The Fastest Way / Compact Edition
A clearer way
to solve
problems.
The Fastest Way (Compact Edition)
The method in a two-hour read. Paperback & Kindle, out now on Amazon, in English and in Dutch.
The method in two hours / Pieter Amersfoort
Why structure helps
Problems manifest in many forms and can vary significantly in their impact on our lives. Some challenges are so urgent and consuming that they dominate your thoughts: they keep you awake at night and demand immediate attention. Solving problems does not always have to be stressful or exhausting. Tackling challenges can be enjoyable and fulfilling.
When we solve problems, we improve our lives. Solving problems expands opportunities, eases concerns, and helps regain peace of mind. It also brings satisfaction. Resolving problems is essential.
"The Fastest Way" provides practical tools, methods, and strategies that empower you to address problems quickly and efficiently. It offers a comprehensive system to move from confusion to clarity, guiding you from recognizing a problem to developing and implementing solutions.
The Integrated Framework
The method rests on three tools that work together: four rules that hold at every stage, a map that tells you where you are, and four processes that set your route through it.
The Rules
Tell you how to think. Four principles that hold at every stage.
- Make Explicit - turn vague complaints into clear, measurable definitions
- Decompose - break overwhelming problems into parts that fit human working memory
- Create Focus - strip away noise and concentrate effort where it matters most
- Evaluate - catch errors early, when they cost minutes instead of months
The Map
Tells you where you are. Four quadrants, one question each.
- Problem Definition - what is the problem?
- Problem Analysis - what causes it?
- Solution Design - what will solve it?
- Solution Implementation - did the solution work?
The Processes
Tell you how to move. Four routes, matched to what you face.
- Primary - for familiar problems with a known path
- First Time Right - for high-stakes work that cannot fail
- Iterative - for evolving requirements and moving targets
- Exploratory - for uncharted territory, where even the goal is unclear
The Rules: how to think
The Map: where you are
The Map is built from two axes. Left to right runs from problem to solution; bottom to top runs from concrete to conceptual. Those two cuts produce the four quadrants.
Most wasted effort comes from working in one quadrant while believing you are in another. The Map makes that mistake visible in seconds.
The Processes: how to move
Which route you take is not a matter of taste. It follows from what failure would cost, how familiar the ground is, and how many attempts you can afford.
Nothing Here Was Invented For The Occasion
The method draws on three centuries of hard-won thinking: Descartes on breaking a problem into parts, Pólya on how solving actually proceeds, and Deming on testing what you build. What has been missing is a single system that puts them to work together, in the order you need them.
It belongs to no one field. It runs the same for a physician choosing a treatment, a consultant scoping an engagement, an engineer chasing a defect, or a teacher rebuilding a lesson that keeps failing. The subject changes; the structure does not.
Start With The Free Templates
Appendix D of the book as a printable workbook: the four Rules, the Map, the four Processes, and the one-page Reference Card, every table with room to write in. Free, no sign-up, useful on a real problem this week.
Get the free templatesThe Book
You solve most problems before you notice them. Some you don't. Those are the ones that wake you at three in the morning: the project that keeps slipping, the decision that went wrong and is still going wrong, the diagnosis that does not add up. You have already tried the obvious answer, and it did not hold.
Here is the uncomfortable part: the harder you push, the worse you think. Under pressure the mind narrows. Working memory fills, information goes missing, and the first plausible answer gets mistaken for the right one. Effort is not the lever. Structure is.
The Fastest Way (Compact Edition)
The Rules, the Map, and the Processes distilled into a two-hour read for busy professionals. Use it as a refresher after the full book, or as a test drive before it.
Short enough to know by heart. Broad enough for a leaking tap, a clinical decision, or a shrinking market. It closes with a quick reference card to keep beside you.
One method. Two hours to read. Three tools. Start Monday morning.
Ook in het Nederlands: De Snelste Weg (Compacte Editie): dezelfde methode, 150 pagina’s, ISBN 978-90-836489-7-2. Te vinden onder Nederlandse editie in de winkelkiezer hieronder.
Choose your edition and store
English edition
Nederlandse editie
Buying from your own store avoids import charges and the longer delivery window. The Kindle edition is listed on the same page.
The Paradox: Why Rigor Equals Speed
The Fastest Way Is Not About Rushing
Problems create stress and discomfort. This urgency creates common obstacles: the unpleasant feeling of unresolved issues pushes us toward quick fixes instead of thoughtful solutions, time pressure prompts us to skip critical steps, and we fall back on familiar strategies that may limit our ability to identify better alternatives.
However, this approach is an illusion of speed. It gives you the psychological relief of action, "I am doing something!", but it does not give you actual speed toward a working solution. Rigor is not the enemy of speed. Rigor is the foundation of speed. If you are running in the wrong direction, it does not make sense to run faster.
Understanding Our Limitations: Bounded Rationality
We all operate under what behavioral scientists call bounded rationality. We are not perfect logic machines. We have limits:
- Limited Working Memory: We can only hold a few items in our heads at once (roughly 7 +/- 2)
- Limited Information: We rarely have complete data
- Limited Time: We face pressure to decide quickly
Structure serves as artificial scaffolding for our thinking. It breaks complex problems into chunks that fit within our limits. It forces us to write things down (externalizing memory). It provides checkpoints to prevent costly jumps to conclusions.
Who Is This For?
This method is for anyone who solves problems personally or professionally, focusing on those seeking practical, systematic methods to address challenges. Professionals who apply these methods daily include:
- Management consultants who define organizational challenges and guide decision-making
- Medical practitioners who evaluate symptoms, test hypotheses, and determine treatments
- Helpdesk personnel who analyze user issues and trace technical causes
- IT specialists who diagnose complex system failures and design sustainable solutions
- Automotive technicians who identify faults through structured investigation
- Students and educators seeking systematic approaches to learning and teaching problem-solving
Don't hesitate to contact us with your questions about structured problem solving.
Ready to solve problems faster by solving them correctly?