By Arnaud, on July 4th, 2010% 
All problems are not equal: some can be solved only with facts while others require assumptions. Adapt your confidence accordingly.
Problems are not all alike
Morgan Jones’ The Thinker’s Toolkit separates problems according to their complexity.
The simplest problems—deterministic and direct problems—are those for which a single, exact answer exists. The answer is a fact and you only have to find the data (usually a Google search will do): how deep is the Danube river in Vienna, how many US president has there been, etc.
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By Arnaud, on July 4th, 2010% 
Effective problem-solving requires you to be deeply logical, as much in your thinking as in your communication.
The good news is that a few basic rules can help you at both stages. To guide our conversation, I have embedded a presentation that we use in our professional abilities workshops at UDEM and below is a summary.
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By Arnaud, on July 2nd, 2010% 
A central tenet of analytical problem solving is your considering all the possible solutions to your problem exactly once; that is, your approach must be mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive (sometimes written as “mutually exclusive and completely exhaustive”)—or MECE (pronounced “me see”).
MECE thinking is very popular with strategy consultancies, including the McKinsey, Bain, and BCG of the world. In fact the case interview that these companies filter their applicants with are designed to test whether you can think in a MECE-way. It is understandable: MECE thinking is both efficient and elegant; so let’s look at what it means and how you become an effective MECE thinker.
This is a preview of Be MECE (mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive) . Read the full post (727 words, 4 images, estimated 2:54 mins reading time)Related Posts:
By Arnaud, on July 2nd, 2010% 
To solve your problem you’ll have to ask “why” or “how”. Which one should you?
Formulate your problem with a “how” only if you already know its root cause(s)
Formulating your problem with a “how” is attractive because it forces you, right from the start, to think about potential solutions: you are dedicating yourself to finding the various ways in which you can solve it. Soon, you’ll decide which one is the best, implement it, and give yourself a pat on the back.
The problem is that much of your effort can be misplaced thinking “how” if you don’t know the root cause of your problem.
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By Arnaud, on July 2nd, 2010% 
It’s like tennis, you can’t become a good problem-solver just by reading about it. You have to practice it. And just like tennis, you’ll become much better if you practice with others rather than by yourself.
That’s why my graduate-level problem-solving course is not exactly a course. Rather, it’s a practical workshop. Each of the 20 students brings one problem— professional or personal—that causes them significant stress and we all work on it. So let’s talk about what works well there. Related Posts:
By Arnaud, on July 2nd, 2010% 
Logic trees (also called issue trees) are at the heart of analytical problem-solving and, therefore, are a recurrent theme on this site. We’ll use two types of trees: diagnosis trees and decision trees.
A logic trees is a graphical breakdown of your key question. Trees have four basic rules:
- They consistently answer to “why” or “how” (depending on your key question)
- They progress from the key question to the analysis as they move to the right
This is a preview of Build logic trees: diagnosis trees and decision trees . Read the full post (690 words, 2 images, estimated 2:46 mins reading time)Related Posts:
By Arnaud, on July 2nd, 2010%
You might have done the perfect analysis, but you won’t be successful unless you can convince your stakeholders that your recommendations are the right ones.
So let’s talk about communicating more effectively. This is a two-step process: the pre-talk preparation and the actual delivery.
“A key—perhaps the key—to leadership is the effective communication of a story.”
— Howard Gardner Related Posts:
By Arnaud, on July 2nd, 2010%
Identifying the right problem requires identifying the right key question and its environment. Each problem should have only one key question: the overarching question you propose to answer. The key question will have sub-questions, or sub-issues, but there is only all-encompassing question.
“The most serious mistakes are not being made as a result of wrong answers. The truly dangerous thing is asking the wrong questions.”
— Peter Drucker
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