Tom Wujec: Got a wicked problem? First, tell me how you make toast

Making toast doesn’t sound very complicated - until someone asks you to draw the process, step by step. Tom Wujec loves asking people and teams to draw how they make toast, because the process reveals unexpected truths about how we can solve our biggest, most complicated problems at work. Learn how to run this exercise yourself, and hear Wujec’s surprising insights from watching thousands of people draw toast.
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[@RiteshManTamrakar]

I loved his style of presentation. Specially starting with humor and well synced visual content with talk.

[@prant8998]

When the caveman came back after searching for game, he took a stick and made a map on the ground, then they made some verbal discussion. The most basic communication is pictures, then connections to different pictures. It’s hard to see the big picture using just verbiage, we lose the overall concept, and get hung up on minutiae or even emotions and personality. A picture is worth a thousand words but two pictures and you get a narrative toward a goal or finished product. I aways knew this was true, but as a dyslexic, it was always the picture first, then the connection, (the process). Even if I didn’t draw it, I made the picture in my brain, as visualization, then proceeded. Thank you, Tom Wujec, I get it, completely.

[@elizabethwang2.0]

Simple, profound, and elegant!

[@nearlyeveryone]

this reminds me of those beginning programming assignments where they tell you write down the instructions of how to make a sandwich and then demonstrate what happens if someone follows those instructions at face value.

[@SteveHigginbothamCoffeeCoach]

Excellent presentation/talk about how to solve wicked business (complex) problems ... THANK YOU !!

[@gbear1005]

a new tool for my continious improvement arsenal.... thank you!

[@christhomas4739]

I love that guy in the audience that laughs at every drawing!

[@trog871]

Thank You...

[@ronbezanson6304]

Have played this video a couple of times in various classes using it for topics like creativity innovation decision making etc management and leadership. Love showing it great speaker and concept and yes sure beats a meeting around a board table. Did something like this when setting a mission vision core value statements strategy for a company.

[@NicholeCarpenterCEO]

This is a great illustration and technique for planning out business and other projects. I am going to use this video when I train my clients.

[@akashbpelbd3863]

A simple image that can make understand what the meaning of that note. Representar explain very good.

[@ianpatrick23]

Such a great look into human behavior and decision making!

[@vsikora4887]

thank you for sharing this sense-making process. It is great.

[@EvanCarmichael]

Well done Tom Wujec - awesome presentation. #Believe

[@samircasen8117]

Instablaster...

[@Wutzthedeal]

"Talking gets in the way." "Conversations are the important aspect." Back to the drawing board for you.

[@dimon.digital]

About silence - absolutely true. That's why I went to remote work. My productivity increased minimum in x5 times ! It was a key tangeble action in my life.

[@vladimirstepanchuk2881]

I think it's interesting that group models that work silently, work out much better.

[@tambourini]

Man, I read the title wrong...I thought this was about how one makes A toast reveals their problem solving ability/disability! I wish to make a toast: "A toast to thank you, Sir, for your talk. May the process you spoke on be of great aid to many! Blessings to you!"

[@Mogwai88]

The toast with the most ^

[@johnzabula]

Great talk

[@roboreply5387]

6:38 - "I'm convinced that those who see their world as movable nodes and links really have an edge." 🤣🤣🤣 That hurts my point set topology brain.

[@hottiemattie9355]

What rwally catches my attention is this laugh from one of the audience. Sounds like a man who's really just giving it all in his laugh. You hear him most during the first minutes of this TED Talk. Quite interesting to know how he can laugh that way. ;D

[@joebreskin]

