A Problem-Finding Approach to Effective Corporate Planning

Following Thomas Fuller's dictum that a danger foreseen is half avoided, Thierauf has developed a technique called problem finding which allows corporate planners to go beyond problem solving to confront future problems and identify future opportunities. This approach contrasts with typical problem-solving efforts which are based on the management by exception principle, that is, things that have gone wrong are corrected after the fact. Problem solving is typically applied to short-, medium-, and long-range problems, which the author terms operational, tactical, and strategic, respectively. In this volume, the author demonstrates how the problem finding approach can be applied to all three types of problems with vastly improved results, and illustrates his points with real-world examples.