Abstract
The 4S method is an integrated, four-stage problem-solving approach that combines the tools of strategy consulting with insights from cognitive science and design thinking. The first S is to State the problem properly, identifying the core question at hand as well as its context, owner, and stakeholders. The second S is to Structure the problem, either around candidate solution(s) you will test or by splitting the core question into sub-issues that you will investigate systematically. Third, you will Solve the problem. Three distinct paths are possible through these stages: the analytical paths of hypothesis-driven and issue-driven problem solving, discussed in Chaps. 4, 5, 6 and 7, and the creative path of design thinking, covered in Chaps. 8 and 9. Finally, the fourth stage is to Sell your solution to the problem owner.
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This doesn’t imply that the approach applies only to strategy problems. Indeed, much of the work “strategy” consulting firms do isn’t concerned, strictly speaking, with strategy. The term “strategy consulting” is shorthand for “CEO-level, premium management consulting,” and “strategy” consultants use essentially the same problem-solving approach when solving organizational, operational effectiveness, or marketing problems.
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Garrette, B., Phelps, C., Sibony, O. (2018). The 4S Method. In: Cracked it!. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89375-4_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89375-4_3
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