Career Skills Library

Problem Solving
Second Edition
 Career Skills Library
Communication Skills
Leadership Skills
Learning the Ropes
Organization Skills
Problem Solving
Professional Ethics and Etiquette
Research and Information Management
Teamwork Skills
 FERGUSON
CAREER SKILLS LIBRARY

Problem
Solving
SECOND EDITION
Careers Skills Library: Problem Solving, Second Edition

Copyright © 1998, 2004 by Facts On File, Inc.

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Problem solving.—2nd ed.

p. cm.—(Career skills library)
Rev. ed. of: Problem solving / by Dandi Daley Mackall. c1998.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents: Pt. I: Problem-solving tools. The problem solver in you; Using sci-
entific thinking to solve problems; Using creative thinking to solve problems;
Problem-solving potholes and pitfalls—Pt. II: The problem-solving process.
Step 1 -identify and define the problem; Step 2 -define goals and objectives;
Step 3 -generate solutions; Step 4 -make a plan of action; Step 5 -follow
through; Decision making.
ISBN 0-8160-5522-X (HC : alk. paper)
1. Vocational guidance—Juvenile literature. [1. Vocational guidance. 2.
Career development—Juvenile literature. 3. High school graduates—
Employment—Juvenile literature. [1. Vocational guidance. 2. Problem solv-
ing. 3. Career development.] I. Mackall, Dandi Daley. Problem solving. II.
J.G. Ferguson Publishing Company. III. Series.
HD30.29.M33 2004
650.1—dc22 2003015092

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MP FOF 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
 CONTENTS

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Part I: Problem-Solving Tools

1 The Problem Solver in You . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2 Using Scientific Thinking to Solve

Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

3 Using Creative Thinking to Solve

Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

4 Obstacles to Problem Solving. . . . . . . . . . 45

Part II: The Problem-Solving Process

5 Step 1—Identify and Define the

Problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

6 Step 2—Define Goals and Objectives. . . . 75

vi Problem Solving

7 Step 3—Generate Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . 85

8 Step 4—Make a Plan of Action . . . . . . . . . 99

9 Step 5—Follow Through. . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

10 Decision Making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135
 INTRODUCTION

The best way to escape from a problem is to solve it.

—Alan Saporta

O ne thing is for certain in an ever-changing

world: There will always be problems to solve.
You solve problems every day of your life. Without
realizing it, you’ve probably developed quite a few
problem-solving skills.
For example, say you plan to take the bus to
school, but you miss it. You know you’re in trouble.
And that’s one problem-solving skill—the ability to
identify the problem.
Immediately you consider your options. You could
walk the five miles to school. You could ride your
bicycle or use in-line skates. Your friend might pick
you up, you could ask your mom or dad for a ride, or
you could skip school. Coming up with lots of possi-
ble solutions is another problem-solving skill.
Maybe you decide the best solution is to use your
mom’s car. But you run into another problem. Your

1
2 Problem Solving

brother has asked for the car first. You strike a deal with
him. You agree to help him practice his tennis serve on
Saturday. He agrees to let you drive to school this
morning. You’ve used another problem-solving skill—
negotiation.
You dash to the car (you can still make it to school
on time), jump in, and turn the key in the ignition.
Nothing happens. The car won’t start. You consider
the possibilities and form a theory that the problem
may be caused by a weak battery. Mom is famous for
leaving the inside car light on. Sure enough, you
check it out and find the light still turned on. You’ve
successfully researched, formed a hypothesis, and
confirmed your theory—all problem-solving skills.
Now you can fix the problem with another problem-
solving skill—an action plan. You pull out the jumper
cables and jump start the car. In minutes you’re on
your way, thanks to problem-solving skills you didn’t
even know you possessed.

FACT

On many employee evaluation forms, the

category “Problem-Solving Abilities” takes up
more room than any other evaluated trait.

Employers seek people who can handle the minor

irritations and the major problems that are a part of
every business. What do you do when a customer
comes to you with a problem? Can you help when
your work team runs into production problems? Could
 Introduction 3

TEN PROBLEMS YOU MAY HAVE HAD BEFORE

YOU LEFT HOME TODAY
1. Alarm didn’t go off
2. Fell back to sleep
3. Sister hogged the bathroom
4. No milk or cereal in the house
5. Nothing for lunch (and school lunch sounds horrible)
6. Brother tells you that he won’t take you to school
7. Storm knocked out power (no lights, hair dryers,
curling irons, etc.)
8. Favorite shirt is too wrinkled to wear
9. Shoelace breaks
10. Forgot to do your homework

you help save your company from losing its competi-

tive edge? No matter where your career leads you, you’ll
move faster and higher up the ladder of success if
you’re perceived as an effective problem solver.
This book covers the following valuable problem-
solving skills:
Building a reputation as a problem solver,
using skills that you already have, as well as
learning to avoid negative problem-solving
behaviors
4 Problem Solving

Using analytical and critical thinking (left-

brain activities) to analyze and solve
No matter where
problems scientifically
your career leads
you, you’ll move Solving problems creatively by brain-
faster and higher storming, asking questions, approaching
up the ladder of problems from odd angles, note-taking, and
success if you’re visualizing—all right brain activities
perceived as an Avoiding problem-solving potholes and
effective problem pitfalls such as logical fallacies, which are
solver. errors in rational thought
Solving problems with the Problem-Solving
Process, which involves the following steps:
1. Identifying and defining problems as
people, organizational, mechanical, or
many-sided in nature
2. Defining goals and objectives
3. Generating solutions by using
brainstorming techniques such as word
association, clustering, and freewriting
4. Developing a plan of action
5. Following through on a problem-solving
plan by planning for contingencies,
troubleshooting, learning from mistakes,
and maintaining flexibility as you are
solving the problem
Applying problem-solving skills to the
decision-making process
 PART I

Problem-Solving
Tools
 1

THE PROBLEM
SOLVER IN YOU

I n Los Angeles, California, a luxurious high-rise

apartment building was on the brink of bankruptcy.
Tenant after tenant turned in notice and moved out.
To owners of the building, the mass exodus made no
sense. Their beautiful, well-kept apartments offered a
sound bargain in a safe neighborhood. So why were
people abandoning what should have been a renter’s
paradise?
The building’s management company hired a
problem-solving group to get to the bottom of the
mystery. After interviewing residents and former res-
idents, the problem-solving team presented its find-
ings: People were moving out because the apartment
elevators were too slow.
A team of troubleshooters flew in to solve the prob-
lem. They gathered cost and labor estimates on several

7
8 Problem Solving

options, from repairing the old elevators to putting in

new ones. But every option proved too expensive.
Defeated, the management company had just
about decided to sell the building, when the youngest
member of the team took a creative look at the prob-
lem. The real problem, he suggested, wasn’t the ele-
vators. The real problem was that tenants got bored
waiting for the elevators. His solution? Entertain ten-
ants who were waiting for the elevator. Install flat-
monitor computer screens that flashed the day’s top
headlines, weather, sports results, and even a trivia
question or two. Pipe music into the elevator waiting
areas. Add tasteful yet provocative paintings and
sculptures to the waiting area to stimulate interest
and discussion.
His creative solution worked. The tenants, busy
reading the computer monitor, soothed by relaxing
Become a music, or admiring the art, quit complaining. The exo-
problem solver dus ceased. The building was saved. And one creative
where you work, problem solver had made his mark.
and you’ll make No matter what job you take, not a day will pass
yourself an asset without some kind of problem. Certain basic skills
to your company. can equip you to turn those problems into opportu-
nities. Become a problem solver where you work, and
you’ll make yourself an asset to your company.

Some people make things happen. Some people watch

things happen, and some people say what happened.

—Casey Stengel, Hall-of-Fame baseball manager

 The Problem Solver in You 9

EVERYDAY PROBLEMS
Solving problems isn’t some-
thing new for you. Think of
how many problems you had
to solve this week:
I can’t decide what to
wear to school.
I missed my bus.
I don’t have a date to the
dance on Friday.
I need a ride to my
dentist’s appointment.
My club needs to raise
money or plan an event. As a player for the Boston Braves, Casey
Stengel watched how his manager solved the
The car is almost out of countless problems that arose during each
gas, and I’m broke. baseball game. His later career as one of the
most successful managers in baseball history
Somebody’s in my usual was based on the problem-solving skills he
seat in English class. learned on the field. (Corbis)

I didn’t pack a lunch, and

they’re serving meat loaf.
There are no legal parking spots available.
I don’t understand the chemistry
assignment.
My buddy and I had a misunderstanding.
My laptop computer won’t work.
I’m locked out of the house.
10 Problem Solving

They delivered the wrong pizza.

I have practice after school and a report due
tomorrow.
Because you solve these kinds of problems regularly,
chances are you don’t even realize the complex
processes involved. Yet each of the preceding problems
requires problem-solving skills. When you figured out
what to do in each case, you had to size up the prob-
lem. You considered your options. Maybe you had to
negotiate. Finally, you came up with a solution and
executed it. Those are all problem-solving skills you’ll
need on the job.

PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS
YOU ALREADY USE
Identify the problem
Analyze the problem
Research
Brainstorm many options
Think creatively
Think logically
Form a hypothesis
Select the best option
Negotiate possible pitfalls
Troubleshoot
 The Problem Solver in You 11

BUILD A REPUTATION
AS A PROBLEM SOLVER
Tonya got her first real job with a major airline as
soon as she graduated from college. She didn’t realize
what a good problem solver she was until her first job
evaluation. Tonya’s review included these comments:
Very resourceful—thinks of creative ways to
solve problems.
Handles obstacles conscientiously.
Generates alternative solutions when
solving problems.
Tonya says she learned to solve problems on high
school committees and on backstage crews of com-
munity theater productions. “I was the one behind
the scenes, holding things together. I never got a part
in a play, but I put scenery together. And if the spot-
light didn’t work, I’d figure something out. If we
needed stairs or a window for a set and didn’t have
them, I’d manage to improvise.”
Tonya hadn’t been working at the airline long
before coworkers discovered her problem-solving
skills. “People started coming to me with little prob-
lems. I’d fix them. But this time, they noticed. I got
a reputation as a problem solver.”

DON’T TRY THIS AT WORK

Jared’s first job was with a food-service company in
New Jersey. He took the position because he needed
12 Problem Solving

the money and liked the hours. The company had a

few customer-service problems, but Jared never
thought that his company’s problems had anything
to do with him personally. After six months, Jared
received his first employee evaluation:
Isn’t alert to problems
Can’t handle complex problems or identify
key issues
Slow to take action
Needs to be persistent in problem solving
Seldom generates more than one solution to
a problem
Jared admits he deserved the poor rating. He
explains, “If a customer came to me with a problem,
my standard answer was, ‘That’s not my responsibil-

PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS
ON THE JOB
In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, over 1,000
high-school classrooms display a chart
titled: What Do Employers Expect of Me as
an Employee? Ten employer expectations
follow. At the top of the list is: “Recognize
problems and find solutions.” The last
expectation is the only one in red ink:
“Read, write, and calculate well.”
 The Problem Solver in You 13

ity.’ Maybe I’d tell the customer to ask somebody

else. If our division didn’t meet production standards,
it wasn’t my fault. Not my problem, I thought.”
Jared’s evaluation woke him up to the importance
of becoming a problem solver. He started paying
closer attention to his company and his customers.
He began to take on problems he hadn’t considered
his responsibility before. And Jared’s next evaluation
turned out much better.

EMPLOYEE APPROACHES TO PROBLEMS

J. R. Richmond, a Midwest retailer for 40 years, believes
he can tell what kind of career someone will have by
the way he or she approaches a problem. Richmond
divides would-be problem solvers into five groups:
Not my problem. These employees ignore
customers and company problems as if
those problems didn’t touch them
personally. If they do manage to get a job,
they probably won’t keep it long.
Don’t ask me. Some people can’t do
simple calculations, keep a checkbook or
a receipt record, or do basic math. Few
employers have the time or means to
teach these basic skills.
What now? Some well-meaning
employees can’t seem to mature into
independent problem solvers. They don’t
trust their own judgment. As a result, they
14 Problem Solving

bother somebody every two minutes with a

problem too big for them to handle. If these
employees don’t change their ways and take
personal responsibility for decision making,
they may annoy themselves out of a job.
Straight liner. Straight liners know how to
solve straightforward problems. They can do
math and calculations and may be highly
skilled professionals. But if the situation
requires a new solution or any creativity,
they can’t handle it. They may keep their
job and find a comfortable place in the
company. But they shouldn’t expect to
advance to high levels of management.
Creative problem solver. Businesses will
always have spots for people who can use
their creativity to solve problems. Creative
problem solvers make themselves
irreplaceable.

We are continually faced with a series of great oppor-

tunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.

—John W. Gardner, educator and

government official

Mimi Silbert grew up in a small flat in one of the

poorest neighborhoods of Boston. She made her way
through college and into a secure job as a therapist.
She says, “As far as I can remember, I was always the
 The Problem Solver in You 15

person that everybody called with their problems.

My job was to mediate and solve them.”
But after a time, solving problems on a small scale
as a therapist didn’t seem enough. Ms. Silbert wanted
to find a way to help more people out of poverty. She
didn’t believe the assumptions of others, that ex-
criminals couldn’t be taught values and integrity,
along with job skills.
She started by taking applications from people
who could barely fill out the forms. Next, she trained
people who trained people, who trained people who
trained people, and so on. Since 1971, over 14,000
people have found success through the Delancey
Street Foundation in San Francisco. Today, Delancey
Street has approximately 1,000 residents located in five
facilities in New Mexico, New York, North Carolina,
and California (Los Angeles and San Francisco).
Thousands of the nation’s most “unproductive” people,
according to Ms. Silbert, “have graduated into tax pay-
ing citizens leading successful lives, including truck
drivers, sales people, medical professionals, realtors,

EXERCISE
Think of situations where you were required to solve a
problem. What kind of problem solver were you, and what
kind of problem solver are you now? The following chart
lists J. R. Richmond’s five types of problem solvers and offers
tips on how to improve your problem-solving ability.
16 Problem Solving

Type of How to Improve Your

Problem Solver Problem-Solving Skills

Not my problem Pay attention to the needs of your customers,

coworkers, and managers. Consider their
problems your problems and work to help
them find solutions.

Don’t ask me Learn every skill that comes along. Teach

yourself new tasks, techniques, and software
programs by studying books, pamphlets, and
websites, as well as asking for help from
friends and coworkers.

What now? Take responsibility for decision-making in your

life. Build confidence by tackling smaller pro-
blems on your own; then gradually increase the
complexity of problems that you tackle until
you become an independent problem solver.

Straight liner Try to expand your creative abilities by

brainstorming. Learning to be flexible with
new ideas and concepts will help you tackle
more challenging problems.

Creative Continue to tackle problems head on.

problem Remember to continue to treat all of your
solver company’s problems as your own, to hone
your professional skills and education, to
independently tackle problems, and to think
“outside-the-box.”
 The Problem Solver in You 17

EXERCISE
List 10 problems you solved today. What
problem-solving skills did you use?

When you have a major problem, is

there somebody you go to for help?
What is it about that person that
makes you think he or she can handle
the problem?

