Fancy a quickie?

I like to present clients, students and blog readers with simple, memorable ideas. I make this choice, not because I think these people are stupid, but to help those interested in the subject, who lead busy lives.

Typically in problem solving I tend to use a knocked down version of the Buffalo Group creative problem solving method. Instead of 6 phases, I work with 3 + 1. Depending on the circumstances I may or may not make the method explicit. People don't always want or need to see and understand the workings of the internal combustion engine to get from A to B in a car.

When I make the method explicit, I often use the analogy of human sexual relations to clarify the stages. CPS comprises the 3 diamonds: problem exploration, idea generation, implementation + monitoring and evaluation. In the metaphor this translates to: foreplay, intercourse, climax + 'How was it for you?'

(Robert Brasington kites have full and knock down representations of the Buffalo Method. NLP fans may note that they facilitate movement in stuck problems by lifting people's focus out of the Kinaesthetic realm skywards.)

John Cleese gives an interesting lesson in sex education in the film ' The Meaning of Life', (shown here with Portugese sub titles). He states that the purpose of foreplay is to make intercourse easier:



During the practical demonstration he tells the class to 'take foreplay as read', because they covered it in a previous lesson. Unfortunately many of my clients and students wish to do the same, because they find the techniques fascinating and tend to think that creative problem solving happens when ideas are flowing. They haven't covered it in a previous session, so find that idea generation is more difficult or doesn't help resolve the problem.

Human seduction and sexual relations depend on the individual/s concerned. What works for one, may leave another cold. Erogenous zones for one person may be tickle centres for another and create distance between the partners. A problem may seem straightforward on the surface but comprise a number of interconnected parts. If there is a high degree of what Rittel/Mason & Mitroff describe as Wickedness, then work must be done to find a way in to tame it. There may be a number of different areas of a problem that can be tackled but some may lead to fruitful outcomes and others to blind alleys. If there is limited power or scope to influence a particular area then it may be better to move on to parts that are amenable to change.

Sometimes the problem is in the viewer. An issue can be looked at from different angles or reframed so that it becomes more manageable. Dr Abhay Bang reflected on an overwhelming problem and asked himself: 'Do I really need to solve all the problems, all the links in the chain of this cause of death?' I started to think: 'Where is the weakest link I can attack?' The problem owner may also be part of the problem and progress could be made by considering what he/she could do to change him/herself.

A problem well defined is a problem half solved is a useful way of considering the first phase of the method or foreplay.

This notion is sometimes greeted with a groan (much like the schoolboys' response when John Cleese threatens to set an exam.) This assumes that the method will take a long time and require lots of hard work (ie boring.)

It ain't necessarily so.

Sex isn't always the same in terms of quality, quantity or duration. Foreplay can be a long drawn out meal with lots of flirting and interaction or may take the form of a fierce argument between partners. Partners may not always reach a climax and solo sex is also possible. A look, a brief exchange and heightened attraction may do it, as Eban Page explains in his 'cocky and funny' dating system under the name David DeAngelo (aimed at nerdy guys who can't get a date.)

In creative problem solving problem exploration/definition can be done over time in a variety of conversations and contexts. It's possible to snatch little bits of time here and there and I've witnessed successful work done in corridor conversations or water cooler exchanges. Appropriate techniques can be introduced quietly without labelling them as anything special. People are pulled in by the energy and fun of tackling something in a different way, particularly if the problem is entrenched and stuck.

Counter intuitive techniques can be particularly effective in warming up colleagues to the idea of tackling something difficult. Steve Jobs believes people are inherently creative, but need opportunity and tools to unleash this. 'Not tonight, Josephine, I have a headache' can be challenged in various ways. When we open to the possibility that our colleagues might be more creative than we think, we can run creative problem solving processes on the sly and see what emerges. Something as simple as a metaphor can stimulate thinking that is unconstrained by the heavy weight of the real problem - 'What would Homer do?'. A simple reverse brainstorm can also clear a log jam in thinking: 'How can we make this problem catastrophic?'

The method can be run through fast, revisiting one or more phases later for further iterations.

Heinz latched on to the idea of rapid problem solving and snatching opportunities where we can in the famous soup commercial, commenting on male stamina:



'Ready in two minutes'

Reflecting on inventories

I'm not a big fan of using standard psychometric tests in recruitment and selection.

One way I like to use personality inventories is in coaching, as a way to help show someone how well they have developed.

