Key Business Solutions

'The tools and techniques covered in this book will be of enormous benefit to any manager. I thoroughly recommend it.’
Caroline Cake, Director, 2020 Delivery
‘Antonio is a problem-solving expert and a brilliant writer. His clear thinking on the vital business skills covered in this book will transform the way you manage.’
Andrew Shelton, independent consultant
 
Key Business Solutions
shows you how to logically and practically solve business problems. Every challenge faced in business – from increasing sales and meeting cost reduction targets to formulating strategy and improving team morale – can be tackled effectively by using the robust, easy-to-use methodology presented in this book. Discover the unbeatable problem-solving tools used by some of the world’s top professional service firms.
This concise, practical guide is a vital reference on 35 of the most powerful tools and techniques commonly used in business, from the BCG growth-share matrix and 2 x 2 prioritisation grids to issue trees and problem statements. Key Business Solutions brings these procedures to life with detailed descriptions, explanatory case examples and tips on when and how to make the most of these tools in the problem-solving process.
THE CLEAREST GUIDE TO THE TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES THAT CAN SOLVE EVEN YOUR TOUGHEST BUSINESS DILEMMAS

List of contents

• PART 1: THE OBTAIN PROBLEM-SOLVING PROCESS
• 1. Outline the question
• 2. Break down the issues
• 3. Test the hypothesis
• 4. Analyse the problem
• 5. Imagine the solution
• 6. Notify the stakeholders
• 7. Managing the stakeholders
• 8. Managing the team
•  
• PART 2: CRITICAL BUSINESS TOOLS AND FRAMEWORKS
• 4Ps of marketing
• 5Cs of strategy
• Ansoff matrix
• BCG growth-share matrix
• Benchmarking
• Brainstorming
• De Bono’s six thinking hats
• Drill-down analysis
• Kano analysis
• McClelland’s theory of needs
• McKinsey 7S framework
• PESTEL
• Porter’s five forces
• SWOT
• Value chain analysis
•  
• Appendix: How the tools and techniques fit into the OBTAIN process
• Further reading and references
• Index

About the author

Antonio E. Weiss is a management consultant and writer.   Antonio learnt about solving tough business problems at one of the UK’s leading boutique management consultancy firms, 2020 Delivery.  There he has worked across a range of public sector organisations, focussing on issues varying from performance improvement and pathway redesign to efficiency savings and designing and delivering training courses on modelling and problem-solving.  On a pro bono basis in an independent consulting capacity he has also worked on industrial policy in Central Asia.
Antonio also likes to apply his problem-solving skills to a number of different situations outside the business world.  He is a governor of one of the largest community colleges in London and has also written for a number of publications, including the Guardian, on a variety of issues.  In between consulting and his other responsibilities, his next project is to write a history of management consultancy in Britain.  He holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in History from the University of Cambridge.

 

Summary

This book explains how to resolve every challenge faced on a day-to-day basis in your business by presenting an unbeatable inventory of proven problem solving tools and techniques to help you tackle your toughest business dilemmas effectively.
You will learn how to:
·         Overcome any business challenge with robust logic and structure
·         How to break down problems and make your workload lighter
·         Deliver the ‘killer’ recommendations
·         Discover how to successfully implement change in people and organisations
·         How to keep yourself, your team, and your stakeholders happy
·         How to use an effective hypothesis-driven approach to problem solving
Using case studies, a ‘best practice example’ and at least one figurative table or figure, every dilemma is bought to life equipping you with the very best tools to confront any problem your business may face.
‘The most successful businesses don’t avoid problems – they solve them.  This practical, insightful and entertaining book guides you through how to do this.  An indispensable resource for any manager.'

Richard Newton, Business consultant and best-selling author      

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'One of the key attributes in running a business successfully is the ability to see a situation in perspective.  Too often the real issues go unrecognised, signs are misread, an opportunity slips by, the wrong problem is addressed. Only in retrospect is it obvious what should have been done.

It is not easy, but the tools and techniques covered in Key Business Solutions should help.’

Sir George Cox, Author of the HM Treasury Cox Review of Creativity in UK Business and former Chairman of the Design Council

Product details

• Authors: Antonio Weiss, Antonio E Weiss, Antonio E. Weiss
• Publisher: Pearson Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 25.08.2011
• EAN: 9780273750291
• ISBN: 978-0-273-75029-1
• No. of pages: 224
• Dimensions: 160 mm x 230 mm x 10 mm
• Weight: 455 g
• Series: Financial Times Series; Financial Times Prentice Hall; Financial Times Series
• Subject: Social sciences, law, business > Business > Management