Describe the biggest problem facing

you right now. What skills will you
need to solve it?

mechanics, contractors . . . the President of the San

Francisco Housing Commission, a deputy coroner,
and a deputy sheriff.” These people and others can
thank Mimi Silbert, who knew how to look at an old
problem in a new way.
It’s up to you to decide which problem solver you’ll
become. If you start now to develop your problem-
solving skills, your ability to come up with logical
and creative solutions could form the foundation of
a successful career. When you are confident of your
problem-solving skills, you can turn each problem
into an opportunity.
That’s where you should start—with an attitude
that expects to get things done.
18 Problem Solving

IN SUMMARY . . .
Become a problem solver at work and you
will become an indispensable member of
your team and company.
The five common types of problem solvers
are: Not my problem (people who ignore
customers and problems that don’t affect
them personally); Don’t ask me (people who
lack the ability to learn or perform basic
tasks, which hinders them from solving
problems); What now? (people who have
skills, but instead of solving problems on
their own, keep asking their bosses for help);
Straight liner (intelligent people who can’t
solve any problems that require flexibility or
creativity); Creative problem solver (the only
positive type of problem solver).
Creative problem solvers treat all problems
as if they were their own, have the ability to
perform and learn simple tasks, are decisive
and can solve problems on their own, and
have creative and flexible minds to solve
problems that are not straightforward. In
addition, they are a curious people with a
can-do attitudes.
 2

USING SCIENTIFIC
THINKING TO
SOLVE PROBLEMS

T he best tool you have at your disposal for solving

problems is your mind. Problem solving begins
with clear thinking. And thinking comes in two vari-
Problem solving
begins with clear
eties: scientific and creative.
thinking.

Thinking is any mental activity that helps formulate or

solve a problem, make a decision, or fulfill a desire to
understand.

—Vincent Ryan Ruggiero in The Art of Thinking

Scientific thinking goes by many names: logical,

critical, analytical, convergent, straight-line, and pre-
dictable. It follows certain rules of logic from Point A
to Point B to Point C. Scientific thinking marches
you through a hypothesis to the correct conclusion.

19
20 Problem Solving

Creative thinking has other names, too: inspira-

tional, divergent, insightful, exploratory, and unpre-
dictable. Creative thinking rockets you through new
and provocative channels to shed light on new
answers to old problems. (See Chapter 3 for a detailed
discussion of creative thinking.)
Both types of thinking are important in your
everyday problem solving, and each type comes from
a different part, or side, of your brain.

USING YOUR BRAIN

TO SOLVE PROBLEMS
Your brain has two sides. Each side controls certain
body and thinking functions. The left side of the
brain is in charge of analytical thinking or logic. It
takes you through well-ordered steps and makes you
the genius you are in math.
The right side operates in images and impressions
rather than numbers and words. Creativity and art
originate in the right brain. The chart on the next
page shows how the two sides of your brain divide
and conquer the unfathomable task of thinking you
through life.
Good problem solvers need to draw on both sides of
the brain. The young executive in Chapter 1, who
solved the problem of slow elevators by installing com-
puter screens, music, and art, used his creative right
brain. But if the elevator is broken, you’ll need the sci-
entific left brain to get to the bottom of the problem
and fix it.
 Using Scientific Thinking to Solve Problems 21

LEFT- AND RIGHT-BRAIN COMPARISONS

Left Brain Right Brain
Seeks one answer Explores, seeks, examines from
many viewpoints
Recognizes words Recognizes facts or objects
Processes one stimulus at Processes whole clusters of
a time at lightning speed stimuli all at once
Orderly sequences Grasps complex wholes
of thought
A focus on parts Takes in whole picture
Logical Dreams
Linear thinking Makes sense by discovering
workable patterns
Organizes into units Can connect parts of the world
into fresh patterns
Governed by rules, Follows few rules
plays by rules
Draws on learned, Can deal with new information
fixed codes where no learned program is
available
Organized Sees correspondences or
resemblances
Can recall complex Thinks in complex images
motor sequences
Best at implementing Best in initial orientation of a task
programs after setup
22 Problem Solving

FACT
For most people the right hemisphere of
the brain controls the muscles of and
receives information from the left half of
the body and vice versa.
By the time a person is 50, the brain shrinks
slightly, losing about an ounce in weight.

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SOLVING PROBLEMS
WITH MATH
Scientific thinking is best used when a problem
requires one answer. A lot of scientific problem solv-
ing can be done with solid math skills.
 Using Scientific Thinking to Solve Problems 23

Many problems can be solved using mathematical skills. (Corbis)

Maria says she owes her employment with a large

Midwest manufacturer to what she learned in math
classes at school. Maria’s starting job was on an
assembly line, but her boss wanted to make sure she
had the thinking skills she’d need if a problem did
arise. Her boss also wanted to determine if she had
enough thinking skills to someday be a candidate for
advancement in the company. She explains: “To
A lot of scientific
apply for my position, I had to take a test that looked
problem solving
like my high school math quizzes. My boss says I’d be
can be done with
shocked by how many applicants fail the test.”
solid math skills.
Ryan’s ability to estimate cost and draw up a budget
pushed him to the top of his training group his first
24 Problem Solving

EXCERPT FROM A MANUFACTURER’S

APPLICATION TEST
1. Reduce these fractions to their lowest terms:
A. 10/32 = _______
B. 72/128 = _______
C. 19/64 = _______

2. Subtract these fractions and reduce the answers to

the lowest terms:
A. 9 14 ⁄ 16 – 5 6 ⁄ 16 = _______
B. 7 14 ⁄ 16 – 4 6 ⁄ 16 = _______

3. Add these decimals:

A. 1.47 + 16.235 + 7.16 + .21 = _______
B. 10.245 + .479 + .2 + 4.1 = _______

4. Convert these decimals to fractions:

A. .0938 = _______
B. .2656 = _______
C. 1.32 = _______

(See the end of the chapter for answers.)

year with a Texas investment firm. He explains where

he acquired his skills. “I guess I started when I was
eight years old and got my first allowance. Before I
spent a penny, I’d write down how much I’d spend on
 Using Scientific Thinking to Solve Problems 25

gum, how much on candy, and how much I’d save for
some great thing I wanted. I did the same kind of cost
estimate when I was our high school prom committee
chairperson.” Ryan used his analytical thinking skills
as a student and reaped the benefit in his career. Once
he got to the real world, he simply combined his expe-
riences using math as a kid with training he received
in school and on the job.
You’ll do much better in the workworld if you prac-
tice your math skills now and throughout your life.

There is always an easy solution to every human

problem—neat, plausible, and wrong.

—H. L. Mencken, U.S. author, editor, and critic

FOUR STEPS OF CRITICAL THINKING

Analytical or critical thinking involves four steps:
1. Identify the problem and break it down.
2. Collect information/perform research.
3. Form opinions (hypotheses).
4. Draw conclusions.
To see how this process works, try this scenario. What
would you do?
One afternoon 50 students at your high school come
down with stomach cramps and vomiting. All of them
ate the school-lunch hot dogs. Those who didn’t eat
the hot dogs didn’t get sick. What do you conclude?
26 Problem Solving

If you’ve already decided it was the hot dogs, think

again, Sherlock. Use your scientific thinking skills
instead of jumping to the obvious conclusion.
1. Identify the problem. Kids are sick and
you want to find out what caused the
problem.
2. Collect information/investigate. So
you found out that the hot-dog eaters got sick
and the brown baggers didn’t. Keep going.
Ask questions that will take you scientifically
to a conclusion before you leap to one. Did
some students who ate hot dogs not end
up vomiting? Did they all have mustard or
ketchup or relish? Did something else come
with the hot dogs, like chips or pickles?
Were all the sickies from the same lunch
period?
Never shortcut
Expand your research to the kitchen. Did
the information-
the same cafeteria server handle hamburgers
gathering step
and hot dogs? Did only one server handle
in a scientific
the dogs? Did anybody in the kitchen get
investigation.
sick? Are there any toxic substances near
the hot-dog-preparation area? Check out the
hot-dog oven. What about pans and serving
platters? Did anybody examine those hot
dog buns? Are there uncooked hot dogs lying
around? Never shortcut the information-
gathering step in a scientific investigation.
3. Form your hypothesis. Maybe, after all
your investigations, you still blame the hot
dogs. In your opinion, the hot dogs are
 Using Scientific Thinking to Solve Problems 27

responsible for student sickness that

afternoon. That’s your theory, your
hypothesis.
4. Draw your conclusions. You can’t do that
until you test your hypothesis, right? If
you’re brave, you might run your own
experiment and eat one of the suspect hot
dogs. Or you can ask your science teacher to
run a substance analysis on a hot dog. The
fourth step is the time to test your theory
and confirm your hypothesis or adjust your
conclusion.
You decide that you’re not brave, so you
don’t eat the hot dog. Your teacher examines
the food, but it comes up clean. It’s time to
consider a new hypothesis. Since only one
person prepared the hot dogs, and he didn’t
touch the hamburgers, you shift your
suspicions to him. To test your new theory,
you spy on him. Sure enough, you see him
cough without covering his mouth. The
man confesses that he just got over the flu.
Case solved.

THE SOCRATIC METHOD

The Greek philosopher Socrates developed a power-
ful teaching method that is still used today in scien-
tific problem solving. The Socratic Method, according
to author Norris Archer Harrington, “is a conversa-
tion, a discussion, wherein two or more people assist
28 Problem Solving

The Greek philosopher Socrates developed a series of questions that are still used today to
solve scientific problems. This way of solving problems is called the Socratic Method. (Corbis)
 Using Scientific Thinking to Solve Problems 29

one another in finding the answers to difficult ques-

tions.” These series of questions are at the heart of sci-
entific, or critical, thinking.
In his book, Critical Thinking: How to Prepare Students
for a Rapidly Changing World, Richard Paul breaks
down the Socratic Method into six types of questions.
These are

1. Questions of clarification

2. Questions that probe assumptions

3. Questions that probe reasons and evidence

4. Questions about viewpoints or perspectives

5. Questions that probe implications and

consequences

6. Questions about the question

Consider these categories as your scientific thought

process to solve problems. For Paul’s list of detailed
questions that fall under each category, visit http://
www-ed.fnal.gov/trc/tutorial/taxonomy.html.

DEVELOPING YOUR SCIENTIFIC

THINKING SKILLS
What can you do now to develop your scientific think-
ing? Plenty. Take math and science, for one thing. Start
budgeting your personal finances. Try going through
the four steps of critical thinking the next time you
have a problem that needs an answer. And the next
30 Problem Solving

EXERCISE
Which of the following problems can best be solved
through scientific thinking?

A. You plan to buy a new mountain bike and don’t

know which bike to get.

B. You’ve made a date to go to the drive-in on

Saturday night, but you don’t have a car.

C. You have to drive to the orthodontist’s right after

school and you don’t know the fastest way to get
there.

Answer: A and C require scientific thinking. By gathering

information, you should be able to arrive at the best
mountain bike for you—one best answer. And, although
many roads lead to the orthodontist’s office, only one
route is fastest. (As far as your carless drive-in date,
you’re going to need as much creativity as possible to
get you out of that one.)

Pretend you’re buying a new car. Use the four-step

scientific method. Write a sentence or two describing
what you’ll do for each stage.

Have you ever jumped to a conclusion when trying to

solve a problem? Which of the four steps of critical think-
ing did you skip? How would you solve the
problem differently if you could do it again?
 Using Scientific Thinking to Solve Problems 31

time you see the love of your life talking to somebody

new, don’t jump to conclusions. Use your scientific
thinking skills to investigate.

IN SUMMARY . . .
Become a problem solver at work and you
will become an indispensable member of
your work team and company.
Problem solving begins with two types of
thinking: scientific and creative.
Your brain is divided into left and right
sides. The left brain manages analytical
thinking and logic. The right brain works in
images and impressions, managing creative
and artistic thinking. The left and right
brains work together to help you solve
problems.
You can improve your scientific problem-
solving abilities by developing solid math
skills.
Analytical or critical thinking involves four
steps: (1) identifying and breaking down a
problem, (2) collecting information and
performing research, (3) forming an opinion
(hypothesis), and (4) drawing conclusions.
It’s never too early to develop your
scientific-thinking skills. Take plenty of
mathematics and science courses in high
32 Problem Solving

school; start budgeting your personal

finances and applying the four steps of
critical thinking to any problem you have.

ANSWERS TO EXCERPT FROM A

MANUFACTURER’S APPLICATION TEST
1. Reduce these fractions to their lowest terms:
A. 10/32 = 5/16
B. 72/128 = 9/16
C. 19/64 = 19/64

2. Subtract these fractions and reduce the answers to

the lowest terms:
A. 9 14 ⁄ 16 – 5 6 ⁄ 16 = 4 1⁄ 2
B. 7 14 ⁄ 16 – 4 6 ⁄ 16 = 3 1⁄ 2

3. Add these decimals:

A. 1.47 + 16.235 + 7.16 + .21 = 25.075
B. 10.245 + .479 + .2 + 4.1 = 15.024

4. Convert these decimals to fractions:

A. .0938 = 469/5000
B. .2656 = 166/625
C. 1.32 = 33/25
 3

USING CREATIVE
THINKING TO
SOLVE PROBLEMS

N ow it’s time to get creative. For which of the fol-

lowing problems will you need to apply a hefty
dose of right-brained, creative thinking?
1. Your graduating class needs to come up with
a class motto.
2. You don’t know where to take your date on
Friday night.
3. You need a prom theme. Creative thinking
4. You didn’t do your homework, and you need explores the
an excuse fast. possibilities. It
examines the
Answer? All of the above. Creative thinking explores problem from as
the possibilities. It examines the problem from as many many angles as
angles as possible. When you need lots of ideas—for a possible.
class motto, a date, a prom theme, or a homework
excuse—you need to use creative or divergent thinking.

33
34 Problem Solving

The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the

same level of thinking we were at when we created them.

—Albert Einstein, physicist

THINKING OUTSIDE THE DOTS

Try this universal thinking exercise. Make nine dots
on a sheet of paper. Without lifting your pencil, can
you draw four straight lines to connect the dots? See
the answer at the end of this chapter.

Most people can’t solve the dot problem; they

restrict themselves in their thought processes. They
don’t allow themselves to go outside the dots. Rather
than taking you in a direct path of thought, creative
thinking takes you off that beaten path, sometimes to
a place where no person has gone.
Creative thinking comes into use when you need
new solutions to old problems. Imagine this: It’s the
 Using Creative Thinking to Solve Problems 35

day you’ve dreaded. You have to get up in front of

your entire second-period class and give a report on
the Dinka tribe of Sudan. You’re prepared, but in the
hall on your way to class, you catch the hem of your
pants and the hem pulls out. You have to fix it, but
there’s no needle, no thread. What do you do?
Using needle and thread would be easy. But you
have to think outside the dots. Without reading fur-
ther, see how many ideas you can come up with.

❖❖❖

Okay. Here are some possibilities to use in repairing

your hem: staple, tape, pin, paper clip, string, safety
pin, bobby pin, barrette, garbage bag ties, paste, glue,
jelly, gum, peanut butter, and melted Snickers; you
can even trade clothes with a friend.
With a little creative thinking, the possibilities are
endless.

FACT

You don’t have to have a high IQ to be a good

thinker. Psychologist E. Paul Torrance has
shown that fully 70 percent of all creative
people score below 135 on IQ tests.

