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12 Best Problem Solving Books to Read in 2024

You found our list of top problem solving books .

Problem solving books are guides that improve critical thinking capability and the ability to resolve issues in the workplace. These works cover topics like bias and logical fallacies, problem prevention, and prioritizing. The purpose of these books is to help workers remain calm under pressure and come up with solutions more quickly.

These guides are similar to decision making books , negotiation books , and conflict resolution books . To improve competency in this area, one can also play problem solving games .

This list includes:

• problem solving books for adults
• creative problem solving books
• business problem solving books
• problem solving books for programmers

Here we go!

List of problem solving books

Here is a list of books to improve problem solving skills in the workplace.

1. Fixed: How to Perfect the Fine Art of Problem Solving by Amy E Herman

Fixed is one of the most useful new books on problem solving. The book calls for problem solvers to look beyond instinctual and obvious answers and provides a framework for more creative thinking. While most folks think about problem solving in terms of logic, reason, and disciplines like math and science, this book shows the role that art and imagination play in the process. Amy Herman consulted on leadership training with Silicon Valley companies and military organizations and brings this expertise into the text to train readers on how to adopt a more innovative critical thinking approach.

Notable Quote: “Working through problems is critical for productivity, profit, and peace. Our problem-solving skills, however, have been short-circuited by our complicated, technology-reliant world.”

Read Fixed .

2. Cracked it!: How to solve big problems and sell solutions like top strategy consultants by Bernard Garrette, Corey Phelps, and Olivier Sibony

Cracked it! is one of the best creative problem solving books. Drawing inspiration from the tactics of consultants, this guide is a practical playbook for approaching business problems. The authors outline a “4S” method– State – Structure – Solve – Sell– to tackle obstacles and get support from stakeholders. While many problem solving books simply focus on how to think through issues, this guide also demonstrates how to gain approval for ideas and get others onboard with the solution. The book explains how to best use these techniques, and presents case studies that show the theories in action. Cracked it! is a handy reference for any professional that faces tough challenges on the regular.

Notable Quote: “If you want to know how a lion hunts, don’t go to a zoo. Go to the jungle.”

Read Cracked it!

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3. Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen by Dan Heath

Upstream takes a proactive approach to problem solving. The book urges readers to not only be responsive to issues, but also try to prevent obstacles from occurring. The guide opens with an exploration of “problem blindness,” and the psychological factors that cause folks to be oblivious to issues, along with a reminder that many problems are more controllable and avoidable than first assumed. The pages that follow outline a series of questions leaders can ask to fine-tune the system and steer clear of major headaches, for instance, “How Will You Unite the Right People?” and “How Will You Avoid Doing Harm?” Upstream is full of real world examples of how minor tweaks achieved major results and allowed organizations to sidestep serious holdups.

Notable Quote: “The postmortem for a problem can be the preamble to a solution.”

Read Upstream .

4. Problem Solving 101: A Simple Book for Smart People by Ken Watanabe

Problem Solving 101 is one of the most fun problem solving books for adults. Written by Ken Watanabe, the guide draws on Japanese philosophy as well as the author’s experience as a consultant at McKinsey to help readers understand and approach problems in productive ways. The pages provide blueprints for problem-solving methods such as logic trees and matrixes, and include scenarios and illustrations that help readers visualize the process more clearly. Problem Solving 101 breaks down the problem solving procedure into the most basic parts and lays out step-by-step instructions for choosing the best action in any situation.

Notable Quote: “When you do take action, every result is an opportunity to reflect and learn valuable lessons. Even if what you take away from your assessment seems to be of small consequence, all of these small improvements taken together make a huge difference in the long term.”

Read Problem Solving 101 .

5. What’s Your Problem?: To Solve Your Toughest Problems, Change the Problems You Solve by Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg

What’s Your Problem? insists that the most important step in the problem solving process is to start by honing in on the correct problem. The root of much frustration and wasted efforts is that professionals often pick the wrong points to focus on. This book teaches readers how to reframe and approach issues from a different perspective. The guide outlines a repeatable three step process “Frame, Reframe, and Move Forward” to ensure that workers prioritize effectively and stay on track to achieve desired results. What’s Your Problem? teaches professionals of all levels how to be less rigid and more results-focused and adopt a more agile approach to fixing issues.

Notable Quote: “The problems we’re trained on in school are often quite different from the ones we encounter in real life.”

Read What’s Your Problem?

6. Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days by Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky, et al

Sprint is one of the best problem solving books for programmers. The authors are the creators of the five-day-process at Google. This guide describes best practices for conducting sprints and solving problems in limited timeframes. The book provides a day-by-day breakdown of tasks for each day of the workweek, with the final steps being designing a prototype and a plan for implementation. Though this idea originated in the tech world and is most widely used in the software industry, this problem-solving and product design approach can be useful for any position that needs to find fixes in a time crunch.

Notable Quote: “We’ve found that magic happens when we use big whiteboards to solve problems. As humans, our short-term memory is not all that good, but our spatial memory is awesome. A sprint room, plastered with notes, diagrams, printouts, and more, takes advantage of that spatial memory. The room itself becomes a sort of shared brain for the team.”

Read Sprint , and check out this guide to virtual hackathons and this list of product design books .

7. Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life by Ozan Varol

Think Like a Rocket Scientist lays out formulas and instructions for thinking more strategically. The guide reveals common problem solving approaches used by rocket scientists when exploring the unknown and testing new technology. The book is split into three sections– launch, accelerate, and achieve– with deep dives into concepts such as moonshot thinking and overcoming failure. The anecdotes revolve around space exploration and rocket science yet the methods can be applied to more commonplace and less complex problems as well. Think Like a Rocket Scientist proves that one does not need to be a genius to be a genius problem solver and lets readers learn tricks from one of the most complex professions on the planet.

Notable Quote: “Critical thinking and creativity don’t come naturally to us. We’re hesitant to think big, reluctant to dance with uncertainty, and afraid of failure. These were necessary during the Paleolithic Period, keeping us safe from poisonous foods and predators. But here in the information age, they’re bugs.”

Read Think Like a Rocket Scientist .

8. Bulletproof Problem Solving: The One Skill That Changes Everything by Charles Conn and Robert McLean

Bulletproof Problem Solving is one of the best business problem solving books. This workbook-style-guide breaks down a “bulletproof” method of problem solving favored by consultants at McKinsey. The authors distill the process into seven simple steps–define the problem, disaggregate, prioritize, workplan, analyze, synthesize, and communicate– and give numerous examples of how to follow this cycle with different dilemmas. The chapters explore each stage in depth and outline the importance and finer points of each phase. The book also provides practical tools for readers to build skills, including an appendix with exercise worksheets.

Notable Quote: “Problem solving doesn’t stop at the point of reaching conclusions from individual analyses. Findings have to be assembled into a logical structure to test validity and then synthesized in a way that convinces others that you have a good solution. Great team processes are also important at this stage.”

Read Bulletproof Problem Solving .

9. Think Like a Programmer: An Introduction to Creative Problem Solving by by V. Anton Spraul

Think Like a Programmer is one of the top problem solving books for programmers. The guide lays out methods for finding and fixing bugs and creating clean, workable code. The text emphasizes that programming is not merely a matter of being competent in the language, but also knowing how to troubleshoot and respond to unexpected occurrences. The chapters present examples of problems and puzzles and work through the answers to help strengthen professional competencies. The book provides an introductory crash course and practical toolkit for beginning coders, with a focus on C++. Yet since the text outlines general theory and approach, the book is also helpful for dealing with other programming languages, or for solving problems in non-tech industries as well. The point of the text is to provide a proper mindset and attitude for reacting to these developments, and the book can be a benefit for folks in any field.

Notable Quote: “Don’t Get Frustrated The final technique isn’t so much a technique, but a maxim: Don’t get frustrated. When you are frustrated, you won’t think as clearly, you won’t work as efficiently, and everything will take longer and seem harder. Even worse, frustration tends to feed on itself, so that what begins as mild irritation ends as outright anger.”

Read Think Like a Programmer .

10. The Founder’s Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup by by Noam Wasserman

The Founder’s Dilemmas lays out the most common problems entrepreneurs face and gives advice on how to avoid or solve these issues. The book tackles topics such as managing relationships, hiring, and rewarding or correcting employees. The chapters outline the mistakes inexperienced leaders often make and offer strategies for handling these tough situations with more smarts and skill. By reading this book, founders can learn from predecessors and avoid making obvious and avoidable errors in judgment. The Founder’s Dilemmas is a problem-solving resource for startup leaders and team members who lack more traditional guidance.

Notable Quote: “Ideas are cheap; execution is dear.”

Read The Founder’s Dilemmas , and check out more entrepreneurial books .

11. The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don’t by Julia Galef

The Scout Mindset challenges readers to move beyond gut reactions and preconceptions and rethink problems. The book offers instructions for overcoming bias and central beliefs to gather more objective data. Julia Galef encourages readers to act more like scouts than soldiers and gather information without judging to make more informed decisions. The text outlines the common reasons folks jump to conclusions and offers advice on how to avoid incorrect assumptions and conduct level-headed analyses. The Scout Mindset is a call to action for objectivity and an instruction manual for breaking away from unhelpful mental patterns that can lead to poor choices.

Notable Quote: “Discovering you were wrong is an update, not a failure, and your worldview is a living document meant to be revised.”

Read The Scout Mindset .

12. Super Thinking: The Big Book of Mental Models by Gabriel Weinberg and Lauren McCann

Super Thinking is a comprehensive resource that explains various mental models for problem solving. The book identifies logical fallacies and shows readers how to avoid these pitfalls. The pages also lay out appropriate strategies, tools, techniques to use in different situations, such as matrices, pointed questions, and philosophies. The point of the guide is to teach readers how to evaluate information and make quick yet accurate judgements. The guide helps readers decide the best approach to use for each circumstance. Though packed with information, the pages also contain images and humor that prevent the material from getting too dry. Super Thinking is the ultimate cheat sheet for thinking rationally and acting with intention.

Notable Quote: “Unfortunately, people often make the mistake of doing way too much work before testing assumptions in the real world.”

Read Super Thinking .

Final Thoughts

Problem solving is one of the most essential skills for modern industry. With the breakneck pace at which the current business world changes, there is no shortage of new developments that professionals must contend with on a daily basis. Operating the same way for years at a time is impossible, and it is almost guaranteed that workers at every level will have issues to unravel at some point in their careers.

Books about problem solving help professionals predict, prevent, and overcome issues and find more viable and sustainable solutions. These guides not only provide skills, but also methods for survival in a highly competitive business landscape. These texts show workers that they are more capable than may first appear and that sometimes, seemingly insurmountable obstacles are beatable with a combination of creativity, teamwork, and proper process.

For more ways to beat the odds, check out this list of books on innovation and this list of books on business strategy .

We also have a list of the best communication books .

