Thinking Backwards

Been reading Haastrecht and Scheepbouwer's book on the Art of Problem Solving in Business. Its a quick read, but that should not be taken as it being 'thin' on substance. I've been a proponent of future backwards rather than past forwards for a long while and these guys have got it right. 

I enjoyed their focus on making the abductive jump of not wasting time on analyzing the problem as the first step (that would be past backwards) but working on a goal that inspires. Instead of spending weeks on diagnosing the problem. they suggest defining the improvement objectives right off the bat and only then focusing on the solutions that look most promising. 

"Decisions are nothing. Intervention is everything." Thus spake the Dutchmen wisely. They focus on setting up the structure for taking action and moving the ball forward.


So should you buy the book? Yes. I'd give it a 7 on 10 and hope that the Eurozone use it to get out of the fine mess they are in.