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 The Smart
Solution Book

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A01_COTT2319_01_SE_FM.indd 2 21/06/1938 SAKA 3:02 pm
 David Cotton

The Smart
Solution
Book
68 Tools for Brainstorming,
Problem Solving and
Decision Making

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 PEARSON EDUCATION LIMITED

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First published 2016 (print and electronic)

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ISBN: 978-1-292-14231-9 (print)

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978-1-292-14232-6 (ePub)

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 Contents

About the author viii

Introduction x

PART 1 WHICH TOOLS TO USE AND WHEN 1

Tools for broad problem areas 3
Tools for specific problems 5

PART 2 PROBLEM-SOLVING ESSENTIALS 7

Barriers to problem solving 9
Framing a problem 13
Stages in problem solving 16
Preparation for group problem solving 18
Equipment needed 19

PART 3 P
 ROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES
FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS 21
1 Force-field analysis and graphical force-field analysis 23
2 Tough questions 26
3 Ritual dissent (and ritual assent) 28
4 Brain-friendly brainstorming 30
5 Reverse brainstorming 32
6 Procrastination 34
7 Cartesian logic 36
8 Brainwriting 39
9 Individual and collective mind mapping 41
10 Structured walkthroughs 43
11 Life through a lens 45
12 Nominal group technique 47
13 GROW for problem solving 49
14 Head/heart-push/pull 51
15 Osborn-Parnes’ critical problem-solving process 53
16 Appreciative inquiry 55
17 Competitive ideas 57
18 Why not? 58
19 MUSE 60
20 Ishikawa fishbone diagrams 61
21 Deming’s PDSA Cycle (the Shewhart Cycle) 63

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 vi CONTENTS

22 3D stakeholder mapping 65
23 The two words technique 67
24 The association grid 69
25 The Delphi technique 71
26 The Lotus Blossom technique 73
27 Photographic associations 77
28 The random word technique 78
29 Challenging assumptions 80
30 Metaphorical problem solving 82
31 Who else has solved this problem? 84
32 How-how? 86
33 The 5 Whys/question everything 88
34 The Jelly Baby Tree 90
35 Future shock 94
36 What if? 95
37 What if we didn’t? 96
38 Reframing 98
39 The ripple effect (systems thinking) 100
40 What I need from you 102
41 Concentration diagrams 104
42 The Pareto analysis – simplified version 106
43 The solution effect analysis 109
44 The work map 110
45 The competing values framework 115
46 Timelining 120
47 One question 122
48 Peer assist 124
49 Action learning 126
50 Story circles 128
51 Swim lane diagrams (Rummler-Brache diagrams) 129

PART 4 LARGE GROUP PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES 131

52 Crawford’s slip 133
53 The charrette procedure 134
54 Starbursting 136
55 Open space 138
56 World Café 140
57 Pro-action Café 142

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 CONTENTS vii

PART 5 PROBLEM-SOLVING BUSINESS GAMES 145

When and how to use business games 147
58 Retirement speeches 148
59 Convince me 150
60 Evolution 152
61 It’s in the news 154
62 The trial 155
63 Tortoise and hare 157
64 Art gallery 159
65 Proverbial problem solving 160
66 There are no rules 161
67 Documentary 162
68 Pitch perfect 163

PART 6 SHARING AND IMPLEMENTING SOLUTIONS 165

Sharing solutions 167
Implementing solutions 170

Index 175

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 About the author

D
avid Cotton spent 21 years with Arthur Andersen and PricewaterhouseCoopers
(PwC) before becoming a freelance trainer in 2002. He has worked in 4
continents and more than 40 countries, delivering a wide range of training
in management, leadership, communication skills, business networking, confidence
building, dealing with difficult people, change management, business strategy,
coaching and mentoring.
David’s clients span local and national government and nearly every industry
sector and include the European Parliament, European Commission and many of its
agencies, the United Nations, BBC, Syrian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Russian Federal
Commission, Croatian MOD, PwC, most of the major Middle Eastern oil and gas
companies, Manchester Business School and many others.
He is a Fellow of the British Institute for Learning and Development, a Member of
the Institute of Leadership and Management and also has Diplomas in Training and
Development, Hypnotherapy and NLP.
He has published scores of articles and more than a dozen books, including Key
Management Development Models published by FT Publishing in 2015.
In his spare time, David is a regular columnist for a specialist music magazine and
an avid collector of musical instruments. He has published more than 800 pieces of
music and performs regularly with his band. He plays Association Croquet for his local
club and, with his wife, appallingly bad golf.

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 Love and thanks to Jane, Philippa and Victoria Cotton.

