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THE PROBLEM SOLVING POCKETBOOK By Jonne Ceserani Drawings by Phil Hailstone Published by: Management Pocketbooks Ltd Laurel House, Station Approach, Alresford, Hants SO24 9JH, U.K. Tel: +44 (0)1962 735573 Fax: +44 (0)1962 733637 E-mail: salespocketbook.co.uk Website: www.pocketbook.co.uk MANAGEMENT POCKETBOOKS All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers. This edition published in 2003. Reprinted 2004, 2006. © Jonne Ceserani 2003 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data - A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN -13 978 1 903776 04 9 ISBN -10 1 903776 04 X Design, typesetting and graphics by efex ltd Printed in U.K. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1thinking, listening for ideas, Introduction to problem solving in-out listening, maximising communication, evaluation and PERCEPTIONS THAT 5itemised response PROMOTE PROBLEM SOLVING Operation world, innovation PLANNING 67 world, cycling worlds, reframe Task analysis, backward forward your thinking, managing risk planning, important vs urgent and the capacity to experiment STRUCTURES FOR 77 ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES 19 PROBLEM SOLVING MEETINGS (ACCOUNTABILITY!) Use a map, nine-step model, Problem owner, facilitator, best current thinking resources, winning commitment BEHAVIOUR & ORGANISATIONAL CLIMATE Using your energy productively, discounting, using (misusing) 29 9HOW TO USE THE NINE-STEP MODEL Task analysis, springboards, excursion, selection, selection based upon intrigue, idea 83 questions, managing ideas, decisions, development, rational solutions opinions, facts, best current from non-sense, next steps AUTHOR'S NOTE The Synectics problem solving structure and the core tools for using it are also described in Big ideas, putting the zest into creativity and innovation at work, published by Kogan Page. Big ideas is a leadership book describing a range of perspectives about leadership style, behaviour, values, beliefs and tools for managing these in a commercial world. This pocketbook is a handy reference workbook that focuses entirely on problem solving and the tools and techniques to raise your probability of success. While some of the ideas are repeated you will find numerous examples of how to use the tools in this book, not available elsewhere. I NTRODUCTION 1INTRODUCTION A SERIES OF PROBLEM SOLVING MEETINGS I regard life as a series of problem solving meetings, particularly business life. Think about it. Almost everything you do requires the same basic steps: GImagine a possible future GThink about some ideas to achieve this (existing and/or new ideas) GMake some choices GRefine the choice to establish a solution GTake action You may do this on your own or with others, therefore the meeting may be in your head or involve huge groups of people. It may be completed in an instant, almost a reflex, or it may take years. It does not matter because the underlying process is always the same. This is great! It means that being good at solving problems is a life skill that will often help you to be successful. 2INTRODUCTION A SYSTEM OF BEHAVIOURS, TOOLS & TECHNIQUES Forty years ago two people in a design invention team became curious about why it was that on some days they had productive problem solving sessions and on others the group argued a lot and went round in circles. They began to videotape the meetings and review the behaviour of the group. They noticed recurring behaviours, some very useful and constructive, others very destructive. They decided to try and change how they organised and behaved in meetings, doing more of the constructive things and finding new ways of managing the destructive behaviour. They were successful and became more effective by their measures. The two men also began to wonder if they could make creativity and innovation more than just an accident. 3INTRODUCTION A SYSTEM OF BEHAVIOURS, TOOLS & TECHNIQUES SYNECTICS They created a new word, Synectics. The word is derived from the Greek syn, the bringing together of diverse elements, and ectos, from outside. This ongoing research has given birth to a growing body of knowledge concerned with collaborative effort focused on problem solving. From continued observation of problem solving invention and design sessions across a broad spectrum of industries, a set of tools and structures has been developed which allows people to improve their probability of success when using the processes of creativity, eg: GHaving ideas GBeing creative when you want to be GMaking choices when looking for new ways of working GDeveloping new solutions from the kind of woolly ideas people first come up with when speculating about possible futures These tools and processes are used in many major international firms across the globe. 