Section 4 from the People Solve Problems Book
Coaching Problem Solving: Building Thinkers, Not Just Fixers
Real impact doesn’t come from giving answers—it comes from building better problem solvers.
Great leaders don’t just solve problems—they develop others to do the same. Coaching Problem Solving explores how to guide teams toward solutions through self-discovery, questioning, and structured coaching models. This series analyzes when, where, and how to coach problem-solving effectively, turning challenges into learning opportunities.
Beyond Tools: The Mindset That Drives Real Problem-Solving
Section 3 from the People Solve Problems Book
Beyond Tools: The Mindset That Drives Real Problem-Solving
The best solutions don’t come from the tools you have—they come from the way you think, act, and lead.
Great problem-solvers don’t just follow processes—they take ownership, collaborate, and learn deliberately. This series from Section 3 of People Solve Problems, shifts the focus from tools to behaviors, showing why creativity, trust, and initiative matter more than capital or rigid frameworks. And we’ll explore the human elements that make problem-solving truly effective.
Discover why behaviors matter more than tools in problem-solving success. Learn how focusing on tools alone leads to failure modes like malicious compliance and unthinking problem-solving, and why true improvement comes from learning through action, not templates.
Collaborate
Why solving problems alone usually backfires. When you bring people in early, you spot issues before they become disasters. The real enemy isn’t your coworkers—it’s wasted time and effort. This video shows how working together from the start leads to solutions that actually work.
Creativity Over Capital
Smart beats expensive. Creative solutions keep getting better over time, but throwing money at problems eventually runs out. This video shows you how to come up with creative fixes, test them quickly, and pick the ones that actually work.
Systems Dynamics: Moving Beyond Supply Chain Optimization with scmBLOX’s J. Chris White
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J. Chris White, Co-Founder and CEO of scmBLOX, joined host Jamie Flinchbaugh to explore the critical differences between systems thinking and systems dynamics, and how these approaches can transform supply chain management. As a systems dynamics modeler with 30 years of experience covering operations and supply chains, Chris brought deep expertise to this conversation about solving complex business problems.
Chris explained that while many people embrace systems thinking after reading Peter Senge’s “The Fifth Discipline,” they often miss that Senge was actually a systems dynamicist trained by Jay Forrester, who created systems dynamics. According to Chris, systems thinking provides valuable guidance, but when it comes to actually solving problems, you need the rigor of systems dynamics modeling and simulation. He described systems thinking as appreciating the use of data in decision making, while systems dynamics is doing all the math to generate that data.
The conversation revealed how he views systems dynamics as another tool in the problem-solving toolbox. He emphasized that it works best for larger, interconnected problems where you need to see the whole system view. He explained that systems are collections of parts that are interrelated and interconnected, all working together to achieve a goal. As systems become more complex, the relationships between parts begin to dominate, which is where systems dynamics shines.
When discussing supply chain management specifically, Chris highlighted how traditional “end-to-end” approaches are actually quite limited. Most companies only track orders from their immediate suppliers to customer delivery, but he pointed out that COVID-19 revealed how interconnected supply chains really are. The disruptions, bullwhip effects, and shortages that dominated news cycles showed that problems happening several tiers upstream can significantly impact your business.
Chris used a tree analogy to illustrate this point: there’s little value in optimizing the leaves when you should have been on a different branch strategically to begin with. He emphasized that resilience is more of a system phenomenon than an individual company trait, and that understanding supply chains as systems gives you more power to change the future.
One of the biggest surprises he encounters when working with clients is how little data they actually need to get started. Unlike statistical models that rely heavily on data, systems dynamics focuses on causal connections and structure. He explained that if you know what you’re making and have a bill of materials, your supply chain usually mirrors that structure. This allows companies to begin modeling without perfect visibility into every supplier’s capacity or inventory levels.
