe, and growth and success will follow.

The fun and simple problem-solving guide that took Japan by storm Ken Watanabe originally wrote Problem Solving 101 for Japanese schoolchildren. His goal was to help shift the focus in Japanese education from memorization to critical thinking, by adapting some of the techniques he had learned as an elite McKinsey consultant. He was amazed to discover that adults were hungry for his fun and easy guide to problem solving and decision making. The book became a surprise Japanese bestseller, with more than 370,000 in print after six months. Now American businesspeople can also use it to master some powerful skills. Watanabe uses sample scenarios to illustrate his techniques, which include logic trees and matrixes. A rock band figures out how to drive up concert attendance. An aspiring animator budgets for a new computer purchase. Students decide which high school they will attend. Illustrated with diagrams and quirky drawings, the book is simple enough for a middleschooler to understand but sophisticated enough for business leaders to apply to their most challenging problems.

The author presents a collection of ways to reap the proven human and corporate benefits of humor at work, organized by core business skill and founded on his own work as a business speaker and coach with the consulting company, Humor That Works.

Provocative, challenging, and fun, The Ideal Problem Solver offers a sound, methodical approach for resolving problems based on the IDEAL (Identify, Define, Explore, Act, Look) model. The authors suggest new strategies for enhancing creativity, improving memory, criticizing ideas and generating alternatives, and communicating more effectively with a wider range of people. Using the results of laboratory research previously available only in a piece-meal fashion or in scientific journals, Bransford and Stein discuss such issues as Teaming new information, overcoming blocks to creativity, and viewing problems from a variety of perspectives.