Problem solving and decision making training gives managers a repeatable method to define messy problems, find root causes and make decisions they can defend. Participants work on a live problem, generate options, weigh them on agreed criteria and test risks with a pre-mortem. Bodhih runs it over 2 days in person or four 3-hour virtual sessions.
- Delivered in person at your location or as live virtual sessions
- Designed with the ADDIE model and evaluated for behaviour change
- Offered by Bodhih since 2008 to 2,000+ organisations across 7 regions
Where and how: problem solving and decision making training as an in-person workshop in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Jaipur; as a live online course; or delivered overseas in Dubai, Singapore and across the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Last reviewed by Siddharthan VGJ, Founder · Bodhih Training, Bengaluru
Problem Solving and Decision Making Skills
Problem solving and Decision making across the organization is vital for continuous growth across product lines and services vertical
What is the premise of Bodhih’s problem solving and Decision-Making training?
Innovation, or creativity is the lever which most organizations need to create differentiation today are usually made up of layers and layers of problem solving and decision making. Einstein said, we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking that created them.
Organizations today virtually need problem solving and decision making across its entire bases of employees – no matter the designation or the role. If there is one given that encounters each and every day of our working lives it is situational challenges. Be it ideation for a new product, or a service, or to seek creative USP in a tightly held market place, or it is cutting costs and bringing in efficiencies and speed to meet customer demands, it is an organizations ability to solve problems and take decisions that are key edges to success.
Then again problem solving and decision-making skills are vital leadership skills that make up the cornerstone of Bodhih’s workshop.
What is the importance of problem solving and decision making training skills in the workplace?
To understand the importance of problem solving in the workplace, Bodhih’s session works through various facets – assessment of individual creative decision making styles, the problem solving mindset, breaking through limiting belief systems, barriers to problem solving and decision making, advanced problem solving techniques, and how to master the practice by applying on real life case study.
Bodhih’s workshop on Problem Solving and Decision-Making Skills begins by preparing participants (through an icebreaker) to think and record how they routinely look at a problem and have historically resolved it.
Bodhih’s program touches upon the basics of team problem solving strategies by understanding the foundational styles and dimensions that make up these attributes. The three-dimensional problem-solving style – and orientation to change is highlighted.
With the help of self-assessment, and a facilitator led presentation and video, learners discover their individual styles.
The key to progress in problem solving and decision making is actually the problem-solving mindset. Bodhih’s facilitator through group discussion lays open the basics and drill downs in taking ownership.
Through class exercises, participants expose the various limiting beliefs and the approaches to tackle them through a solution-based mindset. The session then is trained on problem solving techniques by forcibly looking beyond the obvious.
Be it analysing the various barriers to problem solving and decision making or learning steps to decision making, beginning by defining the problem, class participants are led by Bodhih’s tenured facilitator to apply learnings on case studies and worksheets.
In the next insight-filled session the class is encouraged through a facilitator case study to deep dive in the second step of the problem-solving technique, namely, Create alternate solutions. At the end of the session, learners comprehend multiple facets and risks surrounding the next step which is to implement the solution.
Bodhih’s workshop focuses on problem solving and decision-making skills by bringing the collective attention to a case study. Participants are required to demonstrate all conceptual principles and out of the box thinking in this exercise. The final presentation by the class is used to reinforce practices and also offers opportunity to clarify the process steps.
At Bodhih, Problem Solving and Decision-Making Skills is a popular program that is part of a larger Leadership skills portfolio suite.
The session draws richly from contemporary research on creative problem-solving skills and also literature anchored on creativity and team challenge journeys
The heart of Bodhih’s critical thinking and problem-solving course lies in the powerful session of consolidating learnings through customizing the principles to individual use.
How would you gain from problem solving and decision-making training workshops at Bodhih?
Bodhih customizes its Problem Solving and Decision-Making Skills program along the ADDIE model. Workshop experiences are analysed, designed, developed and delivered that are solution focused and include a range of blended training pedagogy such as role plays, group exercises, self-assessment tools, management games, individual activities, videos, case studies, facilitation, discussions and more.
In addition to the ADDIE model, the Problem Solving and Decision Making Skills session takes advantage of the experiential adult-learning process of concrete experience – reflective observation – abstract conceptualization – active experimentation.