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 Introduction

I
rather like solving problems. The most brilliant boss I ever had schooled me in this
early in my career. ‘I don’t pay you to bring me problems,’ he said, ‘I pay you to find
solutions. Come back when you have.’ For a young professional, this was a great
message. Most of my subsequent bosses responded far better to a request to choose
the best solution than to solve a problem.
The Smart Solution Book is a collection of tools, techniques, ideas and ways of
thinking about problem solving and decision making that synthesises ideas from a
variety of sources – from traditional problem solving, through creativity to mass-scale
collaborative approaches.
Many of the techniques outlined in the book can be scaled up or down in terms of
the numbers involved in using them: from a one-person effort to a cast of thousands.
Some are subtle variants of each other and some of them include their own variants.
The trick for you, as a user, is to take a technique that looks relevant to your problem
and then adapt it to work for you. Nothing here is set in stone – there is no single way
of doing anything – and you can combine techniques to create something even more
powerful.
Some years ago, I had the good fortune to attend a training course run by the
European Commission entitled ‘The Art of Participatory Leadership’ (AOPL). It was
based in large part on ‘The Art of Hosting’, a new approach to harnessing collective
wisdom, regardless of the size of group involved in, say, problem solving or decision
making. The essence of it was that well-structured collaborative thinking can yield far
better results than a reliance on a small group of nominal leaders, that there is real
power in the collective. In many organisations, the most senior people attempt to
solve organisational problems almost independently of those who will be affected by
the outcome. AOPL opened my eyes to a number of techniques that can be used by
large groups of people working collaboratively to solve problems and make decisions
that really matter to them and to those they serve.
There is a deep satisfaction in solving a problem, and collaborative problem solving
creates an energy of its own. Many organisations list teamwork high on their list of
values and expected competencies. When people work together towards a common
goal, it creates a buzz – a real excitement – which brings people together and creates
a bond and team spirit that generates many other spin-off benefits for the organisation.
Personal agendas are set to one side and people start to realise that, collectively, they
can achieve far more than through their individual or corporate silos.
Most of the collaborative problems solving techniques detailed here deny the
dominant, aggressive or senior people a louder voice – everyone has an equal say
and the quieter people are given a voice that they may lack in day-to-day work. The
broader spread of ideas yields more creative and thoughtful solutions which work for
a greater number of people. It can take a certain courage, in a senior position, to
relinquish some of your assumed authority and allow more junior people a voice. Also,

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 Introduction xi

it will vastly increase the respect that others have for you as a leader. The days of
command and control leadership are, largely, gone. Those who still embrace it will
find themselves increasingly isolated from their workforces. The new generation – the
Millennials – do not respect people simply because they have a title and a higher pay
grade, but expect to see their bosses do something to earn respect. They have grown
up in a society in which the gap between them and their parents, and them and their
teachers, has narrowed and the voice of authority is as likely to be laughed at as to be
entertained seriously. The new generation has seen more of the world and, often, has a
greater social conscience than its forebears had at the same age. The older generation
is often intent on cloning younger people in its own image. The younger people are
unlikely to stay in an organisation long enough to be cloned. Indeed, they are likely to
change professions regularly throughout their working life. Recently, I ran a workshop
for a large professional organisation. The participants were of mixed grades from newly
appointed assistants to senior partners. A partner declared that everyone in the room
had the single goal of becoming a partner in the organisation. I suggested that most
would not stay long enough to become partners, nor had any ambition of doing so.
The senior partner asked for a show of hands. Of the 30 or so people in the room, only
two declared their intention to reach partnership level.
The Millennials want to be a part of the decision-making process, regardless of their
level of experience, and many of the techniques described here allow them that voice.
It does not matter that they lack the experience of more senior people. Their fresh
perspective and optimism may bring a different texture to otherwise staid decision-
making and problem-solving processes. Old timers may find reasons why something
cannot be done. Younger people may bring sufficient enthusiasm to find ways of
making it happen.
This book offers ways of engaging people at all levels to solve problems, often in
fun, dynamic and unexpected ways. For good measure, I have thrown in some more
traditional problem-solving methods, too.
Throughout the book, I talk about, ‘business,’ problems, used as a blanket term
for any kind of organisational problem. Whether you work in the private sector, public
sector, charity, social enterprise or voluntary organisation, the methods described here
can work as they are or can be made to fit with very little tailoring. If an example of how
to use a technique appears to be based in a different sector than your own, you will
find you can adapt it very easily to fit your situation.
Throughout the book, too, I talk about brainstorming. At its simplest level,
brainstorming is just calling out and noting ideas without discussing them until no
more ideas are forthcoming. Standard, traditional brainstorming on its own is not
terribly effective, for reasons that become clear when you read about brain-friendly
brainstorming later, but the basic premise of brainstorming is a building block in many
of the techniques documented here.
I refer to those helping to solve a problem as participants. You will find guidance on
how to prepare them to be useful participants!
As you read about each tool, model or idea, you will find sufficient information to

