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a big data plan for your organization. Find ways to get it to work for you, not against you—anticipating
problems, mining fresh insights, tracking progress, and making better predictions.

11. Need a new approach? Use more problem-solving tools. There are all kinds of tools and
techniques you can use by yourself or (even better) in collaboration with others:

• Depict a complex problem visually. Separate its components and cluster similar aspects. Use
flowcharts, mind maps, or sticky notes to show relationships or to see if a different order would
help make sense of things.
• Use a pictorial chart, called a storyboard, where a problem is conveyed in a sequence of events
through images or metaphors.
• Try storytelling to illustrate how the problem manifests, how stakeholders think or feel about the
current reality, and what their hopes are for the future state.
• Devise worst-case scenarios—going to extremes sometimes suggests a different solution. Take
the present state of affairs and project it into the future to reveal how and where the system may
break down.
• Create an evaluation matrix to assess potential solutions. List the options along the side in rows;
across the top in columns put the requirements that must be met.
• Use online collaboration software and apps for productive group and virtual work. Vision boards,
ways to organize data, voting tools—they’re all out there.

12. Unsure how to choose? Test and weigh your options. Wherever possible, create prototypes,
experiment, or run some tests. Anticipate glitches as best you can and have contingencies in place to
address them. Gather data so you can make rational comparisons. Weigh the options against specific
criteria that need to be met (e.g., cost, speed, quality, customer satisfaction). Identify the pros/cons
and costs/benefits of all possible solutions, then work to make the best ones even stronger. The
Creative Problem Solving Institute recommends a tool for evaluating and strengthening solutions
called PPCO. First, state the solution’s Pluses or clear strengths. Next, discuss its Potential. What
Concerns do you have, including any risks? Finally, how might you Overcome the concerns and
mitigate risks? Be sure to consider how other areas of the ecosystem will be impacted—not just your
own team or unit. Look at potential long-term effects. What unintended consequences might surface,
good and bad? Use the data you generated to get buy-in and the go-ahead from key stakeholders.

13. Wondering if you have a winner? Measure solution effectiveness. A solution isn’t a winner until it
has held up when fully put into action. What before-and-after metrics does it make sense to collect?
Think through what matters most to your stakeholders and will validate the solution once a baseline is
established. How will you monitor and document results (e.g., in higher revenue, fewer complaints,
better safety records)? Also, be alert to capture outcomes you didn’t expect. Create feedback loops to
flag issues and alert the right team members. Determine how you’ll track success of the solution over
time so that when you want to make the business case for continued resources or amplification,
you’re ready. Use the diagnostic and analytical tools your organization has to support your efforts.
Celebrate short- and long-term wins, and share what you and your team have learned in order to
grow your collective problem-solving skills.

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