Create your own success at work, at home, and in life with a proven system that teaches you to embrace more optimism and proactivity.

Proactive Problem Solving: The three little words of business success. The need for this book became real to Doug Hall as he experienced the thrills and challenges of leading a fast-growing manufacturing company, the Brain Brew Bourbon Distillery. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Brain Brew grew from shipping a few thousand cases to shipping over 100,000 cases a year.

Doug invites you to improve your work, home, and life in all facets. Instead of accepting life’s frustrations as “just the way it is,” discover how to break free of the comfortable relationships you’ve developed with problems that keep you from attaining the reward of achieving your goals and dreams.

Proactive Problem Solving begins by paying attention in the moment, ever mindful and curious. It involves experimentation and experiences that connect you to your sensory awareness, your curiosity, and your inherent mission for meaningfulness.

Proactive Problem Solving unveils the system that will teach you and your team how to move your mindset from “reactive” to embracing a more optimistic and proactive way of life. Doug’s insights and methods are abundant and immediately actionable. Everyone wins when you put Proactive Problem Solving to work.

Doug Hall's profile page

Doug Hall graduated with a degree in chemical engineering at the University of Maine. Doug’s work from a mechanical, electrical, and chemical perspective, plus his innovation experiences, landed him a job at Procter & Gamble, first as an engineer at their Mehoopany Paper Mill, then in brand management at the company headquarters on 6th Street in Cincinnati. Over 10 years he was promoted up through the ranks as Brand Manager, Associate Advertising Manager, and eventually as leader of the P&G Invention Team. Working together with Eric Schulz, a kindred spirit, they invented and shipped a record nine innovations for P&G brands in a 12-month period. His success wasn’t because they were smarter. Rather, it was because they focused on creating systems that enabled them to work faster and smarter.

After 10 years, Doug retired as an “employee” and founded what is known today as the Eureka! Ranch, an innovation consulting and training company. Multiple television appearances and several books later, he found himself wondering why some Eureka! Inventing sessions were more productive than others. Working with three statisticians, he embarked on two research projects.

The first study focused on the creation of ideas. It included surveys every 45 minutes as teams from Nike, Walt Disney, American Express, Procter & Gamble, Pepsi-Cola, and others came to Eureka! Ranch to invent big ideas. A team measured them before, during, and after each project. From this analysis they discovered how Stimulus, Diversity, and Driving Out Fear impacted project success.

The second study focused on what made ideas successful in the marketplace. Here he studied quantitative data on more than 20,000 ideas from the Eureka! Ranch archives and the database of AcuPOLL, a market research company Doug founded and eventually sold. From this analysis, he discovered how to quantify Meaningful Uniqueness as well as how to improve how ideas are communicated.

The studies were supplemented with real-world research on more than $20 billion in active improvement projects in our Innovation Engineering portal and a literature review of more than 2,000 academic articles. This research led to more books and articles. It also resulted in Doug receiving honorary doctorates from the University of Maine and the University of Prince Edward Island.

The research gave birth to a new field of academic study, management science, and business leadership known as Innovation Engineering. The core Innovation Engineering curriculum involves nine college courses of content and leads to associate degrees, graduate certificates, and Blue and Black Belt certifications by the Innovation Engineering Institute.

A few years ago, Doug started doing experiments on how wood interacts with whiskey. This work led to the creation of Brain Brew Custom Whiskey and WoodCraft Bourbon Blender franchising with co-founder Joe Girgash. Leading the whiskey business through rapid growth caused him to rethink the importance of Proactive Problem Solving. And thus, early one winter morning, the idea for this book was born. Doug’s goal is to use what he’s learned from more than 50 years of innovation to help everyone fix problems and find ideas for working smarter.

“Doug’s joyful approach shows how to bring energy and fun to making things happen proactively.”
—Doug Potter, Eureka!Europe

“When Doug meets Disney, creativity ne’er wanes. Our team explodes when he jump-starts our brains!”
—Ellen Guidera, Vice President, The Walt Disney Company

“I can see it improving my non-business life for me and my family interactions.”
—Dave Kilbury, retired business leader

“This is quite simply a brilliant book in its clarity, practical application, and easily digested examples. I have been applying the tenets of Doug’s thinking for 25 years and it works, whether it’s building billion-dollar brands or helping you navigate your way around a nagging problem.... A must read!”
—Ken Grier, founder of De-Still Creative Ltd.

“Doug provides understanding and guidance on the vital importance of stimulating joy in work by enabling employees to become part of the improvement of their work systems.”
—Kevin E. Cahill, Executive, The W. Edwards Deming Institute

“For anyone who leads teams, serves on teams, or wants their organization to perform at a high level, you need to read and truly digest Proactive Problem Solving.”
—R. Bruce Montgomery Jr., Senior Operating Partner, Bourne Partners

“In Proactive Problem Solving, Doug Hall reminds us that the practices, opportunities, and solutions are different daily. He inspires us to continuously seek different and innovative ways to respond to our challenges and reach our goals.”
—Rufus Glasper, Ph.D., President and CEO, League for Innovation in the Community College

“Read it, study it, apply it, try any or all of the techniques, and prepare to be stunningly surprised at the results!”
—Barry J. Bruns, Colonel, United State Air Force (Retired)

“At its core, Doug Hall’s Proactive Problem Solving is about a better, faster way to turn brain matter into ideas.”
—George Bradt, founder of PrimeGenesis

“Doug’s energy for changing the world, one pioneer at a time, is admirable. His unwavering determination and relentless pursuit to teach others how to make a meaningful difference redefines what is possible.”
—Corinne Dupuy, Assistant Dean, College of Engineering, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

“Proactive Problem Solving uses case studies to show how simple and effective problem solving can be. It is a book I will re-read many times.”
—James MacHattie, Executive Director, the College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts of Canada

“This book is packed full of practical, relevant tools and insights that will help you deliver more effectively whatever your role, whatever your industry, for big, complex projects and small problems alike.”
—Graeme Crombie, Matrix, Scotland

“Doug Hall has done it again... an awesome guide to achieve amazing outcomes!”
—Lisa Henderson, Director of Client Services, Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center

“The book offers great insights on how to proactively solve problems. It also captures the daily challenges of business and ways to solve problems in a concise, employee-engaging, and fun manner.”
—Rick Rothwell, Systems Expert

“Employment empowerment is a huge challenge, and Doug has proven ways for your employees to become proactive problem solvers.”
—Kip Knight, Founder, CMO Coaches