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I recently came across a charming book that I highly recommend to anybody in business. Problem Solving 101: A Simple Book for Smart People by Ken Watanabe.

The books author, Ken Watanabe, was a consultant for global management consulting firm McKinney & Company.  For six years he worked with major companies globally to help solve their business challenges using a straightforward yet powerful set of problem-solving tools.

In 2007, after the Japanese prime minster placed education at the top of his nation’s agenda, Watanabe left McKinney, inspired to teach children and to write this book.

It’s a deceptively simple yet powerful guide that provides the essential building blocks, for developing a problem solving way of thinking.  The beauty of the book though is the way it takes the essence of this thinking process and makes it accessible in short, easy to absorb lessons.

By placing each of the techniques in the context of these lessons, it’s so simple to see how the ideas can be applied practically.Using quirky illustration, Watanabe also uses sample scenarios to illustrate his techniques, which include logic trees and matrixes.

This makes the book simple enough for a child to understand but sophisticated enough to make it a bestseller in Japan’s business community.

Watanabe’s key philosophy, that problem solving isn’t a talent limited to a lucky few but a skill and a habit than can be learned is built around a 4 critical steps.

- Identifying the problem specifically
- Discovering the roots of the problem
- Developing steps or a plan of action to resolve the issue
- Preparing to modify or substitute actions until the issue is resolved

Very simple, very powerful -  I really enjoyed this book.

If you’re looking to sharpen your critical thinking skills or discover a problem solving tool that can easily be applied for both personal and professional growth, this book is for you.