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 xii Introduction

know how you can use that tool in practice, where you can find more information about
it (where that exists) and, in many cases, start to apply it immediately in your own
working life. Some of the methods are my own inventions, and this is the only place in
which you will find them documented.
This book will help you to:
■ frame problems so that they can be solved (and so help in the decision-making
process);
■ find (often multiple) solutions to the most intractable problems;
■ enjoy the process of problem solving, whether alone or in collaboration with
others;
■ become more creative in your thinking so that, over time, solutions begin to
present themselves;
■ make decisions with more confidence, knowing that you have explored every
avenue before committing to those decisions.
To get the best out of the book:
1 Read the introductory sections on barriers to problem solving, framing a problem
and stages in problem solving.
2 Determine whether you will attempt to solve the problem alone, with a small
group of people or with a large group.
3 Use Part 1: Which tools to use and when. If your problem fits into a broad
category, use the first index:
a) Find the most appropriate category for your problem.
b) Look at the columns on the right to see which techniques work best for the size
of group involved in solving your problem.
c) Skim through the techniques listed to find the one that looks most appropriate.

If you have a very specific problem, use the second index, which will point
you towards techniques that you can use on your own (directly or with a little
adaption) or with others.

Remember that you can combine tools and techniques to create even more
powerful problem-solving tools.
I hope that you enjoy the book and find it rewarding. I would welcome feedback on
your successes, your creative adaptation of the methods, and on the ways in which
you have applied the tools in this book.
David Cotton
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.davidcotton.co.uk
Twitter: davidcottonuk

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 Part 1

Which Tools to
Use and When

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 TOOLS FOR BROAD PROBLEM AREAS 3

Y
ou can use many of the techniques on your own. Some also lend themselves
to small group work and some to large groups. For these purposes, let us say
that a small group comprises between 6 and 20 people. A large group can be
anything from 20 upwards. In 2011, a World Café session in Tel Aviv involved 10,000
people. You do not need to think on such a grand scale (just yet) . . .
Whilst many of the problem-solving and decision-making tools are multi-purpose,
applicable to a wide variety of issues, some are particularly good for specific purposes.
In the table below you will see the category of problem for which they may be useful, the
number of the tool or technique and an indication of the size of group that can use it:
One person = you
Two people = small group
Three people = large group
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there are more tools and techniques that can be applied
to a wide variety of problems and these are listed below as ‘Creative idea generation/
Generic problem solving’.
Many techniques are scalable in terms of the numbers who can use them, and you
will see that these are indicated by a mark in more than one column.
Whilst the first index looks at fairly generic types of problem, after it you will find a
key to the best methods for solving more specific problems.

Tools for broad problem areas

Category Tool/technique

Career planning 34, 45 X

Change 1 X
management 1, 9, 16, 25, 35, 36, 39, 50, 67 X
55, 56, 57 X
Communicating a
14 X X
solution/decision
Conflict 16, 34, 59
X
management
Creative idea 13, 23, 24, 27, 28 X
generation/Generic 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, X
problem solving
19, 21, 24, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, X
36, 52, 61, 64, 65, 67 X
8, 26, 52, 55, 56, 61, 64 X

(continued)

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 4 Part 1: WHICH TOOLS TO USE AND WHEN

Category Tool/technique

Decision making 7 X
3, 9, 11, 12, 16, 19, 39, 50 X
55, 56, 57 X
Framing a problem 38, 54 X
2, 38, 47, 54 X
54 X
Learning/career 48, 49, 50 X
development
Planning 3, 4, 5, 9, 11, 16, 19, 22, 25, 35, 37, X
39, 46, 50, 52, 63, 67 X
46, 52, 55, 56, 58 X
Process/system/ 20 X
product design and 9, 10, 16, 20, 21, 29, 36, 51 X
improvement
57, 66 X
Project planning/ 9, 63 X
project
management
Root cause analysis 20 X
20, 32, 33, 41, 42 X
Stakeholder 22 X
management 22, 40 X
40 X
Strategy/ 3, 4, 5, 9, 16, 19, 34, 25, X
organisational 39, 52, 60, 63, 67 X
design/
52, 55, 56, 57 X
organisational
development
Testing a solution 37, 43, 39 X
10, 18, 37, 39, 43, 59, 65, 68, 50 X
39 X
Time management 6, 44 X
44 X

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 TOOLS FOR SPECIFIC PROBLEMS 5

Tools for specific problems

The index above looks at generic problem areas. Below you will find a handy reference
to the tools that will help you to solve some more specific problems. You can use some
of the techniques on your own and some will require help from others. In many cases,
even though the techniques are designed to be used by people working together, you
can adapt them easily to use on your own.

