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What's Your Problem?: To Solve Your Toughest Problems, Change the Problems You Solve Kindle Edition
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"The author makes a compelling case that we often start solving a problem before thinking deeply about whether we are solving the right problem. If you want the superpower of solving better problems, read this book." -- Eric Schmidt, former CEO, Google
Are you solving the right problems? Have you or your colleagues ever worked hard on something, only to find out you were focusing on the wrong problem entirely? Most people have. In a survey, 85 percent of companies said they often struggle to solve the right problems. The consequences are severe: Leaders fight the wrong strategic battles. Teams spend their energy on low-impact work. Startups build products that nobody wants. Organizations implement "solutions" that somehow make things worse, not better. Everywhere you look, the waste is staggering. As Peter Drucker pointed out, there's nothing more dangerous than the right answer to the wrong question.
There is a way to do better.
The key is reframing, a crucial, underutilized skill that you can master with the help of this book. Using real-world stories and unforgettable examples like "the slow elevator problem," author Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg offers a simple, three-step method - Frame, Reframe, Move Forward - that anyone can use to start solving the right problems. Reframing is not difficult to learn. It can be used on everyday challenges and on the biggest, trickiest problems you face. In this visually engaging, deeply researched book, you’ll learn from leaders at large companies, from entrepreneurs, consultants, nonprofit leaders, and many other breakthrough thinkers.
It's time for everyone to stop barking up the wrong trees. Teach yourself and your team to reframe, and growth and success will follow.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherHarvard Business Review Press
- Publication dateMarch 17, 2020
- File size17316 KB
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Named a "top pick" for leadership books in 2020 by Adam Grant on LinkedIn
"The author makes a compelling case that we often start solving a problem before thinking deeply about whether we are solving the right problem. If you want the superpower of solving better problems, read this book." -- Eric Schmidt, former CEO, Google
"Whatever problems you're facing, this book is going to transform the way you solve them. Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg is an exceptionally lucid thinker and writer, and he has just raised the bar for practical wisdom. His framework won't just help you generate more creative ideas and make smarter decisions--it will teach you to see around corners." -- Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author, Originals and Give and Take; host, TED WorkLife podcast
"This unexpectedly engaging book is as practical as it is wise. Wedell-Wedellsborg shows us how to take off the cognitive and cultural blinders that prevent us from solving tough problems in our organizations and in our lives, and even makes it sound like fun." -- Amy C. Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management, Harvard Business School; author, The Fearless Organization
"Problem solving underpins strategy, management, and leadership, yet few business people receive any formal training in it. Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg has created a practical and accessible manual for how to frame and reframe problems, which should be very valuable to anyone engaged in business or government." -- Martin Reeves, Senior Partner, Boston Consulting Group; Chairman, BCG Henderson Institute
"Every once in a while, I read a book that makes me slap my forehead and ask, Why in the world haven't I been doing this? It was a particularly hard slap after reading What's Your Problem?--a book that provides you, quite literally, with a simple, evidence-based process to be more creative, insightful, and effective in your work every day. It also happens to be a delight to read." -- Heidi Grant, author, Nine Things Successful People Do Differently and Reinforcements
"Here's our challenge to you: Open this book to any page and start reading. If you don't feel immediately compelled to buy it, your life is a lot more interesting than ours. This book is a joy to read. It brings to mind the awesome power of that rare simplicity found 'on the far side of complexity.' It's the most useful business book we’ve read in years." -- Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen, New York Times bestselling coauthors, Difficult Conversations and Thanks for the Feedback
--This text refers to the paperback edition.About the Author
Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg is a globally recognized expert on innovation and problem solving. He has shared and refined his reframing method with clients like Cisco, Microsoft, Citigroup, Time Warner, AbbVie, Caterpillar, Amgen, Prudential, Union Pacific, Credit Suisse, Deloitte, the Wall Street Journal, and the United Nations. His first book, Innovation as Usual, with Paddy Miller (Harvard Business Review Press, 2013), was translated into five languages. For more information, visit thomaswedell.com.
To learn more about reframing, visit howtoreframe.com.
