Why this book exists

Every problem has a cause. We stopped teaching kids how to find it.

Randy D. Tison served seven years on active duty in the U.S. Navy before bringing that same discipline to the private sector. For more than 20 years since, he has worked in supplier quality and reliability — diagnosing why systems fail and building the processes that keep them from failing again. His career spans automotive, aerospace, aluminum, and industrial manufacturing, rising to VP of Quality & Technical Services at AZZ Precoat Metals.

About a decade ago, something started bothering him on the job. New hires — and experienced workers — couldn't solve problems. Not because they lacked effort or intelligence. Because no one had ever taught them how.

So he started asking a different question: where does problem-solving get learned?

He and his wife homeschooled three of their kids. The gap showed up there too.

Outside of work, Randy is an Ironman athlete and pursues blacksmithing, 3D printing, hiking, and climbing.

SOLVED grew out of that gap. It takes the same root cause thinking Randy has applied for decades in professional manufacturing — DMAIC, Six Sigma, PDCA, fishbone diagrams, 5 Whys — and rebuilds it from the ground up for kids ages 10–14. The tools are real. The stakes are real. And the skills, once learned, don't go away.

Books by Randy D. Tison