How can I . . . Tool/technique

Alone With others
know that I am solving the right problem? 38
get more done in less time? 44
know that I am spending my work time wisely? 6, 44
motivate my team? 23
know that I am applying for the right job? 45
resolve a conflict at work? 34 59
discover why something is not working correctly? 20
know who will be affected my plans? 22
ensure that our project plans will work? 49
streamline some business processes? 20
ever make decisions when senior people constantly over-rule them? 8, 12, 52, 53,
55, 56, 57
learn from my peers? 10, 48, 49
make change work? 9 1, 16, 25
attract more customers/clients to our business? 14
get other people to buy into our ideas? 14
design better products? 9
ensure that our project plans will work? 49
make better decisions? 7
see things from someone else’s perspective? 11, 31
solve a very difficult problem that involves complex relationships? 26 26

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 Part 2

Problem-
Solving
Essentials

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 BARRIERS TO PROBLEM SOLVING 9

Barriers to problem solving

T
here is something rather magical about solving a problem. When you find a
solution, often you know instinctively that is the right one – it just feels right.
Problems may manifest themselves in many ways, including:
■ a discrepancy between expectations and reality;
■ failure to meet a standard;
■ the need for something to exceed the standard;
■ inconsistent results or performance.
There are many reasons why it is difficult to find a solution to a problem. Here are
some common causes and brief solutions and, after the table below, you will find more
detailed ways of dealing with each issue.

Cause Solution (in brief)

Failure by some to recognise that there is a Help them see the benefits of new approaches
problem and remain non-judgemental about the causes
The problem is too big to be solved as one Break it into smaller pieces
Poorly framed problem Careful framing
Solving the problem too quickly Take time to gather information and understand
the ramifications of any proposed solution
Politics Involve the politicians
Dominant people Use methods that soften their voices
Lack of understanding of the problem Thorough research before problem solving
Lack of experience among problem solvers Use methods that allow fresh insights
Too much experience among problem solvers Involve less experienced people with fresh
insights
Failure to consult the appropriate people Ensure that you involve those who are affected
by the problem and will be affected by the
solution
Failure to communicate the solution Ensure that everyone who needs to know is
consulted or informed
Trying to solve a problem by using the same Use methods that allow you to escape from
thinking that created the problem institutionalised thinking
Fixing the symptoms without getting to the Check that you understand the root causes
causes of a problem and attack those, rather than
symptoms
Others’ attitudes! See the detailed description below

Let’s look at these ideas in more detail:

Failure by some to recognise that there is a problem: You may encounter some
people who refuse to acknowledge a problem because the admission may cast
them in a bad light, or the solution may be uncomfortable. Work with them to see the
benefits of a new approach and remain strictly non-judgemental. Some people need to

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 10 Part 2: PROBLEM-SOLVING ESSENTIALS

be convinced that continuing to do whatever they are doing will result in disaster before
they will contemplate changing.

The problem is too big to be solved as one: Break it into smaller, more manageable
sub-problems, ensuring that you do not lose sight along the way of the original problem.

Poor framing of the problem: You get what you focus on. If you are sloppy in the
wording or framing of a problem, you are unlikely to solve it. First, ensure that you are
stating the right problem. I have seen many organisations investing time and money
in finding brilliant solutions to the wrong problem. If someone asks you to design a
chair, the concept of chair as you understand it now becomes the anchor point for
your thinking. Everything you design will be linked somehow to your current concept
of a chair. But what is a chair for? Perhaps you decide that it suspends someone in a
comfortable state. Now you are released from the concept of chair so you can focus
on designing something that a chair is good at. At the simplest level, you may design
a hammock. At a more complex level, you may find some way of helping someone
to hover, supported by a cushion of warm air. In solving problems, you are designing
solutions, and you can do this only once you really understand the problem you are
trying to solve.
Instead of asking why not enough people buy our products, ask why some people
do buy our products and why other people buy our competitors’ products. What do
we do right? How can we capitalise on it? What do our competitors do right? Can we
introduce some of their thinking into the enhanced version of our own products and
thus take a bigger market share?
Before involving others in problem solving (and, indeed, solving a problem on your
own), look very carefully at the way you have framed it. Play around with the wording
of the problem statement, and then walk away from it. After some time, return and see
if it still feels right:
■ Does it capture the essence of the problem?
■ Is it too simple? Too complex?
■ What would happen if you did not solve the problem? Would anything change?
■ Would the problem go away if you ignored it?
■ Would a solution to this problem bring other problems in its wake?
(See the next section for more ideas of how to frame a problem.)
Solving the problem too quickly: Systems thinking theory suggests that the way out
of a problem may lead very quickly back in. If you try to solve a problem too quickly with
inadequate research or too little understanding of the ramifications of the solution (not
only within, but outside your own work area), you may do more harm than good. On the
flip side, do not leave an issue unresolved for so long that it escalates or grows bigger.
Politics: Sadly, an understanding of organisational politics is necessary in problem
solving. You may hit on the perfect solution only to find that you are not allowed to
implement it because it does not fit someone’s personal agenda. Involving the right

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 BARRIERS TO PROBLEM SOLVING 11

people and using methods that give them no greater voice than others and expose
them to wider, more popularly held views may help.