4P ERCEPTIONS T H AT P R O M OT E P R O B L E M S O LV I N G 5PERCEPTIONS THAT PROMOTE PROBLEM SOLVING IF YOU BELIEVE If you believe you will solve a problem then you will. Trite words, or a truth about life? Listen to a sportsman, sports commentator or coach. In snooker, for example, when a player is not performing well you will hear people saying, 'His mental game is not there'. Players talk about being in the zone, meaning being in a mental state that includes believing in success. For some reason many of us regard this as obvious for sport, but completely fail to attach any importance to the same idea at work. Successful problem solving begins with framing - perceiving the issue or task in an appropriate way that will lead us to success. 6PERCEPTIONS THAT PROMOTE PROBLEM SOLVING HALF EMPTY OR HALF FULL? You will have heard the expression: Is the glass half empty or half full? Are you someone who thinks of life pessimistically as half empty, or optimistically as half full? How you think about a problem will change the chemistry of your brain as it prepares itself to fight, or defend, etc. Thinking half full tends to make problem solving easier. For those of you who have been on a course and heard that all problems are opportunities, this is fine providing you genuinely believe it. If you just use the words nothing will change. What follows in this section are some models and thoughts giving you useful ways to think about the world to aid problem solving. 7PERCEPTIONS THAT PROMOTE PROBLEM SOLVING CYCLING WORLDS OPERATIONAL WORLD You spend most of your time in an operational world. It is a world associated with carrying out routine activities, in learned or programmed ways. You base your decisions on procedures or rules and expect to experience successful outcomes, which you normally do. Procedures Routine GGGDriving a car is a common example: mostly you arrive at your destination in one piece Working on a production line is associated with a repetitive set of processes that uses a common set of inputs to manufacture a stream of identical products Office administrative procedures are another example of routine activities Rules Operation cycle Known solution 8PERCEPTIONS THAT PROMOTE PROBLEM SOLVING CYCLING WORLDS OPERATIONAL WORLD The operational approach is a focused blinkered way of working, which is perfectly fine providing you continue to experience successful outcomes. What are you to do if existing solutions, and any known alternatives, begin to fail? What if you experience success and also see that new opportunities could be identified? You need a different way of working. You will have to cross over into the innovation world. This is a place where you will suspend your normal way of working and behave very differently. 9PERCEPTIONS THAT PROMOTE PROBLEM SOLVING CYCLING WORLDS INNOVATION WORLD Speculative exploration is necessary in order for something new to be imagined. Year in, year out, the moon shines in the sky. One day someone must have looked up and acknowledged this. 'I wish I could visit the moon. I wonder how I Speculate could do that?' Develop Someone has to speculate to provide a view into a solution possible future, so that you can have an idea and engage in some idea development. Innovation cycle 'I know, cannons fire projectiles. I'll build a large cannon. It doesn't work. Firework rockets may be the answer. I will build a large rocket. Still doesn't work but it does mean a lighter object can Experiment be made to travel through space like a cannon ball. Constructive Clearly this needs further ideas ¼.' review 10 PERCEPTIONS THAT PROMOTE PROBLEM SOLVING CYCLING WORLDS INNOVATION WORLD You could have been that person. You speculated, had an idea, and tried it as a possible solution. Clearly, since it does not work, you will need further activity to refine or modify the idea. Then you can try some further experimental action. In order to learn from failure you will want to engage in constructive evaluation. This cycle of activity is dramatically different from the operational world, which is associated with tunnel vision and focus on task to the exclusion of other interference. The innovation world needs an open mind, and fun-loving childlike behaviour. 