I have been a whiteboard person for much of my life, ever since I graduated from chalk on blackboards. My design process - for hardware projects or website interfaces or policy documents or legal challenges - requires detailed and complete and precise visualization - and I still find this to go fastest using the whiteboard + post-it notes approach. I had really hoped that integrating Project with Visio was going to make my life better, and my work easier, but it didn't. The whiteboard still rules. I keep a stack of them cut to 3' X 4' leaned against the wall. The most compelling example I have ever seen of another person revealing his whiteboard-based process is on the extras disc DVD of a movie called "Taking Woodstock" by Ang Lee. The walls of their production tent are paved with a series of 4 X 8 marlite sheets (same stuff I use) that are each butted end-to-end to form a belt around the room. Most panels have been gridded into a huge 4' X 32' (?) spreadsheet. The cells are about 2"X 2" and accept post-it notes, The first sheet has the row headings and in these headings are the main project assets (actors, objects, etc.) the column headings are individual camera shots. What the camera sees in that shot is listed in that column Post-it notes can denote details, nuances, etc. In the "extra" movie, you get to watch the Director and his assistants realize how inserting an actress and an object into the opening long shot and reappear in front of the camera in several of the early scenes - far earlier than the script had called for - create a deep and important thread of meaning that the viewer is not even aware of as it is being developed. After the whiteboard comes the light table and pencil on paper. Everything is developed on 8.5 X 11 first at small scale and then at plan scale using overlapping pages that tile together to create a larger drawing. I use the eraser constantly and work both sides of the paper to move components around as their 'optimal' relationships emerge. Back in the 80's I started developing multidimensional CAD software to try to simplify and speed this process, but I am fully convinced that it just gets in the way, for me. And FWIW, I work in silence. Talking and listening to talking or listening to music distract and that DEFINITELY gets in the way of my visualization. HT/t ***** whose post on G+ this AM turned me on to this video, on the TED site

[@mohawkc91]

Agreed. I use post-it notes in conjunction with whiteboard descriptions to refine the notes, but not until I am satisfied with the flow and content. But I miss the smell of chalk sometimes.

[@LukeFlegg]

joe breskin Link please.

[@joebreskin]

Luke Flegg Well, here is a picture of me whiteboarding about 20 years ago, w/o using post-it notes www.breskin.com/breskinworks.htm

[@joebreskin]

OK Luke Flegg here is a GREAT example of using post-it technology to develop/refine an idea: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJ-1iISnjdObiKs

[@averywho6430]

The guy who started with the Big Bang is a legend, had me cackling.

[@willmpet]

I had been in printing for 20 years (or more) and the exercise of putting jelly down before you put down the peanut butter really teaches a bunch. There is actually a reason for putting one thing before another!

[@timdalton3684]

Ink, Ink, Baby! Trapping, or the lack thereof. Made me smile to see another printer in here.

[@timdalton3684]

Oh, I'm over 50 years in printing. Learned to mix inks to match PMS colors in 1972!

[@coma-body-stilllife]

The guy on laugh track is effective.

[@trog871]

He really is.

[@tangomoocow]

love the merciless laughing from the audience

[@okrajoe]

Suddenly I am hungry for toast.

[@pdm600]

5:35: “If they do it in complete silence, they do it much better and much more quickly”, vs. 7:14: “What’s really important is that it’s the conversations that are the important aspects, not just the models themselves”. The two appear to contradict each other, and I find the latter more intuitive.

[@Drarack]

First he says talking gets in the way, then he says it's the conversations that are important.

[@autofires]

Yeah confused me but I think he meant collaboration was important, as opposed to conversation. This ties in with other studies that claim (roughly speaking) that the brain activity associated with verbal communication inhibits other creative/intuitive aspects of brain activity.

[@tistoni09]

talking is sooo 20th century.... in the 21st century, we do not talk. yOu clearly lagging behind the cutting edge of social science.

[@maxvanbalgooy]

When he says conversation, think collaboration. His major point is that better ideas emerge by working with others to solve complex problems.

[@internationalleansixsigmai6828]

Important video to watch for any Lean / Lean Six Sigma trainer or coach who teaches Process Mapping and Value Street mapping

[@RSP13]

That guy's laugh...

[@trog871]

What about it...?

[@christianrubiales8395]

Systems Model = Nodes + Links Nodes -> Represent tangible objects Links -> Represent connections between the nodes

[@wendydegagne8363]

Very well done!

[@markdasihit6036]

A beautiful sales pitch.. I love his solution

[@MrID36]

I think the most efficient explanation was 1:26 Bread + Fire = Toast.

[@Kevin-Schmevin]

I thought the same thing!

[@ahmetsinan33]

I agree with you, but this simplicity may cause missing some important points. For example, Time is not provided to toast.

[@bernardinoflores3829]

Great job!

[@TheGerogero]

Good talk.

[@スターダンス]

I felt something that goes along with the NASA game.

[@LearningLabyrinthbyKimEdwards]

@Tom Wujec. Are you aware that the link to subscribe to your newsletter on the draw toast website is not working?

