"The correct solution to any problem depends principally on a true understanding of what the problem is." (Arthur M Wellington, "The Economic Theory of Railway Location", 1887)
"Success in solving the problem depends on choosing the right aspect, on attacking the fortress from its accessible side." (George Polya, "How to Solve It", 1945)
"A problem that is located and identified is already half solved!" (Bror R Carlson, "Managing for Profit", 1961)
"If we view organizations as adaptive, problem-solving structures, then inferences about effectiveness have to be made, not from static measures of output, but on the basis of the processes through which the organization approaches problems. In other words, no single measurement of organizational efficiency or satisfaction - no single time-slice of organizational performance can provide valid indicators of organizational health." (Warren G Bennis, "General Systems Yearbook", 1962)
"In most management problems there are too many possibilities to expect experience, judgement, or intuition to provide good guesses, even with perfect information." (Russell L Ackoff, Management Science, 1967)
"The purpose of a meeting is to bring depth and breadth of discussion to a problem that merits the attention and effort of every member present." (Alfred J Marrow, "Leadership in the Office, 1963)
"The problem-solving approach allows for mental double-clutching. It does not require a direct switch from one point of view to another. It provides a period 'in neutural' where there is an openness to facts and, therefore, a willingness to consider alternative views." (William Reddin, "Managerial Effectiveness", 1970)
"Advanced technology required the collaboration of diverse professions and organizations, often with ambiguous or highly interdependent jurisdictions. In such situations, many of our highly touted rational management techniques break down; and new non-engineering approaches are necessary for the solution of these 'systems' problems." (Leonard R Sayles &Margaret K Chandler, "Managing Large Systems: The Large-Scale Approach", 1971)
"The definition of a problem and the action taken to solve it largely depend on the view which the individuals or groups that discovered the problem have of the system to which it refers. A problem may thus find itself defined as a badly interpreted output, or as a faulty output of a faulty output device, or as a faulty output due to a malfunction in an otherwise faultless system, or as a correct but undesired output from a faultless and thus undesirable system. All definitions but the last suggest corrective action; only the last definition suggests change, and so presents an unsolvable problem to anyone opposed to change." (Herbert Brün, "Technology and the Composer", 1971)
"In his search for elegance the management scientist has hindered his ability to participate in solving policy problems. [...] The management scientist must be prepared to forego elegance, to adjust his technique to the problem rather than searching for problems that fit the technique." (Henry Mintzberg, "The Nature of Managerial Work", 1973)
"Most people first search for ready-made solutions, a solution designed by others, or, perhaps, by oneself in the past." (Henry L Tosi & Stephan J Carroll, "Management", 1976)
"If a problem causes many meetings, the meetings eventually become more important than the problem." (Arthur Bloch, "Murphy's Law (Price/Stern/Sloan", 1977)
"It is better to solve problems than crises." (John Guinther, "The Malpractitioners", 1978)
"Systems represent someone's attempt at solution to problems, but they do not solve problems; they produce complicated responses." (Melvin J Sykes, Maryland Law Review, 1978)
"Knowledge-based organizations require managers to be problem-centered rather than territory-centered." (Dale E Zand, "Information, Organization, and Power", 1981)
"Managers often try to give others the feeling that they are participating in the decision process. When a manager involves people in a problem for which he has adequate information and clear criteria for making an acceptable decision, he is engaging in pseudo-consultation. When he involves others in lengthy discussions of trivial problems, he is engaging in pseudo-participation. Most people recognize these ceremonies as a waste of time." (Dale E Zand, "Information, Organization, and Power", 1981)
"All problems present themselves to the mind as threats of failure." (J. J. Gordon, "Creative Computing", 1983)
"Detect and fix any problem in a production process at the lowest-value stage possible." (Andrew S Grove, "High Output Management", 1983)
"The first rule is that a measurement - any measurement - is better than none. But a genuinely effective indicator will cover the output of the work unit and not simply the activity involved. […] If you do not systematically collect and maintain an archive of indicators, you will have to do an awful lot of quick research to get the information you need, and by the time you have it, the problem is likely to have gotten worse." (Andrew S Grove, "High Output Management", 1983)