11 PERCEPTIONS THAT PROMOTE PROBLEM SOLVING CYCLING WORLDS Routine Speculate Procedures Develop solution Operation Innovation cycle cycle Rules Experiment Known Constructive solution review 12 PERCEPTIONS THAT PROMOTE PROBLEM SOLVING CYCLING WORLDS In a business these two worlds are constantly in conflict: GOperational thinking is about now and knowing the answer GInnovative thinking is about the future and not knowing If we make suggestions to you, when we are in innovation mode, about how you can run your business differently, and you are thinking operationally, you will be able to tell us why none of our suggestions will work. You will probably be right as well, and the conversation will be pointless. 13 PERCEPTIONS THAT PROMOTE PROBLEM SOLVING REFRAME YOUR THINKING Reframing is the process of taking a situation and thinking about it from different perspectives. A paradigm shift is an example of a reframe. Lucozade was a drink for ill people, now it is a health drink. If you have a problem that needs solving, it is because your thinking is stuck, so unstick it using metaphors or analogies. This is also fun, which helps the climate in a useful way, as you will read shortly. Telling people you are feeling a bit pressured may describe your problem but it does not sound much when framed that way. Telling them you feel the weight of the whole world pressing on you is more graphic, ridiculous, a metaphor and all the more powerful for being so. In framing an issue, the more graphically you can help people visualise the task and get a feel for the emotion and energy that go with it, the more likely you are to identify and work on the real issue. 14 PERCEPTIONS THAT PROMOTE PROBLEM SOLVING MANAGING RISK & THE CAPACITY TO EXPERIMENT You have probably read slogans developed for total quality programmes, eg: Do it once, do it right Right first time The same companies that adopt these slogans also often say about themselves: we are risk takers, and our employees are empowered to experiment with new ideas (providing they get it right first time, of course!). We know a company that tried to spread all four of the messages above, usually in the same breath. The messages are contradictory and belong in different worlds. In the operational world it is appropriate to expect people to perform a task correctly and to make a minimum of errors. It is about doing what we know, in a way we understand, for a predictable outcome. You now know that it is impossible to enter the innovation world unless you are able to speculate, and experiment. 15 PERCEPTIONS THAT PROMOTE PROBLEM SOLVING MANAGING RISK & THE CAPACITY TO EXPERIMENT High Ostrich Ostrich Gambler Gambler Real risk Clerk Clerk Experimenter Experimenter 16 Low Low Emotional / subjective risk High PERCEPTIONS THAT PROMOTE PROBLEM SOLVING MANAGING RISK & THE CAPACITY TO EXPERIMENT Real risk is when it actually hurts if you fail. If you jump off a cliff there is a real risk you will get hurt when you hit the ground. Emotional risk is the nervous feeling of excitement you have when you are not sure about an outcome, like stage-fright. GGamblers take real risks. Consistent losses lead to bankruptcy. Gambling is exciting, therefore highly emotionally charged. Gambling is a place where it is important to know the outcomes so that you can measure the risk, the odds Not a safe place for innovation. GClerks operate in routine ways, delivering routine known outcomes Not a safe place for innovation. 17 PERCEPTIONS THAT PROMOTE PROBLEM SOLVING MANAGING RISK & THE CAPACITY TO EXPERIMENT GOstriches, by tradition, operate with their heads buried in the sand. This is a dangerous place to be. It feels safe, yet danger may lurk nearby. The entrepreneur, possibly an engineer with an acclaimed new product he produces from his garage, may feel very successful. However, although an excellent engineer, his skills do not include finance, so he is not aware of growing receivables that are taking him towards bankruptcy. He is amazed when the bank manager arrives to foreclose on his mortgage. Not a safe place for innovation. GThe experimenter is able to innovate, take risks, make mistakes, fail, and continue. An experimenter is safe because he or she is minimising the real risk of failure, while the excitement of learning and experimenting provides the energy and drive to continue. If you set out to develop a new explosive it is best done in a test tube. The mistakes will be survivable. 18 R OLES & RESPONSIBILITIES ( AC C O U N TA B I L I T Y !