The Thinking Manager's Toolbox Effective Processes for Problem Solving and Decision Making

by Altier, William J.

• ISBN13: 9780195131963
• ISBN10: 0195131967
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-11-18
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

In this indispensable book, a widely experienced business consultant provides a complete set of analytical tools essential to successful trouble-shooting, effective planning, and making better decisions faster, more confidently, and more often. How can you help your company solve a problem in just a few days that's been plaguing managers for three months? How can you bring a room of executives to a consensus on a critical decision that the CEO and his committee have been wrestling with for years? Of course, this is easier said than done.Indeed, not a week goes by without a major business media story about a company that has fallen on hard times and an executive that has resigned for "personal reasons." The root of the failure is usually ineffective decision-making processes, and ultimately, bad decisions. In The ThinkingManager's Toolbox, veteran consultant and renowned business thinker William J. Altier cogently presents the underpinnings of successful thinking processes and their applications, drawing on practical, real-world experiences. The first section explores the fundamentals of thinking, change, and thecritical role that sound thinking processes play in effective problem solving. The second section, your basic toolbox, develops five, in-depth fundamental thinking processes. And a third section, the advanced toolbox, develops more specialized applications for creative problem solving. Here then is a valuable primer for anyone, whether a middle manager or a CEO, seeking to solve problems and make better decisions more efficiently. The Thinking Manager's Toolbox is an invaluable resource for those seeking to develop the fundamental thinking processes necessary to perform withexcellence.

Author Biography

William J. Altier is the President of Princeton Associates, Inc. He lives in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii	(4)
Acknowledgments	xi
Part I Setting the Scene	1	(24)
1. Thinking Battles--Winning and Losing	3	(10)
2. Change: The Name of the Game	13	(6)
3. Process Expertise--A Critical Managing Skill	19	(6)
Part II The Basic Toolbox	25	(126)
4. Situation Assessment	27	(16)
5. Decision Analysis	43	(36)
6. Implementation Planning	79	(20)
7. Potential Problem/Opportunity Analysis	99	(16)
8. Problem Analysis	115	(36)
Part III The Advanced Toolbox	151	(52)
9. On the Role of Meetings	153	(10)
10. Specialized Decision Analysis Tools	163	(16)
11. Potential Future Change--Opportunities and Disasters	179	(8)
12. On Creativity	187	(16)
Appendix: Problem-Solving Worksheets	203	(10)
Notes	213	(2)
Index	215