**Problem Solving & Decision Making**

Problem Solving & Decision Making

Professional Development Course - Brisbane

Course Overview

G'day! My name is Dr. Marcus Clarkson and I'll be your coach on this trip to a practical future of being more confident when solving problems and making decisions. Having consulted with businesses all over Australia for years, one of the biggest things I've learnt is that the smartest people in the room aren't the most successful professionals, they're the ones who can systematically solve problems.

This course is a no fluff, no rubbish, sharpshooting direct hit into the real world. We will use real workplace examples I have drawn from my consulting experience ranging from small startups in Brisbane to large corporations. You'll come away with a toolbox of tested techniques that perform under pressure, when information is incomplete, and stakes are high.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course, the participants will be able:

Problem Identification & Analysis

Separate symptoms from the root cause with workplace challenges. Challenges in the workplace are bound to arise, but that doesn't mean the solution can't be simple.

Use proven methods to find similar issue roots

Complexity analysis of the problem and identification of stakeholders on the map

Information Gathering & Processing

Gather the right data in the right way without getting into a muddle of analysis paralysis

Assess quality of information and map out knowledge gaps

Balance thoroughness with deadlines in decision making situations.

Solution Development

Generate good alternatives. Create many potential solutions by brainstorming and structured thinking methods.

Evaluate possible solutions based on practical considerations and organisational needs

Develop and implement design strategies sensitive to resistance and resource constraints

Decision Making Under Uncertainty

Apply decision making frameworks where there's no perfect information

Systematically assess risks and unintended consequences

Build consensus with stakeholders while keeping the decision moving along.

Implementation & Adaptation

Actually make decisions with transparent accountability and measurement

Monitor results and change the direction if things are not heading the way desired

Extract learnings from success and failure to optimise future decisions

What You Will Learn

Module 1: Cutting To The Heart Of Issues You're going to learn how to get to the core of what's going wrong and stop only addressing the surface wounds. We will do some exercises with case studies from Australian businesses where the surface quick fixes took them nowhere because they were treating simply the symptoms and not the causes. You'll discover how I adapted my "Five Why Method" that enables you to investigate without bombarding your team.

Module 2: Smart Information Gathering Learn how to gather the correct information fast. We are also going to look at interviewing techniques that lead to honesty in the answers, shortcuts of compiling data that tell a pattern, and involving team members in fact finding without making a committee. You'll practice deciding what classifies as "nice to know" versus "need to know" information.

Module 3: Creating Advanced Solutions Learn systematic methods of creating options you wouldn't normally think of. We'll experiment with variations that are effective with different types of personalities, with techniques for building on others' ideas constructively, and with mechanisms for evaluating alternatives against multiple criteria concurrently.

Module 4: Confident Decision Making Create decision making frameworks for making hard decisions when you can't afford to wait for perfect information. Practising weighing competing priorities, anticipating unintended consequences, communicating decisions in a way that builds rather than undermines confidence. We will also discuss recovery tactics in case decisions do not turn out as expected.

Module 5: Taking Others with You Get the right people with you in problem solving without bringing everything to a grinding halt. Find out how to know when to make that decision on your own and when to build consensus, how to run productive problem solving conversations, and how to work towards buy in from other stakeholders that weren't part of the original decision making process.

Course Format & Activities

Interactive workshop model: Small group and large group discussion, mini role plays, skills application with actual work examples that participants bring from their jobs.

Case Analysis: An in depth look at the good and the bad in problem solving, Australian style, including what was learnt and how Companies used the information in the future.

Peer Learning: Structured methods to learn from the experience and expertise of other participants in diverse sectors and at different levels in organisations.

Concluding Remarks

This course flips the reaction to workplace problems from firefighting to methodical problem solving. You will develop the confidence that you can ponder hard problems, relieve the stress that comes from facing tough choices, and become the person others want helping to think clearly in a crisis.

Best of all, you will develop transferrable skills that increase not only your professional effectiveness but your ability to face issues in real life. The systems we'll be implementing do become habits and second nature to you, allowing you to move from chaos to calm whenever chaos and complexity happens, which is all the time in Business!

Duration: Two days full time or 4 x half days, all courses in Brisbane CBD Location: Our professional training room Level 6/200 Mary Street, Brisbane. Materials: Training materials and all resources, a workbook, decision making templates, post course support via email for 30 days.