
Four Types of Problems
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $14.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Vernon Williams
-
By:
-
Art Smalley
About this listen
When faced with problems, many business leaders and teams look for familiar and standard problem-solving methods, often creating unnecessary struggle, frustration, delay, and ineffectiveness in solving the problem - if it is ever solved at all! In other words, they keep reaching for the same old hammer as if every business problem were a nail.
In Four Types of Problems, continuous improvement expert and author Art Smalley shows you how to break the "hammer-and-nail" trap.
He demonstrates that most business problems fall into four main categories:
- Troubleshooting
- Gap from standard
- Target state
- Open-ended and innovation
"Organizations and individuals at all levels fall into the trap of having one primary or standard way of solving every problem," says Smalley, who learned problem solving from Tomoo Harada at Toyota's historic Kamigo engine plant. Harada led the maintenance activities that created the stability needed for Taiichi Ohno's innovations in the Toyota production system.
Each type of problem category requires different thought processes, improvement methods, and management cadences. Each type has its own sub-system and surfacing mechanism, management cadence, timing, and difficulty level, he explained.
One size does not fit all. Situations and training people in tools or techniques only scratches the surface of problem solving.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2018 Lean Enterprise Institute, Inc (P)2020 Lean Enterprise Institute, IncListeners also enjoyed...
-
Agile Project Management
- The Complete Guide to Learn a Lean Approach to Project Management for Your Startup and Your Business
- By: Donald Smith
- Narrated by: KC Wayman
- Length: 5 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Are you looking for the most productive ways to elevate your business and execute your projects faster? Look no further, Agile is for you and this is the audiobook for you to learn about Agile! This audiobook is intended to provide an understanding of how to fit agile methodologies into an overall business strategy that provides the right balance of control and agility for your business, for all listeners (and, in particular, business leaders). Get ready for swifter and more productive businesses and projects!
-
-
Meh....not great
- By E. Jackson on 12-02-21
By: Donald Smith
-
Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn
- Lessons from Toyota Leader Isao Yoshino on a Lifetime of Continuous Learning
- By: Katie Anderson
- Narrated by: Katie Anderson
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn, leadership coach Katie Anderson and Toyota leader Isao Yoshino bring you a remarkable book about what it means to learn, to lead, and to care. With a career that spanned nearly four decades at Toyota Motor Corporation, Isao Yoshino’s stories help us understand how Toyota intentionally developed the culture of excellence for which it is renowned today, and how one person learned to lead so that he could lead to learn.
-
-
Reading / listening for the 2nd time
- By Hamed Al-Hamdan on 07-17-21
By: Katie Anderson
-
Gemba Walks, Expanded 2nd Edition
- By: Jim Womack
- Narrated by: Jim Womack
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 12 new essays ranging from the provocative to the practical, and written specially for the second edition of Gemba Walks, author and management expert Jim Womack reflects on the past 30 years of lean and assesses the current state of lean today.
-
-
A great story, a great teacher, a great human been
- By KFV on 07-28-16
By: Jim Womack
-
The High-Velocity Edge (Second Edition)
- By: Steven J. Spear
- Narrated by: John Gully
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The High-Velocity Edge, the reissued edition of five-time Shingo Prize winner Steven J. Spear's critically acclaimed book Chasing the Rabbit, Spear describes what sets market-dominating companies apart and provides a detailed framework you can leverage to surge to the lead in your own industry. Spear examines the internal operations of dominant organizations across a wide spectrum of industries, from technology to design and from manufacturing to health care.
-
-
Novel at the time
- By Jennifer on 05-29-22
By: Steven J. Spear
-
Turn the Ship Around!
- A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders
- By: L. David Marquet, Stephen R. Covey - foreword
- Narrated by: L. David Marquet
- Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since Turn the Ship Around! was published in 2013, hundreds of thousands of readers have been inspired by former Navy captain David Marquet’s true story. Many have applied his insights to their own organizations, creating workplaces where everyone takes responsibility for his or her actions, where followers grow to become leaders, and where happier teams drive dramatically better results.
