Building district problem-solving capacity requires learning, collaboration, and a commitment to excellence. It takes time, investment, and effort—but the benefits are enormous.

Payoff for increasing analytic thinking capacity

Building capability in individual and organizational problem-solving and decision-making has several important results. Clients tell us that the following are among the most important payoffs for them:

Higher quality solutions and recommendations—conclusions tend to be stronger, better supported by data, and reflective of multiple perspectives and viewpoints. This not only strengthens the quality of the end result, but also increases the likelihood that it will be better supported by a broad range of stakeholders.

Greater confidence in solutions—confidence in conclusions increases when we know that a rigorous approach has been used—that the right information has been thoroughly considered, and the right people effectively involved.

Increased trust and commitment—making the decision-making process visible and open builds trust and commitment for the end result.

Avoidance of costly mistakes—too often, we take action before adequately understanding what we're dealing with. Because of this bias for action, we tend to prefer doing something to doing the right thing. Doing the right thing in the right way, often takes more time, analysis, and the building of widespread commitment.

Development of leadership potential—involving others in learning and applying a common problem-solving and decision-making methodology builds enhanced leadership capacity at all organizational levels – regardless of experience or role.


Find out your School or District’s A. T. Q. (analytic thinking quotient) >