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FAQ: Problem solving books

Here are answers to common questions about problem solving books.

What are problem solving books?

Problem solving books are guides that teach critical thinking skills and strategies for resolving issues. The purpose of these works is to help professionals be more creative and strategic in problem solving approaches.

What are some good problem solving books for work?

Some good problem solving books for work include Sprint by Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky, et al, Upstream by Dan Heath, and Think Like a Rocket Scientist by Ozan Varol.

Author: Angela Robinson

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The 17 Best Books on Critical Thinking (to Read in 2024)

All products were independently selected by our editors and contributors. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

The aim of improving your skill of critical thinking isn’t just to be able to reason and give logical arguments about a subject skillfully; your goal is to get to the right answer, to make the right decisions and choices for yourself and others.

Critical thinking helps you:

First , improve the quality of your decisions and judgments, and reevaluate your beliefs objectively.

The human mind is rarely objective. However, mastering the skill of critical thinking keeps your mind objective, at least about those things based on facts.

Take for example the beliefs you have about yourself; Some are based on facts, some on subjective (negative) opinions of others.

Second , become an independent thinker (learn to think for yourself); take ownership of your values, beliefs, judgments, and decisions.

Mastering critical thinking is essential , especially in our modern times, because you must:

• Make a tone of decisions every day;
• Think and come to the right conclusion fast;
• Solve (mostly alone) your problems and issues;
• Weigh carefully facts and information you receive from the dozens of sources you have at your disposal;
• Reevaluate your strategies, beliefs, and habits periodically.

Critical thinking is a skill that you must learn; you’re not born with it. To make your journey a little easier, we’ve gathered the best critical thinking books so you can learn from the masters. Get inspired to become a critical thinker in no time!

The best books on critical thinking:

Table of Contents

1. Critical Thinking: A Beginner’s Guide to Critical Thinking, Better Decision Making, and Problem Solving – Jennifer Wilson

2. wait, what: and life’s other essential questions- james e. ryan, 3. think smarter: critical thinking to improve problem-solving and decision-making skills – michael kallet, 4. brain power: learn to improve your thinking skills – karl albrecht, 5. the art of thinking clearly – rolf dobelli, 6. being logical: a guide to good thinking – d.q. mcinerny, 7. predictably irrational, revised and expanded edition: the hidden forces that shape our decisions – dr. dan ariely, 8. a more beautiful question: the power of inquiry to spark breakthrough ideas – warren berger, 9. a rulebook for arguments – anthony weston, 10. thinking, fast and slow – daniel kahneman, 11. the organized mind: thinking straight in the age of information overload – daniel j. levitin, 12. don’t believe everything you think: the 6 basic mistakes we make in thinking – thomas e. kida, 13. the decision book: 50 models for strategic thinking – mikael krogerus, roman tschäppeler, philip earnhart, jenny piening, 14. weaponized lies: how to think critically in the post-truth era – daniel j. levitin, 15. the demon-haunted world: science as a candle in the dark paperback – carl sagan, ann druyan, 16. how to think about weird things: critical thinking for a new age – theodore schick, lewis vaughn, 17. the 5 elements of effective thinking – edward b. burger, michael starbird.

As the title says, this book introduces you to the art of critical thinking. You’ll discover in it:

• What is critical thinking in practice,
• The different thought processes of critical thinking,
• How will your life be better mastering critical thinking,
• The things your brain needs to enjoy exercising critical thinking,
• Techniques you can use for solving problems,
• How to become a better decision maker, Strategies to use in your critical thinking processes,
• Ways to make good decisions when more people (not just you) are involved,
• Tips to frame your questions in order to maximize the efficiency of your critical thinking.

Wisdom comes from observation, learning, practice, and asking the right questions.

Using examples from history, politics, and his own personal life, James e Ryan shows you the importance of knowing how to:

• Ask questions and gain a better understanding,
• Get to be more curious,
• Push yourself to take action,
• Make your relationship stronger,
• And stay focused on the important things in life.

Related:  Critical Thinking Examples

The book starts with the five fundamental questions:

• Couldn’t we at least…?
• How can I help…?
• What truly matters….?

Knowing how to formulate, address, and deliver the right questions doesn’t leave room for misunderstandings, misinterpretations; asking the wrong questions will most probably give you a wrong answer.

This book (Wait, What?: And Life’s Other Essential Questions) will make you feel (more) courageous; after all, asking questions thanks courage. Asking yourself and others the right questions helps you make informed decisions and decisive action.

This book is a guide on how to train your brain to work even more for you. The author (Michael Kallet) is a critical thinking trainer and coach and gives you a practical set of tools and techniques for critical thinking in your day-to-day life and business.

If you want a clear, actionable step by step program to:

• Improve your critical thinking skills,
• A better understanding of complex problems and concepts,
• And how to put them in practice, then this book is for you.

Learn how to discover the real issues that need a solution, so you don’t waste your time in trying to solve imaginary problems. Increase your mental toughness, useful and productive thought.

In this book, Karl Albrecht shows you how to:

• Build your mental strength,
• Think more clearly logically and creative,
• Improve your memory,
• Solve problems,
• Make decisions more effectively.

Karl Albrecht talks in this book about the six functional abilities you need to have and become more adaptable and an innovative thinker.

The book is packed with practical exercises, fascinating illustrations, games, and puzzles to improve your mental capabilities.

The art of thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli is a window into human psychology and reasoning; how we:

• Make decisions;
• Evaluate choices and options;
• Develop cognitive biases.

This book helps you notice and recognize erroneous thinking and make better choices and decisions, change unwanted behaviors and habits.

It will change the way you think about yourself and life in general because you have in this book 99 short chapters with examples of the most common errors of judgment and how to rectify them.

If you wish to think more clearly, make better decisions and choices, reevaluate your biases, and feel better about yourself, this book is for you.

When you decide you want to study the field of logic more closely and improve your critical thinking, this book might be exactly what you need. It’s written clearly and concisely laying out for you the basic building blocks of logic and critical thinking.

The ancient civilizations understood better than us how important is to study logic and rhetoric. With the help of this book, you’ll bring back into your life these essential things that our modern society forgot and missed to teach you as a child.

Having increased logical thinking doesn’t mean to ignore your emotions. It means to start from your emotions and together, (emotions and logic) to take better decisions and see more clearly your choices to move forward in life.

“Predictably Irrational, The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions” is a book packed with examples of how:

• Irrational are our choices;
• We make decisions on impulse;
• We fool ourselves with optimism- “that must work for me.”

The author presents you, in this book, a large number of mental traps and flawed tendencies which can make your life harder.

After reading this book, you’ll be better informed about a variety of human flaws and how to avoid being trapped by irrational thinking. You’ll be better prepared to make decisions and choices based more on facts rather than subjective personal opinions.

Knowing how to ask the right questions is determining your success about many things in your life:

• Influencing others,
• Getting out of tricky situations,
• Reevaluating your beliefs,
• Offering yourself and others compassion,
• Overcoming mistakes and fears.

Warren Berger shows you in this book examples of people who are successful (partially) because they are experts in asking questions and don’t have preconceived ideas about what the answers should be.

This book helps you avoid wasting your innovative and brilliant ideas by presenting them in the same way over and over and getting nowhere over and over.

Asking yourself (and others) the right questions gives you the opportunity to display your ideas in a way that those around you feel compelled to listen.

This book is impressive because, Anthony Weston gives you a lot of excellent and practical advice, ordered in a logical and clear manner.

The examples in this book are realistic and useful, ranging from deductive to oral arguments, from argumentative essays to arguments by analogy.

Once you read this book you’ll want to have it on hand to sort out all sorts of situations you’ll encounter in your day-to-day life.

Daniel Kahneman, the author of this book, is a renowned psychologist and winner of the Nobel Prize in economics.

In this book, you will discover where you can and cannot trust your intuition; how to use the two systems that drive the way you think.

The first system is fast, intuitive, and emotional; the second system is slower, based on facts, and more logical.

The author argues that knowing how to use these two systems can make a huge difference in how you:

• Design your strategies,
• Predict consequences,
• Avoid cognitive biases,
• (and even simple things like) choosing the colors for your home office.

If you want to improve your critical thinking, know when you should use logic (instead of using emotions), and become mentally stronger this book is definitely for you.

Critical thinking can’t be created in a cluttered mind. It’s like trying to prepare a gourmet meal for your loved ones in a cramped and dysfunctional kitchen.

As if is not enough all the information you store in your mind from what you personally experience every day, our modern times forcefully adds to that information a lot of junk.

The book “The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload” by Daniel J. Levitin will help you sort out and organized your thoughts with the help of the four components in the human attentional system:

• Mind wandering mode;
• Central executive mode;
• Attentional filter;
• Attentional switch.

The book is showing you how you can improve your critical thinking and make better decisions concerning many areas of your life.

This book can (really) change your life if you’re dealing with procrastination, multitasking, the inability to switch off and block the outside world.

All in all, you’ll be better prepared to think straight in the age of information overload.

Thomas E. Kida talks in this book very elegantly about the six basic mistakes your thinking can make.

• The first mistake is being mesmerized by stories and ignoring the facts or statistics.
• The second mistake is searching to confirm what we already know or believe.
• The third mistake is to discount the role that chance and coincidence play in our life.
• The fourth mistake is believing that what you see it’s always the reality.
• The fifth mistake is to oversimplify things.
• The sixth mistake is to believe (trust) faulty memories.

This book can be for you an eye-opener into critical thinking, accepting who you are as you are, and improving the way you choose and make decisions.

Did you know you have a strategy for everything you do? From brushing your teeth to making new friends? From choosing a career to dealing with difficult people?

Considering you have a strategy for everything you do, it’s only logical the try to improve every day the way you develop your strategies and don’t leave it to chance, habit, or convenience.

“The Decision Book: 50 Models for Strategic Thinking” can improve your critical thinking and help you make your life easier and more enjoyable.

This book is interactive and provokes you to think about some of the strategies that don’t bring you the results you want.

It contains 58 illustrations offering summaries for known strategies such as the Rubber Band Model, the Personal Performance Model, and the Black Swan Model.

This book is for you if you want to improve the flexibility of your thinking, accept challenges more comfortable, feel more in control of your decisions and choices.

From this book, by Daniel Levitin, you’ll learn how to think critically and avoid being manipulated by things like misleading statistics and graphics, extreme view, or fake news.

The book contains three main sections:

• Evaluating numbers – how to read statistics and data to find out what lurks underneath and make a more objective analysis
• Evaluating words – how to assess the information you receive from experts, understanding the difference between incidence and prevalence, risk perceptions, and probabilistic thinking
• Evaluating the world – how to interpret scientific methods for different types of reasoning (induction, deduction, abduction)

This book will help you improve your critical thinking providing you with a lot of food for thought.

You know how in a criminal trial they call two experts that have divergent opinions on the same facts? Depending on whose side they are? This book teaches you to see the truth.