-
-
Creating Leadership and Competence at All Levels
- By Matthew on 05-04-21
By: L. David Marquet, and others
-
The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Revised and Updated
- Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals
- By: Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, Jim Huling, and others
- Narrated by: Sean Covey, Chris McChesney, Jim Huling, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
4DX® is not theory. It is a proven set of practices that represents a new way of thinking essential to thriving in today’s competitive climate, making this 2nd edition a book that no business leader can afford to miss. The 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX) is a simple, repeatable, and proven formula for executing your most important strategic priorities in the midst of the whirlwind. By following the 4 Disciplines, leaders can produce breakthrough results, even when executing the strategy requires a significant change in behavior from their teams.
-
-
Simple implementable ideas but problems with the supporting resources
- By Towani Clarke on 08-03-21
By: Chris McChesney, and others
-
Agile Project Management
- The Complete Guide to Learn a Lean Approach to Project Management for Your Startup and Your Business
- By: Donald Smith
- Narrated by: KC Wayman
- Length: 5 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Are you looking for the most productive ways to elevate your business and execute your projects faster? Look no further, Agile is for you and this is the audiobook for you to learn about Agile! This audiobook is intended to provide an understanding of how to fit agile methodologies into an overall business strategy that provides the right balance of control and agility for your business, for all listeners (and, in particular, business leaders). Get ready for swifter and more productive businesses and projects!
-
-
Meh....not great
- By E. Jackson on 12-02-21
By: Donald Smith
-
Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn
- Lessons from Toyota Leader Isao Yoshino on a Lifetime of Continuous Learning
- By: Katie Anderson
- Narrated by: Katie Anderson
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn, leadership coach Katie Anderson and Toyota leader Isao Yoshino bring you a remarkable book about what it means to learn, to lead, and to care. With a career that spanned nearly four decades at Toyota Motor Corporation, Isao Yoshino’s stories help us understand how Toyota intentionally developed the culture of excellence for which it is renowned today, and how one person learned to lead so that he could lead to learn.
-
-
Reading / listening for the 2nd time
- By Hamed Al-Hamdan on 07-17-21
By: Katie Anderson
-
Gemba Walks, Expanded 2nd Edition
- By: Jim Womack
- Narrated by: Jim Womack
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 12 new essays ranging from the provocative to the practical, and written specially for the second edition of Gemba Walks, author and management expert Jim Womack reflects on the past 30 years of lean and assesses the current state of lean today.
-
-
A great story, a great teacher, a great human been
- By KFV on 07-28-16
By: Jim Womack
-
The High-Velocity Edge (Second Edition)
- By: Steven J. Spear
- Narrated by: John Gully
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The High-Velocity Edge, the reissued edition of five-time Shingo Prize winner Steven J. Spear's critically acclaimed book Chasing the Rabbit, Spear describes what sets market-dominating companies apart and provides a detailed framework you can leverage to surge to the lead in your own industry. Spear examines the internal operations of dominant organizations across a wide spectrum of industries, from technology to design and from manufacturing to health care.
-
-
Novel at the time
- By Jennifer on 05-29-22
By: Steven J. Spear
-
Turn the Ship Around!
- A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders
- By: L. David Marquet, Stephen R. Covey - foreword
- Narrated by: L. David Marquet
- Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since Turn the Ship Around! was published in 2013, hundreds of thousands of readers have been inspired by former Navy captain David Marquet’s true story. Many have applied his insights to their own organizations, creating workplaces where everyone takes responsibility for his or her actions, where followers grow to become leaders, and where happier teams drive dramatically better results.
-
-
Creating Leadership and Competence at All Levels
- By Matthew on 05-04-21
By: L. David Marquet, and others
-
The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Revised and Updated
- Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals
- By: Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, Jim Huling, and others
- Narrated by: Sean Covey, Chris McChesney, Jim Huling, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
4DX® is not theory. It is a proven set of practices that represents a new way of thinking essential to thriving in today’s competitive climate, making this 2nd edition a book that no business leader can afford to miss. The 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX) is a simple, repeatable, and proven formula for executing your most important strategic priorities in the midst of the whirlwind. By following the 4 Disciplines, leaders can produce breakthrough results, even when executing the strategy requires a significant change in behavior from their teams.