For example, managers often come to me because they are overwhelmed with stress and struggle to keep going in the job. After we've worked together for a while and focussed on ways of reducing the pressure, shifting mindsets, delegating and managing self and others better, it's useful to sit back and reflect.



What aspects of their personality may have contributed to the problem?

Using NEO five factor inventory, we can focus on a few dimensions that may have contributed to stress in the past, but which, with lower scores, are more manageable.

High Conscientiousness, where a manager may work to such high standards that they feel responsible for everything, coupled with High Agreeableness, where a manager may be reluctant to discipline staff and keen to avoid conflict at all costs, can increase pressure on the individual. When the manager has High Sensitivity and worries about things going wrong or perceived criticism from superiors or subordinates, it may take very little for this person to crack under the strain.

By introducing these concepts when things are improving, the manager may feel much less defensive about the dimensions and relevant descriptions, but recognise the elements that have caused trouble. These can then be used as a personal tracking system to help maintain pressure at a safe and healthy level.

Cooperation not guns

Attack invites defence. Opposing sides become caught in vicious circles of attack and retribution.

How we can break the cyle?

Arna Mer defied Israeli convention by marrying a communist, Christian, Arab Palestinian, Saliva Khamis. She could no longer work as a teacher, so she trained as a therapist and founded a centre in the Jenin refugee camp. This contained a theatre, which was destroyed during the second intifada. Her son the Israeli actor and film maker, Juliano Mer-Khamis, recreated the Freedom Theatre and worked with local children there until last week, when he was shot dead by an anonymous gunman:



The theatre worked therapeutically with young people from ages 5 to 21. Part of the aim was to shift away from victim consciousness and foster confidence and broader thinking. Jule challenged all authority including patriarchy and was an advocate for feminism in his work:



Edward Said and Daniel Barenboim founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra to bring together Arab and Israeli young people to play classical music.



When young people are brought up in a society that may promote the idea that people of the other side are less than human and share no common characteristics, striving for a common goal helps to break down these preconceptions and increase understanding. At the very least, bringing young people together, who would normally never meet, is a start.

10th anniversary interview:




Both projects encourage young people to reflect on experience and make conscious choices in future.

Update

The murderer of Juliano Mer Khamis has not been found. The Freedom Theatre in Jenin has been attacked by Israeli security forces.

Here is an Open letter to the Israeli Security Apparatus:

...'After the attack on The Freedom Theatre's office and multimedia centre, during which you arrested our head technician Adnan Naghnaghiye and Bilal Saadi, the chairperson of The Freedom Theatre Board in Jenin; and after you have for two weeks refused Adnan and Bilaal access to a lawyer, treated them inhumanely and denied them their basic human rights, and after the arrest of our acting student Rami Hwayel, we hereby state:

We encourage all efforts to find whoever is responsible for the brutal murder of Juliano Mer Khamis and we are deeply concerned over the fact that the murderer has not yet been found. Nevertheless we reject the inhumane methods that you apply in investigating the murder. The Freedom Theatre has been seriously damaged by your actions which have further implanted fear and trauma not only among our students and employees but also into the very society we aim to empower.

By acting the way that you act you have once again proved to the residents of Jenin refugee camp as well as to the outside world that the only methods you know are the ones involving violence, terror and fear. We in The Freedom Theatre have nothing to conceal redarding the murder of Juliano Mer Khamis......'

The customer journey

People who buy products or use services are a pesky lot and increasingly unpredictable.

Organisations may map the customer journey for a variety of purposes. Sometimes the aim is to reduce it to a series of steps in marketing to which specific monetary value can be assigned.

Another way of considering the progression of the customer through these contact points is to review how well the shop window reflects the culture and public statements of the organisation. Both Chris Argyris and Donald Schon have written about congruence and gaps between theory espoused and theory in use. Yesterday I sat in a waiting room reading a poster that said: 'Our aim is perfection, excellence is tolerated'. There were damp patches on the ceiling, mistakes had been made in my customer record, which no one was willing to correct and I waited an hour and a half to be seen. Who defines perfection and excellence?

Organisations may hire mystery shoppers or be visited by anonymous critics or inspectors, depending on their sector. The aim is to check that front line staff are maintaining standards of customer service. Little thought seems to be given to another category of potential customer, the job candidate.