Dominant people: Many of the methods offered in this book prevent the more vocal,
senior or dominant people pushing others towards their solutions. You cannot avoid
the person who wants centre stage, but you can choose problem-solving methods
that allow them no greater say than anyone else involved in the process. Indeed, some
of the problem-solving techniques described here are conducted largely in silence.

Lack of understanding of the problem: We did our best to solve it, but did not really
understand it sufficiently well at the beginning. Here you need to ask good questions,
collect information and contextualise the problem for others helping you to solve it.

Experience/knowledge level of those attempting to solve the problem: Take care

in choosing people to work with you on solving a problem. There are pros and cons in
asking people with a lot of knowledge/experience or too little knowledge/experience,
as shown in the following table:

Pros Cons
Too little Fresh insight and ideas Too much preparatory work
unconstrained by standard needed to bring them to a
approaches and received level at which they can be
wisdom helpful
A lot They understand the context, They find it difficult to move
the language, the jargon and away from fixed ideas and
underlying assumptions or standard approaches. They
presuppositions ‘know’ the answer and
are reluctant to entertain
alternatives

Failure to consult the appropriate people: If you do not consult those affected by
the problem, you may not fully appreciate it. If you do not consult those who will be
affected by the solution, you may alienate people and cause bigger problems than the
one you set out to solve.

Failure to communicate the solution: Solving the problem is not enough – you need
to communicate the solution to those who will be affected by it and those who were
affected by the original problem. Think broadly here because often an apparently trivial
problem and an apparently small solution or decision can have far-reaching effects.

Trying to solve a problem by using the same thinking that created the problem:
We become institutionalised in our thinking very quickly after joining an organisation. If
you apply the same thinking, the same measures, the same assumptions to a problem
that its creators applied, then you will have little hope of solving the problem. This book
is full of methods that will allow you to escape assumptions and be free to explore
alternatives.

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 12 Part 2: PROBLEM-SOLVING ESSENTIALS

Fixing the symptoms without getting to the causes: Single loop learning patches
over the symptoms – we recognised a problem and we fixed it. Double loop learning
explores the root causes of a problem and then fixes the controls or processes that
allowed the problem to occur in the first place. If you face a nagging problem at work,
discover how it can happen and how you could recreate it, then you will understand
how to fix it so it does not happen again. For many years, I led an international team
of trainers. When someone made a mistake, I would thank them and ask them how
they did it. They were astonished to be thanked, but my thinking was that they had
found a way to do something that our procedures had allowed to happen and, far from
admonishing for an error, I was grateful that they had exposed a problem in the way
that we were working. We discovered the root causes of the problem, resolved them
and shared the results as best practice.

Others’ attitudes: Typical attitudes are:

■ ‘We’ve always done it this way.’
■ ‘You can’t do that.’
■ ‘It’s too expensive.’
■ ‘We haven’t budgeted for that this year.’
■ ‘That’s not in our job description.’
■ ‘Leave well enough alone.’
■ ‘We haven’t got the time.’
■ ‘We can’t spare anyone to work on this.’
■ ‘Frankly, that isn’t our problem.’
There is no single fix here. Be aware of these attitudes and be ready with counter-
arguments. Help people to see how much worse off they will be if they fail to tackle the
problem. Some will respond to arguments about how their own professional reputation
may suffer; others’ attitudes will vary enormously and you will have to deal with them
at an individual level.
Without becoming too boastful, be sure to tell others what you did to solve a
problem successfully or come to a particularly good decision. Share in order to help
others foster good/best practice, so they can repeat the success.
Whilst it may be important to include people with a good deal of experience in
solving a problem, consider introducing less experienced people into the mix. They
may bring fresh ideas and insights that those who ‘know the answer’ may not have
considered. Often, you will find yourself battling against the ‘This is not how we do
things here’ syndrome and many of the collaborative methods in this book help to
break down those long ingrained ideas.
We have mentioned already that the way a problem is framed has a significant effect
on possible solutions. Let us spend some time looking at how to frame a problem.

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 FRAMING A PROBLEM 13

Framing a problem
Einstein is alleged to have said, ‘If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55
minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.’
Here are some quick and dirty ways to frame a problem, so that you can solve it.
40-20-10-5: State your problem in 40 words, cut it to 20 words, then 10, then 5, to
get to the real root of the problem. Sometimes, you will find that concision in framing
the problem suggests the solution to the problem.

Collect information: Ensure that you have all the facts at your disposal before you begin
to solve a problem. Do this particularly if the problem is rather abstract or vague. Once
you have amassed information about the issue, be as specific as you can in framing it
as a problem question. Consider using this little framework when collecting information:

Tendency/
Problem Importance Urgency
Frequency
1
2
3
4

Problem: What is the nature of the problem?

