Ludwig Wittgenstein was one of the legions of philosophers (lesser known, which is a travesty) from early 20th century. He is best known for language games – one of the questions that he posed: ‘Are you using a ruler to measure the table or the table to measure the ruler?’ This is more than just... Continue Reading →

Last week, I talked about the different types of questions and had ended with reasons on why it is important to ask good questions. I had ended with a discussion on what is perhaps the most important reason: ‘getting to the right problem to solve’. Not that you need a whole lot of convincing on... Continue Reading →

Socrates was said to have referred to himself as the ‘gadfly’ – and that all societies need one to ‘sting the steed of state into acknowledging its proper duties and obligations’. It didn’t out too well for him though – Athens didn’t take too kindly to this ‘fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching... Continue Reading →

Here’s a thought experiment: you get to create a dream team of problem solvers in your organization. What would the team look like? Who would you have on your team? Over the last few weeks, I have talked about various dimensions of problem solving: this one and the next few will focus on the importance... Continue Reading →

It was the 1950s and General Electric was the largest appliance manufacturer in the US. In one of their factories in Kentucky, the managers were struggling with what seemed to be an intractable problem – there were times of the year when the factory would be working 3 or even 4 shifts, and then there... Continue Reading →