When I saw this book, there were only 2 things in my mind. One is that even though it does not look brand new, it is still rather cheap and the other being I can get some tips in solving my work problems, which seems to be coming at me continuously throughout the whole day. After going through the book, here are my 20 takeaways.
1) State current situation, then the desired situation.
2) Identify the problem.
- problem must be a fact, not an opinion.
- problem must be manageable (something can be done to solve it)
3) Set goal
- Specific, measureable, ambitious & realistic
4) Break problem into parts
- questions and answers must be relevant
- keep records
5) Must have positive attitude and beliefs (must believe that you can before things are done)
- face reality, do not run away from the problem
- trust intuition
- be patient
6) Be in a good environment
7) Observe to see what others overlooked
8) Put yourself in other people's shoes
9) Practise creativity
10) The more creative you are, the more possibilities you can uncover. And the more possibilities you uncover, the more likely you are to find the best solution for that situation.
11) Just start to write something, anything to stop the writer's block.
12) Brainstorm. No censor, no criticism
13) Listing - list all possible answers, without thinking to come up with best answers.
14) Mapping - Enables you to see realtionship between different ideas.
15) Drawing connections - connecting between random words and the problem
16)No creative solution. Normally stuck in one way of thinking due to problem handled in certain way. Need paradigm shift.
17) Evaluation solutions.
- Ranking by criteria. Effectiveness, feasibility, time, cost. human resources, difficulty/ease of implementation, risk. Use table to rank.
- Pros and Cons
18) Errors in reasoning during evaluation.
- Appeals to emotions. Fear, vanity, flattery, scare tactics, peer pressure, pity
- Assuming a possible consequence will happen if you do something.
- Thinking you have only 2 options when you could have more options.
- Reasoning going in circles, ie no real reasons
- Assuming a situation which might not be true.
19) Action Plan
- Break solution down into tasks to be accomplished
- Determine order in which tasks must be completed
- Determine who will handle each task
- Determine how long for each task and how much it costs
- Set specific start and end dates for each task
- Develop contingency plans
20) Present the solution
- Consider your audience
- Clearly define the problem
- Summarise the problem
- Present the solution
- Anticipate objections.
I felt that the book is a good book for beginners in starting his/her working life. It give the basic steps to look at problems. It has been refreshing, though i had hope to learn new ways to tackle problems.
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