Solving complex problems and selling their solutions is critical for personal and organizational success. For most of us, however, it doesn't come naturally and we haven't been taught how to do it well. Research shows a host of pitfalls trips us up when we try: We're quick to believe we understand a situation and jump to a flawed solution. We seek to confirm our hypotheses and ignore conflicting evidence. We view challenges incompletely through the frameworks we know instead of with a fresh pair of eyes. And when we communicate our recommendations, we forget our reasoning isn't obvious to our audience.
How can we do it better?
In Cracked It!, seasoned strategy professors and consultants Bernard Garrette, Corey Phelps and Olivier Sibony present a rigorous and practical four-step approach to overcome these pitfalls. Building on tried-and-tested (but rarely revealed) methods of top strategy consultants, research in cognitive psychology, and the latest advances in design thinking, they provide a step-by-step process and toolkit that will help readers tackle any challenging business problem. Using compelling stories and detailed case examples, the authors guide readers through each step in the process: from how to state, structure and then solve problems to how to sell the solutions.
Written in an engaging style by a trio of experts with decades of experience researching, teaching and consulting on complex business problems, this book will be an indispensable manual for anyone interested in creating value by helping their organizations crack the problems that matter most.
Cracked it! : How to solve big problems and sell solutions like top strategy consultants
Description
Table of Contents
Chapter 1. The most important skill you never learned
Fast and slow problem solving
Problem solving and the expertise trap
Complex problems and "unknown unknowns"
The need for a disciplined problem solving process
Chapter 1 in one page
Chapter 2. The five pitfalls of problem solving
Case 1: When the music industry went out of tune
Pitfall 1: Flawed problem definition
Case 2: The Grameen-Danone strengthening yogurt
Pitfall 2: Solution confirmation
Case 3: The call center story
Pitfall 3: Wrong framework
Case 4: New strategy at J.C. Penney
Pitfall 4: Narrow framing
Case 5: A fat chance for sugar
Pitfall 5: Miscommunication
Chapter 2 in one page
Chapter 3. The 4S method
Where does the 4S method come from?
An overview of the 4S method
State: A problem well posed is half-solved
Structure: The architecture of problem solving
Solve: Between analysis and creativity
Sell: Choose the approach that suits your audience
Chapter 3 in one page
Chapter 4. State the problem: the TOSCA framework
Trouble: What makes this problem real and present?
Owner: Whose problem is this?
Success criteria: What will success look like, and when?
Constraints: what limitations and trade-offs constrain the problem-solving process and the solution?
Actors: who has a say in the way we solve this problem, and what do they want?
Write the core question
Singing TOSCA as a choir
Chapter 4 in one page
Chapter 5. Structure the problem: pyramids and trees
Hypothesis-driven problem structuring
Building a hypothesis pyramid
Hypothesis-driven problem structuring: pros and cons
Issue-driven problem structuring
Growing issue trees
Growing a tree or building a pyramid?
Chapter 5 in one page
Chapter 6. Structure the problem: analytical frameworks
The power of frameworks: MECE breakdowns of generic problems
The danger of frameworks: Frameworks as mental models
Industry frameworks: value drivers
Functional frameworks
When all else fails, try good old logic
Chapter 6 in one page
Chapter 7. Solve the problem: eight degrees of analysis
From structuring to analyses
Eight degrees of analysis
Planning the work
Conducting the analysis
Chapter 7 in one page
Chapter 8. Redefine the problem: the design thinking path
Design thinking, and when to use it
Five phases, one mindset
Phase 1: Empathize
Phase 2: Define
Chapter 8 in one page
Chapter 9. Structure and solve the problem using design thinking
Phase 3: Ideate
Phase 4: Prototype
Phase 5: Test
Chapter 9 in one page
Chapter 10. Sell the solution: core message and storyline
Don't tell the story of the search, tell the story of the solution
The pyramid principle
Pave the way for a dialogue
Design your "storyline"
Go for either a grouping or an argument
Chapter 10 in one page
Chapter 11. Sell the solution: recommendation report and delivery
Manage communications throughout the problem-solving process
Beware the PowerPoint curse
Create an effective, modular report
Develop the content pages
Make quantitative charts relevant and simple
Use conceptual charts sparingly
Trim the deck ruthlessly
Quality control
Beyond slide presentations
Chapter 11 in one page
Chapter 12. The 4S method in action
Case study: The Kangaroo opportunity
What is the problem?
Structuring the problem
Solving the problem
Selling the solution
Appendix: First section of a report on the Kangaroo case study
Chapter 13. Conclusion: Becoming a problem-solving master
Author Description
Bernard Garrette is Professor of Strategy at HEC Paris. His teaching and research focus on corporate strategy, business simulations and problem solving. He served as MBA Associate Dean at HEC Paris, Corporate Strategy Expert with McKinsey & Company, and consultant or management educator for blue chip companies and start-ups.
Corey Phelps is Associate Professor of Strategy, Marcel Desautels Faculty Fellow and Associate Dean of Executive Education at the Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University. He is a frequent keynote speaker, corporate trainer and consultant on topics of strategy and innovation.
Olivier Sibony is Affiliate Professor of Strategy at HEC Paris, where he teaches problem solving and strategic decision making. Previously, he was a Senior Partner of McKinsey & Company, where he spent 25 years advising the leaders of global corporations, and held a number of firm leadership roles.