Problem Solving and Decision Making.

Problem Solving and Decision Making, Video, 2007, Edge Training Systems, Inc., $1395.

Support: leader's guide, participant booklet, slide presentation.

It's surprising to me that there aren't more DVD's like Problem Solving and Decision Making: Achieving Desired Results. I wish there were more and think you should preview this program.

I've worked with MBA students at an elite business school for years, and many of them aren't sure how to analyze an issue, make a decision, and prepare an action plan. It stands to reason that many managers and employees aren't well prepared either.

The explanation for the dearth of work on the topic may be that this serious weakness is largely unappreciated and therefore isn't a high priority for training. Instinct, passion, and energetic performance are all critical to organizations, but they need to be complemented with strong analytic skills.

The big consulting firms are very much aware of the issue and commit their resources to solving it. They aren't under any illusion that business schools or undergraduate business departments train students in methods of thinking. The academy is organized according to traditional disciplines, and analytic methods don't fit and aren't taught.

Two obstacles to acquiring the necessary skills are semantics and an assumption about thinking. First, the term "problem solving" is used a lot, often with great authority, but its meaning tends to be vague.

The video doesn't have much to say about the definition of "problem." It assumes you know what the term means. The word is defined in the print materials, but I think a detailed one belongs in the video so that viewers can better understand what follows.

Second, it is widely assumed that the thought process underlying problem solving and decision-making is primarily intuitive. Because you learn through practice, you don't need to define it.

Practice is required, of course. Nevertheless, thinking can be structured to make it more focused and effective. The structure doesn't do the thinking; the brain has to do that. The brain benefits, though, from a structure tailored to the task being asked of it.

Problem Solving and Decision Making furnishes a six-step process for the related activities of analyzing a problem, making a decision, and creating a plan of action. I won't detail the parts of the process; instead, I recommend that you preview the video.

It makes the important distinction that a problem isn't necessarily something negative. A problem can be a desire to improve a work process or an individual performance that is already good--to take a workflow or person to the next level.

The process is a lot to teach in a DVD of just over 20 minutes. Still, it isn't complex and is laid out clearly. The conciseness of the presentation is a positive characteristic of the program--so long as viewers have additional time to review the method and practice it.

Besides the fuzziness about the meaning of "problem," there's also some regarding the analysis of a problem and the shift from it to decision making. (Problem analysis, decision analysis, and evaluation are distinct and different processes, but explaining that would require a second DVD.) The fuzzy points do no particular harm, and the many valuable points far outweigh them.

The video illustrates the process with examples in different settings: white collar office and healthcare. The opening segment is stiff--it's a mini-lecture--but it's short and the content is necessary because it sets up the rest of the presentation. Edge Training does production values right, and that's true of this program.

The real payoff comes in the print support materials. The Leader's Guide, PowerPoint slides, and Participant Workbook together provide the additional specifics and opportunity for practice necessary to go back to the job with enhanced thinking skills. I want to stress that the suggested two-to four-hour session is critical to learning, and the Leader's Guide provides plenty of facilitation, which is coordinated with the slides.

Another Edge program, RoadMaps: Creating Effective Written Action Plans, complements Problem Solving and Decision Making. Intelligent analysis isn't worth much if it isn't followed by effective action. Planning and writing a plan of action is an art of its own. Many supervisors and managers have only a vague idea of how to go about creating one.

One other thing worth noting is the pricing of this and other Edge videos. The price is determined by the number of employees, a departure from the industry norm of a single price for an unlimited number of users. This is the same pricing model e-learning vendors use. For the long-term health of the video-based training industry, I hope the new model prevails.

Recommendation

Edge Training deserves praise for taking on a topic that doesn't have a large built-in market--although it should. Your managers, both new and experienced, deserve a chance to learn from Problem Solving and Decision Making. The quality of their analytical skills has a direct and daily impact on organizational results.

Review by Bill Ellet

Product Ratings

Problem Solving and Decision Making

Overall rating  *** 1/2