The Monthly “Problem-Solving Master” Book Tuning: Holistic Problem-Solving Aug. 2019

“Holistic thinking" refers to a big picture mentality, and understand that the whole is often greater than the sum of the parts. 

The purpose of “Problem-Solving Master - Frame Problems Systematically and Solve Problems Creatively“ is to throw some light on how to understand, frame, and solve today’s multilayer, interdependent, and over-complex business problems effortlessly. Digital leaders and professionals should self-aware of their role in problems, show professional maturity, and develop a good reputation as the problem-solver.

                 Holistic Problem-Solving

Holistic Problem-Solving “Holistic thinking" refers to a big picture mentality, and understand that the whole is often greater than the sum of the parts. Holistic thinking is the type of thinking practice that appreciates how underlying complexity generates the features and phenomena of interest to practitioners so that they can work with them accordingly. From the problem-solving perspective, what are the characteristics of situations or problems in which we should adopt holistic thinking? When is the trade-off more beneficial in adopting holistic thinking versus mechanistic thinking or linear logical thinking for improving problem-solving effectiveness?

Three Critical Ingredients in Systematic “Problem-Solving” Formula Fundamentally, running a business is an iterative business problem-solving continuum. Behind every problem is a relationship dynamic out of alignment. In today’s complex business setting, problem-solving usually has a very wide scope and takes an interdisciplinary approach. People have to know how to connect the dots with the hyperconnected business ecosystem, think systematically, holistically and inclusively, comprehend dynamic; master induction or deduction; understand variables, interfaces, and interactions. Here are three critical ingredients in systematic “problem-solving” formula.

Synthesizing Problem-Solving Fundamentally, every job is to deal with problems big or small both from long-term perspectives or on a daily basis. Fixing the wrong cause of a problem is wasting time and energy. There are many thought processes behind problem identification and there are many step-wise approaches to solve problems seamlessly. There is analytical problem-solving - break down the larger problems into small pieces and solve them separately. There is synthesizing problems solving which focuses on understanding the interconnectivity of problems & solutions via a holistic lens. The terms analysis and synthesis come from classical Greek and mean literally "to loosen up" and "to put together" respectively.

Systematic Problem-Solving: Looking out of Problems before Looking into the Problems Problem-solving is about seeing a problem and actually finding a solution to that problem, not just the band-aid approach to fixing the symptom. How you find a solution to any problem depends on your perspective to that problem, but every problem has numerous angles to take into consideration. To deal with many of today’s complex problems, perhaps you need to conduct a systematic problem-solving approach - what Russ Ackoff, an American organizational theorist, used to call "looking out of the problem" as opposed to "looking into the problem," in order to solve problems thoroughly.

Shaping a Holistic View -Seeing both Forest and Trees Holistic thinking involves understanding a system by sensing its large-scale patterns and addressing the big picture. In terms of a holistic viewpoint, one does often need to integrate different stereotyped or mechanistic viewpoints; it is the integration and searches for new viewpoints that are holistic. At times, when you only want to see things from your own point of view, see what you want to see, or, hear what you want to hear, often you miss the point to understand the real problem holistically as well as how to solve it creatively or systematically. Here are three aspects of shaping a holistic view of digital transformation.

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