Although written in the 1990s, this bestseller book is still relevant in today’s society.

With both intelligence and compassion, Carl Sagan lays out the importance of education, logic, and science. This book will show you a ton of practical skills for assessing arguments, recognizing logical fallacies, and applying the scientific method.

Sagan felt that reason and logic could make the world a better place.

This book contains invaluable instructions on logic and reason using critical thinking, without being dull or difficult to understand.

Schick and Vaughn effectively laid out the key elements on how to assess evidence, sort through reasons, and recognize when a claim is likely to be accurate, making this book an absolute must-read for all students.

If you want to be better at decision-making based on sound evidence and argument, then this book is for you.

If you ever found yourself stuck on a problem, or having trouble in forming new ideas, this book will guide you in finding creative solutions to life’s difficult challenges.

This book emphasizes the value of effective thinking, how it can be mastered, and how to integrate it into everyday life.

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The 5 Best Books on Problem Solving (in 2024)

If you are looking for the best books on problem-solving, you’ve come to the right place.

In this article, we will cover the top 5 books on problem-solving that you can use to help you solve problems faster, easier, and better. I have personally read each one and recommend them.

The 5 Best Books on Problem-Solving

1. stop guessing: the 9 behaviors of great problem solvers by nat greene.

Stop Guessing teaches 9 main actions you need to take when solving problems. It doesn’t teach a problem-solving “method”, but steps you need to take to be able to solve the right problem and solve it well.

The 9 behaviors/actions are:

• Stop guessing
• Smell the problem
• Embrace your ignorance
• Know what problem you’re solving
• Dig into the fundamentals
• Don’t rely on experts
• Believe in a simple solution
• Make fact-based decisions
• Stay on target

I personally enjoyed this book and found it very informative. If you aren’t necessarily looking for a method but the steps you need to take to solve problems more effectively, this book is for you.

You can get it on Amazon here .

(Note: The links for Amazon are affiliate links. Thanks!)

Read More: The 5 Best Books on Decision Making 

2. Think Smarter: Critical Thinking to Improve Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Skills by Michael Kallet

As the title says, Think Smarter is about using critical thinking to improve your problem-solving and decision-making .

What sometimes hurts us in our problem-solving is that we don’t really take the time to think critically. Kallet gives 3 main steps for solving problems and making a decision:

• Conclusions

If you want to learn more about critical thinking when it comes to problem-solving and steps to take to really clarify your problem and come to better conclusions, and ultimately decisions, this is a good book for you.

3. Problem Solving 101: A Simple Book for Smart People by Ken Watanabe

Problem Solving 101 is a neat little book on problem-solving. It was originally meant for a younger audience, but it has taken widespread appeal to all ages for people who want to solve problems better.

In the book, through some simple examples, Watanabe teaches how to find the root cause, how to set and test hypotheses, how to make better choices, how to use a logic tree, and more.

If you want a simple, easy book on problem-solving for yourself and/or your kids, this one is for you.

4. The Thinker’s Toolkit: 14 Powerful Techniques for Problem-Solving by Morgan D. Jones

In The Thinkers Toolkit , the author gives detailed information on methods you can use to solve problems better and make better decisions.

Too often we use “trial and error” to try to solve problems, and that is incredibly ineffective. Jones teaches about the errors we often have when solving problems, how our brain sometimes works against us, and 14 techniques we can use to solve our problems better.

If you want a detailed guide on how we often do it wrong and the different methods you can use to solve problems better, this book is for you.

You can get it on Amazon here.

5. Systematic Problem-Solving and Decision-Making by Sandy Pokras

Systematic Problem-Solving and Decision-Making is an old book (published in 1989); however, it is still chock full of great information.

In the book, Pokras goes over, step by step, the steps you can take in your organization to solve problems.

She discusses not only the steps to do it but how to do it together as a group so that everyone is on board with what the problem is and how to solve it.

There are 6 main steps she recommends that she dives into:

• Step 1: Problem recognition
• Step 2: Problem Labeling
• Step 3: Problem-Cause Analysis
• Step 4: Optional Solutions
• Step 5: Decision Making
• Step 6: Action Planning

If you are looking for a step-by-step guide on how to solve problems within an organization (and even by yourself), this book is a great resource.

Why Not?: How to Use Everyday Ingenuity to Solve Problems Big And Small by Barry Nalebuff and Ian Ayres

Why Not? is, as the title suggests, how to use everyday ingenuity to solve problems.

The authors dive into different methods and tools you can use to help solve problems, including:

• Asking what Croesus would do
• Feeling others pain
• Looking where else it would work
• And flipping it

You can get the book here on Amazon .

Which decision-making book will you choose?

We’ve covered 5…err..6 books on problem-solving. I personally have read each one and recommend them.

I’d also recommend checking out books on decision-making , as the topics are intertwined and related.

Now to you: What do you think? Have you read any of these? Are there any we are missing?

About The Author

Thomas R. Harris

Related posts, book summary: eat that frog by brian tracy.

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9 Problem-Solving Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read

You need problem-solving skills to succeed in work and in life. Whether you are an entrepreneur or an employee with an entrepreneurial approach, solid decision-making is paramount. We recommend each of these books to hone your problem-solving skills and level up in business and life. 

Cracked it!: How to Solve Big Problems and Sell Solutions Like Top Strategy Consultants

By Bernard Garrette, Corey Phelps, and Olivier Sibony

Poor decision-making leads to undesired outcomes. But what is the source of poor decisions in the first place? The flaw often resides in our own biases. For instance, we may think we understand a situation better than we do. Or we fall victim to confirmation bias . Cracked It! presents a four-step approach developed from the worlds of consultancy and cognitive psychology to achieve better outcomes. Avoid the pitfall and learn how to solve problems like a pro.

Think in Systems: The Art of Strategic Planning, Effective Problem Solving, And Lasting Results

By Zoe McKey

A systems approach to problem-solving can dramatically improve outcomes both in business and in your personal life. Best-selling author and lifestyle coach Zoe McKey shows you how to see beyond the individual parts of a problem you want to resolve. Rather, you will learn to take in the whole. And you will discover that every issue is but a piece of a larger system. McKey’s concise, enjoyable is a must-read for strategic problem-solving.

Solving the People Problem: Essential Skills You Need to Lead and Succeed in Today’s Workplace

By Brett M. Cooper and Evan Kerrigan

It sometimes seems your biggest problem can be other people. We all think and behave differently. That is the core strength of any team. But it can also lead to workplace conflicts . In Solving the People Problem , authors use the DiSC (Dominance, influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness) model of self-awareness to help the reader develop emotional intelligence , or EQ. Build your EQ, and learn to solve “the people problem” for a stronger, more productive workplace. 

Creative Acts for Curious People: How to Think, Create, and Lead in Unconventional Ways (Stanford d.school Library)

By Sarah Stein Greenberg

As an executive director at Stanford, Sarah Stein leads designers, faculty, and other innovative thinkers to discover and apply their creative abilities. In Creative Acts for Curious People , she guides you to build your own creative skills with a fun, often light-hearted approach. But make no mistake: her enjoyable exercises are fully based in research and practice. Boost your creativity and learn to solve complex problems in new ways with Creative Acts for Curious People .

The Collaborative Path: 6 Steps for Better Communication, Problem-Solving, and Decision-Making

By Patrick Aylward

We rarely solve problems in isolation. We typically solve problems and make decisions collaboratively. And successful collaboration depends mostly on quality communication. Author Aylward lays out a six step approach for better decision-making as a team. Learn to de-escalate conflicts and reduce tensions for stronger, more successful team decision-making.

You’re About to Make a Terrible Mistake: How Biases Distort Decision-Making and What You Can Do to Fight Them

By Olivier Sibony

One thing often holds us back from making a decision: we are afraid we will make the problem worse. It doesn’t matter how smart you are. We all make mistakes . These can be errors based on bias, or simply poor judgment. In You’re About to Make a Terrible Mistake , professor and strategic thinking advisor Olivier Sibony investigates nine common decision-making traps. More importantly, he provides ample methods on how to best avoid them. Filled with great examples and plenty of humor, this book serves as a great tool toward overcoming our biases and making better decisions.

Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts

By Annie Duke

We rarely have all the information required to make the best possible decision. This uncertainty can lead to self-doubt and analysis paralysis : failure to move forward as we over-analyze. Amazon best-selling author Annie Duke shows you how to make decisions by approaching them as bets. Is there ever a 100% chance that your decision will result in exactly the outcome you imagined? Rarely. But if there’s a 90% chance of reaching 80% of your goal… that’s a good bet.

Think Smarter: Critical Thinking to Improve Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Skills

By Michael Kallet

An older book on the list, Think Smarter stands out as much today as it did in 2014. Founder of Headscratchers , author Michael Kallet has helped business leaders solve problems for more than 30 years. In this book, he provides 25 tools to help you ask the right questions, avoid errors, and think more critically in any dilemma. Ample exercises train your brain to reach solutions and solve problems with innovation and clarity.

Bulletproof Problem Solving: The One Skill That Changes Everything

By Charles Conn and Robert McLean

Are you ready for logic trees? Those of you who have used them for problem-solving may have just cringed. That’s because many of us have used them without knowing how. In Bulletproof Problem Solving , authors Conn and McLean provide clarity through a simple, seven step method. Learn more effective brainstorming practices and how to overcome biases . Plus, they’ll show you how to turn your outcomes into a great story. With 30 detailed case studies, you’ll learn how to effectively solve problems from the micro all the way to global leadership.

Photo by @Asheesh/Twenty20

Bryan Lindenberger

Bryan enjoys the digital space where arts and technology meet. As a writer, he has worked in education, health and wellbeing, and manufacturing. He also assists smaller businesses in web development including accessibility and content development. In his free time, he hikes trails in central Florida.

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The 11 Best Problem Solving Books

Adventurer, Tech Geek and Lover of Productivity Hacks. 

Learn how you can improve your problem solving skills with this curated list of the 11 Best Problem Solving Books on the market.

Looking for new insights and best practices when it comes to coming up with proven, quality solutions to the problems we face both at home and in the workplace?

Fortunately, there are a variety of problem solving books out there that are filled from front to back with new and exciting ways to conquer the issues that we deal with on a daily basis.

Whether we like to admit it or not, problem solving skills are high in demand these days whether it’s in the workplace or in the comforts of your own home.

One thing that is for sure is that life is definitely easier when you have the skills to solve problems with ease.

The best part is that problem solving is that it’s a skill that anyone can learn.

Below, you’ll find a list of the best problem solving books that should be helpful for those interested in really diving into the art of problem solving.

Table of Contents

Best problem solving books, sprint, how to solve big problems and test new ideas in just five days, the innovator’s dilemma, switch, how to change things when change is hard, problem solving 101, seeking wisdom: from darwin to munger.