THE “IDEA WOMAN”

Marcella is a second-year shipping clerk who believes
in the power of creative thinking. “In high school,
36 Problem Solving

nobody thought of me as especially creative. But when

our class was in charge of homecoming, the prom, or
our senior trip, I always had a lot of ideas to offer.”
When she graduated, Marcella took a job that involved
supplying large companies with stationery and other
office supplies.
Marcella says her habit of coming up with a lot of
ideas quickly made her an asset. “I discovered that
shipping clerks had to get creative when supply did-
n’t exactly meet demand. When we ran short of
green pens, I’d think of options to the usual slow
back-order notification: call the customer and apolo-
gize, give a discount on another color, offer to send
what we had. Pretty soon, I was the ‘Idea Woman.’”
Marcella had developed her own techniques for
creative thinking. And her creativity secured her job.
If your thinking is in a rut (and even if it’s not), try
the techniques discussed in the following sections to
spark your creativity.

No great discovery is ever made without a bold guess.

—Sir Isaac Newton, English mathematician

and physicist

BRAINSTORMING
Brainstorming is the process of rapidly spilling out
every idea imaginable. Chapter 7 deals in greater
detail with methods of brainstorming. But for now,
 Using Creative Thinking to Solve Problems 37

imagine your boss has asked you to come up with a

new name for your product. Scientific thinking will
not produce the answer. You need to come up with as
many possibilities as you can. Then you can choose
the best one. You can use the process of brainstorm-
ing to help you generate ideas. You might sit in a
room with your coworkers, staring at the product
and yelling out ideas. You might sit at your desk with
a pad of paper, writing down anything that pops in
your head. Or you might think of other creative ways
to brainstorm new ideas. The key is to use the cre-
ative side of your brain, not the scientific side.

ASKING QUESTIONS

It’s obvious that these letters spell “THE CAT,” right?

But take a closer look. The H and A are the same. Yet
you saw what you expected to see in this example
Asking questions
adapted from O. G. Selfridge’s Pattern Recognition and
can be a great
Modern Computers.
way of stirring
When you hit a problem, make sure you’re seeing
your creative
it clearly. Asking questions can be a great way of stir-
thoughts.
ring your creative thoughts. Don’t accept everything
at face value. Challenge assumptions.
38 Problem Solving

Suppose your teacher tells the class that because

there has been too much talking, you must all
decide your own punishment. But while the rest of
the class is trying to devise weak forms of punish-
ment, you ask questions: Was there too much talk-
ing? How about compared with other classes?
What’s too much anyway? Who did the talking?
Why were they talking? What kind of talking? And
why was talking so bad anyway? Would it have been
okay if the teacher had talked with them or if peo-
ple had talked about the “right” subject? What if the
class had designated talking breaks, 60 seconds
when you could talk to anybody about anything?
That wouldn’t be too much, would it? Is talking the
real problem?

If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see

every problem as a nail.

—Abraham Maslow, U.S. author and psychologist

Of course, there’s a time to keep your questions to

yourself, and a wise person knows when. But you
can cultivate the art of questioning all day long.

TURNING THINGS UPSIDE DOWN

When everybody else is analyzing a problem in the
same way and getting nowhere, turn the whole thing
upside down. Kevin works on a manufacturing team
 Using Creative Thinking to Solve Problems 39

that is responsible for producing a set number of

pump parts per week. When his team failed to meet
its goal four weeks in a row, the team met to try to
solve the problem.
Kevin explains what happened next. “We went
round and round and got nowhere. First, we looked
at our own performance, but we knew we couldn’t go
any faster. Our boss suggested we might have to get
higher-power equipment to get
the pieces out of the plant faster.”
That’s when Kevin turned the
whole thing upside down. “Instead
of looking at us or the machinery,
I looked at our spread table [where
pieces were placed for assembly].
All of a sudden it hit me. If we had
an L-shaped table, we could cut
out one step. Nobody had ever
thought of it before.”
Kevin’s team made its goal with
an afternoon to spare. Their boss
rewarded the team’s creativity by
letting them go home early every
Friday, as long as they’d reached
their production goal.

THE EVER-PRESENT
NOTEBOOK Great ideas don’t always come on
command. Always keep a notebook
Creative thinking doesn’t always nearby so that you can jot down creative
come on demand. Some of the inspirations as they happen. (Corbis)
40 Problem Solving

world’s best ideas have come in odd places, like bath-

tubs and under apple trees. It’s a good idea to carry a
small notebook around with you. At least keep a
notepad by your bedside, in your car, and next to
your shower. Too often that right brain clicks in when
you’re least prepared. Don’t miss your best ideas sim-
ply because you didn’t write them down.

VISUALIZING
Visualizing is a technique we’ll talk more about later.
Your creative mind can take in the big picture. Try pic-
turing how things will look when your problem is
solved. You want a pet, but you don’t know which pet
to get. Can you visualize yourself in your room, happy
with your . . . what? Your iguana? Your cat, dog, snake,
camel? But you better combine your creative thinking
with scientific thinking before you make your purchase.
Visualizing, or imaging, may give you the edge to
come up with that multimillion-dollar new product.
Can’t you picture designer water for dogs? All the
shelves right above the dog food in your local super-
market stacked with rows of your creation, “Pure
Puppy” or is it “Doggie Dew”?
No two problems are alike. Try a different point of
No two problems
view. Be radical. For years companies tried to cut
are alike.Try a
employee insurance expenses. They explored cheaper
different point
healthcare providers, poorer coverage, and higher co-
of view. Be
payments. Then one executive turned the whole thing
radical.
upside down. Why not work on getting employees to
be healthier? Then they won’t need so much care.
 Using Creative Thinking to Solve Problems 41

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index2.html

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They built an exercise room and started company

weight-loss bonus programs. Medical costs went down.

CREATIVITY AND YOU

Perhaps you think you’re not the creative type, that
you lack an “artistic” sensibility. Well, think again.
True, some people are more creative than others, but
we all start out with a degree of creativity. Children
are curious by nature. They ask questions and come
up with wild ideas. They can imagine what it might
be like to fly like a bird or sit on a cloud.
Now is the time to recapture that child-like curios-
ity. Have some fun. Let yourself be ridiculous. Ask 20
42 Problem Solving

questions a day about things you’ve always taken for

granted. Why do clocks run clockwise? Why are there
only nine numbers and a zero to work with? Why is
bacon cut in strips? Why don’t they make a microwave
cooling appliance to freeze things instantly?
The man who asked himself as he drove home in
a light drizzle, “Why don’t they make windshield
wipers that pause for light rain?” is a millionaire
today. He took his idea (and his patent) to automo-
bile manufacturers and cashed it in.

CREATIVITY ON THE JOB

At your new job, your very newness may be an asset.
You may come in with just the fresh point of view
your team needs. Don’t be intimidated. Of course,
you need to respect people who have experience.
They may have already tried your idea, but maybe
not. Don’t waste a creative idea because you’re afraid
your coworkers won’t like it. Open your mind to all
the possibilities.

SURF THE WEB: CREATIVITY AT WORK

10 Steps to a More Creative Office
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Creativity at Work
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 Using Creative Thinking to Solve Problems 43

EXERCISE
Come up with 20 questions about things you’ve never
stopped to wonder about.
Turn your bedroom upside down—not literally.
Imagine as many ways as possible that you might
rearrange your room.
It’s snowing. You have to get to school, and there are
no shoes or boots in the house. Improvise. Make a list
of things you could wear.
You’ve hiked for miles along a narrow creek in the
forest preserve near your house. The small footbridge
you normally cross to return home has been heavily
damaged in a storm and is unusable. Using creative
thinking, how will you get across the creek and return
home? Make a list of the safest and fastest options.

IN SUMMARY . . .
Use creative thinking when you need to
come up with many ideas to solve a
problem and when you need to find new
solutions for old problems.
Many people have trouble solving problems
because they are afraid to think “outside of
the box.” Thinking creatively will help you
come up with solutions that no one may
have ever considered.
44 Problem Solving

There are many good ways to spark your

creativity and solve problems. Try brain-
storming, asking questions, approaching a
problem from an unexpected angle, carrying
a notebook in case a creative thought pops
up at an inopportune time, and visualizing
possible solutions to a problem.
Many people think they are not creative,
but creativity is a talent that everybody has
in some measure. Regain your creativity by
thinking like a child and remaining open to
possibilities, ideas, and scenarios that your
A. adult mind usually closes off.
Creativity is always an asset in the work-
place. At your first job, use your youthful
B. creativity to help solve problems. Be careful
to offer your creative opinions wisely; be
sure to respect the knowledge and
experience of other workers.

SOLUTION TO DOT PUZZLE

In order to solve the
END
problem, allow your
lines to pass through
the center and sides
of dots and let the
lines extend beyond BEGIN

the box of dots.

 4

OBSTACLES TO
PROBLEM SOLVING

“Buy our toothpaste and improve your love life.”

“Before I called Psychic Hotline, I was bankrupt.
Now that I have my personal psychic, I’ve just made
my first million. Call for yourself and get rid of
financial worries.”
“If you don’t contribute today, our station may go off
the air. And thousands of little children will never
know true joy.”
“Want your child to stay warm in the cold, outside
world? Make him warm on the inside. Give him oat-
meal.”
“Double your pleasure. Double your fun. Chew our
gum.”
What’s wrong with these promises? They have helped
sell millions of dollars in products and services. Some
of them sound pretty good. Who wouldn’t want to
make a million bucks and have sex appeal?

45
46 Problem Solving

But you know better. You sense something’s not quite

on the up-and-up. But what’s wrong? Can you pick out
the exact place where these promises go wrong? Each
one contains at least one error in logic. We call those
wrong turns in thinking “logical fallacies.”

WHAT IS LOGIC?
The Encarta World English Dictionary
defines logic as “the branch of philosophy
that . . . aims to distinguish good from
bad reasoning.”

LOGICAL FALLACIES
On the surface, it makes sense that if Jolene called a
psychic and got inside information that turned her
into a millionaire, you could do the same. But the
logic is false. Her financial success may have had noth-
ing to do with the tip from her psychic. And even if it
did, who says the same thing can happen to you?
All the facts aren’t in on toothpaste and gum either.
There may be more to those stories of sex appeal and
pleasure. And what exactly does oatmeal have to do
with keeping a kid warm as he trudges through the
snow to get the school bus? Again, even if the TV sta-
tion does fold because you fail to contribute, couldn’t
those kids find joy somewhere else?
 Obstacles to Problem Solving 47

We get ourselves (and our employers) into trouble

when we take a wrong turn in thinking and follow a
We get ourselves
logical fallacy. If you’re aware of the pitfalls and log-
(and our
ical potholes out there, you’ll have a better chance of
employers) into
avoiding them.
trouble when
The following sections provide examples of some
we take a wrong
of the most common logical fallacies. They will also
turn in thinking
give you advice on how to avoid falling into com-
and follow a
mon reasoning pitfalls as you solve problems.
logical fallacy.

“Not So Fast”

A.

B.

Which of these two lines is longer?

If you’re like most people, you assumed A was
longer than B. The truth is that A and B are the same
length. Line A looks longer at first glance. You need
to investigate and remain open-minded to avoid the
logical pitfall.
Marlene admits she fell for the “not-so-fast” fallacy
more than once in high school. “I always ended up
with the wrong boyfriend, for one thing,” she says. “If
a guy looked good and talked smooth, I figured he was
for me. I wish somebody had told me, ‘Not so fast.’”
But by the time Marlene joined her first work team
in a real estate office, she had learned her lesson.
“Even though I thought I had everybody figured out
48 Problem Solving

after the first day, I held back. I’d finally learned I

couldn’t tell a book by its cover.” Marlene learned to
check potential buyers out and research her facts.
“Sometimes a buyer will tell me money is no prob-
lem. He dresses in trendy clothes, drives a nice car,
and sounds sincere. But when I check my facts, I find
out he’s not what he claimed.”
Check your facts, too. Before you recommend or
do business with another person, business, or agency,
Before you
tell yourself, “Not so fast.” Then use your logical
recommend or
thinking skills to find out what you need to know.
do business with
Tyrone hated the way his college acquaintances
another person,
stereotyped him. He explains: “I attended an out-of-
business, or
state university because they had a good journalism
agency, tell
school and I had relatives close by. But because I’m
yourself,“Not
African American and tall, the first question I’d get
so fast.”
asked when they found out I was from out of state
was, ‘Are you here on a basketball scholarship?’ Like
there wasn’t any other reason I’d be there.”
The students who stereotyped Tyrone were guilty of
a “not-so-fast” logical fallacy. And that can be the basis
of misunderstanding and prejudice. Don’t assume
things about your coworkers on the basis of racial,
gender, ethnic, or cultural backgrounds. Don’t assume
you know what someone likes or dislikes because you
think all women do or a certain nationality doesn’t.

Rush to Judgment
You’ve cruised through your first-quarter geometry
class with a B. In the second quarter, your teacher
takes a leave of absence and a substitute takes over
the class. Six weeks later your parents get a warning
 Obstacles to Problem Solving 49

EXERCISE
Think of a time when you were guilty of a “not-so-fast” logical
fallacy. It might have involved a friend, a teacher, the new kid
at school, or a group or organization. How did you stereotype
this person or group initially? What made you realize you were
wrong? If you could repeat the situation, how would you avoid
falling into a logical fallacy?

slip with your name on it. You’re failing geometry.

“It’s Ms. Miller’s fault!” you plead. “I was doing fine
until she took over. They should get rid of her. Give
her the warning slip!”
This might seem to make sense. But don’t rush to
judgment. There could be many explanations for your
lower grade. This quarter’s material could be harder. Or
you may have been goofing off because your teacher
is just a sub. Or maybe your first teacher never graded
anything and gave you all Bs. You’ll never know by
rushing to the easiest answer. You need to check the
facts logically.
People in the business world get fired all the time
because companies panic and rush to judgment. The
new CEO comes in and profits drop. Out goes the new
CEO, even if there are better explanations for the
profit loss.
The same thing happens in the world of sports.
Coaches and managers better win, or they’re out of a
job. Never mind that the owner of the team has lost
the best players by refusing to raise salaries.
50 Problem Solving

Be careful of the connections you make in your busi-

ness dealings. Investigate before you rush to judgment.

The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not
to learn, but to unlearn.

—Gloria Steinem, author and feminist leader

Learn to Avoid Hasty Generalizations

Kathy is failing history. Alfred is failing history. Even
Zack, Brad, and Angela are failing history. Therefore,
nobody can pass that history class.
That’s a hasty generalization. First, maybe somebody
is passing and you just don’t know about it. Second, so
what if nobody’s passing. You could be the first!
Kyle says he comes by his stubborn nature hon-
estly, having inherited it from stubborn parents who
taught him not to give up. He remembers a time in
high school when he refused to accept a hasty gener-
alization. “My graduating class was small. We wanted
to go on a senior trip together for a week. All my
friends said the school would never let us. The class
ahead of us didn’t take one. As far back as we knew, no
class had been allowed an overnight senior trip.”
But Kyle refused to accept the generalization that
nobody could do it. “Three of us presented our case
to the board of education. They said yes. We spent a
glorious week in the Ozarks.”
Kyle took his determination with him to San
Francisco, where he joined a public-relations team. His
first account was with a soft-drink company who
 Obstacles to Problem Solving 51

wanted to get a foothold in the area. “Just because Coke

couldn’t do it and Pepsi couldn’t do it, that didn’t mean
we couldn’t. I’d at least try and find out for myself.”
Hasty generalizations are logical fallacies that
assume a connection between possibly unrelated
events. These often come about because people do
not have the time or intellectual curiosity to go
beyond the seemingly obvious and dig deeper to the
root of a problem. Avoid hasty generalizations at all
costs. They will limit your creativity and flexibility
when it comes to solving problems.

