Problem Solving 101: A Simple Book for Smart People (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Problem Solving 101 teaches us to recognize the common elements in the decisions we face every day, and how to think carefully about them. It offers tricks and tips for every age. If I may offer one more suggestion: when you don't know which of two options to chose, toss a coin, and when it is up there in the air think about how you want it to fall, and you have your answer.”
—Dan Ariely, author of The New York Times bestseller Predictably Irrational

“This book made me angry. It made me angry because there are so many people in this country who need to read it, who should read it, who will benefit enormously from reading it . . . and won't. They'll watch a reality show on TV instead. If everyone made decisions like Ken Watanabe, the world would be a better place.”
—Seth Godin, author of Tribes

“This is an excellent primer on problem solving.”
—Lowell Bryan, author of Mobilizing Minds

Product Description

The fun and simple problem-solving guide that took Japan by storm

Ken Watanabe originally wrote Problem Solving 101 for Japanese schoolchildren. His goal was to help shift the focus in Japanese education from memorization to critical thinking, by adapting some of the techniques he had learned as an elite McKinsey consultant.

He was amazed to discover that adults were hungry for his fun and easy guide to problem solving and decision making. The book became a surprise Japanese bestseller, with more than 370,000 in print after six months. Now American businesspeople can also use it to master some powerful skills.

Watanabe uses sample scenarios to illustrate his techniques, which include logic trees and matrixes. A rock band figures out how to drive up concert attendance. An aspiring animator budgets for a new computer purchase. Students decide which high school they will attend.

Illustrated with diagrams and quirky drawings, the book is simple enough for a middleschooler to understand but sophisticated enough for business leaders to apply to their most challenging problems.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover; 1 edition (March 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591842425
• ISBN-13: 978-1591842422
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #12,059 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars DECISIONS, DECISIONS, DECISIONS !, March 14, 2009

By	Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

What started out as a book written for Japanese children became a bestseller, read and followed by so many adults that it became Japan's #1 business book. Why? Because it offers easy to understand viable solutions to making the best problem solving decisions we can in order to reach the goals we wish to attain.

Before writing this book author Watanabe was a consultant for the global management consulting firm of McKinney & Company. As he writes, "For six years I worked with major companies all over the world to help solve their business challenges using a straightforward yet powerful set of problem-solving tools."

Then, in 2007 when the Japanese prime minster placed education at the top of his nation's agenda, Watanabe felt called to help. So he left McKinney to teach children and to write this book. Now, all of us are the beneficiaries.

In a nutshell he suggests 4 steps: (1) Identify the problem quite specifically. A problem can be as simple as where to have dinner that evening or as complex as a major investment. (2) Discover the root difficulties that are causing the problem. (3) Develop a plan of action or steps to be taken to resolve the issue. (4) Take action being prepared to substitute or modify until the issue is resolved.

This abbreviation of the author's ideas does in no way do justice to his theses. His book is replete with charts, graphs and example exercises. Read and learn !

- Gail Cooke

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great tool for getting people to sing from the same solid problem solving song-book, April 4, 2009

By	Craig Matteson (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This is a fabulous little book and useful for everyone. You can use it to teach yourself or remind yourself of the solid basics of problem solving. Or you can use it within your team so that everyone is working on problems with the same approach. And you can use it to teach your children how to approach the problems they face everyday of their life.

While the author originally wrote it as a children's book in Japan, it became a big bestseller there in the business world. Watanabe has adapted it for you and me, but still keeps that same childlike simplicity that makes the book so clear and so valuable. I think that the book has become such a sensation because the book speaks clearly but not condescendingly. The book teaches basic principles without oversimplifying them.

There are four "classes" or stories in the book that take you through a core principle in Watanabe's method (remember he was a consultant at McKinsey after studying at both Yale and Harvard). The first class shows you how your attitude and approach to the problems you face has a huge impact on whether you can handle the problems or not. The author provides four steps to problem solving:

1) understand the current situation
2) identify the root cause of the problem (not being satisfied with merely labeling symptoms)
3) develop an effective action plan (not falling for the trap of doing SOMETHNG)
4) execute until the problem is solved while making modifications as you learn.

The problems-solving tool boxes are also terrific. They are:
- Logic Tree
- Yes/No Tree
- Problem-Solving Design Plan
- Hypothesis Pyramid
- Pros and Cons

Really, this book is for everyone and something you can use in many different ways.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top of the list, April 7, 2009

By	David Weaver (Denver) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am a business book junkie. Most go in a drawer. A few go to the top of the desk. "The Toyota Way", "Ready, Fire, Aim", "Blue Ocean Strategy", "The Four Hour Work Week", "Elementary Statistics", and now "Problem Solving 101". These books are within reach all the time because they are that useful. Outstanding and creative document! Buy it!