Strategic Thinking: A Guide to Identifying and Solving Problems

by Roger Kaufman, Gary Carroll

Today's HRD professional must be able to use performance technology-a system approach-to identify and resolve performance and organizational problems. This book helps readers shape the thinking process with proven concepts and tools, including mega, macro, and micro levels of strategic planning, feedback and questioning skills, model building, and visioning. Included are experience-tested methods for setting objectives, defining interventions, and integrating all efforts with business goals.

308 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Roger Kaufman, Ph.D. is an influential figure in the history of the educational technology and performance improvement fields as well as strategic thinking and planning for public- and private-sector organizations. Regarded as one of the founding figures of the field, he is referred to as the father of needs assessment.

While needs assessment is such common practice today that many new practitioners may not be able to envision a time when it was not part of the standard process, his work in this area established one of the foundational concepts that sets professional practice apart. The core tenets of his work are reflected in the professional standards for certifying performance technologists, such as the emphasis on system thinking and planning and sound evaluation of outcomes.

Over his 40 years of work Kaufman developed what he considers to be his essential work - the Mega Planning model, a framework for adding measurable value to society.

In 2014, the International Society for Performance Improvement created an honorary award named the Roger Kaufman Award for Societal Impact honoring the work of individuals or groups who apply this systemic performance assessment and planning process with clear impact on societal outcomes.