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Stop Guessing: The 9 Behaviors of Great Problem Solvers

Stop Guessing: The 9 Behaviors of Great Problem Solvers

Author: Greene
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler
Publication Date: 03 Apr 2017
ISBN-13: 9781626569867
Bookstore 1






Description


Become the greatest problem solver you can be! Bad problem solving costs individuals and society incalculable amounts of time, money, and sanity. In this book Nat Greene--who's been solving hard problems professionally for over twenty years--shares nine behaviors anyone can adopt to find solutions to even the most seemingly intractable problems. The problem with most problem solving, Greene says, is that it's not problem solving at all: it's guessing. We have an idea of what might work and we try it out. If that doesn't work, we try something else. And so on. It's inefficient at best, and with really hard problems there are simply too many variables for guessing to work. Greene shows you how to adopt the behaviors great problem solvers use to arrive at solutions efficiently--without guessing. He illustrates them with examples ranging from everyday issues like fixing a malfunctioning garage door to stopping frequent breakdowns at a chemical plant (saving millions of dollars) to addressing the scourge of poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. So stop guessing and start solving today!


Table of Contents


Preface xi
Introduction: How to Be a Great Problem-Solver 1
Chapter 1: Stop Guessing 17
Chapter 2: Smell the Problem 29
Chapter 3: Embrace Your Ignorance 39
Chapter 4: Know What Problem You’re Solving 51
Chapter 5: Dig Into the Fundamentals 63
Chapter 6: Don’t Rely on Experts 77
Chapter 7: Believe in a Simple Solution 87
Chapter 8: Make Fact-Based Decisions 97
Chapter 9: Stay on Target 109
Chapter 10: Choosing Your Method 117
Chapter 11: Go Solve Some Problems 125
Notes 129
Acknowledgments 131
Index 133 A
bout the Author 141


Author Description


Nat Greene is a cofounder and CEO of Stroud International, which has solved dozens of “impossible” technical problems for clients across the world. He is focused on helping people make radically better decisions and believes spreading great problem solving is core to this goal.






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