Introduction to The 2,000 Percent Solution Workbook

Introduction

The 2,000 Percent Solution Workbook is intended to serve those who have read and applied The 2,000 Percent Solution, and are now ready to repeat the eight step process described in Part Two of that book for either an existing or a new problem.

The 2,000 Percent Solution was written because Peter Drucker told us that he thought the eight step process we had described to him would solve more than 90 percent of problems that arise inside of organizations. He felt that organizational progress could be greatly accelerated if everyone in an organization learned this process and began using it. He suggested writing a book as the way to begin broader dissemination of the process beyond our client base.

Not knowing what to expect in promoting a new business process, we decided to share what we had learned as broadly as possible. During the launch of The 2,000 Percent Solution, we visited over 30 North American cities and conducted learning sessions with hundreds of CEOs located in those cities. While there, we also explained the concept to business journalists. From these activities, we soon noticed that there were better ways of explaining our work than were captured in The 2,000 Percent Solution. Since then, we have had the chance to share our work with a broad range of people from around the world, from MBA candidates in countries as far away as Laos to D.B.A. students in Africa to CEOs as near as in our own Boston community. As we continued to help others learn the 2,000 percent solution process, our ability to communicate that process has improved. The 2,000 Percent Solution Workbook greatly benefits from these added perspectives.

While our educational materials and methods have shifted enormously since we wrote The 2,000 Percent Solution, we have not previously made those shifts available to all of our readers who are interested in this subject.

To make this workbook easier and more interesting to use, we have avoided duplicating what is in The 2,000 Percent Solution. At the same time, we have kept the terminology from that book so that readers of the workbook will not have to learn new meanings or terms.

If you would like to refer back to The 2,000 Percent Solution as you use this workbook, please remember that you can find all but two chapters on-line for free at www.2000percentsolution.com (click on the “excerpts” button on the left hand column of the home page, and then select material from the Table of Contents). A few copies of the original edition (AMACOM Books 1999) can still be found. That edition was supplemented with a reissue edition in 2003 that is available at the time the workbook was published in both hard and soft cover from Authors Choice Press. Most on-line sites carry all three versions of The 2,000 Percent Solution. The reissue edition can also be ordered through most book stores. In addition, a digital version of the original edition is available for download from many on-line bookstores including Amazon.com.

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell