Strategic Problem Solving

First course in Naming the Objective. Course 04 — 18 lessons across 6 modules.

The course in KCG's curriculum that converts a complaint into a finishable objective, then carries that objective through evaluation, decision, roadmap, and iteration.

Modules

#	Module	Lessons
1	What Are We Actually Trying to Do?	01 What are we actually trying to do · 02 What "done" actually means · 03 Clarifying your true objective
2	Constraints	04 The constraints that actually matter · 05 Building solutions within real constraints · 06 Reclaiming perceived constraints
3	Multiple Solutions	07 The problem with having one solution · 08 Evaluating solutions against objectives and constraints · 09 Selection and hybrid approaches
4	Decision Criteria and Commitment	10 Decision criteria · 11 Evaluating options · 12 Committing to a choice
5	Roadmap and Risk	13 From strategy to roadmap · 14 Identifying and managing risk · 15 Maintaining focus while staying flexible
6	Accountability and Iteration	16 Accountability without blame · 17 Measuring what matters · 18 Iteration and course correction

Source: ~/Documents/GitHub/kcg-client-portal-courses/04-sps/

Signature practices

The curriculum is in the source course; this section names the practices and links to the lessons that teach them.

• The Five Questions diagnostic — converts a complaint into an objective by requiring written, agreed answers to: what specifically changes, how it's measured, what the target is, who has to agree, when it's done. If any answer goes fuzzy, the next step is a conversation to clarify the objective — not solution work. See Objective, Done (definition of); source: lesson 01-module-1-what-are-we-actually-trying-to-do.md.
• Real vs. perceived constraints — distinguishes immovable conditions from movable ones; reclaiming perceived constraints expands the solution space, while treating perceived constraints as real produces the corner the team thinks it's in. See Real constraint, Perceived constraint; source: lessons 04–06 (module 2).
• Hybrid approaches and the weighted decision matrix — combine elements from multiple options when no single one dominates; the matrix scores each option against weighted criteria defined before evaluation, producing a defensible record of how the choice was made. See Hybrid approach, Weighted decision matrix; source: lessons 07–12 (modules 3 and 4).
• Accountability without blame, paired with course correction — treats misses as data, not character failures, and builds explicit course-correction mechanisms into the roadmap. See Accountability (without blame), Course correction; source: lessons 16–18 (module 6).