Chris emphasized that when companies optimize only their individual parts of the supply chain, they often create unintended effects that come back to hurt them later. What seems beneficial in the short term can actually cause problems in the long term. The goal is to help companies understand how their decisions impact the entire supply chain system, not just their immediate operations.
Throughout the discussion, Chris demonstrated how systems dynamics provides a scientific approach to understanding supply chain vulnerabilities before disruptions occur, whether they’re global events like the Suez Canal blockage or local issues like supplier bankruptcies.
To learn more about Chris White’s work in systems dynamics and supply chain management, visit scmblox.com or connect with him on LinkedIn
People-Centered Problem Solving: The Missing Link in Every Organization
Section 2 from the People Solve Problems Book
People-Centered Problem Solving: The Missing Link in Every Organization
Tools don’t solve problems—people do.
The best solutions don’t come from checklists—they come from thinking, learning, and adapting.
This video series covers section 2 of People Solve Problems, where we explore the skills that drive real solutions, from crafting the right problem statements to integrating intuition and testing ideas in the real world. These videos shift the focus from rigid frameworks to the human capabilities that make problem-solving effective.
Test to Learn
Ask “how do you know?” at every step. Balance confidence with risk by running fast, cheap experiments instead of big bets. Create hypotheses to build knowledge you can use again. Even poker pros lose hands on purpose to test what they think they know. Good testing doesn’t just solve today’s problem – it makes you better at solving future ones too.
Why Problem-Solving Fails—and How to Fix It
Section 1 from the People Solve Problems Book
Why Problem-Solving Fails—and How to Fix It
Problem-solving isn’t just about having the right tools—it’s about how we apply those tools in different problem-solving scenarios. In these videos, we’ll challenge conventional thinking, revealing why standardization alone doesn’t drive better solutions. This section explores the real issues behind ineffective problem-solving and how to bridge the gap between tools and action.
Because solving problems isn’t just about what you use—it’s about how you think.
Jim Benson of Modus Institute: Building Confidence Through Visual Collaboration
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Jim Benson joined host Jamie Flinchbaugh on People Solve Problems to discuss his approach to collaboration and visual management as the foundation for successful Lean and Agile implementations. As Inquisitor at Modus Institute and creator of Personal Kanban, Jim brings a unique perspective on how organizations can remove workplace toxicity while dramatically improving effectiveness.
Jim defines collaboration simply yet powerfully: two or more people working toward a common goal with systems in place that allow everyone to act with confidence. This definition cuts through the confusion often created when collaboration gets mixed up with consensus-building or other diluted interpretations. The key insight Jim shared is that confidence drives everything in business, just as consumer confidence drives the free market economy.
Jim illustrated this concept through the story of a young procurement agent at Turner Construction who was responsible for purchasing everything from structural steel to toilet paper for a billion-dollar construction project in New York. Initially working from spreadsheets, he had to justify every decision to three levels of management, creating a cycle of criticism and second-guessing that undermined his confidence. When Jim helped implement an obeya with visual controls, everything changed. He could display his work transparently, allowing managers to see when projects were on track, in trouble but manageable, or requiring their expertise.
The transformation was remarkable. Instead of commenting on everything he did, managers could now apply their expertise strategically when needed. He could act with confidence, knowing that everyone had visibility into his work and could provide help when necessary rather than criticism after the fact. Jim emphasized that this visual management approach removes toxicity from the workplace by creating clarity around roles, responsibilities, and when intervention is needed.
Jim challenged the current trend of CEOs instituting longer work weeks while people are already working at 300% capacity, but only 25% effectiveness. He argued that most knowledge workers are operating far beyond sustainable levels, and the solution isn’t more hours but better systems. By creating a better understanding of what people can handle and properly defining work upfront, organizations can increase effective throughput by 200-300% while making work easier and more enjoyable.
The conversation touched on problem-solving approaches, where Jim distinguished between everyday operational issues and strategic thinking opportunities. He noted that most bottlenecks in modern business are actually collaborative opportunities that get addressed through non-collaborative means like new software or individual assignments. Instead, these issues often stem from information flowing between people in the wrong formats, which can be fixed simply by understanding what each person in the value stream actually needs.
