Most people aren’t solving problems.
They’re finding solutions.
We build teams that instinctively dig for the REAL problem — before anyone reaches for a fix — so the same fires stop coming back.
PROBLEM SOLVING
THE PHILOSOPHY
“What’s the problem?” is one of those questions where the answers seem obvious but really…aren’t.
The reason is that the problem you're truly trying to get a handle on is usually three or four levels deeper than your initial answer.
Most of us aren't problem solving. We're solution finding.
Someone names something that's off, the room throws out ideas, & ten minutes later you've landed on a fix. Maybe it's a new process. Maybe it's a new hire. Everybody leaves feeling productive.
We do this because landing on an answer feels good — it closes the loop in the brain & the spiraling stops.
The catch? When you skip past defining the problem, you usually fix the wrong thing. Or you fix the symptom & the same problem shows up again two weeks later.
The antidote is building people who instinctively dig for the REAL problem before they reach for a solution.
That’s what we do.
OUR APPROACH
We coach leaders as guides, not heroes.
Most problem-solving training teaches tools & sends people back to their desks. Then reality hits — the pressure to have an answer, the culture that rewards fast fixes over slow thinking, the manager who keeps solving it FOR the team. The tools die on the desk. We work the other direction. We build the coaching muscle FIRST — inside your leaders — so problem-solving capability spreads instead of getting stuck on a few heroes.
Applied to your real work
Not a case study about someone else's factory. Every framework we teach gets used on a real business problem inside your organization.
Coached, not lectured
Your leaders learn to guide people through the work instead of solving it for them. That's how it spreads.
Sustained over 12 months
Real behavior change needs time. We structure our work as a journey, not a workshop.
How we work with you
THE OFFERINGS
Problem-solving capability shows up in different ways depending on where your team is. Here's how we typically show up:
Problem-Solving
Bootcamp
A 3-day, on-site immersive that teaches your team practical problem-solving tools & mindset — through your own real problems. Day 3 is a live Kaizen: they ship a real change before we leave. Perfect for mid-sized teams standing up problem-solving as a discipline.
Starting at $15K
Explore the Bootcamp →The Problem-Solving
Protocol™
A cohort-based program mirroring The Perk's Middle Manager Protocol™. Quarterly workshops + group coaching + peer pods. Choose 4 modules from a menu of 12. Every participant completes 3 real projects & earns Certified Problem Solver designation.
Starting at $2,997 / participant / year
Explore the Protocol →Coach Certification
For organizations ready to embed problem-solving coaching capability internally. Trains your leaders to coach problem solvers at scale — so the capability lives inside your team, not with us.
Launching 2027
Get notified →We trained GBP's CI leaders to coach problem solving more effectively — so the capability could spread across their sites instead of relying on a handful of heroes.
Deep, genuinely rich lean culture already existed. Our work was making their leaders confident enough to coach through it instead of solve for it.
CASE STUDY
From coaching, to spread.
Green Bay Packaging
"That's the work we do with your teams. We slow the room down before anyone spends a dollar on a fix — & build people who can find the answer themselves, so the next problem doesn't need us in the room at all."
— Sarah Tilkens, Founder
What makes our problem-solving work different
WHY US
Mindset first, tools second
Six Sigma manuals & DMAIC binders don't change behavior. We start with the mindset shift ("You're a solution-finder, not a problem-solver"), then bring the tools in when your team is ready.
Real projects, not case studies
Every participant runs real problem-solving on their own work. That's how it becomes muscle memory.
We coach the coaches
Your leaders learn to guide their people through the work. That's how the capability spreads instead of staying with a handful of heroes.
Sustained over 12 months
Behavior change needs time. Our programs are structured for the long arc, not the quick certificate.
Straight from the room.
WHAT CLIENTS SAY
"I've never seen anyone do five whys like that. I'm totally stealing that."
— Tom Groth, CI Leader
"Sarah's true power lies in helping individuals find purpose in their professional journeys. She empowered me to envision a meaningful path forward."
— Ramya, Director of Continuous Improvement
"Working with Sarah helped me gain clarity on my unique leadership brand & how to better communicate my value proposition."
— Josh, Portfolio Manager
"Learning about applicable tools over time gave me a chance to practice & understand them better."
— Program participant
Is problem-solving training right for you?
IDEAL FIT
You're building an organization that has to think, not just execute. Strategy that requires real problem-solving from your middle managers.
Your team keeps solving the same problem over & over. Different meeting, different quarter, same story. Someone is fixing symptoms, not causes.
You've watched training come & go without changing how work actually happens. You know the tools work. You need someone to build the CULTURE that lets them survive.
You want problem-solving capability to spread across your organization — not stay stuck on a few heroes.
GET STARTED
How do we get started?
Let's talk
Tell us where your team is right now & where the problem-solving gaps are showing up.
Get a plan built for your team
We'll help you figure out whether a Bootcamp, a full Protocol cohort, or something custom is the right first move.
Do the work together
We coach, we facilitate, & your team walks out with real capability & real results.
Problem-solvers aren’t born. They’re built.
Ready to build a team that can dig for the real problem — the first time?
COMMON QUESTIONS
FAQ
What's the difference between problem-solving training & Lean training?
Lean training teaches you a set of tools — Value Stream Mapping, 5S, standard work — for eliminating waste in a process. Problem-solving training teaches you a way of THINKING that makes any tool more effective. You can do Lean without being a great problem-solver. You can't do sustained continuous improvement without one.
How long does it take to build a problem-solving culture?
Real behavior change takes 12 months of consistent practice, coaching, & sustainment. That's why our Problem-Solving Protocol is structured as a year-long cohort — not a workshop. Bootcamps can create momentum in three days, but the muscle memory needs a year.
Do you work with non-manufacturing organizations?
Yes. Our problem-solving work translates to any organization with cross-functional friction, recurring escalations, or middle-management-heavy operations — financial services, healthcare, professional services, government, nonprofits.
What's the ROI of problem-solving training?
One trained problem-solver typically saves 5× the cost of turnover, rework, & missed opportunity in year one. Compounding returns after that. But the real ROI is capability that outlasts the engagement.