January 21, 2027
9:00am - 3:00pm
The Nebraska MEP Training & Technology Center
6200 South 58th St.
Lincoln, NE 68516
Learn the methodology to properly solve problems
Every organization faces problems every day—but not all problems are the same. Some are simple and obvious. Others require expert analysis. Some demand experimentation and innovation. And occasionally, organizations find themselves in pure chaos. In this engaging and practical session, Jesse DePriest will introduce participants to the “world of problem solving”—a framework that helps leaders and teams understand the different types of problems they encounter and how to respond effectively. Participants will learn how to clearly define a problem as the gap between what is happening and what should be happening, and why standards and standard work are essential for identifying and improving performance. Drawing on Lean thinking, the Cynefin framework, and decades of operational leadership experience, Jesse will walk through five types of problems—from simple troubleshooting to complex innovation and chaotic disruption—and introduce the leadership mindsets and methods best suited for each situation.
Who should attend?
Plant managers, operations managers, supervisors, engineers, and continuous improvement leads from Nebraska manufacturers — the people who own a process and are accountable for its performance. Best value comes from sending two or three from the same company. This is not an introduction to Lean; participants should know the vocabulary and be ready to work.
Firefighting vs. Problem Solving
Learning Points
The fix that does not hold is the most expensive thing in the plant. The difference between reacting to an abnormality and removing its cause.
Prior to the workshop
Each participant brings one real, unsolved problem from their own operation, plus whatever data they have on it.
See the work
Going to where the work happens. Defining the abnormality objectively — separating what is actually happening from what people believe is happening.
Define the problem
Current condition, target condition, and the gap between them. Type 1 and Type 2 problems, and why the tool has to match the type.
Get to cause
Logic-based root cause analysis. Five Why done properly — and the four ways it is usually done badly. Cause-and-effect reasoning that survives challenge.
Read the evidence Pareto analysis and process behavior charts. Knowing whether a number moved because something changed or because numbers move.
Countermeasure and check
Building the countermeasure as an experiment. The 4C and A3 as thinking tools, not paperwork.
Take it home
Working session: each participant drafts an A3 on the problem they brought, coached individually. They leave with a plan, not a binder.
After
A 60-minute virtual group coaching call about three weeks out. Participants report what happened when they ran it. This call is where the class converts to results — and to projects.
The Instructor
Jesse DePriest
5L Performance Group
Co-Founder · Lean Leadership & Operational Excellence
Jesse is a sought-after Lean leadership consultant, teacher, coach, speaker, and adjunct professor whose work centers on operational excellence and building organizations that solve problems for good.
Learn more
Jesse kicked off the Nebraska MEP's "ReMake Manfacturing Webcast" and discussed Problem Solving vs. Firefighting.
REGISTRATION
The course fee is $400 per participant which covers all course material, lunch, and virtual group coaching call.