[@JohnVKaravitis]

Now THIS is a great TedTalk. John V. Karavitis

[@suecanada2313]

great idea

[@RekMone]

Solve problems through colaborative visualization...interesting.

[@shewalksandtalks9111]

Ive been trying to access the 'draw toast' website but it won't load. . . .has it been removed?

[@moniqart-artastherapy1929]

Visualisation is enhanced by drawing which is Art , creativity , I am an Art therapist , and Artist . Art helps in problem solving skills

[@tonmy21]

if i wud hv been told to draw a toast.. i wud hv made leo lifting a glass of champagne😂🤣😂

[@stevegeorge79]

How do get such a template on powerpoint?

[@fabiolaalcudiajimenez704]

Great!

[@visamap]

Thank you all

[@MacoveiVlad]

It does not result from the talk if he took into account the size of the work space when calculating the average number of nodes. I think the size of the work space influences the number of notes somewhat. More than five nodes look crowded on a A4 sheet but simplistic on a white board. Overall the talk is interesting, and someone definitely worked a lot on the slides. :)

[@nevasha27]

The problem is that much more interesting in the context where none of the participants know what Toast is

[@MrID36]

The pedant in me upon hearing 0:42 "Without using any words" couldn't help but notice the word 0:58 "Jam" written.

[@annlake9789]

excellent.

[@ogloscompas]

Silence would improve efficiency for the groups notes because of argumentative personalities. There's always a conflict

[@Lostpanda123]

Great talk!!!! :)

[@Urudrim]

is this how you youngsters describe flowcharts these days?

[@salahhe]

You, sir, deserve a cake for this comment!

[@mohawkc91]

Ever been in a company meeting?

[@mitchmclooney2726]

John Calis I have and I still agree with his cinicism. There was a time not so long ago when an individual needed the ability to do this kind of organizing on his or her own, not a team. Average people are coddled while exceptional people are ignored so that everyone can feel equally important when they actually aren't. Everyone gets an award for existing and deserves a job doing nothing.

[@carmelaticzon804]

***** It's true what you said, although I think that the most important point of the video is that we can't rely on just one expert's perspective of a model or system--especially in dealing with 'wicked' problems. Insights can come from any person in an organisation, and this exercise is a way of sifting through those insights and picking the best ones to make the whole organisation better.

[@mitchmclooney2726]

Carmela Ticzon I wasn't assigned to report on the video. My comments are my own opinions. I never expected anyone to interpret my opinion as some kind of elementary synopsis of the video. Yet again we are bombarded by the "teach for tests" generation. They make arguments that sound agreeable, but are actually passive aggressive. They argue semantics and fight with straw men to alleviate the need to face their own ignorance toward grasping subjects without full direction. In short, our society is failing, but our young people believe they can do no wrong and have nothing to learn from anyone but themselves. An ignorant generation and generations after them no doubt, we are doomed by our own offspring. Forced into debates of math, one plus one, rather than debates of passion and creativity. "It's true what you said." This is where your comment should have ended. The rest is conjecture based on your assumption that I am incapable of having thoughts outside the direct subject matter and am incapable of expressing those thoughts without control or direction from another human. Ergo, I am from a generation that is capable of thinking on their own. I feel very sorry for the obvious generation you come from. Again, we are doomed by our own ignorant offspring and their lack of respect for anything but their own generation. As if time had stood still for them, they will burn the world before they die. The baby boomers were nothing compared to what Y and Z have in store for us. Sad days ahead with their ignorance, lack of individuality, and lack of creativity.

[@DrRawley]

Better option: Play 'I am Bread'.

[@curious_one1156]

We have computers too.

[@The-Vay-AADS]

this is pretty funny ahahha :D but makes sense! love it!

[@BluePhoenix476513]

what would Aristotle think about this approach?

[@curious_one1156]

He would certainly say we need to use computers for it. Won't he ? Oh, wait....

[@catedoge3206]

Nice

[@wilpri]

The last one is most correct: heat source on bread. The group is all males.