When solving problems, dig at the roots instead of just

hacking at the leaves.

—Anthony J. D’Angelo, publisher

Poisoning the Well

Poisoning the well is the logical fallacy that will keep
you from making your own untainted decisions
about individuals, ideas, or even companies. Instead
of making up your own mind, you listen to the neg-
ative comments of someone else and allow those
comments to color your logic.

I mistrust the judgment of every man in a case in which

his own wishes are concerned.

—Arthur Wellesley Wellington, British

statesman and general
52 Problem Solving

Eric fell into this logical pothole as a sophomore in

high school, but it taught him a lesson he took with
him to his first job. He chose the wrong Spanish
teacher. “All my friends told me to stay away from Mr.
H. He gave quizzes. He doled out homework. So when
I was assigned to his room, I never gave him a chance.
I dropped his class and took somebody else the next
semester. But I still regret it. I didn’t learn anything in
the other class. And the kids in Mr. H’s class did.”
During Eric’s first month at his new job, he sensed
a power struggle between his team leader and their
supervisor. “Before I even met the supervisor, my
team leader warned me about her: she’s bossy, tough
to work with. But this time I decided I’d give the
supervisor a chance and decide for myself. Turned
out she was tough, but she was fair.”
Avoid poisoning the well by ignoring other peo-
ples’ harsh opinions about individuals, groups, or
issues until you have a chance to investigate these
matters yourself. You wouldn’t want to be prema-
turely judged by someone you haven’t met, so be
sure to extend this courtesy to others.

Car Washing in the Rain

One logical fallacy is all around you. “Every time I
wash my car, it rains. I’m not washing it Saturday. I
don’t want the big game rained out.” Other logical
fallacies of this type include:
“Whenever Macy goes to the movies with us,
we all end up fighting. Let’s not invite her.”
“This is my lucky shirt. If I don’t wear it for
the match, I’ll lose.”
 Obstacles to Problem Solving 53

“She reads all the time, and now she needs

glasses. No way I’m going to read.”
The fancy name for this logical fallacy is ex post facto
reasoning. Because B happened after A, A must have
caused B. Again, be careful about your connections. A
cause and effect are more complicated than one event
following another. Presidents are quick to make a con-
nection between their presidency and a growing econ-
omy: “Since I became president, the gross national
product is up!” But if the economy weakens, they
claim there’s no connection.
Be careful of falling into ex post facto reasoning in
the workplace. Just because your office has had prob-
lems since Harry joined the team, it might not be poor
Harry’s fault. There might be other factors that have
affected the office atmosphere. Give people the bene-
fit of the doubt and don’t jump to easy conclusions
when something goes wrong. Keep an open mind and
dig deeper to find the true cause of a problem.

Emotional Arguments
“Please, please! You just gotta pass me in the course.
If you don’t, I won’t graduate. If I don’t graduate, I
can’t go to college and my mom will die. And I’ll
end up with no job, no home, no future.”
That’s the emotional, or “you just gotta,” logical
fallacy. If an ex-love wants to come back to you
because he or she “can’t live without you,” check
your logic. Sort out fact from emotion. You were still
cheated on and lied to, right?
Emotional arguments will come at you from all
directions throughout your career. Don’t lose your
54 Problem Solving

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compassion, but don’t fall into an emotional pitfall of

logic either. Your coworker may urge you to lie for him
because the boss will fire him if the truth comes out.
Another coworker may plead with you to back her up
on her proposal in a team meeting. After all, look at all
she’s done for you and what good friends you are. Sort
out the emotions. Handle the matter and people
involved with tact and compassion. But think and act
logically.

THINKING AIDS
To help you avoid the pitfalls and potholes of logical
fallacies, here’s a checklist of thinking aids:
Don’t go for the easy answer. Do your
homework. Just because Disneyland is a hit
in California and Florida doesn’t guarantee
success for Euro-Disney.
 Obstacles to Problem Solving 55

Make good connections. Don’t assume a

cause-and-effect relationship. Investigate to
discover the real explanations for successes
and failures.
Know the difference between fact and
opinion. Even if an authority or expert
gives you an opinion, check the facts.
Learn to delay gratification. Don’t go for
the quick fix or explanation.
Challenge assumptions. Are things really this
way, or could you be overlooking something?
Avoid the blame game. Fault and failure are
rarely the result of one person’s mistake.
Explore deeper causes and ask “Why?”
instead of “Who?”

EXERCISE
Between your favorite TV shows, try watching
television commercials and picking out the faults in
their claims.

Think about your last argument with someone. List

your main points and their main points. Then sort out
fact and opinion.

When you get the urge to buy something, see if you

can track your own logic. What influenced your
decision and desire?
56 Problem Solving

Know yourself. Don’t govern your decisions

based upon emotion. Learn from your
mistakes. Try not to make the same mistake
twice. Start now to build your resistance to
logical fallacies.

IN SUMMARY . . .
Logical fallacies are wrong turns in
thinking and reasoning. They contain at
least one error in logic.
Common logical fallacies include (1) “Not
so fast,” (2) rush to judgment, (3) hasty
generalizations, (4) poisoning the well, (5)
“car washing in the rain,” and (6)
emotional arguments.
To avoid logical fallacies, don’t accept the
easy answer or assume a cause-and-effect
relationship. Pursue answers beyond the
most obvious ones, and try not to confuse
emotion with fact.
 PART II

The Problem-Solving
Process
 5

STEP 1–IDENTIFY
AND DEFINE
THE PROBLEM

A n age-old business saying goes like this: “Under-

stand the problem well enough, and the solution
will present itself.” In other words, before tackling a
Before tackling a
problem, always
problem, always remember to identify and define it remember to
first. identify and
Take, for example, the elevator problem in Chapter define it first.
1. Tenants are moving out of a high-rise building that
has slow elevators. As soon as one thinker identifies
and defines the real problem, he has his solution. The
problem isn’t slow elevators, but tenant boredom. The
solution involves computer screens, elevator music,
and art.
Although most problems are complex, it may help
to divide potential problems into three groups for
easier identification: people problems, organizational
problems, and mechanical problems.

59
60 Problem Solving

Correctly identifying whether your problem is

rooted in people, the organization, or mechanics
should help you determine the right solution.

Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen

and thinking what nobody has thought.

—Albert von Szent-Gyorgyi, biochemist

and Nobel Prize winner

PEOPLE PROBLEMS
There are three types of people problems: those involv-
ing you, one other person, or a group of people.

You
Imagine the kinds of problems you might run into as
you start your career. That first year on the job, you
may discover that you are your biggest problem. You
may be unprepared for the required job skills, the
stress of your new job, or your new life in general.
Like Alan, who took an entry-level job with an air-
plane manufacturer in St. Louis, you may wish you’d
taken more technical classes. After three weeks on the
job, Alan felt himself drowning in a sea of procedures
and technical equipment and asked his boss for assis-
tance. His boss agreed that Alan was in over his head
and signed him up for evening classes. Both Alan and
his boss identified the problem (not enough training)
to work toward a solution.
 Identify and Define the Problem 61

Sarah felt her training had prepared her well for

her job in telemarketing. What she wasn’t prepared
for were the pressures that accompanied her job. Her
own unhappiness became her worst enemy. Unsure
of the origin of her problems at work, she quit after
three months.
Few new jobs match our high expectations. The
routine of nine-to-five work may come as a letdown
if you have envisioned a skyrocketing career. The
company’s values might challenge your personal
ethics. Disappointment in your job can prove a major
obstacle to career success. However, if you can narrow
the vague sensation that your job isn’t working out
for you and identify the actual problem, you’ll have
a better chance at solving it.
On the other hand, unhappiness may originate at
Personal,
home but carry over to work. You may feel lost with-
financial, and
out your old friends. This could be your first time liv-
relationship
ing on your own. Personal, financial, and relationship
problems can
problems can follow you to work. If you know you are
follow you
the problem, you know where to look for the solu-
to work.
tion. In this case, it’s not the company that needs to
change; it’s you.

Person Conflict
Another kind of people problem is a conflict between
you and another person. You may run into a problem
with a coworker, whether it is a personality clash,
career jealousy, or unhealthy competition. Or your
boss might take some getting used to. Recognizing
the problem for what it is can help you handle your
conflict.
62 Problem Solving

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Ginny discovered personality conflicts at work

could prove more dangerous than conflicts in high
school. “In high school, if I didn’t hit it off with some-
one, I didn’t hang out with her. If some teacher forced
us to work together on a project, I knew it would all
be over when the semester ended. But a personality
conflict at work can wreck everything. The other per-
son doesn’t just go away.” Ginny had to learn how to
work through the conflict to solve the problem.
 Identify and Define the Problem 63

Personality conflicts at work not only affect the individuals involved, but the members of their
team. Work to avoid personality conflicts in the office by discussing the problem with the
other party before it gets out of hand. (Corbis)

Don’t criticize others. They are just what we would be

under similar circumstances.

—Abraham Lincoln, U.S. President

If you can’t handle a customer, a client, or a sup-

When two people
plier, you have a people conflict. Problems with dis-
feud, the whole
crimination and office romances fall into this
team—even the
category. When two people feud, the whole team—
company itself—
even the company itself—may be at risk. And if that
may be at risk.
happens, your job is at risk, too. The sooner you pin-
point the problem, the better.
64 Problem Solving

EXAMPLES OF PEOPLE PROBLEMS

Your lack of training

Your own unhappiness

Disillusionment with the job

Personality conflict

Unhealthy competition

Customer conflict

Ineffective team leader

Factions within team, department, or corporation

Discrimination

Group Problems
You may run into group problems at work. Your team’s
morale sinks. Or your team gives into petty jealousy
and fails to come together as a group. You may like
each other, but fail to produce as a team and meet
your goals and objectives.
Factions can divide a work team as one group
squares off against another. Departments carry on
unhealthy competition within the company. Manage-
ment and labor sometimes battle over every issue.
Group problems can be especially troublesome in
today’s workplace, where teams are an essential part of
most projects.
 Identify and Define the Problem 65

ORGANIZATIONAL PROBLEMS
If your boss tells you to do one thing, but your super-
visor expects something else, you’re caught in the
middle of an organizational problem.
Tracy joined the art department of a mid-sized
graphic-arts company. She was hired to speed pro-
duction so that her department would meet dead-
lines. But Tracy soon discovered the department’s
problems ran deeper than she’d anticipated.
“I was told to increase production and speed it up.
But the graphic designers already worked overtime—
as fast as I’ve ever seen designers work. I needed to
hire more workers to get the job done, but I couldn’t
get the firm to listen. The week I got there, two
designers quit, and I wasn’t given authority to replace
them.” In Tracy’s case, people weren’t the problem;
Organizational
the organization was.
problems arise
Other organizational problems arise when the
when the chain
chain of command is unclear. When employees get
of command
caught in the middle of power struggles, everybody
is unclear.
suffers. If this type of problem isn’t correctly identi-
fied, people get blamed.

FACT

One way to alleviate organizational problems

is to establish a chain of command. A flowchart
(which shows steps in a sequence of operations)
can be used to illustrate a corporation’s
hierarchy of authority.
66 Problem Solving

EXAMPLES OF ORGANIZATIONAL
PROBLEMS
Inability to get the resources you need
to do the task
Unclear chain of command
Changes in the economy
Changes in the marketplace
Overlapping responsibilities

Unpredictable changes in the marketplace or the

economy can cause downsizing. You may not have
the necessary power to fix organizational problems,
but recognizing them can help you find your way
through the maze.

MECHANICAL PROBLEMS
The third kind of problem is the mechanical or tech-
nical problem. If your hard drive crashes or your
Internet connection won’t work, you look for a tech-
nical solution. The more you know about computers,
the better. If you know you’ll need to use projectors,
copiers, fax machines, scanners, or other office equip-
ment, do all you can to become an expert.
Other mechanical problems stem from telephones,
computer hardware and software, inadequate phone
 Identify and Define the Problem 67

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service, telecommunication breakdowns, fax machines,

and problems on the Internet.

MANY-SIDED PROBLEMS
Many problems combine difficulties involving people,
organizations, and equipment. These challenges, called
many-sided problems, must be analyzed from every angle.
Arnette was head of the yearbook staff her senior year
in high school. Her problem was that, because yearbook
sales had been so low the past three years, her princi-
pal threatened to cut yearbook funds drastically.
68 Problem Solving

Why were sales so bad? She needed to examine

the problem from all possible angles. She and her
committee considered the quality, price, timing, and
advertising of the yearbooks. They analyzed the audi-
ence and discovered that almost all seniors bought a
copy, but nobody else did. The staff put together a
survey to find out why this was the case. They dis-
covered that underclassmen didn’t buy the yearbook
because they didn’t expect to see many photos of
their class. Now Arnette’s committee had the focus
they needed. They took several rolls of photos of each
class and made sure students knew their class would
be represented in the new yearbook. As a result, year-
book sales nearly doubled.
After graduating from college, Arnette took a job in
hotel management in Hawaii. When the hotel ran
into a similar problem, Arnette remembered her year-
book success.
“The hotel was losing money. But our ads in vacation
magazines had paid off. Our target audience, mainland
vacationers, responded to the ads and booked holi-
days. We analyzed the situation and came up with the
problem: a lack of specialty bookings. We expanded
the audience to golfers and honeymooners—just as I’d
expanded to underclassmen in high school.”

THE SIX Ws
One method of analysis to identify the real problem
is asking six “W” questions: who, what, when, where,
why, and what if?
 Identify and Define the Problem 69

For example, imagine that your company has been

producing the most adorable stuffed bear at the
cheapest price on the market, but nobody’s buying it.

Who should be buying the product?

Analyze your audience, run a demographic
study, and put together a survey.

What is your product made of? Is it made

of quality materials? When you check out
this angle, you discover that your bears,
adorable as they may be, fall apart easily.
Hence, you have a quality problem.

When are you advertising and selling? Is it

at the best times?

Where are you selling your product? Are

you reaching the right locales and putting
the product on the right shelves in the right
stores?

Why do you charge what you charge? Why

produce the number of bears that you do?

What if you stopped producing bears,

switched to bunnies, and made them larger
or smaller or in different colors? Would that
solve the problem?

If after going through these questions you still

haven’t found your answer, you’re back to quality.
Now all you have to do is figure a way to increase the
quality of your product without increasing its cost.
You might cut costs somewhere else, such as delivery
70 Problem Solving

costs, advertising, etc. But at least you have the prob-

lem clearly defined and can move ahead with the
solution.

THE SWOT TEST

Another way to focus on the real problem is to run
the SWOT test: Analyze the situation for strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and seasonal threats.
Take the failing stuffed bears. What are its
strengths? They’re adorable and cheap. What are the

TWO METHODS OF ANALYZING THE PROBLEM

The Six Ws The SWOT Test

Who? (audience) Strengths (appearance,

cost)

What? (quality) Weaknesses (quality)

When? (timing) Opportunities

(advertising)

Where? (locale) Threats (seasonal,

competition)

Why? (mission)

What if? (options)

 Identify and Define the Problem 71

weaknesses? The bears fall apart. What opportunities

are you missing for sales? Have you considered adver-
tisements, testimonials, shelf space, or offering a
variety of colors? Are there any seasonal threats? Do
they sell well or poorly around the holidays? Do sales
drop dramatically in summer?

