Dear TIM colleagues,
If you teach a course with a consulting or action-learning project or you're looking to integrate a problem-solving approach into your course, you may be interested in my new book, Cracked It! How to solve big problems and sell solutions like top strategy consultants, published by Palgrave Macmillan.
HEC Paris profs Bernard Garrette and Olivier Sibony and I wrote Cracked It! to address a crucial skills gap: Although research consistently shows solving complex problems and selling solutions is critical to success in work and life, it doesn't come naturally, and most students haven't been taught how to do it well.
Building on the methods of strategy consultants, research in cognitive psychology, and the latest advances in design thinking, Cracked It! provides a step-by-step process and toolkit that will help students tackle challenging business and organizational problems. Using detailed examples and real-life stories, we guide readers through each step of our 4S method: from how to state, structure and solve problems to how to sell the solutions.
While it's not a textbook, Cracked It! works great as a course resource. You can assign the entire book or pick and choose specific chapters. We've developed PowerPoint slides for instructor support and additional instructional resources are in the works.
If you're interested, here's what you can do:
· Request a FREE digital inspection copy here.
· Learn more by visiting the website, where you can download the TOC and Chapter 1.
· Check out Cracked It! at the Palgrave exhibitor booth at the upcoming AOM and SMS conferences.
· Email me with any additional questions: corey.phelps@mcgill.ca
Thanks for your attention. Hope to see you in Chicago or Paris.
Corey
Corey Phelps, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Strategy and Organization
Associate Dean, Executive Education
Desautels Faculty of Management
McGill University
corey.phelps@mcgill.ca
Selected endorsements of Cracked It!
"Too many companies fail because of bad strategic problem solving. 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 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, and business school students." - Laurence Capron, co-author of Build, Borrow or Buy and Professor of Strategy and Dean of Faculty, INSEAD
"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
"CEOs regularly pay a king's ransom to the top management consulting firms for help in solving their most complex problems. You may not have the consultant's 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, New York Times bestselling co-author of Made to Stick, Switch and The Power of Moments
"This is a great "how to" book for tackling strategic problems and becoming a better strategic thinker." - Melissa Schilling, author of Quirky and Professor of Management, Stern School of Business, NYU
"If you want to master problem solving, buy this book. I used it the day after I started reading it." - Neil Janin, Chairman, Bank of Georgia and Senior Partner Emeritus, McKinsey & Co.
"Strategy is problem solving - an important, subtle and pervasive skill for which business practitioners receive little formal training. Cracked It! provides 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, Senior Partner & Managing Director, Boston Consulting Group
"When dealing with a major business issue, every decision maker faces his own cognitive biases that can trip him up. Cracked it! provides practical, value-creating and proven insight to develop and sell sound solutions by overcoming these biases." - Stéphane Richard, Chairman and CEO, Orange
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Corey Phelps, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Strategy and Organization
Associate Dean, Executive Education
Desautels Faculty of Management - McGill University
1001 Sherbrooke Street West - Room 542 - Montreal, QC - H3A 1G5
t. 514 398 4007 – f. 514-398-3876 – corey.phelps@mcgill.ca
My new book: Cracked It!
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