[@GarethField]

Hi, I hope this adds to hope, an observation that the audience is both male and female. Best wishes,

[@kyraocity]

Redefine customer: a person or thing of a specified kind that one has to deal with. In academia, full time faculty have 3 customers relating to 1) research, 2) teaching, and 3) service. 1) Senior colleagues, and peer reviewers (scholarship and performance evaluation) 2) Students (eg, course design, delivery, and assessment by them and peers in your department/college) & 3) ppl with roles in shared governance (eg department faculty meetings and college/university committee work and professional service). Our first priority at an R1 institution is publishing scholarship. Teaching 2-3 courses a term is done pragmatically in exchange for summers off. And service is a principal of reciprocal exchange for maintaining democracy in a state or private social institution. This is the teamwork makes the dream or mission work at a micro and macro level. The make toast model may need to be iterative of all these conditions of being a professor not to mention work/life balance, privacy, sociality, and assessment and reinvention. Focusing solely on students or teaching is naive and simplistic for both our students and ourselves as faculty.

[@kyraocity]

Maybe the first iteration should be priorities. What do we value? If we can’t say it and measure it, we don’t mean it and succeed at it.

[@user-kh4we2ti9z]

works for anything ofcourse, programm engineering for example

[@ruthnoel7490]

nice vid

[@the49erfan11]

Class 75

[@gulchbrammer1967]

i am here from a reddit post

[@timmytimmy17]

5:33 and 7:14 don't mesh

[@stephen3418]

That guy in the audience should get free admittance to every Ted Talk

[@Nvrloptimism]

hows this different from mind maps exactly? not being sarcastic I'm genuinely interested in this stuff

[@Struckgold]

I'm hungry for toast. I'm going to make some toast right now.

[@thefinn12345]

Seems more like an advertisement.

[@aniso.g1915]

Just checked the website mate, it's totally free and open source and ad-free, maybe you'd be offering this guy some DATA to wrok with, nothing more.

[@willemvandebeek]

I never made toast in a frying pan... o_O Neither do I know any European that does... O_o

[@MultiSpecsavers]

Have you ever heard of French Toast, it's made in a frying pan, do try it, it's great

[@scarletovergods]

Lol, I just imagined what would the comment section look like if a woman gave this talk: "Conquer the world by drawing! Another simple and silly idea to solve all our problems.." "so much pseudo-intellectual gibberish and so little content" "that's like the oldest idea ever. how do these ppl even get invited to these things?!" "Ok, you promoted your groundbreaking drawing site, you can go home now" EDIT: I hope I'm not being misunderstood here. What I meant is that women tend to be judged more harshly by YT community when they give a TED talk that's not ''straight to the point" (.. or maybe just a TED talk). But hey, I could be wrong. The claim is still to be proven.

[@callumott2570]

What's it like being a fucking idiot? I've never met anyone as stupid as you before, and I'd just really like to know how you get through day to day life. You know... for science

[@callumott2570]

What makes you say that mate?

[@rawstarmusic]

..And they get good pay for doing the same as we did in school. They now do it for corporate people getting applauds and good pay. "Such an amazing simple idea that we can use in our business models that everyone understands". We did that at school or even before school. In the end you pay for all this business management when buying products.

[@AstroKedde]

you are delusional

[@MisterF_1984]

scarletovergods This is a scary comment as it's probably true. Would be an interesting social experiment to post duplicates of the same videos done with each gender and gauge the reactions.

[@LilyWilkerson]

Any LASA students here right now?

[@JavierSanchez-mo2ef]

Nice video, I need to do exactly this on today's meeting.

[@tksav]

Play I am Toast

[@Utrilus]

Games are made the same way, right? and movies and other entertainment

[@cramsagud8592]

I was unfortunate enough to stumble upon this video... His main point to success is a company called Rodale. I publishing company founded in 1930. I company that was passed down through the generations by birthright and marriage. The apex is about a bloated executive finally being forced to do the minimum required to successfully perform their hired function, and turn an established company around that they help destroy. Impressive.

[@aliannarodriguez1581]

I don’t know much about the leadership, but I can recall many wonderful books that they published over the years. I had the highest respect for the quality and integrity of their publications growing up. One hopes that the solutions they arrived at didn’t involve cutting corners in order to compete with other companies that were publishing cut-rate drivel.

[@coellao5983]

mum make me a toast

[@swsephy]

He's wicked smaht.

[@carloshenriquemelquiades5791]

top

[@jonnomonodesu]

Toast

[@SteveGouldinSpain]

Would be good in 3D because it would give the links more flexibility and nodes could be aligned with better grouping - virtual app waiting to happen!