Importance: How serious is the problem considered to be? (e.g. in terms of cost,
quality, safety, consistency.)
Urgency: How quickly must it be solved before it causes more serious problems?
Tendency/frequency: How often or frequently does it occur? Is it getting better,
staying the same or getting worse?
Rephrase the problem: Keep restating it until it feels right and genuinely conveys what
you want to do. For example, you may start with, ‘How can we recruit the best people?’
Change the verb recruit to, say, attract. Recruitment sounds like a dreary, form-filling
and interviewing process. Attraction suggests something altogether more exciting and
enticing. Which form of the question do you think would yield more creative solutions?

Challenge assumptions: Of course, to challenge assumptions, you have to know what

they are. Frame a problem and ask yourself what you know to be true and what, simply,
you have assumed to be true. For example, your team members may, regularly, fail to
meet their targets. If you focus on making them adhere rigorously to agreed systems and
controls in order to meet their targets, you are assuming that the systems and controls
are correct and appropriate. You may miss the possibility that the systems and controls
are themselves the problem. (You may miss the possibility that you are the problem!)
You can expend a lot of time and energy solving the wrong problem. I have worked in
training and development for many years and constantly am asked to conduct training
needs analyses (TNA). The problem with a TNA is that it presupposes that the answer
to a problem is training, where the real answer may be restructuring a department,

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 14 Part 2: PROBLEM-SOLVING ESSENTIALS

changing the manager, adjusting or revising a system or process. These are all
business issues rather than training issues. I will, happily, conduct a business needs
analysis and propose solutions based on business needs, but have not conducted a
TNA in more than a decade because I do not want to skew my thinking (nor that of my
clients) from the outset.

Broaden the view: In focusing on a small, finite problem, you may miss something
at a higher level that is causing the problem. By questioning the bigger purpose – the
reason for doing something – you may discover that the cause of the problem is not at
the level at which you had been looking. Equally, you may be viewing it from too high
a level and need to examine it in more granular detail.

Narrow the view: Now you have broadened the view and not found the cause of a
problem, you may have an inkling that the apparently wide-ranging problem has a tiny,
very specific cause. Narrow your focus and see what you can find.

Change the perspective: We tend to see issues from a single perspective. By looking
at a problem from another perspective – even someone else’s perspective – you may
gain fresh insights into the true nature of the problem. You may even see the solution
without further effort.

Frame a problem as a question, not a statement: ‘We’re not selling enough widgets’
is a statement. Asking, ‘How can we sell more widgets?’ or ‘How can we command a
bigger share of the widget market?’ opens up many more avenues of thought.

Don’t think of
a lemon OK

Frame a problem in positive language: Negatives are a trick of language rather

than something that we can experience. If I say, ‘Don’t think of a lemon’, your natural
inclination is to create a mental image of the very thing I have asked you not to think
about. Far from removing the thought of a lemon from your mind, I have implanted an
image of the very thing I do not want you to think about. Instead of asking ‘Why is the
team not motivated?’ ask ‘How can we help our team members to be more motivated?’
You will notice, too, that rather than treating the team as an amorphous blob that will
be motivated by the same things, we have said team members, acknowledging that
they may each have different motivational drivers.

Turn it on its head: If you are struggling to resolve something, explore instead how
you could or indeed do create the problem. Rather than asking how to reduce road
traffic accidents, consider all the ways in which you and others can create them; then

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 FRAMING A PROBLEM 15

use your answers to stimulate ideas about how you may reduce them. Creativity
comes from attacking a problem from a different angle. Throughout the world, town
centres are filled with traffic signs. In 2008, the German town of Bohmte received
an EU grant to remove its road signs. The only two rules that drivers must obey are
a speed limit and giving way to the right, whether to a car, a pedestrian or a cyclist.
The number of accidents has reduced dramatically since then. Similar experiments in
the UK, Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands have resulted in a great reduction in
accidents. Sometimes, the act of removing rules means that people start to think again
for themselves and act more sensibly. If you set out to solve a problem by replacing
one control, process or system with another, consider whether you might get the
results you want by removal of the control instead.

SCAMPER it: SCAMPER is a simple checklist tool for thinking creatively about a
problem. It stands for substitute, combine, adapt, modify (magnify or minify), put to
other uses, eliminate, rearrange (reverse). You do not have to apply every element of it
to your problem, but select the more appropriate ones. Imagine I have a problematic
process, a system or a problem, which we will call X:
Substitute: Could I substitute something in place of an existing element of X?
Combine: Could I combine two or more elements of X to create something more
useful?
Adapt: Which parts of X could be adapted to resolve my problem?
Modify (magnify or minify): Could I modify some aspect of X? Would making part
of it bigger or smaller resolve my problem?
Put to other uses: Could I take something from somewhere else and use it here?
Could I use aspects of X usefully somewhere else?
Eliminate: Could I remove some part of X to make it work more effectively?
Rearrange (reverse): Could I do parts of X in a different sequence? If I reversed
elements of X, would it work better?
Applying SCAMPER to a problem, I may find that the problem simply goes away.