I've worked with managers who believe they must use psychometric inventories in their selection process because other organisations do so. Some use assessment centres with a battery of tests to present a professional image. As a candidate I've rarely seen tests applied as specified in the manual. Many managers seem to have no understanding of the instrument and refer to the company pschologist or external consultant who processed the results. More often the results of tests are set aside or mislaid, giving a bad impression of the organisation and how managers value the time and effort of job candidates.

I've known high calibre HR staff who are adept at using psychometric tests and following them up with an interview to review the results and amend any errors. In my experience these are the exception.

When clients ask for help with their recruitment and selection process I ask them to identify the purpose of tests. Are there specific aspects of the job that a particular inventory might help them to select against?

I tend to recommend simpler tests than many on the market, so that managers understand and can apply them with confidence. Alternatively I suggest that they hire me to screen candidates based on specific aspects of job fit. In the latter case I use LAB Profiling, because candidates learn as much about themselves and the type of job that would suit them as the organisation learns about them. The interview avoids jargon and draws on real work examples.

For example, I've helped small business owners avoid hiring office managers who don't enjoy following standard procedures and tend to reduce efficiency and profitability by constantly tinkering with core processes.

In the current economic climate managers who advertise job vacancies may be overwhelmed with the number of applications. Tests or qualifications may be used as a way to reduce the number of candidates. Unfortunately neither seem to ensure the selection of ideal people unless work has been done to define the gap that an individual may fill in a team.

Mediocre But Arrogant?

This is the Dutch view of MBAs, according to Dr Fons Trompenaars.



Henry Mintzberg is scathing about conventional full time MBA programmes based on case studies:

'“The MBA trains the wrong people in the wrong ways with the wrong consequences” Mintzberg writes. “Using the classroom to help develop people already practicing management is a fine idea, but pretending to create managers out of people who have never managed is a sham.”

Because conventional MBA programs are designed for people without managerial experience, they overemphasize analysis and denigrate experience. That leaves a distorted impression of management, which has had a corrupting influence on its practice.

Leaders cannot be created in a classroom. They arise in context. But people who already practice management can significantly improve their effectiveness given the opportunity to learn thoughtfully from their own experience.'

He recommends that young people get jobs, work their way up to management positions and then study for an MBA that draws on their own practical experience. Case studies, such as Semco, are fine, but only as an adjunct to students' own practice. In this video Ricardo Semler discusses his experience with Mintzberg of being wheeled out like a zoo animal in front of MBA students (with an invisible sign: Do not feed the businessman.)

Guy Claxton studies thinking and how we develop intelligence. He has focussed on schools and the idea of building learning power for use in any context. That, rather than remembering a load of facts, is the aim of education. Learning to learn and use this as a flexible tool for life is the fundamental purpose of both schools and well crafted MBA programmes:

Intellectual fingerprints

Jim Collins uses this term in crediting Peter Drucker's influence on some of the most famous innovative companies such as Hewlett Packard, an organisation built on values.



Drucker did not follow the tendency to make a Procrustean Bed from theory, fitting the data to what had been proposed in abstract. He began with empirical data based on the observation of people and organisations in practice and then reflected on the role of organisations in the evolution of society at this stage of human history.

One distinction Collins makes is between the tendency to answer questions of increasing irrelevance with increasing precision and Drucker's courageous drive to ask questions of increasing significance and find answers with increasing empirical rigour.

Collins takes the view that the overriding question is 'How do we make society more productive and more humane?'

If you build great, well-managed companies and destroy human beings in the process, this would be a failure.

Collins discloses how his team of young, sceptical students challenged his ideas and pushed him into research on Level 5 leadership.

Collins challenges received notions of underprivilege used to explain poor success in society, citing examples of level 5 leadership enabling people to triumph over adversity.

In scenario thinking he uses the metaphor of climbing a mountain to describe our present state in a world of ferocious change. We are climbing at 20,000 feet in a storm and far from base camp. Collins believes we will return to prosperity, but not stability. The storm may pass, but there's no return to base camp. Developing countries have long experience on the side of the mountain and are better skilled than we are in dealing with this environment.

One of the challenges for rising generations is in dealing with change and restriction over time, without expecting rapid development or a speedy return to better conditions.

He quotes Admiral Stockdale's account of time spent in a Prisoner of war camp in Vietnam and his claim never to have been an optimist during that time:

'When you're imprisoned by great calamity, great difficulty and great uncertainty, you must never confuse the need for unwavering faith that you will find a way to prevail in the end and the discipline to confront the most brutal facts we actually face.'