The edge in Bodhih’s problem solving training for employee program comes from researched industry learnings, current best practices and academic insights that ensures decision making learnings are grasped and applied at all levels within a company and its individuals. The long-term benefits are to institutionalise problem solving techniques by embedding broader understanding of self- orientation and internalizing the entire creative decision-making process.
What is Bodhih’s promise on critical thinking and problem solving course?
Managers across industries and functions and executive level participants who have attended Bodhih’s sessions on creative problem solving and decision making in the workplace, talk of the changed individual and team behaviours, namely, demonstrating group cohesiveness, clarity in decision making approach, fewer breakdowns and an overall increase in solution mindset.
Sample training plan: 2-day hands-on design
This two-day workshop gives managers a repeatable way to crack messy problems and make decisions they can defend. Participants bring one live problem from their own work. They define it sharply, dig for root causes with evidence, generate options beyond the obvious two, weigh them on agreed criteria and test the risks before committing. A business game and a crisis-room simulation put the method under pressure. The capstone is a decision pitch on their own problem to a panel of peers playing senior leaders.
Participants can define their live problem precisely, trace it to root causes and open up a wide range of options.
- 09:30–10:00Nine dots and old habitsEnergiser
- 10:00–11:00Symptom or problem?Skill drill
- 11:15–11:45Four steps, one mapConcept burst
- 11:45–13:00Root-cause huntCase clinic
- 13:45–14:45Diagnose my problemPeer coaching
- 14:45–15:30Beyond the obvious twoGroup challenge
- 15:45–16:45The supply shortage gameBusiness game
- 16:45–17:30What I now see differentlyReflection
Participants can choose between options with clear criteria, stress-test their decision and present it convincingly.
- 09:30–10:00Gut callEnergiser
- 10:00–11:00Weighing options fairlyDemo & practice
- 11:15–12:00Bias spottingGroup challenge
- 12:00–13:00Pre-mortemPeer coaching
- 13:45–14:45Crisis roomSimulation
- 14:45–15:30Build the decision pitchBuild sprint
- 15:45–16:45The decision panelPresentation
- 16:45–17:30My 60-day problem planAction planning
Every session’s activity, timings, outputs and materials, plus pre-work, a 90-day reinforcement plan and how impact is measured. Free, emailed to you instantly.
Recommended: 2 days in person (09:30–17:30), or 4 × 3-hour live virtual sessions over two weeks, plus a 60-day problem-solving assignment. A sample design: every Bodhih program is customised after a short needs analysis.
How long is problem solving and decision making training?
The recommended design is two days in person, 09:30 to 17:30, followed by a 60-day assignment on a live problem. It also runs as four live virtual sessions of three hours each over two weeks. A one-day version covers problem definition, root cause and weighted decisions.
What activities are included in problem solving and decision making training?
Participants work on their own live problem throughout. They build a cause map from a supplier case pack, play a stock-shortage business game, run a pre-mortem with peers, handle a festival-night payment outage in a crisis room and pitch their decision to a mock leadership panel.
Frequently asked questions
How much does problem solving and decision making training cost?
Bodhih does not publish a fixed fee for problem solving and decision making training. Fees are quoted per batch on request, after a short needs analysis, and depend on cohort size, number of days, delivery format (in person, live virtual or blended), location and any follow-up or AssessAll assessments included.
How is problem solving training different from critical thinking training?
Problem solving and decision making training gives a structured sequence to define a problem, find root causes, generate options and choose between them. Critical thinking training sits underneath it, examining the quality of information, assumptions and reasoning at each step. Many teams take the two programs together for a fuller capability path.
What is problem solving and decision making training?
Who is the Problem Solving and Decision Making Skills program for?
Managers, team leads and senior leaders at every level. Bodhih tailors the examples, case studies and depth to your industry, culture and team level.
How long is the Problem Solving and Decision Making Skills program?
Bodhih recommends 2 days in person (09:30–17:30), or 4 × 3-hour live virtual sessions over two weeks, plus a 60-day problem-solving assignment. The length can be shortened or extended after a needs analysis.
Can Problem Solving and Decision Making Skills be delivered online?
Yes. Problem Solving and Decision Making Skills can run in person at your location, as live virtual sessions for distributed or hybrid teams, or as a blended journey that adds self-paced learning on Bodhih.org between sessions.