"We try to make management decisions that, if everything goes right, will preclude future problems. But everything does not always go right, and managers therefore must be problem solvers as well as decision makers." (James L Hayes, "Memos for Management: Leadership", 1983)
"Every organizational policy solves certain problems and generates others." (Judith M Bardwick, "The Plateauing Trap", 1986)
"Looking for differences between the more productive and less productive organizations, we found that the most striking difference is the number of people who are involved and feel responsibility for solving problems." (Michael McTague, 'Personnel Journal", 1986)
"Management science [operations research] also involves the philosophy of approaching a problem in a logical manner (i.e., a scientific approach). The logical, consistent, and systematic approach to problem solving can be as useful (and valuable) as the knowledge of the mechanics of the mathematical techniques themselves." (Bernard W. Taylor III, "Introduction to Management Science, 1986)
"[Management science techniques] have had little impact on areas of decision-making where the management problems do not lend themselves to explicit formulation, where there are ambiguous or overlapping criteria for action, and where the manager operates through intuition." (James L McKenney & Peter G W Keen, Harvard Business Review on Human Relations, 1986)
"Managers who are skilled communicators may also be good at covering up real problems." (Chris Argyris, Harvard Business Review, 1986)
"Peak performers concentrate on solving problems rather than placing blame for them." (Charles Garfield, Peak Performers, 1986)
"People in general tend to assume that there is some 'right' way of solving problems. Formal logic, for example, is regarded as a correct approach to thinking, but thinking is always a compromise between the demands of comprehensiveness, speed, and accuracy. There is no best way of thinking." (James L McKenney & Peter G W Keen, Harvard Business Review on Human Relations, 1986)
"Some management groups are not good at problem solving and decision making precisely because the participants have weak egos and are uncomfortable with competition." (Chris Argyris, Harvard Business Review, 1986)
"View thinking as a strategy. Thinking is the best way to resolve difficulties. Maintain faith in your ability to think your way out of problems. Recognize the difference between worrying and thinking. The former is repeated, needless problem analysis while the latter is solution generation." (Timothy W Firnstahl, Harvard Business Review, 1986)
"Define the problem before you pursue a solution." (John Williams, Inc. Magazine's Guide to Small Business Success, 1987)
"Effective training programs are essential to identify needs for improvement wherever they might occur, and develop solutions to the concerns that we discover [...] before they become problems." (T Allen McArtor, [speech] 1987)
"Employees are most apt to deal with their problems when they believe that they will be helped in good faith." (Paul V Lyons, "Management", 1987)
"No matter how complicated a problem is, it usually can be reduced to a simple, comprehensible form which is often the best solution." (Dr. An Wang, Nation's Business, 1987)
"Problems are solved on the spot, as soon as they arise. No frontline employee has to wait for a supervisor's permission." (Jan Carlzon, "Moments of Truth", 1987)
"Problems can be reduced by allowing employees to help plan changes rather than directing them to execute a plan made by others." (Eugene Raudsepp, MTS Digest, 1987)
"Problems can become opportunities when the right people come together." (Robert Redford, Harvard Business Review, 1987)
"Teams are less likely [than individuals] to overlook key issues and problems or take the wrong actions." (Eugene Raudsepp, MTS Digest, 1987)
"There's a tendency to think of conflicts of interest as an administrative problem: identifying potential or actual conflicts and then resolving them. [...] But often, resolving them requires a leadership decision, not an administrative one." (Ira Millstein, 1987)
"What has always frustrated me about staff is that the people you want solving problems end up administering." (Charles Knight, "Downsizing", 1987)
"Anecdotes may be more useful than equations in understanding the problem." (Robert Kuttner, "The New Republic", The New York Times, 1988)
"Most people would rush ahead and implement a solution before they know what the problem is." (Q. T. Wiles, Inc. Magazine, 1988)
"The more you want people to have creative ideas and solve difficult problems, the less you can afford to manage them with terror." (Daniel Greenberg, Newsweek, 1988)
"Teams motivated by targets tend not to take ownership of problems. They attend only to those aspects that affect targets and leave the rest to be picked up by someone else. To some extent, the problem isn’t the target itself but rather the incentive behind the target." (Sriram Narayan, "Agile IT Organization Design: For Digital Transformation and Continuous Delivery", 2015)
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