• The Art of Thinking Clearly 

Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes

How to solve it: a new aspect of mathematical method, what do you do with a problem.

• The Art and Craft of Problem Solving 

The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures

Author Dr. Jason Selk and Tom Bartow

Sprint offers a transformative formula for testing ideas that work whether it is for yourself or for a large corporation. The ideas that Sprint provides you are already tested and successful ones therefore you have nothing to lose giving them a try. Whenever you are feeling stuck and don’t know how to solve an issue, check out these ideas and test them out to see which one works best in your favor.

Author Clayton M. Christensen

Named one of 100 Leadership & Success Books to Read in a Lifetime by Amazon Editors, The Innovator’s Dilemma offers a different approach to problem-solving. This book helps you look at your problem from an outsider point of view. Whenever you don’t know where to go next and how to solve an issue, the best thing is stepping out of the box and seeing whatever is that you are missing to identify in order to solve it. 

Authors Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Psychologists have discovered that our minds are ruled by two different systems: the rational mind and the emotional mind that compete for control. The concept of this book is using our internal “switch” and learning when to use each type of mind. Mainly, allowing ourselves to have full control on when we decide to use the emotional side and the rational side. These factors will allow you to make decisions in a more concise manner and therefore have a smarter mentality when it comes to problem-solving. 

Author Ken Watanabe

Originally written to help Japanese schoolchildren learn how to be better problem solvers, this book ended in every businessman’s desk as the information was just too valuable. This book is filled with simple-to-follow case studies to illustrate different solutions to problem-solving. 

Author Peter Bevelin

This book covers everything from the exact moment we come up with an idea, to the point where we are stuck and don’t know how to move on past the issue. Through a psychological point of view, the author helps us understand the way our minds evolve. He essentially leads out a misjudgment point of view to one of a better and wiser thinker. 

The Art of Thinking Clearly

Author Rolf Dobelli

The Art of Thinking Clearly isn’t just another one of the best problem-solving books, but it is a guide to living a more convenient life, where every step that we take has its own action and consequence. Understanding that problem-solving comes from having an organized mind is the first place to get started when we are capable of thinking clearly, the solutions come to us in a clear manner as well. 

Author  Maria Konnikova

Who wouldn’t want to have the mind and the skills of problem-solving that Sherlock Holmes has? Well with this book you are able to acquire some of those astounding skills to use into your daily life. Holmes is one of the world’s most proficient problem solvers and Konnikova highlights the key characteristics that make him so effective in order for the reader to apply them. 

Author George Pólya

George Pólaya uses this mathematical method to help people to think straight. Through his brilliant method he has helped a lot of people tackle their problems only by changing the way that they think. Our mind is more powerful than we know, and therefore knowing how to work our way around it might help people deal with daily life struggles. 

Author by Kobi Yamada

What Do You Do with a Problem? Especially one that you can’t get rid of and can’t find a way to fix? Kobi Yamada tackles this exact scenario and offers the reader multiple ideas to deal with that one problem that seems to not go away. The key in the book is to never avoid a problem, the more we avoid dealing with one issue, the bigger it will become. 

The Art and Craft of Problem Solving

Author  Paul Zeitz

This text offers unique skills and solutions to approach a problem. Not only it helps to identify how to fix the problem but also to understand the problem itself. Understanding how the problem developed and when it started to become a problem for us, is important in order to avoid future conflicts. Tackling the problem is one thing, learning how to stop problems for developing is another great quality. 

Author Dan Roam

Herb Kelleher was brainstorming about the traditional method we deal with problem solving and it was in this exact moment where he grabbed a bar napkin and a pen and decided to scribble what problem solving would look like. He believed that people could understand something better by looking at it, and for that reason he decided to incorporate this lesson into his book. 

Used properly, a simple drawing was more demonstrative than a simple PowerPoint, but it can help crystallize ideas, think outside the box.

Did you find this list of problem solving books to be helpful? If I missed one that you recommend, please leave a comment below.

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5 of the Best Books on Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving

Critical Thinking: Hypothesis-Driven Thinking

Anyone can come up with a good idea. The real challenge is putting that idea into action. In this online course, explore how to form compelling, testable hypotheses and bring ideas to life in your own organization.

Critical Thinking: Structured Reasoning

Even a few simple techniques for logical decision making and persuasion can vastly improve your skills as a leader. Explore how critical thinking can help you evaluate complex business problems, reduce bias, and devise effective solutions.

Critical Thinking: Problem-Solving

Problem-solving is a central business skill, and yet it's the one many people struggle with most. This course will show you how to apply critical thinking techniques to common business examples, avoid misunderstandings, and get at the root of any problem.

Critical thinking is an essential skill to master whether you aspire to compete in the fast-paced startup space or just improve your daily workflow. But no one is born a master problem solver. Like any other skill, you’ll need to study and practice.

When it comes to self-study, all the Wikipedia articles and Quora questions in the world can’t replace a good book. We asked GLOBIS faculty members to weigh in on the books that helped them step-up their critical thinking game.

Decipher the Data

The signal and the noise: why so many predictions fail—but some don’t , by nate silver.

Do you ever feel so lost in data that you forget what you’re looking for in the first place? Do you find it difficult to parse the important details from large sets of data? Nate Silver’s The Signal and the Noise will help you sift through the numbers and find what’s most useful for your purposes.

In the GLOBIS Critical Thinking course , we teach that the most important step of the problem-solving process is identifying the issue. After that, you’ll need to break down the issue into a set of points (like criteria). Finally, you search for data to support or change these points.

The Signal and the Noise applies this process to the realm of predictions in the age of Big Data.

Ultimately, Silver cautions against overconfidence in predictions, ranging from the stock market to sports and politics, and the importance of assessing the level of certainty in your findings. He also points to the often-hidden assumptions in data—another important lesson you’ll find in GLOBIS’s Critical Thinking class. What makes this book exciting is the way it explores current issues in a quantitative way, challenging what we thought to be true and the prediction process behind it. Aside from that, there are many other tips and tricks to improve your problem-solving and data analysis skills.

While I can’t claim to make many predictions, if you’re looking to hone your critical thinking skills, I can say with confidence that you’ll enjoy this book!

—Brian Cathcart, Critical Thinking Faculty at GLOBIS University

Think about the Way You Think

Thinking, fast and slow , by daniel kahneman.

What if you found out you had a disease with a 10% mortality rate? Would it be worse than a disease with a 90% survival rate? In fact, your chances of making it through are precisely the same, but somehow, we tend to respond more positively to the latter scenario.

This is an example of the framing effect , one of many biases and heuristics introduced in Daniel Kahneman’s bestseller Thinking, Fast and Slow . Kahneman, a Nobel laureate, presents decades of fascinating insights into our not-so-rational minds. He elegantly summarizes our thinking into two processes: System 1 and System 2.

System 1 is effortless and instantaneous, handling thoughts like 2+2=4. It is our autopilot that guides us through most of the day, allowing us to simultaneously manage complex tasks like driving a car while chatting with the passenger about the morning news.

System 2, on the other hand, is a process that we have to manually switch on to tackle something more mentally challenging. System 1 can handle 2+2 instantly, but System 2 needs to kick in for us to work out 27×18.

Kahneman’s mind-blowing research and simple tests show us just how laughably irrational System 1 can be. It is a powerful reminder of why it’s worth questioning our own judgment.

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Fooled by Randomness , by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Fooled by Randomness offers a narrower, but still powerful illustration of how the flaws of our thinking habits skew our worldview. In a precursor to his bestseller The Black Swan , Nassim Taleb focuses on the role of randomness in our lives, and how underestimating this randomness can have potentially serious consequences.

In business, it’s generally unpopular to ascribe results to luck. Countless books and articles seek to explain the genius behind the success of certain companies and businesspeople. And when results go sour, people point to poor decisions that should have been avoided.

Compelling as it may be, this storytelling misleads us into believing that we control much more than we do. Taleb argues that luck, in fact, plays a large role in any success, and smart decisions can lead to poor outcomes (hard as it may be to convince your boss or shareholders).

Taleb’s tone throughout the book is often cynical and scathing, and he is clearly not a fan of MBAs. But his message is still important for any businessperson who wants to keep their feet on the ground. As I often tell MBA students in my Critical Thinking course, even the most thorough analysis and planning cannot guarantee success. However, critical thinking can help us reduce the role of luck in our decision-making. Ultimately, that will increase our odds of success.

—Jake Pratley, Critical Thinking Faculty at GLOBIS University

Learn from Those Who Came Before You

Problem solving 101 , by ken watanabe.

The Japanese bestseller Problem Solving 101 is quite easy to read, since it’s targeted towards an elementary school level. Don’t let that deter you, though—the content itself covers practical elements in business, from diagnosing the situation to identifying root causes and decision-making.

During these uncertain times, it’s getting harder and harder to make confident decisions. We tend to rely on our past experiences and knowledge rather than asses the issues at hand. But if you face unprecedented events, you’ll require the right skills to identify problems and develop the right solutions to solve them. This book will help you acquire these skills.

Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production , by Taiichi Ohno

Taiichi Ohno built the foundation of the famous Toyota Production System (TPS). This book dives into the background, history, and philosophy of the concepts utilized in this system, including kaizen , jido-ka , and kanban.

For example, although Toyota changed its zero-inventory policy specifically to deal with shortages of semiconductors, TPS can help improve productivity with limited resources in any industry.

This book also shows us the importance of Toyota’s philosophy—which is what really drives the popularity of TPS worldwide. Many organizations have introduced TPS into their everyday operations, but most fail to utilize the robust philosophy of the system to its full potential.

Ohno’s book may be a bit old, but its indisputable influence on the business world means it’s still more than worth reading now.

—Takashi Tsutsumi, Critical Thinking Faculty at GLOBIS University

Turn the Page on Your Critical Thinking Journey

Understanding critical thinking and problem-solving means a lot more than being the best brainstormer at the pitch meeting. It also means you can identify obstacles, overcome them, and consider the best decisions for yourself and those around you.

Ultimately, if you’re learning how to be a critical thinker, you’re also learning how to become an independent and decisive decision maker. Like a beautiful logic tree , you’ll need to nourish your mind in order to grow. A good read is a great way to get started.

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12 Best Decision Making Books To Read In 2022

• Teambuilding
• Feb 17, 2022

You found Teambuilding.com’s 2022 list of top  decision making books .

Decision making books are guides that help readers make smarter choices more quickly. These references cover subjects like decision paralysis, bias, and risk-taking. The purpose of these works is to improve decision making skills and help professionals feel more confident in their choices.

These books are a subset of  leadership books  and  management books  and are similar to problem solving books,  conflict resolution books , and  books on business strategy .

This article includes:

• managerial decision making books
• business decision making books
• strategic decision making books
• books on decision making psychology

Here we go!

What are the best business decision making books?

The best business decision making books include Superforecasting by Philip E. Tetlock and Dan Gardner, Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke, and HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Making Smart Decisions by Harvard Business Review.

