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and trouble usually arises only if we take a tool designed for one type of prob-
lem and use it with another. The three key problem-solving tools, rational
process, creative problem solving and morphological analysis (which
includes reverse engineering) are described in Key Management Solutions.
To decide which tool to use you need to ask a few very simple questions.

n Has something gone wrong with something that normally works
well? (If so you have a deviation from norm and you need to apply
a form of rational process to identify and correct the fault. The
most successful form of rational process is almost certainly that
devised by Kepner and Tregoe which is still successfully promoted
under their names thrity years after the initial work was
developed.)

n Has something always been wrong, no matter what we have tried
to put it right?

n Is the problem so new that nobody has experience that could be
useful in putting things right?

n Are we looking for a way to achieve a new ideal situation? (If any
of these three is true of your problem you need to apply a creative
technique such as Synectics.)

Just to clarify a little, bear with me while I repeat my favourite, most
simple example of the difference. I have an important meeting many miles
from home. I go out to start my trusty Toyota and for the first time ever it
lets me down. It fails to start. Now I have a choice. I can treat the problem
as a deviation from norm. The car should start, but it doesn’t. So I ask
myself some key questions.

n What exactly is happening here?

n What is not happening?

n What is the key difference between what is and what is not
happening?

n Where is the problem occurring – electrics, starter motor?

n What’s my evidence that the fault lies where I think it does?

– Do the lights work?

– Is there a spark?

– Does the starter turn over?

n What are the conditions under which it is happening?

n What is different today from other days?

– What effect could any difference have?

n Have I changed or amended anything that could have an effect on
this problem?

n What is the significance of any change that I have made?

Forget your problem – give me your solution 117