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Problem Solving 101: A Simple Book for Smart People
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Problem Solving 101: A Simple Book for Smart People Hardcover - 2009 - 1st Edition

by Ken Watanabe

Watanabe originally wrote "Problem Solving 101" to help kids' critical thinking skills, but soon adults were drawn to it as well. Illustrated with diagrams and quirky drawings, the book is simple enough for a middleschooler to understand but sophisticated enough for business leaders to apply to their most challenging problems.


Summary

The fun and simple problem-solving guide that took Japan by storm

Ken Watanabe originally wrote Problem Solving 101 for Japanese schoolchildren. His goal was to help shift the focus in Japanese education from memorization to critical thinking, by adapting some of the techniques he had learned as an elite McKinsey consultant.

He was amazed to discover that adults were hungry for his fun and easy guide to problem solving and decision making. The book became a surprise Japanese bestseller, with more than 370,000 in print after six months. Now American businesspeople can also use it to master some powerful skills.

Watanabe uses sample scenarios to illustrate his techniques, which include logic trees and matrixes. A rock band figures out how to drive up concert attendance. An aspiring animator budgets for a new computer purchase. Students decide which high school they will attend.

Illustrated with diagrams and quirky drawings, the book is simple enough for a middleschooler to understand but sophisticated enough for business leaders to apply to their most challenging problems.

From the publisher

The fun and simple problem-solving guide that took Japan by storm Ken Watanabe originally wrote Problem Solving 101 for Japanese schoolchildren. His goal was to help shift the focus in Japanese education from memorization to critical thinking, by adapting some of the techniques he had learned as an elite McKinsey consultant. He was amazed to discover that adults were hungry for his fun and easy guide to problem solving and decision making. The book became a surprise Japanese bestseller, with more than 370,000 in print after six months. Now American businesspeople can also use it to master some powerful skills. Watanabe uses sample scenarios to illustrate his techniques, which include logic trees and matrixes. A rock band figures out how to drive up concert attendance. An aspiring animator budgets for a new computer purchase. Students decide which high school they will attend. Illustrated with diagrams and quirky drawings, the book is simple enough for a middleschooler to understand but sophisticated enough for business leaders to apply to their most challenging problems.

Details

  • Title Problem Solving 101: A Simple Book for Smart People
  • Author Ken Watanabe
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Edition number 1st
  • Edition 1
  • Pages 128
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Portfolio, New York
  • Date 2009-03-05
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Dust Cover, Illustrated, Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9781591842422 / 1591842425
  • Weight 0.59 lbs (0.27 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.32 x 5.7 x 0.59 in (21.13 x 14.48 x 1.50 cm)
  • Ages 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Library of Congress subjects Problem solving
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2008042023
  • Dewey Decimal Code 153.43

Media reviews

'Problem Solving 101 teaches us to recognize the common elements in the decisions we face every day, and how to think carefully about them. It offers tricks and tips for every age. If I may offer one more suggestion: when you don't know which of two options to chose, toss a coin, and when it is up there in the air think about how you want it to fall, and you have your answer.'
Dan Ariely, author of The New York Times bestseller Predictably Irrational

'This book made me angry. It made me angry because there are so many people in this country who need to read it, who should read it, who will benefit enormously from reading it . . . and won't. They'll watch a reality show on TV instead. If everyone made decisions like Ken Watanabe, the world would be a better place.'
Seth Godin, author of Tribes

'This is an excellent primer on problem solving.'
Lowell Bryan, author of Mobilizing Minds

About the author

Ken Watanabe grew up bilingual in Japan and studied in the United States at Yale and Harvard Business School. He was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company for six years. He is now the founder and CEO of his own education, entertainment, and media company, Delta Studio.
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Problem Solving 101 : A Simple Book for Smart People

by Ken Watanabe

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Problem Solving 101: A Simple Book for Smart People
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