Solvable: A simple solution to complex problems

Arnaud Chevallier is Professor of Strategy at IMD. He prepares executives for the strategic challenges that corporations face in today’s dynamic global marketplace by helping them make better decisions in volatile and uncertain conditions. At IMD, he directs the Global Management Foundations and the Foundation Stage Singapore programs that are part of the EMBA curriculum. He has consulted with multiple organizations across industries, including Facebook, SAP, STADA, and Shell. Prior to his work at IMD, he served in various academic leadership positions at Rice University and the University of Monterrey. Before joining academia, Arnaud worked in Accenture’s Strategy and Business Architecture division, out of Houston and London.Albrecht Enders is Professor of Strategy and Innovation and Dean of Programs and Innovation at IMD. His major research, teaching and consulting interests are in the areas of managing discontinuous change and top team strategy development processes. Albrecht has worked for clients from different industries, including ABB, Agathon, Deloitte, Deutsche Bank, Siemens, Douglas Holding, Honda, ICBC, Novartis, MTR HongKong, Roland Berger, Safran, Skanska, Stora Enso, Telenor, Thyssen Krupp, TUI, Vodafone and VTT. In addition to running highly customized company-specific programs that focus on corporate transformation, he also directed the Advanced Strategic Management Program, one of IMD's core general management programs. Before coming to IMD, he spent three years as a consultant with The Boston Consulting Group in the company's Cologne office where he worked on projects in financial services, energy and industrial goods. These projects focused on strategy development, reorganization and efficiency improvement.

• 1. The journey of problem-solving2. Frame – Identify your quest 3. Ideate – Map out alternative routes4. Decide – Identify your solution5. Check your bags – Circle back 6. Go! – Move forward

"Central to business is problem solving and the types of problems businesses face are increasingly complex and ill defined. To solve problems we increasingly need therefore to think explicitly about the problem of how to best solve the problem and to hone our problem solving skills. The authors provide an accessible and pragmatic framework for doing so, covering the whole cycle of solving problems including framing, assessing, deciding, engaging, and implementing. It will be a welcome addition to any manager's armoury." - Martin Reeves, Chairman, BCG Henderson Institute " Solvable is an evidence-based guide to making good decisions. In an uncertain world, the essence of good decision making is informed reflection. This book walks the reader through the process of reflection – thinking about how we think about decisions, what to pay attention to, and how to bring the necessary resources together in doing so. Step by step, it lays out evidence-based processes for scoping the decision (and the problem to be solved), gathering information, making the decision and acting on it. Full of examples showing the good, the bad, and the ugly in modern decision making, Solvable builds the decision maker's confidence and competence. I am singing its praises to my students and colleagues!' - Denise M. Rousseau H. J. Heinz II University Professor of Organizational Behavior and Public Policy, Director, Project on Evidence-based Organizational Practices, Heinz College and Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University " Solvable is a valuable guide to making good decisions in situations of high complexity. Using many fascinating and entertaining examples, Arnaud and Albrecht offer useful guides for organising thought and triggering insight. Their metaphor of the Hero and Dragon is an artful way of describing the value of focusing on the crux of a challenge."  - Richard Rumelt, Professor Emeritus, UCLA Anderson School of Management, and author of Good Strategy/Bad Strategy "Strong problem-solving capabilities are essential, especially when you confront complex problems that have a profound and long-lasting impact on your organisations. Solvable provides a thorough-yet-accessible approach to help you elevate your complex problem-solving game." - Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, Executive Chairman Lego Brand Group