--This text refers to the paperback edition.Product details
- ASIN : B07V4TB9GX
- Publisher : Harvard Business Review Press (March 17, 2020)
- Publication date : March 17, 2020
- Language : English
- File size : 17316 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 211 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #381,996 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #391 in Business Systems & Planning
- #511 in Business Decision-Making
- #830 in Business Decision Making
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg is a Harvard Business Press author and a globally recognized expert on innovation and problem solving.
His first book, "Innovation as Usual", coauthored with Paddy Miller, was translated into five languages and got Thomas recognized as a "Top 20 International Thinker" by HR Magazine. Thomas' research has been featured in Harvard Business Review, The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, BBC Radio, Bloomberg Businessweek and the Financial Times.
His second book, "What's Your Problem?", was endorsed by Google's Eric Schmidt with the words "If you want the superpower of solving better problems, read this book". Thomas has shared and refined his reframing method with clients like Cisco, Microsoft, Citigroup, Time Warner, AbbVie, Caterpillar, Amgen, Prudential, Union Pacific, Credit Suisse, Deloitte, the Wall Street Journal, and the United Nations.
Thomas holds an MA in Media Science from the University of Copenhagen and an MBA from IESE Business School. Prior to his business career, Thomas served for four years as an officer with the Danish Royal Guards.
To learn more about Thomas, visit thomaswedell.com.
To learn more about reframing, visit howtoreframe.com.
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This is perhaps the idea being the printable Reframing Canvas...
Never heard of it before.
Thought it might be worth reading.
I guess I’m the kind of person that likes a clear more, straight to the point simple approach to problem solving.
His approach seems bit convoluted and not a very straightforward kind of system at solving problems.
May be overkill for common life problems.
But then I guess some problems may require what I call or see as ping pong approach in which the method for solving the problems is not linear but could require take several paths before reaching where you solution could be . A lot of mulling and may have to go back and forth between questions or take other approach. Some problems may require you to ask another kind of question or some sort of test (like user testing or experimental testing)
However, I guess you can let the summaries at the end of the chapters be your guide for applying it to some problems you face. Those sections of the book are I guess clear and helpful enough. Otherwise it seems very convoluted or hard to get a framework of his approach to solving problems but then again guess this book is not one of those books you or the average lay person can read through easily. I am college educated but this was a bit meaty.
I’m aware the publisher of this book is geared more towards the business demographic but this book is for life problems too
Highly recommend picking up a copy of this book. I promise that you will not be disappointed and that your life will improve significantly afterwords.
The author provides many links to external sources for further reading, and also a good dose of humour (I found myself laughing reading parts of the book, something quite rare with business readings).
A definitive recommendation for anyone involved in problem-solving, or seeking new ways to respond to various needs (such as a start-up).
It's about solving the right problems, which is very powerful. Learn to not get sucked into your first idea, but to see the issue at different levels and from different perspectives.
The book is easy to read, with just the right level of humour to make it fun without taking away from the content.
Highly recommended to... well, everybody.
Top reviews from other countries
The varied and interesting examples in the book help to take the reader through this important topic.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 13, 2020
The varied and interesting examples in the book help to take the reader through this important topic.
- Page 4: Problem: An elevator is too slow. Solution: Make the elevator faster. Defining a better problem: Waiting for the elevator is annoying. Solution: Make the wait feel shorter, for example by putting up mirrors, installing sanitizers and/or playing music.
- Pages 23, 29 and 33: To define a better problem, ask why the problem is a problem for people. Find details of the problem.
- Page 85: Where is the problem not? How can we do more of that?
- Page 174: Find more reasons for the problem and be open to the idea that there can be many explanations of the problem.
So overly long it should have been a 10 page article.
It is a painful book to read. Flimsy overly large soft cover and glossy paper that needs to be constantly repositioned to avoid reflections from the reading lamp.
Got to be really annoying after a while. I lacked the stamina to finish it.
Could have been a brilliant book, the execution failed.
It’s a clean and simple book that focuses on Reframing in the problem solving process - to solve your toughest problems, change the problems you solve.
‘Reword it’, ‘see it from a different perspective’ and ‘take it from a different angle’ are all phrases we’ve said before and this structures that approach so it can be repeated.
I can already think of so many ways to achieve small improvements at work by reframing.