BE INFORMED
The only way to find answers to specific questions is
to delve deeply and research the problem. Several The only way to
years ago, the Red Cross began to run low on blood find answers to
supplies. The obvious solution was to send out more specific questions
pleas for donors. But a problem-solving team took is to delve deeply
the time to analyze the problem. and research
Why was there a shortage on blood? It wasn’t an the problem.
increased need for blood. The number of volunteer
donors had plummeted. After surveying would-be
donors to clearly define the problem, researchers dis-
covered the real cause of the donor shortage: a fear of
contracting AIDS. People knew just enough about
AIDS to fear blood and needles. No amount of plead-
ing was going to change their minds. The Red Cross
decided to run a campaign to inform donors about the
causes of AIDS and let the public know that because
blood banks use only clean needles, there is little to no
chance of contracting the disease through donating.
You know the pains and rewards of research if you’ve
ever written a research paper. If you skimmed over sec-
ondary sources and ignored the best information
72 Problem Solving

available, you probably omitted key arguments and

data. Your grade probably reflected your laziness.
But students are not the only ones who can stop
too soon when gathering information and end up
with false conclusions. In October 1967, the Soviet
Union launched a space probe designed to crash on
the surface of Venus and send back information
about the temperature and conditions on the planet.
When the space probe stopped transmitting, it was
presumed the craft had hit its target. The data sent at
that point indicated temperature and atmospheric
pressure that could possibly sustain life as we know it!
But there was a problem that wasn’t discovered
until much later. The Russian craft had malfunc-
Stick with a
tioned and stopped transmitting signals when it was
problem until
still 15 miles from the surface of Venus. The actual
you’re sure
Venus temperatures turned out to be 75 to 100 times
you’ve correctly
that of Earth, too hot for life as we know it. Lesson:
identified and
Stick with a problem until you’re sure you’ve cor-
defined it.
rectly identified and defined it.

IN SUMMARY . . .
Most problems can be organized into one
of three categories: people, organizational,
or mechanical. Some challenges are a
combination of all three types, which is
called a many-sided problem.
People problems can be further reduced to
one of three types: those that involve only
 Identify and Define the Problem 73

EXERCISES
Clearly define three real problems fac-
ing you right now. Next to each, indi-
cate whether it’s a people, mechanical,
or organizational problem—or a com-
bination of the three.

What can you do with your remaining

time in school to head off potential
mechanical problems in your career?

What kinds of people problems

(including those involving only your-
self) do you run into most often?

you, those that involve one other person,

and those that involve a group.
If you have identified an organizational
problem, share it with a supervisor or
someone at a higher level within the
organization.
While in school, try to learn as much as you
can about equipment and technology
(through class or work experience) to avoid
later mechanical problems.
Multisided problems must be analyzed from
different angles, using questions such as
“the six Ws” (who, what, when, where,
74 Problem Solving

why, and what if?) or the SWOT method

(consider strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats).
Whatever your problem, make sure you
don’t settle for a half-baked solution—keep
questioning until you’re fully satisfied.
 6

STEP 2—DEFINE
GOALS AND
OBJECTIVES

B efore you begin to establish goals and objectives

and go forward with the solution to your prob-
lem, double-check to be sure you’ve properly identi-
fied the problem. Sort out the cause from the effect. If
you don’t, your solution is bound to be incomplete.
For example, say your English grade has fallen this
semester. True, that’s a problem—but it’s an effect. As
you set your goal for the rest of the semester and
determine to raise your grade, you need to explore
the cause. You’ve always gotten As in English, so
you’re not incapable of scoring high marks. You’ve
done your homework and done okay on tests. What’s
left? Class participation. You’ve been practically
asleep in class lately. Could that be it?
Now you’re closer to the cause. Your goals are not
only going to include raising your grade; you’re also
going to plan to stay awake in class. But keep digging—

75
76 Problem Solving

sleeping in class is an effect of another problem. You

never fell asleep in class until this semester. What’s
changed in your life to cause you to sleep in English
class?
Then you get it. Your class starts at 8:00 A.M. and
you’ve been staying up late every night watching tele-
vision. Your goals and objectives will have to start there,
maybe limiting late-night television to Friday nights.

CONNECTING GOALS
TO THE REAL PROBLEM
A problem’s definition should include its cause and
A problem’s effect. Problem: “My late-night television viewing is
definition should causing me to sleep in class and get a lower grade in
include its cause English.” Now you’re ready to set goals that will
and effect. speak to the root of the problem.
In the business world, it’s important to define the
problem in terms of the company’s goals, in light of
their overall purpose. Ask, “What caused the effect?”
instead of “Whose fault is it?”

SETTING GOALS
You set goals all the time. Remember your New Year’s
resolutions? (Probably not if it’s no longer January.)
Perhaps you vowed, “This year I will lose weight, save
money, and be nicer to my parents.” Goals are the
way you want things to look—the end product.
 Define Goals and Objectives 77

Business goals aren’t that much different from per-

sonal goals. For example, a manager may say, “This
year we’ll improve our corporate image, land new
accounts from big investors, and increase profits and
cut costs.”
A goal is an end one strives to attain. The clearer
your vision of the end, the better shot you have of
reaching it.

Goals define our mission in life. Without goals we have

no direction, and without direction, we have no criteria
to judge.

—Amy Lindgren, president and founder of

Prototype Career Services

GOAL VISUALIZATION
Visualization is the practice of envisioning and main-
taining a mental picture. Visualizing your goal means
you picture what things will look like when you’ve
achieved your goal.
Barry, now a successful sales manager, says he
learned the art of visualization from his high-school
basketball coach. “I had problems with my foul shot.
So Coach had me stand at the line, get set for the shot,
then try to picture myself shooting the ball and catch-
ing nothing but net. We did it in practice. Then right
before I took a foul shot in a game, I always visualized
the ball going in.”
78 Problem Solving

Everything you can imagine is

real.

—Pablo Picasso, artist

When Barry joined his

sales team, he applied his
visualization technique. “The
first time I had to give a big
presentation, I was really
nervous. So I kept picturing
myself standing up, point-
ing at the graphs, and
sounding confident. It put
me at ease.”
Visualization is more than
just a mental trick. If you
can’t see clearly to the end
Whether it’s sinking a foul shot or delivering a
presentation, visualizing your goal can help you
of the line, chances are your
accomplish it. (Index Stock Imagery) goal lacks clarity.

GOOD GOALS
Talking about goals can get confusing. We can talk
about long-range goals and short-range goals. Your desire
to be a forest ranger when you grow up could be con-
sidered a long-range goal. Your desire to make the soc-
cer team next month is a relatively short-term goal.
Your company may have a general, humanitarian
goal of serving the community or fostering under-
standing. But your business goals are much more
 Define Goals and Objectives 79

DOS AND DON’TS OF SETTING GOALS

DO DON’T

Get to the root cause. Settle for the effect.

Be specific. Be general.

Relate the goal to the Be uninformed.

overall purpose.

Include a time frame. Make a wish and

hope for the best.

Visualize the result. Lump goals and

objectives together.

focused. Good goals are specific and definable.

Otherwise, you’ll never know if you reach them.
For example, let’s go back to your New Year’s reso- Good goals
lutions. If your goal is to lose weight, how will you are specific
know for sure when you’ve succeeded? Have you and definable.
completed your goal as soon as you lose one ounce or
50 pounds?
Most businesses aim to increase their profits. But
the stuffed-bear manufacturer discussed in Chapter 5
will have a more useful goal if it’s specific, such as
“Maintain overhead costs at current level, but increase
the quality of stuffed bears by 10 percent.” Now the
company can visualize the results: better quality, more
profit.
80 Problem Solving

GET REAL
For a goal to be workable and helpful, it has to be spe-
cific. However, it also needs to be realistic. What hap-
pens to your New Year’s resolutions when you set your
goals too high? Perhaps you set a goal to lose 60
pounds and date the most popular senior in high
Go ahead and school. Chances are you’ll get discouraged early on
dream the because you know there’s no way to guarantee you’ll
impossible reach that goal. Even if you lose 20 pounds and have a
dream, but when decent date for homecoming, you’re still not satisfied.
you write down Goals must be attainable. Companies have to do
your goals, be research before they set their goals. They can’t just
realistic. wish a figure and hope for the best. Go ahead and
dream the impossible dream, but when you write
down your goals, be realistic.

FACT

According to the Small Business Administration,

approximately 97 percent of the population
fails to set goals for two reasons: FEAR (which
stands for false evidence appearing real) and
the risk involved if the goal is not reached.

SETTING OBJECTIVES
In most cases, objectives are bite-sized, measurable
goals that will lead to the fulfillment of an overall
goal. Say you decide your goal is to lose 10 pounds by
June 1—the date the swimming pool opens. You’ve
 Define Goals and Objectives 81

made your goal specific and measurable and given

yourself a reasonable time frame.
Now it’s time to break that goal into smaller steps,
or objectives. Each objective should be measurable,
so you’ll know if you’ve reached it. Perhaps you set-
tle on losing half a pound a week. You’ll weigh your-
self weekly and keep a record in a little book by the
scale. How are you going to accomplish this goal?
First, you will exercise five days a week for 30 min-
utes at a time. Next, you need to change your eating

OBJECTIVES FOR WRITING

AN “A” TERM PAPER

Goal: To research, write, and turn in an “A” term paper by

March 16th.

Objective: Brainstorm 20 topics and select one by February 1st.

Objective: Draft thesis by February 3rd.

Objective: Complete general library research by February 10th.

Objective: Complete outline by February 15th.

Objective: Complete specific research by February 25th.

Objective: Write the first draft of paper by March 1st.

Objective: Write the second draft by March 7th.

Objective: Type and proofread final draft by March 14th.

82 Problem Solving

habits. You make an objective to read three cookbooks

on low-fat recipes. You’ll pack your lunch and make
your own dinners and breakfasts. You continue with
your objectives until you’re confident that fulfilling
each objective will lead you to your goal. By the time
you pull on that swimsuit, you’ll be 10 pounds thinner.
You may have to research each objective. Will los-
ing half a pound a week bring you to your goal? How
much exercise do you require to lose weight? What
exercises are best for your objective?
Good objectives usually combine a measurable end
with an action and a time frame. Objectives are like

EXERCISE
1. Circle the specific goals. Rewrite the more general goals to
make them specific (and as a result, more effective).
Our company will improve its corporate image.
I’ll get Tom to take me to a movie by the end of this
month.
Our department will increase sales by 10 percent this
year.
The company will downsize 25 percent of its personnel,
with no more than a 10-percent loss in productivity.
This year I’ll become popular.

2. Choose one of the specific goals you’ve created above

and list at least five objectives under it.
 Define Goals and Objectives 83

footprints leading to a treasure: If you follow each

step, you should end up at the treasure. If you miss a
step or veer off track, you won’t get there. All you
have to do to reach your goal is reach each objective
along the way. But how do you reach those objec-
tives? Read on.

IN SUMMARY . . .
In order to be effective, solutions must be
connected to the root of a problem.
Goals need to be both specific and
attainable.
Visualizing the desired result is a good way
to set goal and keep it.
Objectives are small steps that lead directly
to a goal.
 7

STEP 3—GENERATE
SOLUTIONS

Nature operates by profusion. Think of the nearly

infinite number of seeds that fall to earth, only a
fraction of which take root to become trees; . . . of the
millions of sperm competing so fiercely to fertilize one
small egg. Similarly, human beings engaged in the
creative process explore an astronomical number of
possible patterns before settling on an idea.

—Gabriele Lusser Rico in Writing the Natural Way

Y ou’ve identified and defined the problem. You’ve

drawn up specific goals and objectives. Now you
need to decide how to meet those objectives. Take
that term paper you scheduled in the last chapter.
The goals and objectives for it are in place. You now
have time limits and measurable outcomes.
But what will you write about? Now it’s time to
generate ideas—lots of ideas. The more choices you

85
86 Problem Solving

give yourself—the more possible solutions—the bet-

ter your final selection will be.
Want to write on dinosaurs? There’s a good chance
that your paper will be boring and not distinguished
from everyone else’s if you choose the first idea that
comes to you. Instead, think of 10, 20, even 50 pos-
sible topics so you can end up with a winning topic.

MULTIPLE CHOICES
Are you one of those people who never feel creative?
Perhaps you feel that you lack originality and that
you’re just not the creative type. Creativity and orig-
inality are essentials for any problem solver, and your
employer will expect you to bring a degree of cre-
ativity to your work.
Don’t panic. Creativity is within your reach if
you’re willing to practice coming up with multiple
choices. Learn to generate lots of ideas.
Not long ago, Teen Magazine decided to change its
image. They wanted to reach older, more mature teens.
When goals and objectives were set, the magazine
hired public-relations consultants to come up with
possible ways the magazine might change its image.
A member of the public-relations team explains
what happened next. “We met as a team to come up
with ideas. It was rather like a game show, where
contestants had to spout off as many words or
phrases as they could think of in five minutes.”
They listed possible changes, like lipstick and lip-
stick colors, tone of writing, color of cover, models for
 Generate Solutions 87

cover, inside art, features, headings and graphics,

products advertised, and so on. “At the end of five
minutes, the four of us had about 120 ideas. We had
a lot to choose from.”
That’s what you want at this stage of problem solv-
ing: multiple choices. Brainstorming is the best way
to get them.

The creative person wants to be a know-it-all. He

wants to know about all kinds of things—ancient
history, nineteenth-century mathematics, current
manufacturing techniques, flower arranging, and hog
futures—because he never knows when these ideas
might come together to form a new idea. It may
happen six minutes later or six months, or six years
down the road. But he has faith that it will happen.

—Carl Ally, American advertising copywriter

BRAINSTORMING
Brainstorming is the practice of quickly generating
multiple ideas without restraining the free flow of pos-
sible solutions. Katie brainstormed her way through
high school and college and straight onto a team of
researchers in the Southwest. She explains, “In high
school, brainstorming was how we raised money for
projects, came up with group ideas, and decided on
science fair projects. I brainstormed big assignments so
I’d have several ideas in case one didn’t work out. It’s
88 Problem Solving

Brainstorming is a great way to quickly generate many ideas—especially those that your
rational mind might not normally consider. (Corbis)

the same technique we use where I work to solve every

problem we run into.”
Chapter 2 discussed right brain/left brain thinking.
In a way, your right brain holds the inspired ideas,
 Generate Solutions 89

DOS AND DON’TS OF BRAINSTORMING SESSIONS

DO DON’T

Speak/write quickly. Think too hard.

Say the first thing Censure that yourself.

comes to mind.

Be open to all Analyze.

suggestions.

Respect every idea. Slow down.

those crazy notions that just might be what your work

team is looking for. But your left brain, rational and
logical, realizes how bizarre the right brain ideas can
get. So the reliable left brain jumps in and censors that
bright idea before it comes out.
Does this confirm what you’ve always suspected—
that you do have a split personality? Not really. You
just have two distinct kinds of thinking going on at
the same time.
Brainstorming is designed to get those great, some-
times hidden, ideas out before you squelch them. In
order for the process to work, you need to follow a
few ground rules.

