My New Book

For those of you who had been regular followers of my blog, you've probably been wondering just what happened to Bob?  Where has he been?  Well, the fact is, I've been very busy writing new books and writing blog posts for a wonderful software company located in Dallas, TX.  And while I'm still going to be continuing to write for them, I also want to get back to my own blog.  In this post I want to tell you about my new book that just came out entitled, The Problem-Solving, Problem-Prevention, and Decision-Making Guide - Organized and Systematic Roadmaps for Managers, published by the Taylor and Francis Group/CRC Press.

I had actually written this book back in 2006, but I completely forgot about it.  For those of you who are getting older, like me, you will probably understand that memory can sometimes be an issue and that was the case for me.  Over the next few blog posts, I will introduce you to my new book in bite-size pieces.  I'll show you the cornerstone of this book which are three road maps which lay out the step-by-step directions on how to effectively solve problems, how to prevent problems, and how to make better decisions.  The books cover looks like this:

In Chapter 1, I discuss the DNA of both good problem solvers as well as the DNA of problems and then discuss three different types of problems, namely change-related problems, chronic problems, and hybrid problems.  Because all three problem types are different, your approach to solving them must be different if you are to, in fact, solve them.

In Chapter 2, I discuss what I believe are the four most important tools you should be using to solve problems.  These four are the Run Chart, The Pareto Chart, the Cause and Effect Diagram, and the Causal Chain.  While there are many other tools that can be used, it is my belief that if you can learn and use these four tools, you will be able to solve most problems that you run into.

In Chapter 3, I present the Problem-Solving Road Map in detail and then over the next six chapters I walk you through how to use this map to effectively solve problems.  In Chapter 12, I present the second map, the Problem-Prevention Road Map and then over the next six chapters lay out how to use it to prevent problems.  In Chapter 24, I then present the Decision-Making Road Map and like the others, explain how to use it.  In addition, this book is laced with real case studies using all three road maps.

In my next post, I will continue discussing the contents of my new book.

Bob Sproull