Thinking Backwards: The Art of Problem Solving in Business. Rob Van Haastrecht & Martin Scheepbouwer

Companies are lousy problem solvers. There are fundamental flaws in the way managers and their advisers make crucial decisions, including: unclear or missing objectives; spending too much time on the problem rather than on the solution; lack of real facts and evidence; giving direction without recommending concrete interventions; misalignment with key stakeholders; or simply missing good alternatives. This succinct but powerful guide aims to make you at least twice as effective a problem solver than before. Moreover, it will help you to make better decisions in less time and with less effort. The authors bring home four key principles in addressing business problems: Think backwards ; Get to the bottom of it ; Decisions are nothing, interventions are everything ; and Challenge the status quo and current thinking . After reading this book, you will make less mistakes and completely rethink the way you make business trade-offs.