Solve the Real Problem: Because What You Think Is the Problem Is Usually Not the Problem (Unabridged‪)‬

99% of the time what we THINK is the problem is actually NOT the problem.


We’ve all been there. You thought you solved a tough problem, and then it’s back again. Or you’ve worked and reworked your solution and you’re hitting dead ends.


Why? We have been taught to find answers to problems, not to question the problem itself. We are still using strategies we learned in elementary school to solve complex, non-routine, difficult and potentially dangerous problems.


However, research has shown that investing even 5 minutes redefining a problem produces more original and higher quality solutions than those developed without taking time for problem clarification.


Using examples from business, medicine, education, agriculture, manufacturing and more, Roger Firestien introduces the simplest of methods to uncover the correct problems to solve. That method? Questions. But not just any type of questions - creative questions.


Don’t waste your time solving the wrong problem.

Can you afford to spend 5 minutes to find the real problem?

Can you afford not to?