READ FULL BLOG POST HERE >>

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10 Top Books on Problem-Solving and Coaching for Improvement

• November 1, 2022

As leaders and continuous improvement practitioners, we’re committed to learning and to creating a “learning organization”. But how? Any leader seeking to create a learning organization must cultivate both the technical skills for problem-solving and the social skills of coaching for problem-solving . This is the foundation of what lean and continuous improvement is about – not the tools but the thinking process and behaviors that support learning. Imagine you could find a list of books on problem-solving and coaching for improvement at the click of your mouse?

I’m often asked for my top book recommendations on a host of topics and I’ve decided to pull together several posts sharing some of my “go-to” books that have influenced me personally and that I recommend for anyone seeking to develop their team’s capabilities – both on how to use problem-solving techniques and fundamental coaching skills to develop an organization filled with problem solvers.

While this is not a conclusive list of my best books about problem-solving (they’re 10 top books rather than my top 10) , all of these books are my go-to recommendations for any coach, leader, individual contributor, continuous improvement practitioner , or manager seeking to both achieve needed goals AND develop their people at the same time.

They are some of (but not the only!) best books on problem-solving and critical thinking. I had a difficult time honing this list down to just ten, so I decided to start with these ones. 

This list is the second in a three-part series that shares my top book recommendations broken down into three categories: 

• 10 Top Books on Lean Management, Lean Production, and Toyota History
• 10 Top Books on Coaching and Problem-Solving
• 10 Top Books on Culture, Organizational Change, & Strategy

Top Books on Problem-Solving and Coaching for Improvement

This article focuses on books that can help you become a better problem-solver – and a better coach for improvement, lean, and problem-solving.

There are so many on my shelves that have influenced my personal practice of how to develop a learning organization or practice lean thinking that it was hard to get this list down to just ten books.

So, in order to narrow it down, I am first sharing influential books from authors in my own learning journey, who have also honored my book Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn with their endorsement, plus a few bonus books on problem-solving and coaching for improvement as well.

Here you’ll learn about why I recommend these 10 top books on problem-solving and coaching for improvement, as well as sharing my personal experiences with many of these leading thinkers, and how they’ve informed my Chain of Learning.

There are many more books I could include on this list, but these are some of my go-to books that I suggest if you are a lean practitioner or anyone seeking to understand the true success of creating a real learning organization where people have the capability and confidence to solve problems at all levels, each and every day.

Without further ado, and in no particular order, here are 10 of my top books on problem-solving and coaching for improvement.

📚 Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn

But don’t just take my word for it about the impact of Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn ! Below you can read what these other influential authors had to say about their learning from the book.

📚 Managing to Learn by John Shook

Chairman and CEO of the Lean Enterprise Institute

This book is the book to read, and re-read, to really understand what A3 problem-solving is about. It’s not the tool – it’s the thinking process and the coaching process to support it.

John Shook has been an important link in my “Chain of Learning” about lean and leadership since I first was exposed to the Toyota Way and lean thinking in the mid-2000s.

Long before I met Isao Yoshino, Managing to Learn became – and continues to be – my go-to book on A3 thinking and practice. It also is among my top books to understand the management principles of lean management and the Toyota way. (You can see the whole list here ).

As I describe in the introduction to Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn , it was through John at the Lean Coaching Summit in 2014 that I met Isao Yoshino, who was his boss when John was the first non-Japanese employee at Toyota Motor Corporation and who was the inspiration for the manager character in his fictionalized leadership book, Managing to Learn .

In this book, John illustrates not only what he learned about the process of problem-solving using an A3 format, but also what he learned about how leaders coach and develop their people to think more deeply and develop the capabilities and confidence for problem-solving.

In John’s forward to Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn , he shares some more insights about his experience reporting to Mr. Yoshino and “learning to lead”, and their partnership in developing the NUMMI training program – Toyota’s experiment to see if they could translate their famous Toyota Production System to another culture. (Hint, they could! Check out Mr. Yoshino’s and John Shook’s inside stories about his time in my book Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn ).

Here’s what John Shook had to say about Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn in an excerpt from his foreword to the book:

“In her debut book, “Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn”, Katie Anderson has distilled countless hours of interviews, lecture transcripts, and conversation (and ample debate, too, I am sure) into a cohesive whole that’s informative, inspiring, and entertaining. I am grateful to Katie for capturing Isao Yoshino’s story … and for going beyond just documenting history but weaving it all into a rich tapestry that readers of many interests will find compelling and useful. Explorers of lean thinking and practice will find a deep dive into the mind of a Toyota manager during the defining final third of the 20th century. Japanophiles will find access to the inner workings of Japan’s largest industrial enterprise during the heyday of Japan Inc. And, perhaps most importantly, executive coaches — or anyone with an interest in the phenomenon of ‘manager-as-coach’ — will find in these pages a rich expression of the thinking and practices of a deeply thoughtful, extraordinarily reflective practitioner of the craft.”

Managing to Learn: Using the A3 Management Process to Solve Problems, Gain Agreement, Mentor and Lead

From the Publisher:

Managing to Learn by Toyota veteran John Shook, reveals the thinking underlying the A3 management process found at the heart of lean management and leadership. Constructed as a dialogue between a manager and his boss, the book explains how “A3 thinking” helps managers and executives identify, frame, and act on problems and challenges. Shook calls this A3 approach, “the key to Toyota’s entire system of developing talent and continually deepening its knowledge and capabilities.”

📚 How to Coach for Creativity and Service Excellence: A Lean Coaching Workbook by Karyn Ross

Author of The Kind Leader and The Toyota Way to Service Excellence

Karyn’s book How to Coach for Creativity and Service Excellence is a fabulous resource for any lean coach or leader looking to improve, deepen, and simplify their coaching and problem-solving practices…and help teach others to do the same! Karyn walks the reader through a practical guide of how to approach continuous improvement and apply lean principles in service organization, with daily examples and practices to implement immediately.

Another of Karyn’s books, co-authored with Jeffrey Liker, The Toyota Way to Service Excellence is another of my top recommended books in lean management and the Toyota Way (you can see the whole list here ).

Here is what Karyn Ross had to say about Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn :

“Those who are lean practitioners always know that the best way to understand is to ‘go and see!’ In this wonderful book of stories and reflections about Mr. Yoshino’s tenure at Toyota, Katie Anderson beautifully captures and helps us ‘see’ Mr. Yoshino’s lessons on “Leading to Learn and Learning to Lead”. I know you will enjoy, learn and grow from this book as much as I have!” Karyn Ross – Author, Coach & Consultant

How to Coach for Creativity and Service Excellence: A Lean Coaching Workbook

How to Coach for Creativity and Service Excellence: A Lean Coaching Workbook is a self-contained workbook, in which the reader completes twenty-one days of practical exercises and activities focused on creativity, lean and coaching (one set per day). This will enable the reader to develop their capability and confidence to be creative, adapt lean principles, practices and tools to their unique service organization and coach others to do the same. The workbook guides the reader through a structured, systematic, easy-to-understand, habit-building approach, and functions as the reader’s ‘coach’. As the reader ‘works’ their way through the book, they will reclaim their creativity, learn Karyn’s tried-and-true 15-minute a day coaching approach and adapt lean principles, practices and tools to their particular service organization.

📚 The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier

Author of The Advice Trap and How to Begin

The Coaching Habit – and its follow-up companion The Advice Trap (you can read my interview with Michael about that book here ) – are must-reads for anyone who works with other people (that’s everyone!) and seeking to create a learning organization. These books are complementary resources to what I write, coach, and teach about how to “Break the Telling Habit”. Like me, Michael too acknowledges the influence of Edgar Schein (scroll down to see two more of my “best coaching books” recommendations) on the power and nuance of asking questions and helping people move forward.

If you want to become a better coach, question-asker, and thinker, definitely check out MBS’s books!

Here’s what Michael had to say about Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn :

“This is a wise book that weaves a story of leadership between two core principles of purpose (i.e., what shapes us) and discovery (i.e., what defines us). It will be fascinating for students of lean; should be essential for students of leadership.” Michael Bungay Stanier – Author of The Coaching Habit and The Advice Trap

The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever

In Michael Bungay Stanier’s The Coaching Habit , coaching becomes a regular, informal part of your day so managers and their teams can work less hard and have more impact.

Drawing on years of experience training more than 10,000 busy managers from around the globe in practical, everyday coaching skills, Bungay Stanier reveals how to unlock your peoples’ potential. He unpacks seven essential coaching questions to demonstrate how – by saying less and asking more – you can develop coaching methods that produce great results.

📚 Measures of Success by Mark Graban

Author of Lean Hospitals and The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen

Since then, I’ve been on Mark’s podcasts The Lean Blog multiple times (check out the first one or this one ), and on the My Favorite Mistake Podcast one with Isao Yoshino and one on my own reflecting on how I applied the lessons from Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn to my own mistake.

There are so many books by Mark that I could include on multiple recommended book lists about lean and learning (such as Lean Hospitals ), but this one is my most recommended of all of Mark’s books as it relates to helping organizations understand problems and know how to react to them.

I regularly recommend Measures of Success to clients to help them and their organizations understand and respond to data in a much more informed way. I have served on two non-profit Board of Directors over the past decade – for the Quality Committee for a local hospital and as the Chair of the Mother’s Milk Bank – and Measures of Success has directly influenced and improved our board meeting discussions because we (and the organizations’ leaders) are no longer reacting to noise and usual variation in the system.

Read Measures of Success and pass it on to your leaders. Your conversations will become more focused about real problems, not just the roller coaster of standard variation!

Here’s what Mark had to say about Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn :

“Isao Yoshino has a life’s worth of wisdom to share and Katie Anderson does a fantastic job of bringing those lessons to us in “ Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn” . Katie skillfully weaves together stories that share an insider’s perspective on Toyota, and life, in a conversational tone that will be insightful to readers from any industry. This book will be helpful for those who are new to lean or the Toyota Production System, and it will fill in key details for those who have been practicing lean for a long time.” Mark Graban, Author, Consultant, Professional Speaker, and Blogger

Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More

A practical guide for how to manage your metrics. Organizations depend on metrics for their business. Question is, are they helping people do the right things? Or, encouraging them to overreact to every uptick, downturn, and change?

In other words, reacting to noise. Noise is present in every metric. But, it’s our reaction to noise that causes waste and stress. Too often, people don’t recognize this.

Measures of Success shows a better way to chart and manage your metrics, in any organization or setting. For your business processes and activities, you need to know what’s working, what’s not, and what to change. And why. Then, you can determine what to stop doing, what to start doing, what to keep doing.

📚 The Problem-Solver’s Toolkit by Elisabeth Swan and Tracy O’Rourke

I got my copy of The Problem-Solver’s Toolkit as a gift from Elisabeth and Tracy when they were participants on my 2019 Japan Study Trip ! It was there in Japan that I deepened my relationship with both Tracy and Elisabeth – over the six days of immersive learning (you can read about Elisabeth’s takeaways from her time in Japan with me here ).