[@DoveArney]

glad ur back old friend..missed u

[@HeavyboxesDIYMaster]

Normally, I would agree that 3D is better. However, the point of 2D and nodes and links is to take a complex process and simplify it and make it practical to visualize and analyze. A 3D model requires additional review to see which perspectives and angles would be best for viewing and whether rotating the model would be an option. This moves the diagram toward complexity and away from practicality.

[@SteveGouldinSpain]

I take your point Heavyboxes , but imagine you are inside the model, zooming around in virtual reality. This is why they use VR for modelling proteins etc, because the view in 3D affords a much clearer perspective.

[@benliebrand5271]

That is pretty cool!

[@parishsirius]

Steve Gould how about model coming to your surrounding.. like the microsoft's hololens.... those days arent that far now i guess

[@RichTheKid1]

cybernetcs

[@whyilee]

This is a great approach to simple problems, but definitely not to wicked problems. This person is using this term incorrectly. Still a nice video

[@stashguard6823]

The talk got wicked problems wrong... The talk is merely about alignment problems of heterogenous viewpoints... A wicked problem can not be aligned by an "simple" agreement. Each solution produces other problems, due to (e.g) conflincting objectives of completely independent stakeholders. All your examples are based on different viewpoints on the same subject, not on completly contradicting requirements where, if you reach one objective, you are simply can't achieve an other objectives. In real wicked problems, there is just no "real" agreement without excluding a significant share of the stakeholders.

[@Pewerle]

Mom make me toast xdd

[@business5292]

Sounds like the Toastmaster himself was in the audience

[@jandroid33]

The bumblebee does not know that it can't make toast.

[@TheAnnoyingGunner]

It can. A tiny toaster with a tiny slice of bread. You never see them because they only take them out at night.

[@blackcloud5157]

wtf who uses a frying pan to toast? greetings from europe, no one does this! (i guess and hope)

[@nikolarajkovic2169]

(In funny voice used to mock people) "They are from Europe, they dont have money for a toaster, everybody knows that"

[@dougharper1492]

Have you heard of French toast? It’s amazing!!!

[@hariseldon3786]

Big Problem - with the massively increased INTOLERANCE (thank you ideological university professors; particularly in the humanities) "a diversity of ideas" is no longer palatable in so many organisations that all this sort of stuff is "chilled" - rather, ideas are echo-chambered, group think (or you will be effectively de-platformed or canceled) that this very effective suggestion for solution finding, is effectively quashed. Thanks "educators".

[@roidroid]

3:00 "less than 5 nodes and the drawing seems trivial". So they're accurate flowcharts then. Newsflash: Making toast is trivial.

[@TwistedSoul2002]

This has nothing to do with problem solving- let alone solving a 'wicked' problem. This is process mapping- it only works if you know each step in the solution... 🙄

[@dsmyify]

Do you know what a wicked problem is?

[@kallistiX1]

_Degrees of Freedom_ Karl Schroeder

[@salahhe]

God, I hate it when I watch a ted and it turns out to be some guy who sells something.

[@HeavyboxesDIYMaster]

Joey G All group speakers are selling something. Sometimes it is to sell themselves, their ideas, or their work. Some give profound talks and at the end they have a product to sell. Some sell for money and others just want to get reimbursed for expenses and sell for free. This is a short clip so I don't know if there is a product at the end. Regardless, TED talks took something that is usually an hour long, and snipped out part of the talk, which allows anyone to view it and avoid any of the negative stuff (the actually selling part). But the original talk itself, was designed to sell something, in exchange for money. Those who have the eyes to see it, can see it without actually seeing it.

[@mhtinla]

This is still linear. We live in a non-linear world.

[@Utrilus]

mhtinla When you think about it, the second version is already a nonlinear version cause the drawings are separate and can be connected whatever way we choose Or would the nonlinear version be a picture of a kitchen that shows the toast in a toaster where the cutting board has bread on it and some butter ready to be used with a knife and a person waiting for the toast to pop up. A drawing with a implied story

[@MonkeyKong21]

I buy bread and then employ a toaster

[@mitchmclooney2726]

Most businesses can't afford a team of graduate school dropouts to waste time doing this kind of thing nowadays.

[@alergames147]

these views seem boted

[@Stabacs]

There are people making toast in a pan?

[@romyjugroo4542]

Brainstorming session with less words and more diagrams,those who wish may have a quick nap unnoticed.Nice drawings.