The Problem-Solving, Problem-Prevention, and Decision-Making Guide

Preface

When I was a much, much younger man, just starting my manufacturing career at Xerox Corporation, I remember how one day my new boss called me into his office and told me that he had a problem he wanted me to solve for him. Since it was my first real assignment of substance, I was anxious and wanted to impress him by doing a great job. The only problem was I had no idea how to begin to solve problems and, quite frankly, I was too embarrassed to ask for help. After all, it’s what he hired me to do, so I frantically searched the library (in those days there was no Internet to surf for answers) for a simple reference book on problem solving to guide me, but I couldn’t find one. I couldn’t sleep and I spent days and nights worrying about ...