Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from the new book People Solve Problems: The Power of Every Person, Every Day, Every Problem (Old Dutch Group, 2021) by Jamie Flinchbaugh.

For anyone reading this who is familiar with my teaching, this will come as no surprise: Problem-solving tools are not the key to success. Behaviors are more important, more effective, and more powerful than the set of tools you use to execute problem solving.

Twelve years ago, that was the premise of the first chapter of my book with Andy Carlino, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Lean (SME, 2006). Twenty years ago, that was the premise of starting a company with Andy. The first chapter of our book was on lean principles. We argued that lean was not born from tools but from how we think.

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