Bernard Garrette - Cracked it!: How to solve big problems and sell solutions like top strategy consultants

HOW TO

SOLVE BIG

PROBLEMS

AND SELL

SOLUTIONS

LIKE TOP

STRATEGY

CONSULTANTS

BERNARD GARRETTE

COREY PHELPS

OLIVIER SIBONY

Cracked it!

Bernard Garrette Corey Phelps

Olivier Sibony

Cracked it!

How to solve big problems and sell

solutions like top strategy consultants

Bernard Garrette

Corey Phelps

HEC Paris School of Management

Desautels Faculty of Management

Jouy-en-Josas, France

McGill University

Montreal, QC, Canada

Olivier Sibony

HEC Paris School of Management

Jouy-en-Josas, France

ISBN

978-3-319-89374-7 ISBN

978-3-319-89375-4 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89375-4

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018944260

The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018

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Business leaders praise Cracked It!

When dealing with a major business issue, every decision maker is facing his own cognitive biases, rooted in experience and personality. In Cracked It! , the authors not only remind us of the importance of challenging even obvious solutions or ideas, by taking a step back, thinking differently, and walking in the others shoes

be it a customer or an audience but they also provide practical, value-creating and proven insight. Stphane Richard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Orange

The future is no longer what it used to be. The business world is undergoing unprecedented disruption. Every problem is more complex. Cracked It! will be the bible of the true problem solvers.

Daniel Bernard, Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Carrefour

If you want to master problem solving, buy this book. It will save you from coming to sloppy conclusions and guide you through every aspect of the process of solving a problem. I used it the day after I started reading it.

Neil Janin, Chairman, Bank of Georgia, and Senior Partner Emeritus, McKinsey

Too often at the Board or executive level, time is wasted looking for solutions to a problem which has not been clearly defined. Garrette, Phelps and Sibony provide a structured approach to defining problems which should prove useful to practitioners.

Paul M Tellier, Former Chief Executive Officer, Bombardierand Canada National Railways

Thought leaders praise Cracked It!

Too many companies fail because of bad strategy. This book is full of frameworks and tips to help you avoid that fate.

Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take, Originals, and Option B with Sheryl Sandberg

Written by a trio of leading experts on strategy who draw both on decades of rigorous academic research and consulting experience, Cracked It! offers a crystal clear approach to frame and solve challenging strategic issues. A must-read for executives, consultants, business school students and leaders in charge of transforming their organizations.Laurence Capron, Professor of Strategy and Dean of Faculty, INSEAD

CEOs regularly pay a kings ransom to the top management consulting firms for help in solving their most complex problems. You may not have the consultants connections or their knowledge of the industry, but this book will help you learn the secrets of their problem-solving process so you can tackle your own problems more effectively.

Chip Heath, Coauthor of Switch and The Power of Moments

Why do smart and experienced executives sometimes make spectacularly bad decisions? This book exposes the flaws in analysis that lie at the root of the problem.

Building on deep academic insights and lots of real-world experience, Garrette, Phelps and Sibony lay out a structured problem-solving approach to overcome the many pitfalls that executives fall into. They dont just tell you how to get the analysis right, they also explain how to sell your advice to others. An invaluable guide to anyone who is involved in decision-making in the business world today.

Julian Birkinshaw, Author of Fast/Forward, Professor and Deputy Dean,London Business School

This is a GREAT how to book for tackling strategic problems and becoming a better strategic thinker. It not only describes all the major frameworks used by strategy analysts, but also shows their pitfalls and how to decide when a particular framework will be useful. All of the concepts in the book are also demonstrated with real case studies that bring the process of strategic analysis to life.

Melissa Schilling, Author of Quirky and Herzog Family Professor of Management,Stern School of Business, New York University

Problem solving is a critical skill for managers and entrepreneurs and often underserved in business education. Cracked It! does a phenomenal job in presenting a full problem solving framework grounded in sound theory, tested in years of practice and fun to read.

Franz Heukamp, Dean, IESE Business School

Strategists praise Cracked It!

A fully comprehensive and practical introduction to problem-solving tools and techniques.

Georges Desvaux, Senior Partner and Managing Partner,

Africa, McKinsey & Company

Strategy is problem solving an important, subtle and pervasive skill for which business practitioners receive little formal training. Garrette, Phelps and Sibony provide a valuable and practical guide to the art, from framing the problem through to communicating and selling the solution, which should be invaluable to practitioners and consultants.

Martin Reeves, Director, BCG Henderson Institute

A great read for all current and future business leaders! The secret sauce of solving hard problems and selling solutions to drive change is at your doorstep. Just go get it!

Eric Gervet, Lead Partner, AT Kearney, San Francisco office

The companies that win will be those that use superior problem solving tools.

Cracked It! teaches you how. It captures the real world experience of successful problem solving and presents the learnings in an engaging style.