Breakthrough!: Everything You Need to Start a Solution Revolution

By Debbe Kennedy

"Debbe Kennedy, author and apparent creator of this array of resources, comes with solid business credentials and an impressive set of endorsements from the likes of Joel Barker and Francis Hesselbein.

Kennedy's basic proposition is that since most problems are similar and are the result of universal core issues, too much time is wasted in starting up the problem solving process.The approach offers several advantages.

Aside from speed, the group is provided an inventory of possible root causes. The card deck contains over fifty common roadblocks to work group effectiveness. Participants sort through the cards, identify the most likely problem areas and pull those cards out for discussion.

After a re-sort and cull down to the key issues, the members turn to each issue's corresponding chapter in the book for a comprehensive listing of generic solutions.There are typically eight to ten carefully described alternatives for each problem.

This is the heart of Breakthrough!; well conceived, clearly written and often insightful. The easy to follow format allows even the uninitiated to run a problem solving session with reasonable assurance of having a successful outcome.

Its a particularly nice tool for a line manager who wants to practice team building skills or doesn't have available HR resources. Breakthrough! is clever idea with broad potential audience. The package can be considered a next step in the evolution of educational tools, and if properly positioned, Breakthrough! can be an alternative delivery vehicle for the devolution of team building responsibility to line managers. If only it told the outside temperature." -- Excerpt from book review by Steve McIntosh, PhD for HR Magazine, June 1999

[INTERVIEW WITH DEBBE KENNEDY]
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