Problem Solving 101
A Simple Book for Smart People
By: Ken Watanabe
Published: March 5, 2009
ISBN: 9781591842422
Format: Hardcover, 111pp
Publisher: Portfolio
"Problem solving isn't a talent limited to a lucky few. It's actually a skill and a habit that you can learn." writes former McKinsey & Company management consultant and international bestselling author Ken Watanabe, in his deceptively simple yet ultimately powerful guide Problem Solving 101: A Simple Book for Smart People. The author provides the essential building blocks, for developing a problem solving way of thinking, and how they can be utilized to achieve solutions in any situation.
Ken Watanabe had planned for the book to be used as a teaching tool, for the proposed transition of Japanese schools from rote learning, to teaching creating problem solving. As a result, the three insightful case studies presented in the text, involve students. While the examples might describe young people, the problem solving techniques are useful for people of all ages, and for all walks of life. The author understands that problem solving can be learned like any other skill. The powerful solution building tools presented in the book are easy to learn, and can be used successfully for a lifetime.
Ken Watanabe (photo left) illustrates his problem solving principles in three easy to follow case studies. Each narrative employs the basic building blocks in different ways to reach a solution to a seemingly difficult problem. Each lesson not only teaches methods of finding solutions, but also describes the importance of challenging your own thinking, and of developing a problem solving mindset.
To Ken Watanabe, forming the habit of practical problem solving, which involves changing previous modes of thought, inaction, or reckless activity, is equally important. Without changing the negative and self defeating habits of thinking that many people possess, creative thinking and problem solving are impossible. This twofold approach, of learning problem solving methods and unlearning unproductive habits, is crucial to success.
For me, the power of the book is how the problem solving tools are presented in easy to understand case studies. By placing each of the techniques in the context of three stories, Ken Watanabe shows the practical application of the ideas. At the same time, the author emphasizes the life long learning aspect of problem solving skills. Whether in a school, business, or any other aspect of one's life, obstacles will arise, that demand workable solutions. By giving us universal concepts for achieving results, they can become the automatic approach to problem solving for an entire lifetime.
U highly recommend the outlook altering book Problem Solving 101: A Simple Book for Smart People by Ken Watanabe, to anyone regardless of age or profession, who seeks to learn practical problem solving skills. Learning to create solutions, and why and how those solutions work, is a key component of the book.
Read the essential behavior changing book Problem Solving 101: A Simple Book for Smart People by Ken Watanabe, and leave your former unproductive thinking behind. In there place, learn the habit of approaching problems with a workable solution in mind. The skills learned from the book will serve you well for your entire life.