Jim offered a provocative alternative to traditional strategic planning, where leadership teams retreat to develop strategy in isolation. He suggested that companies have exponential strategic value equal to the number of employees raised to the power of the number of employees. Rather than excluding people from strategic planning, Jim advocates for involving everyone in developing strategies, tactics, and measures collaboratively. When people understand how their daily tasks connect to broader strategic goals, achieving corporate objectives becomes much easier.
The underlying theme throughout Jim’s insights is that most workplace dysfunction stems from people wanting to contribute meaningfully but lacking the systems and clarity to do so effectively. By implementing visual management and collaborative approaches, organizations can tap into this existing motivation while removing the barriers that create frustration and inefficiency.
Jim’s work can be explored further at modusinstitute.com, and he can be found on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/jimbenson.
Lean Coffee Episode 5In Episode 5, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh are going back in time (apologies to Huey Lewis and the News) to the 1990s and examining companies that were iconic then and trying to find new ground today. But we start with coffee mugs – our most vintage mugs. A coffee mug can make coffee better, or ruin it, or bring back memories. The vessel may not be more important than what’s in it, but it’s up there. And this is our first, but perhaps not our last, Miss Piggy reference.
Before we get to AOL finally ending its dial-up service, we do a deep dive into Starbucks’ new CEO and his efforts to restore Starbucks. Both the substance and the approach to decision-making matter here. On the approach, making too many decisions at the top can undermine those you’re asking to make their decisions, but the right decisions in the right way can break things loose or shift your culture.
But this also brings us to the question of what Starbucks customers value, and how to consistently deliver that value. There are many systematic barriers put in the way of baristas trying to deliver value. Will Starbucks and its CEO remove those barriers and find value? We will see (or at least their customers will).
We wrap up sharing our experiences with jazz flutist Frank Wess and the new movie Spinal Tap II.
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Happy Heuristics was a single-season podcast, in partnership with MG Strategy’s Jeff Grimshaw, that explores the use of heuristics in leadership. Heuristics, or rules of thumb, help speed up and make more consistent decisions in a complex world. Each episode explores a theme, and Jeff and Jamie Flinchbaugh each offer and stress test, heuristics related to that theme.
Watch The Happy Heuristics Podcast Here
The Waste of Mental Inventory
Ever wonder why your brain feels so cluttered and tired? It’s probably stuffed with too many unfinished tasks, unmade decisions, and mental “to-dos” bouncing around in your head. This mental overload isn’t just annoying—it’s actually making you less effective and more stressed.
When your mind is packed with too much stuff, you can’t focus on what really matters. You end up thinking about the wrong things at the wrong time, making poor decisions, and feeling constantly overwhelmed. It’s like trying to juggle while someone keeps tossing you more balls.
The good news? There are simple ways to clear out this mental clutter and get your brain working for you instead of against you. Ready to learn how to empty your mental inbox and actually get stuff done?
Factory Talk Series
This 9-video series was done in partnership with IndustryWeek and highlights leaders in factories. Through interviews, we cover their practices and ideas for effective leadership within operations. Some participants are CEOs of smaller one-site companies, and others are plant managers within larger companies. There are nuggets and lessons for everyone within each interview.
Watch the Factory Talk Series on YouTube here
In this Factory Talk episode, Dan Royston, Director of Operations at AO Smith’s McBee, South Carolina facility, shares his leadership approach to manufacturing excellence. With 27 years of company experience, Dan details his structured daily routines, including morning stand-up meetings, room processes, and Gemba walks that keep operations aligned. He emphasizes people development through intentional coaching of team leads and supervisors, problem-solving methodologies, and creating defined career paths that transform jobs into careers. His focus on team member engagement and comprehensive apprenticeship programs has created a self-reliant workforce.