-
-
Simple implementable ideas but problems with the supporting resources
- By Towani Clarke on 08-03-21
By: Chris McChesney, and others
-
Multipliers, Revised and Updated
- How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter
- By: Liz Wiseman, Stephen Covey - foreword
- Narrated by: Liz Wiseman, John Meagher
- Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We've all had experiences with two dramatically different types of leaders. The first type drain intelligence, energy, and capability from the people around them and always need to be the smartest people in the room. These are the idea killers, the energy sappers, the diminishers of talent and commitment. On the other side of the spectrum are leaders who use their intelligence to amplify the smarts and capabilities of the people around them.
-
-
Good points, but highly repetitive
- By 9a7ner on 02-27-19
By: Liz Wiseman, and others
-
The 6 Types of Working Genius
- A Better Way to Understand Your Gifts, Your Frustrations, and Your Team
- By: Patrick M. Lencioni
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 4 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beyond the personal discovery and instant relief that Working Genius provides, the model also gives teams a remarkably simple and practical framework for tapping into one another’s natural gifts, which increases productivity and reduces unnecessary judgment.
-
-
Very nice after the long detailed story.
- By Federico on 11-05-22
-
The Toyota Way (Second Edition)
- 14 Management Principles from the World's Greatest Manufacturer
- By: Jeffrey Liker
- Narrated by: Perry Daniels
- Length: 17 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Multiple Shingo Award-winning management and operations expert Jeffrey K. Liker provides a deep dive into Toyota's world-changing processes, showing how you can learn from it to develop your own improvement program that fits your conditions. Thanks in large part to this book, managers across the globe are creating workforces and systems that produce the highest-quality products and services, establish and retain customer loyalty, and drive business profitability and sustainability.
-
-
A Must-Read Book
- By Sean Green on 07-30-21
By: Jeffrey Liker
-
The Lean Turnaround
- How Business Leaders Use Lean Principles to Create Value and Transform Their Company
- By: Art Byrne, James P. Womack
- Narrated by: Todd Belcher
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Few business leaders in the world have applied Lean strategy as successfully as Art Byrne has - and none has the ability to explain how to do it with such succinctness and clarity. Byrne has successfully implemented Lean strategies in more than 30 companies in 14 different countries. In The Lean Turnaround, this legendary business leader shares everything he has learned during his remarkable career and shows how anyone can achieve similar results.
-
-
Continuous improvement is timeless
- By James Reese on 10-17-23
By: Art Byrne, and others
-
The Toyota Way to Lean Leadership
- Achieving and Sustaining Excellence Through Leadership Development
- By: Jeffrey Liker, Gary L. Convis
- Narrated by: Jim Meskimen
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The missing link to long-term Lean success! Despite the fact that companies worldwide have adopted Lean production, none has sustained the same levels of excellence as Toyota. Why? Leadership. In The Toyota Way to Lean Leadership, Jeffrey Liker and Gary L. Convis, a former executive V.P. and managing officer of Toyota, help executives and senior managers get employees to refocus their efforts - from simply performing their singular function to continuously improving in collaboration across the organization.
-
-
Disappointing. Here is a summary
- By V. Taras on 10-21-18
By: Jeffrey Liker, and others
-
Impact Players
- How to Take the Lead, Play Bigger, and Multiply Your Impact
- By: Liz Wiseman
- Narrated by: Liz Wiseman
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Impact Players, New York Times best-selling author and researcher Liz Wiseman reveals the secrets of these stellar professionals who play the game at a higher level. Drawing on insights from leaders at top companies, Wiseman explains what the most influential players are doing differently, how small and seemingly insignificant differences in how we think and act can make an enormous impact, and why - with a little coaching - this mindset is available to everyone who wants to contribute at their highest level.
-
-
A must read/listen
- By Tiffany on 03-30-23
By: Liz Wiseman
-
2 Second Lean: How to Grow People and Build a Fun Lean Culture at Work & at Home, 3rd Edition
- By: Paul A. Akers
- Narrated by: Paul A. Akers
- Length: 4 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
2 Second Lean will flip your world right-side up. It's a practical way to improve your life every day by making a simple two-second improvement. Join author, business expert, radio show host, and international speaker Paul A Akers, as he takes you on a LEAN journey that will transform every aspect your life - from your home to the office.