Set a Time Limit

If you’re brainstorming a topic for your term paper or
an invention to make you a millionaire, you’ll have
90 Problem Solving

better luck brainstorming ideas for five focused min-

utes than you will trying to come up with something
for five hours. Set a time limit. Get out all the right-
brain ideas as fast as you can. After a few minutes,
your left brain will step in and take over anyway.
When you’re in a group brainstorming session,
your team might want to set a time limit—say, 10
minutes—for pure brainstorming. Then you can step
back and see what you’ve come up with.

Don’t Judge Your Teammates

If it’s so hard to get these fresh, original (and some-
times bizarre) ideas out to us, imagine working at
Abide by this problem solving with a team. Each member of your
ground rule: No work team needs to abide by this ground rule: No
judgments should judgments should be made during brainstorming.
be made during If team members feel their ideas are going to be eval-
brainstorming. uated as soon as they say them, that may very well be
the end of their contribution to the brainstorming ses-
sion. They will censure themselves before anyone else
gets a chance, and that censured solution may be the
one you need.
Trust has to exist in a team brainstorming session,
or the best solutions may be stifled before they leave
the right brain.

Every Idea Has Merit

After all the ideas are out in the open, the team
should generate a long list of possible solutions.
Every idea is worth recording.
It’s time to see what you’ve come up with. Instead of
heading straight for the two or three ideas that sound
 Generate Solutions 91

best, a great problem solver will keep this rule in mind:

Every idea has merit. Great problem solvers look at
every idea, no matter how bizarre it may be. Some of
the best solutions come as a result of piecing together
bits of several seemingly implausible solutions.
Imagine your problem is that you’re failing his-
tory. Your goal is to get a B by the end of the semes-
ter. You put together objectives and a time frame.
Then you brainstorm, following all the ground rules.
First, you turn off the CD player and TV and lock
your door. Now you’re ready to try a method of brain-
storming called listing. With your desk cleared, sit with
paper and pen, ready to write down every possible
solution that comes to you for getting a B in history.

Meet teacher

Ask Mom and Dad for help

Study with X, Y, and/or Z

Cheat

Go to counseling

Read outside books

Ask for extra credit

Study my old tests

Get a tutor

Beg teacher for a B

Take speed reading

Transfer
92 Problem Solving

Find last year’s final

Study one hour a night

When five minutes are up, you put your pen down.
At first glance, you may want to laugh at some of your
ideas. But you’ve vowed to consider every idea. For
example, you can’t cheat and copy Smart Sally’s test.
But you can call Sally and ask if you may look at her
last five quizzes so you can correct your paper and
have the right answers to study for the final.
You know it won’t do any good to beg your teacher
to give you a B. But you might ask what you need to
do in order to bring your grade up to a B.
Brainstorming can help you with problems ranging
from a topic for your term paper, a gift for your boy-
friend, a place to take your girlfriend, or what your
employer should do to increase profits. Practice the art
of brainstorming. The ability to come up with multiple
solutions will give you a reputation as a good problem
solver.

BRAINSTORMING TECHNIQUES
Listing is only one method of brainstorming. Working
with a team of problem solvers and calling out ideas
as they come to you is another method. Many other
techniques of brainstorming can be used to unleash
right-brain thoughts before the left brain has a chance
to censor them.
Some of these methods will work for you; others
won’t. Use them as tools. Store the techniques in
 Generate Solutions 93

HELPFUL BOOKS ON BRAINSTORMING

Foster, Jack, and Larry Corby. How to Get Ideas. San
Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 1996.

Monahan, Tom. The Do-It Yourself Lobotomy: Open Your

Mind to Greater Creative Thinking. Hoboken, N.J.: John
Wiley & Sons, 2002.

Rich, Jason R. Brain Storm: Tap Into Your Creativity to

Generate Awesome Ideas and Remarkable Results. Franklin
Lakes, N.J.: Career Press, 2003.

your mental toolbox, a bag of tricks you can pull out

when you need them to help you fix problems.

Word Association
You’ve heard about word associations that psychiatrists
use. You’ve probably played a game built on word asso-
ciations. For example, one person says to another,
“When I say a word, give me the first word that comes
into your mind. Love.” The other person then says the
first thing that comes to mind, without thinking about
it. Your uninhibited answers to such questions will tell
a lot about you. If your answer surprises even you, your
right brain slipped one past the more orderly left brain.
And that’s the idea.
How can this help you solve a problem at work?
Imagine that your boss wants your work team to
come up with a new motto, a slogan for your product,
94 Problem Solving

a cleanser called “Green Clean.” One way to generate

ideas is to take each word in the product name and
apply word association. You can ask a coworker,
“What’s the first thing that comes into your mind
when I say green?”
Some responses might be, “Spring.” “Pasture.”
“Lime.” “New.” “Inexperienced.”
Now do the same kind of word association with
“Clean.” Here your coworker might respond with,
“House.” “Fresh.” “Maid.”
Using all of these responses, you can develop a
potential slogan: “Use Green Clean and bring spring-
time to your house.” While this slogan may not be
the one your boss chooses, you can always brain-
storm again to come up with another one.

Clustering or Mapping
Clustering, like free-word association, is a brain-
storming technique to help you spill out flashes of
inspiration in unplanned relationships. Thoughts
come out as clusters.
In clustering, you write a trigger word in the cen-
ter of your paper. Circle the word. Then, as fast as you
can, write the words or ideas that pop into your head.
Circle each word and connect word balloons that
come together. When that thought process slows,
start another chain of word balloons.
The cluster of ideas on the next page focuses on
possible directions for a magazine to take on a wed-
ding issue. When you finish the cluster, look it over
carefully—not just for words, but for the clusters,
the relationships between words. You may have
 Generate Solutions 95

photographer candles

band centerpieces

dancing flowers

reception decorations

WEDDING

honeymoons traditions

destinations vows

cruises proposals

resorts showers

released a complex design or connection you can

put to good use.

Freewriting
Your English teacher may have introduced you to
freewriting. “Class, everybody write whatever comes
into your mind for five minutes.” Although it may
sound like permission to scribble, freewriting can be
an effective brainstorming technique if your mind is
stuck on a problem.
Cari wrestled with a customer-service problem the
first year she worked for an international airline. She
explains how freewriting helped her come up with a
needed solution. “It was the first time a customer
96 Problem Solving

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Effective Meetings.com
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had complained that I wasn’t helpful. Her problem

was that she didn’t have the frequent-flyer mileage to
get the prize she wanted. That’s what I told her, but
she wanted more.”
Cari took five minutes away from the phones
while the customer talked to her supervisor. “I just
started writing the first thing that came into my
head—that the woman was a nutcase, I hated my
job, etc. Then I started writing out her options. She
could get a partial ticket to St. Louis, have the mileage
she needed, and get her upgrade on that.”
Cari quickly jotted down the solution and passed
it to her supervisor. Her quick thinking didn’t go
unnoticed. An account of that incident went into
her folder and helped get her high marks on her first
evaluation.
Freewriting can be completely freewheeling, or it
can be guided. Instead of writing down whatever
came to her head, Cari might have started out by
 Generate Solutions 97

EXERCISES
Brainstorm for five minutes and try to come
up with as many solutions as possible for
the following situations:
It’s time to turn in your three-page
test, but you’re out of staples. How
can you get the pages to stay
together?
Your new concoction, The
Marshmallow Puff bar, isn’t selling
well at your school. How can you get
students at your school to spend their
money on your candy bar instead of
on a Snickers or Kit Kat bar?

Try clustering the following words to see

what you come up with:
success
failure
hate
friendship

focusing on the customer’s options. But as her story

shows, both methods can help bring your best ideas
to the surface.
Now that you’re loaded with ways to come up with
possible solutions, it’s time for a plan of action.
98 Problem Solving

IN SUMMARY . . .
To brainstorm effectively, don’t
immediately discount anything. All ideas
are worth writing down.
Do not make judgments about your
teammates when brainstorming. Every
person should be allowed to give his or her
ideas in an uninhibited way.
Word association may allow your right
brain to momentarily conquer your more
sensible left brain. This type of uninhibited
thought helps in brainstorming.
When you finish coming up with a cluster
of ideas, be sure to pay attention to the
relationships between words—you may
have actually come up with a complex
design.
Freewriting can be guided or unguided. It is
a good technique for bringing ideas to the
surface.
 8

STEP 4—MAKE A
PLAN OF ACTION

I f you’re following these simple problem-solving

steps, you should have many possible solutions to
your problem. Now all you have to do is decide
which solution is the pick of the litter.

Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if

you just sit there.

—Will Rogers, American humorist

EVALUATING CHOICES
Remember how important it is in the previous step to
not be judgmental? You don’t want to hamper the
free flow of ideas and possibilities. You keep that ana-
lytical, critical side of yourself at bay so that you can

99
100 Problem Solving

come up with as many problem-solving choices as

possible.
Now it’s time to analyze your choices and formu-
late an action plan. Whereas the previous step
requires the creative powers of right-brain thinking,
choosing a plan of action requires all the logical pow-
ers residing in your left brain.
When Brad started working for a solar-panel com-
pany in Hawaii, he thought he’d found his dream
job. And what job could be more secure than selling
solar panels in a location with so much sun!
But right away, Brad saw he was wrong. His com-
pany was actually in danger of going under. He had
been hired in hopes that he might shed a new per-
spective on his team’s problems. Brad’s boss handed
him a file of possible solutions they had considered.
Did they need a better product? Better salespeople? A
new location? More advertising? What could they
do to attract enough customers?
Brad studied the data gathered on every conceiv-
able answer. His team had already determined the
root problem. They had a great product, super loca-
tion, experienced salespeople, and a hefty advertising
budget. The problem was the way Hawaiians viewed
solar-panel companies in general. Most companies
had reputations as being fly-by-night businesses.
Brad was closer to a solution, but he still had
choices to evaluate. He and the rest of the team brain-
stormed about more ideas for establishing the com-
pany’s positive image.
As Brad evaluated their choices, he narrowed the
possibilities to two:
 Make a Plan of Action 101

1. Conduct an ad campaign to convince people

their company was not one of the fly-by-
nighters.
2. Make a positive image for the company
through an all-new campaign.
In evaluating these final options, Brad gathered
more data and statistics. He interviewed potential
customers. He studied what similar companies had
done and what had failed. At last, Brad was ready
with his recommendation for an action plan.

FACT

When Alexander Graham Bell faced the

problem of how the human voice might be
carried over great distances, his solution was
the telephone. But how did he follow through
with his invention? Although Bell was an expert
in sound, he knew little about electricity. Before
he could build a model of his machine, he had
to study and learn about electricity. Then he
could begin applying his knowledge and
creativity to solving technical problems.

MODIFY AND SELECT A PLAN

OF ACTION
Use your powers of analytical thought to evaluate
each possible solution. Investigate each one rigor-
ously, but the time will come to make up your mind.
102 Problem Solving

You may modify one solution or combine two or

more possible solutions, but you need to settle on
one plan of action.
Brad’s final recommendation for his solar-panel
company was to begin a vigorous, positive, all-new ad
campaign. Trying to explain themselves to the public
would only link them with fly-by-night businesses.
Brad suggested they proceed as if people already
believed in them. He drew up a plan of action.

LIST STEPS IN YOUR PLAN OF ACTION

Once the solution is settled on, everyone should set
to work on detailing the plan. Here’s where you need
your skills at setting goals and objectives. Break down
the larger goal (to change the company’s image by
next year) into smaller goals and objectives.
As soon as Brad and his solar-panel company settled
on their plan of action—to conduct an island-wide
positive image campaign over the next 12 months—
they got down to business. A step-by-step strategy tar-
geted all local media. Their own materials and flyers
were rewritten. Salespeople were called in for seminars
on projecting confidence and the right image.
Over the next year, Brad developed ads in which
he referred to his company as “the Sunshine Guys.”
They had their own jingle, their own success stories,
and their own emblem. Eventually, the whole island
could sing their jingle and grew to trust the Sunshine
Guys. The bold plan of action had set Brad’s com-
pany apart from their competitors.
 Make a Plan of Action 103

A PLAN OF ACTION INCLUDES . . .

a clear statement of the overall plan
goals and clear-cut objectives
a step-by-step strategy
a schedule with deadlines
allocation of human and financial
resources
delegation of jobs
contingency plans
an internal review system

SCHEDULING
A time line of action is an integral part of forming a
plan of action. When will new brochures need to be
issued? March 15? That means the rewritten copy
must be completed by . . . which means the writer or
publicity firm must be hired by . . . . Scheduling
needs to be specific and realistic, encompassing every
part of the action plan.
Each objective should have its own deadline or dead-
lines. And those deadlines have to be coordinated with
all other objectives. In Brad’s solar-panel campaign in
Hawaii, his coworkers and he decided on a media blitz,
with print, radio, and television advertising starting
the same day. In this type of campaign, Brad and his
coworkers have a number of individuals to contact and
104 Problem Solving

coordinate with. They must consider the importance of

each contact and plan all of the schedules accordingly.
One of the worst crimes a team member can com-
mit against his team is to miss a deadline. Don’t do it.
Your geography teacher may have been understanding
of missed deadlines, but your team can’t afford this
luxury. If you fail to meet your deadline, you could sin-
gle-handedly derail your company’s action plan.

DELEGATING
Once all the individual parts of the plan of action
have been detailed, with goals and objectives in place
and a time line established, it’s time to delegate the
work, deciding who does what. A good manager or
team leader will delegate wisely. Work should be as
evenly distributed as possible. And team members
should be working in areas of their strengths.

I not only use all the brains I have, but all I can borrow.

—Woodrow Wilson, U.S. president

As the rookie on the problem-solving team, you

may not get the jobs you want. The team may put
you in charge of copying materials, when all you
want is a crack at creating television ads. Realize that
you’re going to have to earn those glitzier jobs. Give
all you’ve got to whatever assignments you are given.
Then you may do better next time.
 Make a Plan of Action 105

DOS AND DON’TS OF A GOOD

PROBLEM-SOLVING TEAM
DO DON’T

Delegate responsibilities. Make one person

do all of the work.

Specify goals and work Have different goals.

toward them as a team.

Establish a time line and Plan last-minute tasks

make sure that everyone without letting every-
on the team knows it. one know about them.

Brainstorm together Quickly draw up a

to get everyone’s plan without thinking
ideas on the table. it through.

Encourage people to Judge your teammates

speak freely. and make them feel
inhibited.

If you get to volunteer for tasks, don’t just ask for

the more glamorous or the easier jobs. Everybody
will know why your hand went up, and your cowork-
ers won’t appreciate it. Instead, volunteer for tasks
you know you can do well. Communicate effectively,
asking what’s involved in the task and being honest
about your strengths and weaknesses. Ask for the
legwork jobs that nobody wants. Do more than you
have to do just to hold up your end.
106 Problem Solving

Don’t consider your job done when you’ve accom-

plished everything you’ve been delegated. You’re not
done until the whole plan is accomplished. So if you
find yourself with free time on your hands, ask your
teammates what you can do to help them with their
responsibilities.

Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than

anybody else expects of you.

—Henry Ward Beecher, American clergyman

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

A sound action plan includes other essentials, too.
How much money will you need to see the plan
through? Where will you get the funds? Will you
need more personnel? More space? More direction?

The way to achieve success is first to have a definite,

clear, practical idea—a goal or an objective. Second,
have the necessary means to achieve your ends—
wisdom, money, materials, methods. Third, adjust all
your means to that end.

—Aristotle, Greek philosopher

Every great Plan A has a good Plan B waiting in the

wings—just in case. Chapter 9 deals with contin-
gency plans and troubleshooting.
 Make a Plan of Action 107

EXERCISE
Draw up your own plan of action for successfully getting into
the right college.