Focus: Faced with a series of related problems, be careful to focus on the central or
pivotal one. See if one element of the bigger problem is a tipping point. Often, by resolving
one small problem, the related series of problems is diminished or even removed. For
example, a team is not performing as well as it should, there is a higher than average level
of staff sickness and members are failing to fulfil their stated objectives. The organisation
determines that a teambuilding event will boost morale, help them to regroup and
improve their performance. The real problem is their manager who has been promoted
on the basis of technical excellence with little or no equipment to manage. Train or swap
the manager and the other problems disappear. Imagine a problem has a timeline: shift
your focus from the presenting problem to the time before the problem appeared and
look into the future to determine the longer-term effects of the problem.

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 16 Part 2: PROBLEM-SOLVING ESSENTIALS

Stages in problem solving

Problem solving typically works in six stages:

1 Framing 2 Divergence 3 Emergence

off on

4 Convergence 5 Testing 6 Implementation

Many of the methods in this book follow these stages, sometimes repeating a stage to
drill further into a problem.

Problem framing

Frame the problem in a way that captures the real essence of the problem and is
understood by those seeking a solution.

Divergence

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 STAGES IN PROBLEM SOLVING 17

The divergent stage is, for many, the fun and creative stage in which a wide range of
possibilities is explored. There are no clear solutions at this stage. If you facilitate it
well, you will find that it raises lots of questions and questions keep the door open to
learning. Strong facilitation is needed to ensure that there is method in the apparent
madness of this stage – keeping people on track and ensuring that they still have the
original problem in mind – whilst allowing them the freedom to think around a subject
and make free and creative associations with the problem.

Emergence

The emergence stage sees some order begin to emerge out of chaos. The answers
that start to emerge are not, necessarily, clearly defined nor thought through in depth
but begin to shed light on the problem. It is important at this stage to ensure that
the problem solvers remember the initial purpose of their activities and do not pour
enormous energy into solving the wrong problem or a different problem. It can cause
frustration among those who want (quick) results.

Convergence

At the convergent stage, participants in the problem-solving process begin to come

together in agreement about the best solutions. It may involve evaluating alternative
solutions, summarising and categorising key ideas and generating recommendations
for action.

Testing

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 18 Part 2: PROBLEM-SOLVING ESSENTIALS

Check that the solution works. Sometimes, you may have to test it in a small, contained
area before applying it more broadly. Often, you will know simply that it works.

Implementation

off on

Finally, you put the solution into practice.

Preparation for group problem solving

When you ask a group of people to participate in problem solving, you invite them to risk:
■ looking or feeling stupid if their ideas are not accepted by others;
■ suggesting things that your organisation may not find acceptable;
■ flying in the face of received wisdom about how something is done;
■ turning conventional methods and processes on their heads;
■ discovering that the way they or others have done something in the past has not
been effective or appropriate.
In facilitating problem solving, you have to be sensitive to these issues. Problem solving
often results in change and change elicits a variety of reactions from those it affects:

Active Those affected are perfectly

acceptance happy with the new Brilliant!
approach and are prepared
to vocalise their acceptance
of it

Passive Those affected are happy OK

acceptance to work in the new way and
do not vocalise it – they
quietly get on and do what
they have to do

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 EQUIPMENT NEEDED 19

Indifference Those affected do not care Whatever!

about the new approach.
They have seen lots of
changes before and one
more will not make any
significant difference to
them

Active resistance Those affected vocalise Boo!

their unhappiness at the
new approach and resist
adopting it

Passive Those affected pay lip Sure, but

resistance service to the changed
not in my
approach and quietly ignore
or even sabotage it lifetime …

It is easier to manage each of these reactions if you can identify who falls into each
category. Do not simply expect that changes in approach, working methods, systems,
controls processes, ways of behaving, etc. naturally will be accepted readily by
everyone affected by them. We explore each of these reactions in more detail later in
the section on implementing solutions.

Equipment needed
For most of the methods in this book, you will need little more than paper and pens,
a flipchart (or whiteboard) and marker pens and the occasional sticky note or sticky
coloured dot.
In each section you will find a description of what you need. The emphasis throughout
is on methods of thinking through problems rather than on the use of technology to
resolve them.