-
-
I Listened To This Straight Thru!
- By Steve C Stutz on 08-06-15
By: Paul A. Akers
-
Playing to Win
- How Strategy Really Works
- By: Roger L. Martin, A.G. Lafley
- Narrated by: LJ Ganser
- Length: 7 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Playing to Win, a noted Wall Street Journal and Washington Post best seller, outlines the strategic approach Lafley, in close partnership with strategic adviser Roger Martin, used to double P&G’s sales, quadruple its profits, and increase its market value by more than $100 billion when Lafley was first CEO (he led the company from 2000 to 2009). The book shows leaders in any type of organization how to guide everyday actions with larger strategic goals built around the clear, essential elements that determine business successwhere to play and how to win.
-
-
The P&G Story
- By lniles on 04-14-15
By: Roger L. Martin, and others
-
Lean Guide
- How Successful Entrepreneurs Improve Productivity, Quality and Profits Applying 3 Lean Methods: Six Sigma, Startup, Enterprise to Get Competitive Advantages and Continuous Innovations.
- By: Jack Lead
- Narrated by: Kenneth Elliott
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Are you looking for a proven method that allows your company to achieve continuous improvement, maximize production, and excel in management and leadership? How is a winning startup born? How does it grow and innovate? If you want to start a startup, you need to identify a gap in the market and fill it effectively using time and resources, track and optimize data through market analysis to capture consumer demand, and above all, manage continuous innovation.
By: Jack Lead
-
Everything I Know About Lean I Learned in First Grade
- By: Robert O. Martichenko
- Narrated by: Mike Campobasso
- Length: 2 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Everything I Know About Lean I Learned in First Grade brings lean back to its original simplicity by showing how lean is alive in a first-grade classroom. The audiobook connects common lean tools to the broader lean journey, shows how to identify and eliminate waste, and aids the listener in seeing lean for what it truly is: a way to create a learning and problem-solving culture.
-
-
A great book for a LEAN beginner
- By Raymond Bakken on 10-29-20
-
Think Like a Rocket Scientist
- Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life
- By: Ozan Varol
- Narrated by: Ozan Varol
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rocket science is often celebrated as the ultimate triumph of technology. But it's not. Rather, it's the apex of a certain thought process—a way to imagine the unimaginable and solve the unsolvable. It's the same thought process that enabled Neil Armstrong to take his giant leap for mankind, that allows spacecraft to travel millions of miles through outer space and land on a precise spot, and that brings us closer to colonizing other planets.
-
-
Incrementally new perspectives on rehashed themes
- By James S. on 06-13-20
By: Ozan Varol
-
Toyota Kata
- Managing People for Improvement, Adaptiveness and Superior Results
- By: Mike Rother
- Narrated by: Todd Belcher
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This game-changing book puts you behind the curtain at Toyota, providing new insight into the legendary automaker's management practices and offering practical guidance for leading and developing people in a way that makes the best use of their brainpower. Drawing on six years of research into Toyota's employee-management routines, Toyota Kata examines and elucidates, for the first time, the company's organizational routines - called kata - that power its success with continuous improvement and adaptation.
-
-
This is NOT an entry level book.
- By Keenan on 09-13-24
By: Mike Rother
What listeners say about Four Types of Problems
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Prometheous Lee
- 02-16-21
The right tool for the right job!
In construction, it's most important that we use the right tools for the right job. Using what appears to be the right tool doesn't always lend itself to producing the desired result. You would think that using a hammer 🔨 for a nail is always the right tool. Well, not so much when it's a waffle faced framing hammer on finished kitchen cabinets.
'Four types of problems' point out the 4 categories most business problems fall into:
1- Troubleshooting
2- Gap from standard
3- Target state
4- Open-ended and innovation
It also provides a myriad of suggestions for not only how to identify the problem type, but the methods that can be used to address them. I would suggest paying extra attention to solution types 1 thru 3 as many of us will use these most frequently.
This book is truly (IMHO) another great addition to your Lean toolbox and will serve your team well to know and better understand your domains problems more intimately, so the right tools 🔧 can be used to solve them!
Don't take my word.. Check it out!
What did you think?
#problemidentification #therighttools #lean
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!