PROBLEM SOLVING & DECISION MAKING  

In today's competitive and complex business world, the ability to think critically and solve problems is an indispensable skill.   To be both effective and productive we need to continue to develop mentally, to rekindle our creativity, to understand how we think as well as utilize a systematic and open-minded approach to problem solving. In this program you will learn what your thinking style is, how it can help you and where it can blind you. You will determine your mental blocks, and ways to overcome them. You will find out how to use imagination, intuition, humor, and playfulness to break out of limiting patterns of thinking, and to look for new possibilities, challenges and opportunities.

This course has been designed to get you and your organization out of your limiting habitual patterns of problem solving.  You'll practice the key tactics of logical thought and integrate them into an organized, systematic format to solve problems together successfully
 

BENEFITS:
The goal of this course is to develop mental skills, get out of paradigm thinking, and enhance your creativity and problem solving.  Upon completing this workshop you will have the tools to:
 

· Assess your thinking style

· Develop important thinking habits which you can use to be more creative, which your organization can use to be more effective

· Frame the issues, develop the criteria to evaluate the problem 

· Get past assumptions and  limiting thinking boxes and group think 

· Identify and overcome roadblocks to effectiveness: falling in love with Ideas, jumping to conclusions, leaving organizing principles behind, not framing the discussion, not examining consequences, not getting buy-in and not following through

· Learn eight approaches to generate new ideas and produce solutions

· Practice blockbusting techniques – open up mental locks

· Use impractical ideas as stepping stones to creative ideas

· Understand when breaking the rules can be an avenue to invention

· Develop a common language and a common approach to make group problem solving productive

· Generate a number of effective options to assure that the solutions you find are sound

· Assess your problem solving style and choose the most appropriate one

· Find the problem before it finds you

· Identify the real problem, stop wasting time, money and energy on curing the symptoms

· Make decision making the easiest part of the process

OUTLINE

Dangers & Opportunities

 • Understand Opportunities in Problem Solving
 • Identify the Dangers
 • Dealing With The Way You Think
 •   Dealing with The Way Your Organization Approaches Problems

The Way You Think, The Way You Don’t Think

 • Identify And Understand Your Thinking Style
 • Are You Darwin, Einstein, Socrates, Or Ford?
 • Maximize Your Style's Potential And Minimize Its Limitations  
 • Overcome Roadblocks Due To Habitual Thinking

Mental Calisthenics: Building A Better Brain

 • The Importance Of Mental Calisthenics 
 •   Utilizing Your Brain's Capacity To Grow And To Change
 •   Developing Logic Tactics:

  •Stepping 
  •Picturing
  •Rephrasing
  •Fencing
  •Itemizing
  •Chaining
  •Jumping The Track

Enhancing Your Thinking Style And Problem Solving Ability With Brain Building Exercises

 P Problem Describing

 • Frame the Issue To Keep on Track
 • Define Problems Effectively
 • Learn As Much As You Can In The Shortest Possible Time
 • Develop Fact-Finding Skills The Group Can Use Together
 

R Researching The Cause

 • Make The First Assessment Successfully
 • Learn Strategies For Identifying The Source, Cause, And Affect Of The Issues You Face
 • Formulate And Test Validity Of Possible Assumptions
 • Follow a Narrowing Process that Respects Your Organizing Principles

 O Option Finding

 • Generate Alternatives And Solutions
 • Practice Blockbusting Techniques 
 • Utilize the Strengths of Ever Member of your Team
 • Solicit and Incorporate Everyone’s Ideas

 B Being Decisive - Choosing A Solution

 • Evaluate Ideas Against Your Organizing Principles
 • Select Appropriate Solutions
 • Avoid Falling in Love with Ideas
 • Don’t Let the Happy Train Derail You - Evaluate Options for Suitability, Feasibility, Acceptability and Consequences

L Leading To Action

 • Develop Strategies To Resolve Problems 
 • Develop An Action Planning Process That Guarantees Successful Follow Through
 •   Construct a Fall Back Plan and Alternative Actions

E Evaluate And
M Monitor Results

 • Find Problems Before They Find You
 •   Identify Potential Problems – Worse Case Scenerios
 •  Overcome Obstacles –Prevent or Minimize Impact

Action Planning
            • Develop a Process to Describe and Resolve Problems
            • Create an Agreed Upon Format to Implement