1. Brainstorm your possibilities. (Where and how?)

2. Evaluate your choices. (You could play lots of video

games, or you could study to get good grades. You
could fill out scholarship applications, or you could
just watch movies instead.)

3. Modify and select a plan. (State it clearly in writing.)

4. List the steps you’ll need to pull off your plan. (Fill
out applications; get your transcripts sent, etc.)

5. Schedule the preceding steps. (Give yourself a

deadline for completing the applications.)

6. Delegate. (Have your family help with college

research or ask around to find out which colleges
are the best for your interests.)

7. Put it together. (Go ahead and do it.)

IN SUMMARY . . .
Make sure that your plan of action includes
delegating responsibilities. If multiple
people work on something, it will likely get
done faster.
108 Problem Solving

Realize that you will have to climb your way

up the ladder at work. Do more than is
expected of you, and you will eventually be
given more responsibility.
Evaluate your choices carefully and
remember to keep the overall outcome in
mind.
Write a time line that specifically states your
plan. Stick to the dates on this time line
religiously—this is the only way you will
ever complete things on time.
Don’t forget to specify exactly what will be
necessary to complete a task. Think over
even such small details as who will purchase
supplies and provide transportation.
 9

STEP 5—FOLLOW
THROUGH

Y ou’ve done it! You’ve gone from a brainstorming

session of wild ideas, through research and analy-
sis, to come up with a plan of action. You’ve broken
Don’t forget
about the follow-
that plan into detailed steps with deadlines. through step.
Assignments have been delegated, and your team is
ready to charge.
But hold on just a minute. Don’t forget about the
follow-through step. The best time to begin follow
through is before you start.

If anything can go wrong, it will.

—Murphy’s Law

ANTICIPATE PROBLEMS
Before you and your team race out of the conference
room and head separate ways, anticipate potential

109
110 Problem Solving

problems with your plan. Try a variation on a brain-

storming session. Ask, “What could go wrong?”
People don’t always react the way you think they
will. If your plan hinges on certain people, ask what-
if questions. “What if she’s too angry to say yes?”
“What if he won’t see us?” “What if her schedule is
full or she doesn’t like the plan?”
Money never goes quite as far as you think it will.
What if you run out of money in your ad campaign?
Might the radio have raised its commercial rate? And
what if you get into the campaign and see it’s not
working?
Should you ask for more help, just in case? Do you
have enough access to the copy machine? And what
if the city has another blackout? Always anticipate
potential problems.
However, no amount of planning can predict
everything. As analytical and logical as our left brain
may be, it’s not all-knowing. But if we can anticipate
what might go wrong, we’ll be better prepared and
likely less frustrated when things do go wrong.
Jerry works for a large trucking company, supply-
ing rigs to clients. He does all he can to anticipate
possible problems for his customers. “Anticipating
trouble is the easiest part of my job. I helped raise my
six younger brothers and sisters. Something was
always bound to go wrong.” He explains that he feels
it’s part of his duty to prepare his customers for
unforeseen trouble. “I check the weather and try to
let them know if that might slow delivery. I always
tell them somebody might return the rig late to us, or
it might need repair. Then if something happens,
 Follow Through 111

they remember I warned them. And they’re not quite

so upset.”

DEVELOP A CONTINGENCY PLAN

A contingency is something that depends on unfore-
seen or accidental occurrences. You do all you can to
make sure your plan of action will succeed. But just
in case it doesn’t, it’s a good idea to plan for any con-
tingency. If Plan A falls apart, do you have a Plan B?
If you worked through the problem-solving process,
you do have contingency plans. When you generated
all those possible solutions and evaluated their worth,
you left behind several alternative plans. So before
you start Plan A, make sure you select a Plan B to
keep on the back burner. If you are fortunate, you’ll
never need it. But if you do need it, you’ll be glad it’s
there waiting for you.
Tess directed a nursing home in a major city.
Although it was located in a densely populated area,
the number of patients were declining and so were
operating funds. The administrative team decided to
raise money and at the same time get neighborhood
residents in for a visit. If residents could see for them-
selves the quality of the common areas and rooms
and the professionalism of the workers, the staff
believed the problem would be solved.
Tess and her staff organized a community rum-
mage and yard sale at the nursing home. They hoped
to raise a little cash. More important, neighbors could
have the chance to check out the nursing home.
112 Problem Solving

All went according to Tess’s well-thought-out

plans, except for one unforeseen problem. Neighbors
poured into the yard sale, but nobody ventured
inside the nursing home. Then Tess remembered one
of the plans they had rejected in favor of the yard
sale. One of the staff members had suggested that
they hold the show inside the nursing home.
Tess had her staff bring all of the assorted sales items
inside. Now visitors had to go inside to see the mer-
chandise. Once inside, many neighbors took a tour of
the home and talked with staff members. Tess was
grateful for the contingency plan.

TROUBLESHOOTING
Troubleshooting means investigating, finding, and
eliminating the source of trouble. Most trouble-
Competent teams
shooting occurs when a plan runs into real prob-
try to trouble-
lems. But competent teams try to troubleshoot
shoot problems
problems before they arise.
before they
How can you troubleshoot a problem ahead of time?
arise.
Take a test run. Try your strategy on a small warm-up
audience. Jay Leno has a habit of trying out his jokes
and monologue material at a small nightclub before
delivering them on the Tonight Show. If the joke bombs
in the test audience, he may have saved himself a big
embarrassment on national television. He can “fix” the
joke or throw it out altogether.
If at all possible, try your plan out before you com-
mit all the troops. Then alter the plan before it’s too
late.
 Follow Through 113

BE FLEXIBLE WHEN CONFRONTED

WITH PROBLEMS
Anticipate potential problems. Make contingency
plans. Troubleshoot your ideas. But no matter how
thorough you are, you’ll run into problems. Be flex-
ible when you encounter them.

Poor thinkers judge too quickly and uncritically,

ignoring the need for evidence and letting their
feelings shape their conclusions. Blind to their
limitations and predispositions, poor thinkers trust
their judgment implicitly, ignoring the possibility of
imperfections, complications, or negative responses.

—Vincent Ryan Ruggiero in The Art of Thinking

Flexibility is highly valued in a problem solver. Flexi-

bility is an asset because even top dollar can’t buy Flexibility is
omniscience. Movie advertisers put together a short highly valued in a
film clip, or trailer, to promote movies. The clip problem solver.
includes quick scenes or snatches of dialogue from the
actual movie, a slogan or catchphrase (“Be afraid. Be
very afraid.”) or staged testimonials (“I was so scared,
I spilled my popcorn!”).
But regardless of the money producers put into these
trailers, the ad people can miss the mark. So producers
and ad people have to be flexible. If marketing surveys
indicate that no one is buying this future film as a scary
movie, the advertisers pick a different clip, call it the
greatest love story ever told, and run a new trailer.
114 Problem Solving

EXERCISE
The following are examples of worst-case scenarios. Put
yourself in the shoes of the person involved in each scenario.
What type of Plan B would you have developed beforehand
to eliminate these disasters?
1. You are employed as a wedding planner, and the outdoor
wedding you’ve so carefully organized is being drenched by rain.
2. Several of the foreign acts you booked for your school’s
international music fest cancel at the last minute because of an
airline strike.
3. Your college application to Harvard is rejected.
4. The apartment you planned to rent was given to somebody else.
5. You are making a PowerPoint presentation to a large group of
people when your computer freezes.

Plan B Solutions:
1. You might have erected a large tent near the wedding grounds as
a backup, or you could have reserved space at a nearby hall or
auditorium as a contingency plan.
2. You might have gathered a list of local musicians interested in
filling in at the last minute in the event of a cancellation.
3. You would have avoided putting yourself into a corner by
applying to at least five colleges with a variety of admission
requirements.
4. You might have continued to follow through with your
apartment search until you signed a lease.
5. You could have borrowed/rented a backup computer to have on
hand during your presentation. You also could have made
backup files in case you had a problem with the computer or
files. Or you might have you prepared paper handouts as a
worst-case scenario substitute for your PowerPoint presentation.
 Follow Through 115

You may not have the resources to put together a

whole new campaign. But you owe your employer
and your coworkers flexibility. When you run into a
brick wall, you can crumble into pieces, or you can
flex and find a way around it.

BE PERSISTENT TO MEET GOALS

AND COMPLETE PROJECTS
Remember, we’re talking about solving a problem, a
real problem. Your job as a problem solver isn’t fin-
ished when you get your grand action plan. Your job
isn’t over until the problem is solved.

Some men give up their designs when they almost reach

their goals; while others, on the contrary, obtain a
victory by exerting, at the last moment, more vigorous
efforts than before.

—Polybius, Greek historian

Each person on your team should persist in the com-

pletion of every objective. If some director won’t talk to
you on the phone, show up in person. If that doesn’t
work, send a telegram, flowers, or a chocolate chip
cookie. Persist. Don’t stop until you get what you want.
Keep in mind that vision of the end. Remember
why you started in the first place. It takes persistence
to stay with a plan until it’s completed.
116 Problem Solving

CELEBRATE MAJOR AND MINOR

ACHIEVEMENTS
Working out and following through with your plan
can be stressful. Take time out to celebrate each victory.
When someone pulls off his or her part of
the plan, everybody should join in the
celebration and success.
Mark milestones with a celebration. Make
sure you get together regularly for progress
reports. When you reach your first week
where everyone is right on schedule, pat
yourselves on the back. Encourage each
other and keep the end in plain sight.

WHEN TO CELEBRATE
At the one-week point

At the one-month point

With every individual success

As you receive positive feedback to your plan

When you reach an objective

When you overcome an obstacle

When you arrive at the end of the project

Before you move on to the next project or assignment

 Follow Through 117

Don’t forget to celebrate with your coworkers when you solve a problem or complete a
project. (Corbis)

When you get any positive feedback on

your plan, celebrate. The celebration might
take the form of a presentation, illustrating
the amazing effect of your master plan in
action.
Finally, when you’ve made it to the end and
the problem is solved, don’t forget to
celebrate. Too often, that’s when the team
adjourns. Then the moment of shared
triumph is over, and the team has missed an
opportunity to deepen team unity.
118 Problem Solving

When students at a West Coast school spearheaded

a local United Way drive, they took advantage of
every opportunity to celebrate victories. All over the
city, students set out thermometer signs, clearly
marked with eight lines, each indicating a dollar
amount. As contributions came in, students painted
the thermometer in red to show how much money
had been raised and how far they hoped to go. And
whenever a school or business reached a new level,
students celebrated. They showed up personally and
congratulated participants.
Don’t miss the chance to celebrate success.

LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES

Finally, the best way to grow as a problem solver is to
learn from mistakes. You can learn from your own
mistakes, from those of others, or from the mistakes
of your company as a whole. Keep a notebook or a
file of what you learn. Your experiences can do more
for you than a whole book on problem solving (but
only if you learn from your mistakes).

There are three classes of people in the world. The first

learn from their own experience—these are wise; the
second learn from the experience of others—these are
happy; the third neither learn from their own experiences
nor the experiences of others—these are fools.

—Philip Chesterfield, English

statesman and author
 Follow Through 119

EXERCISE
Name three mistakes you’ve made in the past three
years, and explain what you’ve learned from each
mistake.

What kinds of contingency plans do sports teams

need? Wedding planners? Police during a public
demonstration? Tour guides?

Make a New Year’s resolution. Imagine everything

that might go wrong. What might you do to reduce
the risk of not meeting your goal?

IN SUMMARY . . .
Once you develop your plan of action, and
before your team begins the project, ask
yourself what could go wrong with the
plan. Try to anticipate every possible
problem and develop a contingency plan.
If at all possible, try out your plan before
you commit all your resources. This will
allow you to modify the plan’s weak aspects
before you get into the project.
Even the best-laid plans will encounter
roadblocks, speed bumps, and other
challenges. Be flexible when you encounter
problems and be willing to change your
thinking to meet goals.
120 Problem Solving

Be persistent as you work toward project

objectives. Don’t accept no for an answer.
Do everything you can to make the project
a success.
Learn from your mistakes, from the
mistakes of others, and from the mistakes of
your company as a whole. Keep a notebook
of what went wrong and right during the
project. Use these notes to help you learn
from your mistakes.
Take the time to celebrate project
milestones, as well as the completion of the
project. Celebrating milestones will build
your team’s confidence and allow you to
stay focused on the big picture.
 10

DECISION MAKING

D o you hate decisions? Do you buy only one

brand of cereal because you can’t stand making
decisions early in the morning? Now that you have a
method for solving problems, you also have a deci-
sion-making method. With a few minor adjustments,
you can use the same steps to arrive at almost any
decision.

In life, never spend more than 10 percent of your time

on the problem, and spend at least 90 percent of your
time on the solution.

—Fundamental rule of business

Let’s see how the same five-step approach to prob-

lem solving works for making personal decisions.
Suppose you have enough money saved to buy your
first car. What are you going to choose?

121
122 Problem Solving

STEP 1—IDENTIFY AND DEFINE

THE DECISION TO BE MADE
You stand on the threshold of your first car purchase.
But to identify this necessary decision, you may have
had to do a lot of thinking. Your questioning may
have started with, “Should I take the bus or call my
buddy?” “Should I walk or go back to bed?”
But you’ve sorted through the pile of questions
and are determined to buy a car—some car, any car.
Obviously, the decision is which car you should buy.
Or is it?

A good problem solver makes unpopular decisions

when necessary, but considers the impact of decisions,
remaining sensitive to other departments and
individuals.

—Human resources professional

STEP 2—WEIGH GOALS AND

OBJECTIVES
As a business needs to relate its short-range goals to
its long-term goals, or mission statement, you need to
base your decision on your long-range goals, too.
Check your short-term decisions against your long-
term goals.
Your long-term goal may be to go to college. If you
need this car money for your first year’s tuition, you
have another decision to make.
 Decision Making 123

SURF THE WEB: DECISION MAKING

Mind Tools: Techniques for Effective Decision Making
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/main/newMN_TED.htm

But let’s say you’re not threatening your college

career with the purchase. So you define the decision
to be made: Which car shall I buy?

STEP 3—GENERATE CHOICES

Now you do your homework—your car buyer’s home-
work, that is. You go through car showrooms, school
parking lots, want ads, and websites that advertise
cars. You list every possible car for sale in the United
States and beyond.
The sky’s the limit in your dream list. Leave that
Porsche and Ferrari right where they are, at the top of

FIVE FOES OF DECISION MAKING

1. Fear of failure

2. Rush to judgment

3. Laziness

4. Short-sighted disregard for long-range goals

5. Self-deception
124 Problem Solving

the list. Keep going. Ask Uncle Chuck if he wants to

sell his old Dodge. Are they still selling station wagons?
Remember, this is the brainstorming phase. No
censuring allowed.

STEP 4—EVALUATE YOUR CHOICES

Now it’s time to get real. Evaluate your choices
according to your needs and ability. (You can still get
the color you want.) The more information you have,
the better. Try consulting Consumer Reports, the
Internet, car owners, or a good mechanic.

FACT

Intelligence is derived from two words—inter

(meaning “between”) and legere (meaning
“to choose”). An intelligent person is one
who learns to choose between or among
options.