Fun fact: Elisabeth generously offered to serve on the Editorial Board of Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn , providing invaluable insights into the first draft!

Here’s what Elisabeth had to say about Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn :

“Katie Anderson has crafted a personal, lean learning journey from her conversations with Toyota leader Isao Yoshino that we all can savor. Out of their friendship comes a moving testament to the power of humanity, risk, failure, and reflection to positively impact the lives around us. It’s a joy to soak up the reflections that culminated from Mr. Yoshino’s decades of business leadership and Ms. Anderson’s brilliant questions about what he learned during his career. Throughout the book, reflection questions invite the reader into the conversation. These serve as sparks to help us understand our own visions of who and what we can be, if we dare to weave our core purpose with our other passions. This captivating read will make you stop and consider your own untapped reservoirs of influence, generosity of spirit, and humble leadership.” Elisabeth Swan, Author and Just-In-Time Cafe Podcast Host

The Problem-Solver’s Toolkit: A Surprisingly Simple Guide to Your Lean Six Sigma Journey

The Problem-Solver’s Toolkit: A Surprisingly Simple Guide to Your Lean Six Sigma Journey is a fast-and-fun travel kit eBook for the process improvement traveler. We provide basic tool sets, examples, instructions, “detours” around potential “potholes” and some sight-seeing options when you want to learn more on a given topic.

• Contains 35 foundational Lean Six Sigma tools
• Covers essentials like the A3, Process Walks, SIPOCs, Check Sheets, Run Charts, 5S, Monitoring and Response Plans, and more – Just enough to get you rolling!
• Provides clear instructions, examples and best practices
• Draws on over 25 years of success helping organizations achieve their goals with Lean Six Sigma

📚 The Conclusion Trap by Daniel Markovitz

Founder of Markovitz Consulting and Author

We quickly discovered that our home-bases were both in the San Francisco Bay Area and, since 2016, regularly meet up in the city to grab a meal and talk about all things leadership, lean, Japan, and more.

On one of our lunches in 2019, we were focused on book writing. I was in the thick of writing – and rewriting – Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn , to be restructured as a leadership narrative. And Dan threw out the idea of a new book he was pondering about problem-solving and the problems with problem-solving.

That book became The Conclusion Trap – an easy-to-digest, quick-to-read, and super impactful guide for coaches, problem-solvers, and leaders at all levels on how to avoid jumping to solutions (which I’ve also written about here ).

I’ve also included another of Dan’s books, Building the Fit Organization , in my book recommendations about building organizational culture. (forthcoming)!

Here’s what Dan had to say about Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn :

“Humans are hardwired to remember and learn from stories. Katie Anderson does the lean community a huge service by bringing storytelling to fundamental lean ideas through her interviews with Mr. Yoshino. Everyone will benefit from the depth and color that the book brings to otherwise dry disquisitions of the Toyota Way.” Daniel Markovitz, Author and Consultant

The Conclusion Trap: Four Steps to Better Decisions

Organizations (and individuals) frequently struggle to make good decisions. They spend money, invest in new technology, and invest enormous amounts of time and effort reorganizing in fruitless efforts to solve thorny problems. Why? Years of training and reinforcement in school and at work, time pressures and deadlines, and inherent psychological biases cause us to jump to conclusions before we even understand the problem we’re attempting to solve.

This book will help you make better decisions by eliminating that tendency. You’ll learn a powerful, four-step process that ensures you will deeply understand a problem before pursuing any given solution. Following this framework enables you to generate insight before you take action. Rather than needlessly hiring more people or spending money on new equipment and technology, you’ll be able to identify the bottlenecks, root causes, and structural impediments that create the problems in the first place. It reduces the chronic fire-fighting your organization suffers from, while increasing the likelihood that your problem stays solved.

Honorable Mentions for books on problem-solving and coaching for improvement :

There are several key books on my bookshelf that I have to include in this list of great books on problem-solving and coaching, but not necessarily by authors who provided a pre-publication endorsement of Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn .

Here are some honorable mentions that must be on this list. And of course, there are so many more that could deserve a place on this list of top books! I might have to do another list in the future!

📚 People Solve Problems: The Power of Every Person, Every Day, Every Problem  by Jamie Flinchbaugh

Founder of JFlinch and author 

In People Solve Problems: The Power of Every Person, Every Day, Every Problem , Jamie explores the real leverage to improve problem-solving: people. In it, he dives into the problems with problem-solving, including both the value and limits of tools and templates, as well as the marriage of problem-solving and standards.

Jamie outlines the culture needed in an organization in order for problem-solving to be effective, and the role of leaders, whether the CEO or a team leader, in building an environment where problem-solving can thrive.

People Solve Problems: The Power of Every Person, Every Day, Every Problem

Every person in every function of every organization is involved in solving problems. They show up in your email inbox, in meetings, in your own work. They are strategic and tactical, mundane and breakthrough, easy and difficult. Most organizations want to, and need to, improve their people’s problem-solving efforts, and so they offer them tools, templates, and training. Yet this is not where the leverage for impact is found.

People Solve Problems: The Power of Every Person, Every Day, Every Problem explores the real leverage to improve your problem-solving.

📚 Helping and Humble Inquiry by Edgar Schein

Edgar Schien is one of the most influential writers and thinkers when it comes to my approach to coaching, problem-solving, and helping. Two books of his that have most shaped my entire leadership approach and how I now coach leaders to “Break the Telling Habit” – and frankly, that helped me become a better human being across all aspects of my life – are his books Helping and Humble Inquiry .

The types of questions I teach are based on Schien’s categories and the impact they have on problem-solving ownership. Read more about this here .

Schien, a professor-emeritus of MIT, and his son Peter, continue to write prolifically together about these fundamental concepts of humble leadership, humble coaching, and humble consulting.

If you haven’t read these books yet, do so! They will help you become a better leader, coach, and human.

Helping: How to Offer, Give, and Receive Help

Helping is a fundamental human activity, but it can also be a frustrating one. All too often, to our bewilderment, our sincere offers of help are resented, resisted, or refused—and we often react the same way when people try to help us. Why is it so difficult to provide or accept help? How can we make the whole process easier?

Many words are used for helping: assisting, aiding, advising, caregiving, coaching, consulting, counseling, guiding, mentoring, supporting, teaching, and more. In this seminal book on the topic, corporate culture and organizational development guru Ed Schein analyzes the social and psychological dynamics common to all types of helping relationships, explains why help is often not helpful, and shows what any would-be helpers must do to ensure that their assistance is both welcomed and genuinely useful. He shows how to navigate the delicate acts of asking for or offering help; avoid pitfalls; mitigate power imbalances; and establish a solid foundation of trust—and how these techniques can be applied to teamwork and organizational leadership.

Humble Inquiry: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling

We live, say Edgar and Peter Schein, in a culture of “tell.” All too often we tell others what we think they need to know or should do. But whether we are leading or following, what matters most is we get to the truth. We have to develop a commitment to sharing vital facts and identifying faulty assumptions—it can mean the difference between success and failure. This is why we need Humble Inquiry more than ever.

The Scheins define Humble Inquiry as “the gentle art of drawing someone out, of asking questions to which you do not know the answer, of building relationships based on curiosity and interest in the other person.” It was inspired by Edgar’s twenty years of work in high-hazard industries and the health-care system, where honest communication can literally mean the difference between life and death.

📚 Toyota Kata Managing People for Improvement, Adaptiveness and Superior Results by Mike Rother

Author of The Toyota Kata and Toyota Kata Culture

Rother’s framework documents the invisible pattern of thinking and practice of “leader as coach” at Toyota, which mirrors directly with Isao Yoshino’s experiences over 40-years at Toyota in both Japan and the U.S and are documented in Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn .

A leader’s role in Leading to Learn – just like in the coaching kata – is to 

1) set the direction or challenge, 

2) provide support to help the learner solve the problem, and 

3) develop their own capabilities at the same time. 

Toyota Kata helps make the invisible visible, and will help you, your team, and your organization accelerate your ability to learn, innovate, and solve important problems.

Toyota Kata: Managing People for Improvement, Adaptiveness and Superior Results

This game-changing book puts you behind the curtain at Toyota, providing new insight into the legendary automaker’s management practices and offering practical guidance for leading and developing people in a way that makes the best use of their brain power.

Drawing on six years of research into Toyota’s employee-management routines, Toyota Kata examines and elucidates, for the first time, the company’s organizational routines–called kata–that power its success with continuous improvement and adaptation. The book also reaches beyond Toyota to explain issues of human behavior in organizations and provide specific answers to questions such as:

• How can we make improvement and adaptation part of everyday work throughout the organization?
• How can we develop and utilize the capability of everyone in the organization to repeatedly work toward and achieve new levels of performance?
• How can we give an organization the power to handle dynamic, unpredictable situations and keep satisfying customers?

Other Resources:

Explore more of Mr. Yoshino’s stories from his 40 years at Toyota, you can purchase a copy of it in paperback, eBook, or audiobook for your own reading and re-reading here .

The Companion Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn Workbook

To supplement your learning from the book, I’ve also created the Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn Workbook to help you deepen your understanding and practice of the concepts highlighted in the book. This 100-page workbook provides additional exercises and questions to prompt your deeper thinking on your own leadership legacy.

Additional articles about problem-solving and ask effective questions:

• What’s your biggest problem with problem solving?
• Effectively Coaching for Problem Solving 
• When to “A3”? – Three problem solving tools to match the complexity of your problem
• How to Ask Problem-Solving Questions
• Effective Questions to Support Problem-Solving Thinking
• What If I Have The Answer? Should I still ask questions?
• Author Interview with Jamie Flinchbaugh: People Solve Problems

How to Ask Effective Questions

• How to get out of the habit of telling: Pay attention to questions in disguise
• Reflections on When to Listen, Ask, & Tell
• Toyota Leadership Lessons: Part 9 – Learning the value of asking questions

And, if you are looking to dive even more deeply into how to coach for problem-solving, check out my on-demand Break the Telling Habit Workshop — facilitated by me, which explores how to tap into your team’s potential by using powerful questions to unlock innovation and amplify engagement.

The Final Word on My 10 Top Books on Problem-Solving and Coaching for Improvement

I hope that your exploration of these books on problem-solving and coaching for improvement brings you as much growth as they did for me.

They explore how leaders apply problem-solving skills, and how you can grow your Chain of Learning by giving you sound problem-solving techniques and teaching you how to coach for improvement by creating problem-solving questions.

Let me know which ones you read and your thoughts on them.

All of these books on problem-solving and critical thinking, and the importance of problem-solving in leadership have played an important role in my own learning journey.

Whether you’re looking to learn about problem-solving in leadership and management, creative problem-solving questions and answers, or coaching for continuous improvement, these books on problem-solving and coaching for improvement have something for you.

