No matter what your job is, chances are you will have to solve complex problems. How should you do that? This is what this website is about: providing a systematic approach and concrete, applicable tools to help you work through complex issues.

This slidedeck is an overview of our problem-solving approach, illustrated by a case study. It shows how our various tools integrate along the problem-resolution process.

We use a simple case: your friend's dog has disappeared. Maybe he escaped, or maybe someone—perhaps the disgruntled housekeeper—has kidnapped him. This presentation shows how to structure the resolution process and solve the problem.

This is my go-to slidedeck to describe strategic thinking applied to complex problem solving. I use this presentation as the first lecture in my course at Rice and refer to it periodically along the course.

Updated in February 2014.

43 slides in Keynote and PDF formats + two issue maps/trees: the diagnosis map and the solution map.