Making a list of pros and cons, or good and bad

points, about your top choices may help you reach a
decision. Imagine you’ve narrowed your list down to
two possibilities: (1) buying your dad’s Chevy or (2)
buying a used Honda. Try making a chart like the one
for “Dad’s Chevy” on the next page.
Now make a similar list for the Honda. Then try to
take an objective look at the strengths and weak-
nesses of each car.
 Decision Making 125

DAD’S CHEVY
PROS CONS
The price is right Drive my dad’s car?
New tires Gas guzzler
No interest Unexciting model
Known condition Five years old

There is nothing more to be esteemed than a manly

firmness of character and decision of character. I like a
person who knows his own mind and sticks to it; who
sees at once what, in given circumstances is to be done,
and does it.

—William Hazlitt, English author

STEP 5—MAKE THE DECISION

The time will come when you must decide. Let’s hope
the decision-making process has clarified your
choices and shown you what to do. Some of us still
drag our feet and put off deciding as long as possible.
Others tend to rush into everything. It will help you
to know which way you lean.
Some people make decisions too quickly. If you’re
one of them, make yourself slow down. Don’t come to
snap decisions. Try to stay flexible for as long as you
126 Problem Solving

TIPS ON DECISION MAKING

Clearly define the decision to be made.
Evaluate your decisions by your long-term goals.
Generate many possible decisions.
Evaluate each possible answer.
Make a list of pros and cons.
Know that you may change your mind.
Learn from your mistakes.

can. You’ll waste more time trying to undo a wrong

decision.
Delaying a decision is not the same as indecision,
however. Some people are too slow to decide. If that’s
you, realize that many decisions can be changed
quite easily. You have to move on something. It’s eas-
ier to change the direction of a moving vehicle than
one stuck in the mud. Even if you make a mistake, it’s
probably not the end of the world.

NO PROBLEM

Review the steps to problem solving:

Step 1—Identify and define the problem.

 Decision Making 127

Step 2—Define goals and objectives.

Step 3—Generate solutions.

Step 4—Make a plan of action.

Step 5—Follow through.

Don’t forget that problems can turn into opportu-

nities if you use both kinds of thinking—scientific
Don’t forget
and creative. Imagine the first guy who spilled bleach
that problems
on his blue jeans and called it “stonewashed.” Or how
can turn into
about the fellow who ran from his bathtub, screaming,
opportunities if
“Eureka!” when he figured out the displacement of
you use both
water theory. Or consider Dr. Fleming, who returned to
kinds of
his lab and found a mold growing on a specimen slide.
thinking—
That problem turned into the discovery of penicillin.
scientific and
Will you be one of those people who can say, “No
creative.
problem” to difficulties? The decision is yours.

Men must be decided on what they will not do, and they
are able to act with vigor in what they ought to do.

—Mencius, Confucian philosopher

EXERCISE
What’s the biggest decision you’re facing
now? Run it through the five-step problem-
solving process.
128 Problem Solving

IN SUMMARY . . .
You can apply the five basic steps of
problem solving to decision making, too.
The five steps are:
1. Identify and define the decision to
be made.
2. Weigh goals and objectives.
3. Generate choices.
4. Evaluate your choices.
5. Make the decision.
Creating a pro/con list is a great way to
determine the strengths and weaknesses of a
potential decision.
The five foes of decision making are:
1. fear of failure
2. rushing to judgment
3. laziness
4. short-sighted disregard for long-range
goals
5. self-deception
To make a decision, you need to be confident,
deliberate, energetic, cognizant of long-term
benefits, and honest with yourself.
Delaying a decision is not the same as
indecision.
Problems can turn into opportunities if you
use both scientific and creative thinking.
 GLOSSARY

brainstorming: the practice of quickly generating

multiple ideas

clustering: a brainstorming technique to help spill

out flashes of inspiration in unplanned relation-
ships; thoughts come out as clusters

contingency: something that depends on unfore-

seen or accidental occurrences

convergent thinking: logical, critical, analytical,

straight-line, or predictable thinking; same as “sci-
entific thinking”

creative thinking: inspirational, divergent, in-

sightful, exploratory, or unpredictable thinking;
creative thinking rockets you through new,
provocative channels to shed light on new answers
to old problems

divergent thinking: same as “creative thinking”

ex post facto: faulty reasoning based on an

assumed cause and effect

129
130 Problem Solving

flowchart: a chart that shows steps in a sequence of

operations

freewriting: a brainstorming technique that

involves writing whatever comes to mind for a
short duration of time

hasty generalization: the logical fallacy of assum-

ing a connection between possibly unrelated
events

hypothesis: an opinion or theory to be tested

listing: a brainstorming method that involves writ-

ing down ideas as fast as you can

logical fallacy: errors in thinking

long-range goals: goals that involve more detailed

and complex planning and, consequently, take
more time to reach

many-sided problems: problems that combine dif-

ficulties involving people, organizations, and
equipment

mechanical problems: problems caused by com-

puter software and hardware, telephone voice
mail, machinery, and office equipment; also called
technical problems

objectives: usually small, specific steps that lead to

a larger goal

organizational problems: problems in the work-

place that are out of an individual’s control and
 Glossary 131

that do not allow him or her to complete tasks;

these might include the inability to get resources to
complete a task, an unclear chain of command,
economic or marketplace changes, and overlapping
responses

people problems: problems that involve yourself,

one other person, or a group of people

poisoning the well: hampering the credibility of

people before they have an opportunity to present
their cases

problem-solving skills: techniques that help clar-

ify thinking and get to the root of problems, thus
enabling an effective solution

short-range goals: goals that can be achieved in a

short time

six Ws: who, what, when, where, why, and what if;
a method of analysis used to identify a problem

scientific thinking: logical, critical, analytical,

convergent, straight-line, and predictable think-
ing; it follows certain rules of logic from Point A
through Point B to Point C

SWOT test: a test used to determine the true prob-

lem in a situation; SWOT=analyzing a situation
for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and sea-
sonal threats

troubleshooting: investigating, finding, and wip-

ing out the source of trouble
132 Problem Solving

visualization: the practice of creating a mental pic-

ture

word association: a brainstorming technique that

involves responding immediately to a spoken or
written word with another word; the word may or
may not have a correlation to the first word; used
to generate offbeat associations that may lead to a
creative solution for a problem
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Browne, M. Neil, and Stuart Keeley. Asking the Right
Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking. New York:
Prentice Hall College Division, 2000.
Carter, Philip, and Ken Russell. Workout for a Balanced
Brain: Exercises, Puzzles & Games to Sharpen Both Sides
of Your Brain. New York: Readers Digest, 2001.
Dombroski, Thomas. Creative Problem Solving: The Door
to Individual Success and Change. Lincoln, Nebr.:
iUniverse.com, 2000.
Fobes, Richard. Creative Problem Solver’s Toolbox: A
Complete Course in the Art of Creating Solutions to
Problems of Any Kind. Portland, Oreg.: Solutions
Through Innovation, 1993.
Forte, Imogene, and Sandra Schurr. 180 Icebeakers to
Strengthen Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills.
Nashville, Tenn.: Incentive Publications, 1996.
Foster, Jack, and Larry Corby. How to Get Ideas. San
Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 1996.
Gula, Robert. Nonsense: A Handbook of Logical Fallacies.
Mt. Jackson, Va.: Axios Press, 2002.
133
134 Problem Solving

Jones, Morgan. The Thinker’s Toolkit: Fourteen Powerful

Techniques for Problem Solving. New York: Times
Books, 1998.
Kreeft, Peter. Socratic Logic: A Logic Text Using Socratic
Method, Platonic Questions, and Aristotelian Principles.
Chicago: St. Augustine Press, Inc., 2003.
McCoy, Charles Jr. Why Didn’t I Think of That? Think
the Unthinkable and Achieve Creative Greatness. New
York: Prentice Hall Press, 2002.
Monahan, Tom. The Do-It Yourself Lobotomy: Open Your
Mind to Greater Creative Thinking. Hoboken, N.J.: John
Wiley & Sons, 2002.
Priest, Graham. Logic: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2000.
Rich, Jason R. Brain Storm: Tap into Your Creativity to
Generate Awesome Ideas and Remarkable Results.
Franklin Lakes, N.J.: Career Press, 2003.
Rico, Gabriele. Writing the Natural Way: Using Right-
Brain Techniques to Release Your Expressive Powers. Los
Angeles: J. P. Tarcher, Inc., 2000.
Straker, David. Rapid Problem Solving with Post-It Notes.
Cambridge, Mass.: Perseus Publishing, 1997.
Tracy, Brian. Goals: How to Get Everything You Want—
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Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2003.
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 Index
A contingency 111–112, 129
achievements, celebrating 116–118 convergent thinking 129
action plan creative problem solvers 7–8, 14, 16
delegating 104–106 creative thinking
evaluating choices 2, 99–101 asking questions 37–38
listing steps 102–103 brainstorming 36–37
modifying and selecting 101–102 child-like curiosity, recapturing 41–42
pulling together 106 described 4, 20, 33, 129
scheduling 103–104 idea woman 35–36
Ally, Carl 87 jotting ideas in notebook 39–40
analytical thinking. See scientific thinking reversing usual pattern 38–39
Aristotle 106 sample problems 34, 44
authority, establishing 65 visualizing 40–41, 132
credibility, hurting others’. See poisoning
B the well
Beecher, Henry Ward 106 critical thinking. See scientific thinking
Bell, Alexander Graham 101 Critical Thinking: How to Prepare Students
brain, left versus right side 20–22 for a Rapidly Changing World 29
brainstorming curiosity, recapturing child-like 41–42
books, recommended 93 customer-service problems 11–13
clustering or mapping method 94–95
described 36–37, 129 D
freewriting method 95–97 D’Angelo, Anthony J. 51
judgments, avoiding 90 decision making
listing method 92 evaluating choices 124–125
reviewing all ideas 90–92 focus on solution 121
time limit 89–90 generating choices 123–124
usefulness 87–89 identifying and defining decision
word association method 93–94, 132 122
speed 125–126
C weighing goals and objectives
car washing in the rain. See ex post facto 122–123
logical fallacy defining problem. See identifying and
cause and effect, faulty logic. See ex post defining problem
facto logical fallacy delegating 104–106
celebrating major and minor achieve- divergent thinking. See creative thinking
ments 116–118 don’t ask me philosophy 13, 16
chain of command 65 dots problem 34, 44
Chesterfield, Phillip 118
child-like curiosity, recapturing 41–42 E
choices, generating 123–124 Einstein, Albert 34
clustering 94–95, 129 elevator boredom problem 7–8
conclusions, drawing 27 emotional arguments 53–54

135
136 Problem Solving

employees Hazlitt, William 125

creative thinking 42 hem repair problem 35
expectations of 12 hypothesis 26–27, 130
problems, approaches to handling 13–17
evaluating choices 124–125 I
everyday problems 9–10 ideas, tracking in notebook 39–40
ex post facto logical fallacy 52–53, 129 idea woman 35–36
identification, problem 26
F identifying and defining problem
FEAR (false evidence appearing real) 80 decision phase 122
flexibility 113, 115 described 1, 59–60
flowchart 65, 130 many-sided 67–68
focus on solution 121 mechanical 66–67
follow through organizational 65–66
anticipating problems 109–111 people 60–64
celebrating major and minor achieve- research 71–72
ments 116–118 six Ws analysis method 68–70
contingency plan 111–112 SWOT test 70–71
flexibility 113, 115 information, collecting 26
learning from mistakes 118 intelligence 34, 124
persistency 115 investigating problem 26
troubleshooting 112
freewriting 95–97, 130 J
job. See employees
G judgment
Gardner, John W. 14 avoiding while brainstorming 90
generalization, hasty 50–51, 130 rush to 48–50
goals
connecting to real problem 76 L
described 75–76 learning from mistakes 118
good 78–79 left brain 4, 20–22
objectives 80–82 Lincoln, Abraham 63
setting 76–77, 79 Lindgren, Amy 77
specific and realistic 80 listing
visualizing 77–78 action plan steps 102–103
weighing 122–123 brainstorming method 92, 130
good goals 78–79 logical fallacies
groups, problems with 64 described 4, 46–47, 130
emotional arguments 53–54
H ex post facto 52–53
Harrington, Norris Archer 27, 29 hasty generalizations 50–51
hasty generalization 50–51, 130 “not so fast” 47–48
 Index 137

poisoning the well 51–52 personality problems 61–63

rush to judgment 48–50 Picasso, Pablo 78
thinking aids to avoid 54–56 poisoning the well 51–52, 131
logical thinking. See scientific thinking Polybius 115
longer lines problem 47 possibilities, exploring. See creative
long-range goals 78, 130 thinking
predictable thinking. See scientific
M thinking
many-sided problems 67–68, 130 problem-solving skills, described 131
mapping method 94–95 promises, faulty 45–46
Maslow, Abraham 38
math skills 22–25, 32 Q
mechanical problems 66–67, 130 questions, asking 37–38
Mencius 127
Mencken, H. L. 25
R
modifying action plan 101–102
reputation, building 3, 11
multiple choices 86–87
research 71–72
Murphy’s Law 109
reversing problem 38–39
reviewing all ideas 90–92
N Richmond, J.R. 13–14
Newton, Sir Isaac 36 Rico, Gabriele Lusser 85
notebook, jotting ideas in 39–40 right brain. See also creative thinking
not my problem philosophy 13, 16 Rogers, Will 99
“not so fast” logical fallacy 47–48 Ruggiero, Vincent Ryan 19, 113
rush to judgment logical fallacy 48–50
O
objectives S
described 130 Saporta, Alan 1
setting 80–82 scheduling action 103–104
weighing 122–123 scientific thinking
obstacles brain, drawing on both sides of 20–22
logical fallacies 46–54 described 4, 19–20, 131
promises, faulty 45–46 math skills 22–25, 32
opportunities. See SWOT test skills, developing 29–31
organizational problems 65–66, 130–131 Socratic Method 27–29
steps 25–27
P seasonal threats. See SWOT test
Pattern Recognition and Modern Computers short-range goals 78, 131
37 Silbert, Mimi 14–15, 17
Paul, Richard 29 six Ws 68–70, 131
people problems 61–64, 131 Small Business Administration 80
persistency 115 small goals, setting 80–82
138 Problem Solving

Socrates 27–28 threats, seasonal. See SWOT test

Socratic Method 27–29 time limit, brainstorming 89–90
solutions Torrance, E. Paul 35
brainstorming 87–97 troubleshooting 112, 131
generating ideas 85–86
multiple choices 86–87 U
speedy decision making 125–126 upside-down, turning problem 38–39
Steinem, Gloria 50
Stengel, Casey 8, 9
steps to problem solving V
action plan 99–108 visualization
defining goals and objectives 75–83 creative thinking 40–41
follow through 109–120 described 132
generating solutions 85–98 goals 77–78
identifying and defining problem 59–74
straight liners 14, 16 W
straight-line thinking. See scientific weaknesses. See SWOT test
thinking websites 22, 29, 41, 42, 54, 62, 67, 96,
SWOT test (strengths, weaknesses, oppor- 123
tunities, and seasonal threats) 70–71, Wellington, Arthur Wellesley 51
131 well, poisoning the 51–52, 131
what now philosophy 13–14, 16
T Wilson, Woodrow 104
technical problems. See mechanical word association 93–94, 132
problems
term paper writing objectives 81 Y
THE CAT visual problem 37 yourself, problem with 60–61
thinking aids to avoid logical fallacies
54–56