And if you’re interested in reading my book, Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn , you can get your very own copy here.

Book Recommendation Series Overview

This is just one article of several that I’ve put together for you to deepen your Chain of Learning about lean, problem-solving, culture, strategy, and more.

This article contains a list of books books on problem-solving and coaching for improvement.

Here is the full list of my book recommendation series:

• Top Books on Lean Management, Lean Production, and Toyota History

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Critical thinking, Logic & Problem Solving: The Ultimate Guide to Better Thinking, Systematic Problem Solving and Making Impeccable Decisions with Secret Tips to Detect Logical Fallacies Paperback – November 15, 2022

Purchase options and add-ons.

------------------- ➤ With this book you also GET EXCLUSIVE ACCESS to 1)Our Q&A Premium Service, 2)the ebooklet "System Thinking Principles". Discover how inside the book! ------------------- What are the most important skills to develop in the times we live in? How can you make better Decisions?

In this age of fake news, social media, and information overload, critical thinking, logic, and problem-solving are probably the most vital skills to develop for success .

Critical Thinking, Logic & Problem Solving are critical parts of our daily life, and mastering these skills increases our ability to think well and take impeccable decisions. It also enables us to understand the reasons why the current state is what it is and the forces and factors that influence it, and develop approaches and alternatives to influence and implement changes.

What is the problem then? The problem is that the current education system doesn't teach us well or at all any of these skills . And that is the main cause of failure and underutilization of people’s potential.

This Guide was built with the objective to put an end to this problem and to give you the most effective tools to establish the habit of thinking critically and logically and solving any problem that you may face in the best way possible . This book includes 3 parts plus 1 bonus: 1) Critical Thinking 2) Logic, Structuring & Framing 3) Problem Solving 4) BONUS: Achieving Clear and Effective Communication

Here is a tiny fraction of what you will discover inside: - How to use the critical thinking framework - Removing mental barriers to critical thinking - Learning to ask the right questions - Detecting Fallacies - Recognizing Fake News and Misinformation - Deductive vs Inductive Reasoning - Leveraging Patterns and Trends - Exercises to Develop Critical Thinking - How to Manage your Emotions to get into the right Critical Thinking zone and mindset - The Key Frameworks to frame and describe problems - How to Use Issues Trees, Logic Flow Trees and Decision Trees - The Problem-Solving Process and How to Think like a Scientist - Mastering PROS and CONS assessment - Prioritization Matrices - Decision Matrices - Organizing Action - How to leverage constraints to get more creative - Organizing your communication - The best Storytelling techniques for effective communications and presentations And much more!

This collection is not only a theory book , it will give you the opportunity to practice what you learn so that you can gain momentum and absorb effortlessly this powerful knowledge . In no time you will be able to make more powerful arguments, take confident decisions and discover any error in logic . Critical thinking, Logic and Problem-Solving will help you improve multiple areas of your life from the personal sphere to the professional one. If you are looking for the best in class and a fast track to Master Critical Thinking, Logic and Problem Solving look no further.

Do Not Wait any longer and Grab Your Copy Now!

• Print length 109 pages
• Language English
• Publication date November 15, 2022
• Dimensions 8 x 0.25 x 10 inches
• ISBN-13 979-8363860713
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• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BMDL2PP9
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Independently published (November 15, 2022)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 109 pages
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• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.1 ounces
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Book series

Problem Books in Mathematics

About this book series.

• Peter Winkler

Book titles in this series

Selection tests in number theory for mathematical olympiads.

• Corneliu Manescu-Avram
• Copyright: 2024

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Functional Analysis and Operator Theory

• Volodymyr Brayman
• Andrii Chaikovskyi
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• Copyright: 2023

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8 Best Problem Solving Books of All Time

Our goal : Find the best Problem Solving books according to the internet (not just one random person's opinion).

• Type "best problem solving books" into our search engine and study the top 5+ pages.
• Add only the books mentioned 2+ times.
• Rank the results neatly for you here! 😊 (It was a lot of work. But hey! That's why we're here, right?)

(Updated 2024)

As an Amazon Associate, we earn money from purchases made through links in this page.

Last Updated: Monday 1 Jan, 2024

• Best Problem Solving Books

Problem Solving 101

A simple book for smart people.

Ken Watanabe

Seeking Wisdom

From darwin to munger.

Peter Bevelin

How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days

The Art of Thinking Clearly

Rolf Dobelli

Think Smarter

Critical thinking to improve problem-solving and decision-making skills.

Michael Kallet

How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes

Maria Konnikova

Cracked It!

How to solve big problems and sell solutions like top strategy consultants.

Bernard Garrette

Bulletproof Problem Solving

The one skill that changes everything.

Charles Conn

• The 5 Best Books on Problem Solving (in 2022) - TES www.theexceptionalskills.com
• Our Top 5 Books On Problem Solving — 42courses.com blog.42courses.com
• The 11 Best Problem Solving Books For 2021 www.zerotoskill.com
• 9 Problem-Solving Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read | SUCCESS www.success.com
• 12 Best Problem Solving Books to Read in 2022 teambuilding.com

How was this Problem Solving books list created?

We searched for 'best Problem Solving books', found the top 5 articles, took every book mentioned in 2+ articles, and averaged their rankings.

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There are 8 books in this list.

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McKinsey on Books

Explore this month’s best-selling business books prepared exclusively for McKinsey Publishing by Circana and a collection of books by McKinsey authors on the management issues that matter, from leadership and talent to digital transformation, corporate finance, and more. For our series of interviews with authors of books on business and beyond, visit Author Talks .

McKinsey & Company Books

Power to the Middle

CEO Excellence

The Titanium Economy

Deliberate Calm

The Ecosystem Economy

February 2024 best-selling books

Business overall, decision making, organizational behavior, workplace culture, computer ai, sustainability, featured insights.

2023 summer reading guide

Activating middle managers through capability building

What really works when it comes to digital and AI transformations?

10 songs (and 30 reads) to kick off your summer break

Author Talks

Venkat Atluri and Miklós Dietz

2022– The Ecosystem Economy offers a compelling new take on how the global economy is being fundamentally transformed. Prepare your organization for a competitive new landscape.

Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies, 7th edition

Tim Koller, Marc Goedhart, David Wessels

2020 - At the crossroads of corporate strategy and finance lies valuation. This book enables everyone, from the budding professional to the seasoned manager, to excel at measuring and maximizing shareholder and company value.

Bulletproof Problem Solving: The One Skill that Changes Everything

Charles Conn and Robert McLean

2019 – This book outlines a seven-step, systematic approach to creative problem solving that will work in any field or industry, helping to transform the way you approach problems and take you to the next level of business and personal success.

Go Long: Why Long-term Thinking Is Your Best Short-Term Strategy

Dennis Carey, Brian Dumaine, Michael Useem, and Rodney Zemmel

2018 – Inspired by an annual off-the-record gathering of chief executives organized by the authors, Go Long reveals how some of the world’s most prominent business leaders resisted short-term pressures to successfully manage their organizations for the long term.

Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick: People, Probabilities, and Big Moves to Beat the Odds

Chris Bradley , Martin Hirt , and Sven Smit

2018 – Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick is about unlocking big moves because that’s what it takes to beat the odds in business. Anchored in empirical evidence from 1000s of companies, it reveals what really matters and what doesn’t for exceptional performance.

No Ordinary Disruption: The Four Global Forces Breaking All the Trends

Richard Dobbs, James Manyika , and Jonathan Woetzel

2015 – The world not only feels different. The data tell us it is different. This book is a timely and important analysis of how we need to reset our intuition as a result of four forces colliding and transforming the global economy.

In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best Run Companies

Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman

2006 – Based on a study of 43 of America’s best-run companies from a diverse array of business sectors, this book describes eight basic principles of management that made these organizations successful.

Leadership & Organization

Beyond Performance 2.0

Scott Keller and Bill Schaninger

2019 – Beyond Performance 2.0 more than doubles your odds of successfully leading significant, sustainable change by applying equal levels of insight and rigor to the “hard” and “soft” elements that matter.

Leadership at Scale

Claudio Feser, Michael Rennie, and Nicolai Chen Nielsen

2018 – Leadership at Scale provides leaders with the systematic and fact-based leadership development approach they need to unlock organizational performance in today’s fast-paced business environment.

Leading Organizations: Ten Timeless Truths

Scott Keller and Mary Meaney

2017 – Leading Organizations identifies the most challenging organizational issues leaders face, providing the hard facts, big ideas, and practical “how to” steps to address those issues.

When Execution Isn’t Enough: Decoding Inspirational Leadership

Claudio Feser

2016 – Inspired people have the energy and persistence needed to achieve extraordinary results and transform organizations. This book shows what it takes to win the minds and hearts of the people you lead.

Connect: How Companies Succeed by Engaging Radically with Society

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2016 – Drawing on the experience of John Browne, the former CEO of BP, and the insight of two McKinsey experts, this book articulates and explores the recurring rift between big business and society, offering a practical manifesto for reconciliation.

Centered Leadership: A Breakthrough Program for Leading with Purpose, Clarity, and Impact

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2014 – By studying the stories of leaders and working with Fortune 100 companies, Joanna Barsh and Johanne Lavoie explore why some talented people rise to the top and create positive and sustained impact, while others stop short of their full leadership potential.

How Remarkable Women Lead: The Breakthrough Model for Work and Life

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Mobilizing Minds: Creating Wealth from Talent in the 21st-Century Organization

Lowell Bryan and Claudia Joyce

2007 – By tapping into employees’ talents, knowledge, and skills, you can earn tens of thousands of additional dollars per employee, and manage the barriers that prevent real achievements. This can only be done through organizational design and redesign.

Fast Times: How Digital Winners Set Direction, Learn, and Adapt

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The Tao of Coaching

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Marketing Performance: How Marketers Drive Profitable Growth

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'Third Millennium Thinking': How to use scientific tools to solve everyday problems

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• Emiko Tamagawa

Life is full of decisions. “ Third Millennium Thinking: Creating Sense in a World of Knowledge ” outlines methods of making choices rationally using scientific methods.

Nobel Prize-winning physicist Saul Perlmutter , philosophy professor John Campbell , and social psychologist Robert MacCoun turned their course at the University of California Berkeley on using scientific tools to approach everyday problems into a book.

Perlmutter says it's easy to fall into mental traps or fool ourselves when making a choice. But when people assess all the variables that could influence them and the potential outcomes, they approach questions more thoughtfully, he says.

“There is so much of what is the scientific approach to the world that is never taught anywhere,” Perlmutter says. “It seemed like this was a time for us to be trying to figure out how can we teach this in ways that don't require having to become a scientist in order to do it.”

