Solve Problems Permanently

Systems Thinking, Root Cause Mastery and Human Psychology to Drive Teams to Effective Solutions

Upcoming dates for in-person classes available soon

Location/Format: UH Campus/In-Person | Cost: $1,800

Work at Your Own Pace

Location/Format: Asynchronous/Virtual | Cost: $1,420

Instructor

Elizabeth Frisch

The ability to solve pervasive problems permanently is grounded in a firm mastery of systems thinking in combination with effective root cause analysis and a clear understanding of the human vs. system factors that drive performance.

The ability to solve problems permanently versus continually place ‘band-aids’ on issues is an essential tool to have as a skill set for any effective people manager, organizational leader, internal auditor or project/program manager to master as an essential skill set to be successful in those roles.

Yet, these methods are typically taught as separate competencies yet are critical to use simultaneously and in key steps in concert with each other. And, the true effective methods of these competencies are rarely taught to anyone but engineering or design professionals.

This course is an intensive and taught as an 8-week, 16-hour intensive or 8-week, 24-hour intensive plus a workshop that allows the attendees and/or their teammates to walk out of the course with a SOLVE plan to work on.

Through this course, you will learn the most common methods to use system thinking to address and simplify complex problems to support solutions.

In addition, the six most common methods of root-cause analysis that can be used powerfully by any auditor, project manager, or organizational leader are taught and mastered.

This is a highly interactive course with impactful customized exercises that ensure the attendees come back to their organizations ready to tackle pervasive problems newly and effectively.

The SOLVE workshop (part of the 24-hour course) provides a phenomenal deliverable and value to the organization investing in the training as the student picks an organizational issue to work on and create a plan to resolve it. Mastery will be achieved by breaking into teams and practicing each method based on scenarios provided. Please note this course includes significant break-out time to practice skills learned; therefore, participants must be ready to master the content and spend less than 30% of time in receiving content and the bulk of the time practicing and building skills.

You will leave this course with a practical, experiential basis to start incorporating systems thinking, root cause analysis, and the impact of human behaviors on results into your own position at your organization and become one of the most valuable people in your organization.

Behavioral Objectives

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

  • Understand how to apply systems thinking to any problem or issue no matter how complex and break it out into actionable parts.
  • Use the two most common methods of systems thinking approach in their workplaces.
  • Understand and learn the pure forms of the top six root cause methods for finding the core issues and master picking the right method for the right problem/issue.
  • Master the people, process, and cultural sources of breakdowns and learn to pull them apart so that a complex problem can be solved for piece by piece.
  • SOLVE Workshop – Return to their workplace with a clear plan to implement and address a challenge or opportunity in their workplace to drive better solutions and improve performance beyond expectations around complex and often pervasive issues.

Course Topics

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

  • SYSTEMS THINKING: The Practical Application of Systems Thinking in the Modern Workplace
  • ROOT CAUSE THE WRONG WAY: Why Most Organizations Use Root Cause Incorrectly and Fail to Product Results
  • ROOT CAUSE THE RIGHT WAY: How Returning to the Roots of Root Cause Will Deliver Solutions and Faster Results
  • PROBLEM DEFINITION: Learning What Our Educational System Failed to Teach Us
  • CASE STUDIES: Systems Thinking to Define Better Problem Definition
  • BUILDING TEAMS: Getting the Right People Solving the Problems
  • GROUP SOLVING: How to Lead A Group Through Root Cause Mastery
  • ROOT CAUSE AND PROJECTS: Building Root Cause Analysis Into Projects
  • PROBLEM SOLVING BREAKOUTS: Practicum on Each Method and Learn By Doing
  • FINDING THE ROOT CAUSE: Methods of Completing Root Cause Analysis
  • PLAYING WITH CAUSES: Explore Chains of Causes, Cause and Effect Charting and Identifying Root Causes From Systemic Thinking
  • TOOLS: Use of Data Analysis & Investigative Tools to Facilitate Solving
  • FIXING THE CAUSES: How to Identify Real Solutions to the Root Cause Issue
  • BRAINSTORMING: Solution Brainstorming and Solution Qualification
  • BARRIERS TO SOLVING: Overcoming Barriers and Creating a Culture of SOLVE
  • TYING IT ALL TOGETHER: Simulation of crisis requiring immediate solution
  • SOLVE ACTION PLAN: Develop Action Plan (Included in 24-Hour Program)

Who Should Attend?

ny personnel responsible for delivering on programs and initiatives that are challenging and needing to lead efforts to ensure large scale programs deliver on their strategic plans.

Customization of Course

This course includes pre-planning meetings to review each content section and mastery exercises can be customized to be very specific to your employees workplaces and situations encountered.

Asynchronous/Virtual Option

This course is presented asynchronously and is self-paced over a 12-week period of time. This course does include work on your own assignments or with a group and the deliverables are sent to the instructor via the learning portal.

There are live online weekly one-on-one and/or group coaching times to work on module topics after business hours and typically 7-8 a.m. or 5-6 p.m. to accommodate work schedules and receive direct support from the instructor.

All live coaching sessions are optional and HIGHLY recommended for successful completion of your assignments. And the sessions will be recorded and shared in the learning management system within 24 hours of the live session for your review.

If you are unavailable for live coaching and presentation practice, you will be able to submit your assignments and the instructor will record or email feedback and send to you if you are unavailable to attend the live sessions offered each week of the course.