Book excerpt: 'Third Millennium Thinking: Creating Sense in a World of Nonsense'

By Saul Perlmutter, John Campbell and Robert MacCoun

INTRODUCTION

In just the past few decades, those of us who live in the internet-​connected world have obtained access to a nearly unfathomable amount of information. We can click a link and instantly gain insight into whatever we’re curious about, whether it’s treatment options for a particular health condition, how to build a solar generator, or the political history of Malta. On the other hand, sometimes there is so much information we don’t know how to sort or evaluate it. The social science database ProQuest, for example, boasts of “a growing content collection that now encompasses . . . 6 billion digital pages and spans six centuries.” And that’s just old-​school, print information! The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, an archive of websites and other digital artifacts dating back to 1996, hosts almost a trillion pages of digital content, tens of millions of books and audios, and nearly a million software programs.

More and more often, it can be hard to determine what to focus on, let alone how to distinguish what’s revelatory and enlightening, in and among all the highly technical, specialized, contradictory, incomplete, out‑of‑date, biased, or deliberately untrue information we can now access. Was that drug study funded by a pharmaceutical company? Did an AI system invent all those supposedly authentic product reviews? What do those statistics leave out? What does that article even mean ? It is also increasingly tricky to identify whom to trust for expert guidance in interpreting this information. There are all sorts of people out there who claim expertise — and perhaps your favorite experts aren’t my favorite experts. Experts disagree, or have ulterior motives, or perhaps don’t understand the world or “real life” beyond their own narrow perspective. How do we find an expert we can safely trust?

To make a sound decision, take a meaningful action, or solve a problem — whether as individuals, in groups, or as a society — we need first to understand reality. But when reality is not easy to discern, and we’re not sure which experts to trust to clarify the matter, we adopt other strategies for navigating the clutter. We “go with our gut”; decide what we “believe” and look for evidence to reaffirm whatever that is; adopt positions based on our affiliations with people we know; even find reassurance in belittling the people who disagree with us. We choose to consult experts who tell us what we like to hear; or bond in shared mistrust of people providing or communicating the information that confuses us, whether they are scientists, scholars, journalists, community leaders, policymakers, or other experts. These coping strategies may help us get by in our personal or professional lives; they may provide a consoling sense of identity or belonging. But they do not actually help us see clearly or make good decisions. And resorting to them can have dangerous social and political consequences.

How can we navigate better — as individuals, and as a society — in this age of informational overwhelm? How do we ward off confusion, avoid mental traps, and sift sense out of nonsense? How do we make decisions and solve problems collaboratively with people who interpret information differently or have different values than we do?

The three of us — a physicist (Saul), a philosopher ( John), and a psychologist (Rob) — have been working closely together for nearly a decade on a project to help our students learn to think about big problems and make effective decisions in this “too much information” age. We began our collaboration in 2011, in response to what was already a worrying trend toward no‑think, politics-​driven decision-​making. An issue like raising the national debt ceiling, for example, was being debated that summer as if it were a religious schism, rather than a simple, practical, probably even testable question of what economic approach would work best to improve the country’s economic well-being. Most of the arguments both yea and nay betrayed equal disregard for, or ignorance of, the most basic principles of scientific thought. We began to wonder whether it might be possible to first articulate and then teach the principles that would lead to clearer thinking, more rational arguments, and a more fruitful collaborative decision-​making process.

The result was a team-​taught, multidisciplinary Big Ideas course at UC Berkeley, intended to teach students the whole gamut of ideas, tools, and approaches that natural and social scientists use to understand the world. We also designed the course to show how useful these approaches can be for everybody in day‑to‑day life, whether working individually or collaboratively, in making reasoned decisions and solving the full range of problems that face us. To our great satisfaction, the course has been both popular and successful, and has since been replicated and adapted by other teachers at a growing number of other universities.1 Our students appear to rethink their worlds and emerge energized with new ways to approach both personal decision-​making and our society’s problems. They are better able to investigate their questions, evaluate information and expertise, and work together as members of a group or a society. Inspired by their enthusiasm, we began to think about new ways to share these tools — and this new way of thinking and working together — beyond the classroom, with students and citizens of all ages.

We have become ever more concerned that our society is losing its way, causing suffering — and missing great opportunities — simply because we don’t have the tools that could help us make sense of the extraordinary amount of complex, often contradictory information now available to us. Practical problem-​solving can come to a standstill when we cannot ascertain the facts of the problems, or, when those problems require communal or political solutions, even agree with others on what those facts are. We humans, who can figure out rocket science and fly to the moon, can’t always figure out how to navigate uncertainty and conflicting points of view to make a simple reasonable decision when we need to.

Part of the problem is that science itself is often a major source of the highly technical, opaque, inconsistent, and contradictory information that has overwhelmed, perplexed, and even angered people. Trust in science has eroded in the recent past.2 The achievements of science cannot live up to all the utopian expectations those successes have generated. Some scientific achievements have also come with negative social, political, or environmental side effects. For these and other reasons, science has become one of the totems of polarization in political discussions. In short, as science became harder to understand, was connected to undesirable side effects, and subjected to politically partisan critiques, many people lost their trust in scientists and in “science” itself.3

But science also has a phenomenal record of providing insight into — if not answers to — the most confounding questions humans have thought to ask. It has helped us to solve puzzles, address problems, and make better lives over millennia. It is a culture of inquiry rooted in the dawn of humankind, with centuries of practice in evaluating conflicting information in a baffling world, and in distinguishing what we know from what we don’t. Along the way, scientists have learned from both successes and mistakes, breakthroughs and blunders, to refine the tools with which to address new questions and solve new problems.

Over the past few years, we have all become aware of the shocking degree of polarization in our society, and the surprising interaction between this polarization and our society’s often-​problematic relationship to science and scientific expertise. If we are to have any hope of finding the practical common plans and common understandings that can move our society ahead together, we need to learn to accept the possibility of errors in our own thinking, and our need for opposing views that help us see where we are going wrong. And we need to understand the source of the disenchantment with and backlash against scientific progress that arose during the end of the Second Millennium and seek to repair it.

No one book and no single approach can heal the rifts. Not all of our polarized disagreements will vanish. But we have to start somewhere. And we believe that one of our more promising starting points is with the culture of science — if we begin to borrow its tools, ideas, and processes, and make a Third Millennium shift in our own thinking.

Adapted from "Third Millenium Thinking" by Saul Perlmutter, John Campbell, and Robert MacCoun. Copyright © 2024 by Saul Perlmutter, John Campbell, and Robert MacCoun. Used with permission of Little, Brown Spark, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company. New York, NY. All rights reserved.

Emiko Tamagawa  produced and edited this interview for broadcast with  Todd Mundt .  Grace Griffin  adapted it for the web.

This article was originally published on March 26, 2024.

This segment aired on March 26, 2024.

Scott Tong Co-Host, Here & Now Scott Tong joined Here & Now as a co-host in July 2021 after spending 16 years at Marketplace as Shanghai bureau chief and senior correspondent.

Emiko Tamagawa Senior Producer, Here & Now Emiko Tamagawa produces arts and culture segments for Here & Now.

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The 3-body problem is real, and it’s really unsolvable

Oh god don’t make me explain math

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Everybody seems to be talking about 3 Body Problem , the new Netflix series based on Cixin Liu’s Remembrance of Earth’s Past book trilogy . Fewer people are talking about the two series’ namesake: The unsolvable physics problem of the same name.

This makes sense, because it’s confusing . In physics, the three-body problem attempts to find a way to predict the movements of three objects whose gravity interacts with each of the others — like three stars that are close together in space. Sounds simple enough, right? Yet I myself recently pulled up the Wikipedia article on the three-body problem and closed the tab in the same manner that a person might stagger away from a bright light. Apparently the Earth, sun, and moon are a three-body system? Are you telling me we don’t know how the moon moves ? Scientists have published multiple solutions for the three-body problem? Are you telling me Cixin Liu’s books are out of date?

All I’d wanted to know was why the problem was considered unsolvable, and now memories of my one semester of high school physics were swimming before my eyes like so many glowing doom numbers. However, despite my pains, I have readied several ways that we non-physicists can be confident that the three-body problem is, in fact, unsolvable.

Reason 1: This is a special definition of ‘unsolvable’

The three-body problem is extra confusing, because scientists are seemingly constantly finding new solutions to the three-body problem! They just don’t mean a one-solution-for-all solution. Such a formula does exist for a two-body system, and apparently Isaac Newton figured it out in 1687 . But systems with more than two bodies are, according to physicists, too chaotic (i.e., not in the sense of a child’s messy bedroom, but in the sense of “chaos theory”) to be corralled by a single solution.

When physicists say they have a new solution to the three-body problem, they mean that they’ve found a specific solution for three-body systems that have certain theoretical parameters. Don’t ask me to explain those parameters, because they’re all things like “the three masses are collinear at each instant” or “a zero angular momentum solution with three equal masses moving around a figure-eight shape.” But basically: By narrowing the focus of the problem to certain arrangements of three-body systems, physicists have been able to derive formulas that predict the movements of some of them, like in our solar system. The mass of the Earth and the sun create a “ restricted three-body problem ,” where a less-big body (in this case, the moon) moves under the influence of two massive ones (the Earth and the sun).

What physicists mean when they say the three-body problem has no solution is simply that there isn’t a one-formula-fits-all solution to every way that the gravity of three objects might cause those objects to move — which is exactly what Three-Body Problem bases its whole premise on.

Reason 2: 3 Body Problem picked an unsolved three-body system on purpose

Henri Poincaré’s research into a general solution to the three-body problem formed the basis of what would become known as chaos theory (you might know it from its co-starring role in Jurassic Park ). And 3 Body Problem itself isn’t about any old three-body system. It’s specifically about an extremely chaotic three-body system, the exact kind of arrangement of bodies that Poincaré was focused on when he showed that the problem is “unsolvable.”

[ Ed. note: The rest of this section includes some spoilers for 3 Body Problem .]

In both Liu’s books and Netflix’s 3 Body Problem , humanity faces an invasion by aliens (called Trisolarans in the English translation of the books, and San-Ti in the TV series) whose home solar system features three suns in a chaotic three-body relationship. It is a world where, unlike ours, the heavens are fundamentally unpredictable. Periods of icy cold give way to searing heat that give way to swings in gravity that turn into temporary reprieves that can never be trusted. The unpredictable nature of the San-Ti environment is the source of every detail of their physicality, their philosophy, and their desire to claim Earth for their own.

In other words, 3 Body Problem ’s three-body problem is unsolvable because Liu wanted to write a story with an unsolvable three-body system, so he chose one of the three-body systems for which we have not discovered a solution, and might never.

Reason 3: Scientists are still working on the three-body problem

Perhaps the best reason I can give you to believe that the three-body problem is real, and is really unsolvable, is that some scientists published a whole set of new solutions for specific three-body systems very recently .

If physicists are still working on the three-body problem, we can safely assume that it has not been solved. Scientists, after all, are the real experts. And I am definitely not.

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