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M02_COTT2319_01_SE_P02.indd 20 21/06/1938 SAKA 3:07 pm
 Part 3

Problem-
Solving
Techniques
For Individuals
and Small
Groups

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M03_COTT2319_01_SE_P03.indd 22 22/06/1938 SAKA 6:26 pm
 TOOL 1: FORCE-FIELD ANALYSIS AND GRAPHICAL FORCE-FIELD ANALYSIS 23

Tool 1 Force-Field Analysis and Graphical

Force-Field Analysis

What the Tool Is

Force-field analysis is a rather pompous name for a pair of brainstormed lists, one
describing the forces that will help a change to be implemented, and the other
describing the possible barriers to that change. In its raw state, it involves no analysis
at all – just listing relevant ideas.
It becomes a powerful tool when the ideas are weighted, either graphically or
numerically, showing where we should focus our management effort in implementing
the change. The tool can be used by one person or a small group working together,
but is best used by one or more small teams of up to six people, working in parallel.
The tool is accredited to Kurt Lewin, a pioneer in social psychology.

When to Use It
■ One of the single biggest causes of failure when an organisation plans change is that
those affected by the change feel that they have no say in it. Use the force-field analysis
as early as possible in the change process, involving as many people as possible who
are likely to be affected directly by it. Use it, too, once a high-level change plan has
been prepared, to determine the order of priority in the planned steps.

What You Will Need

■ A flipchart and green and red marker pens.
■ A pen or pencil.

How to Use It
Divide a flipchart into three columns – two wide columns on the left and right and one
narrow column between them. At the top of the left column write Helpers and at the
top of the right column write Barriers. In the narrow middle column write (vertically) a
brief description of the proposed change.
Brainstorm all the things that may help to make the change work, and list them
in the left column. This should include things that already exist on which you can
capitalise or things that, if implemented, would make a positive difference. You may
choose to distinguish between the two by asterisking existing helpers. At this point,
there should be no discussion, except where clarification is needed.
Brainstorm all the things that may make the implementation of the change difficult,
listing them in the right column. Again, you might like to distinguish between existing
and possible or anticipated barriers to change. Go back to the Helpers column and
add any new ideas, repeating the process for the Barriers column.
Imagine, for example, that you are brainstorming ways of improving staff motivation.

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 24 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Note that there is no attempt here to counterbalance each barrier on the right with
a helper on the left: the two lists are, relatively speaking, independent of each other,
although, in reality, the points on one side will, sometimes, be the reverse of the points
on the other.
Using a green marker pen, ascribe weights (strengths) to each Helper by drawing
an arrow under each one, pointing towards the middle. The length of the arrow (short,
medium, long) indicates the strength of the idea. Alternatively, add scores to them to
show their relative strength.
Using a red marker pen, ascribe weights (strengths) to each Barrier by drawing an
arrow under each one, pointing towards the middle. Again, the length of arrow (short,
medium, long) denotes the strength of the idea. Alternatively, add scores to them to
show their relative strength.
For example, a group brainstorming helpers and barriers to staff motivation may
produce something like this:

Helpers Barriers

Better day-to-day Badly trained staff

management
Long working hours
Fairer rewards
Staff motivation

Forced ranking (Bell

Better hourly rates Curve)

Nice working Tired working

environment environment

Management training Poor appraisal system

Sense of camaraderie* Lack of leadership

Now examine each of the Helpers in turn, discussing how you can capitalise on them
to make the change process easier. Start with the items that have long arrows, then see
if there are ways to increase the length of those with medium and short arrows, building
a picture of everything positive that either exists now or could be done relatively easily.
Then focus on the Barriers, exploring how you can reduce or remove them
completely, to make the change process more effective. As before, start with the long
arrows, then medium, then short.

Variants
1 Two-team version: Two teams produce the force-field analysis. Using two different
flipcharts, team 1 lists Helpers; team 2, Barriers. Teams swap. Team 1 finds
solutions to the Barriers and team 2 finds ways of capitalising on the Helpers and
each shares their ideas with the other.

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 TOOL 1: FORCE-FIELD ANALYSIS AND GRAPHICAL FORCE-FIELD ANALYSIS 25

2 Graphical force-field analysis: Two teams produce the force-field analysis, drawing
pictures instead of writing words. Often, this engagement of the creative side of
the brain results in more imaginative ideas. One person from each team stays
with their team’s flipchart and the others swap over. The Helpers team first must
interpret the other team’s pictures (aided by the team member who has remained
with the flipchart) and then find ways to reduce or remove the barriers that the
pictures represent. The Barriers team must interpret the other team’s pictures
(aided by the team member who has remained with the flipchart) and then find
ways to capitalise on them. Ideas are shared in a plenary discussion.

Points to Watch Out For

It is tempting to believe that the items marked with the longest arrows are the most
difficult issues to resolve. In practice, you may find that by removing an obstacle with
a short arrow, the apparently more difficult issues resolve themselves, either partially
or totally. Sometimes, the smallest issue is a tipping point or lever and its removal may
make other problems disappear. For example, a dip in productivity or a fall in sales
may be caused directly or indirectly by an individual, whose move to safer pastures
removes the bigger, more obvious problems.

Reference
Lewin, K. (2013) The Conceptual Representation and the Measurement of
Psychological Forces. Eastford, Connecticut: Martino Fine Books. Reprint of a
book first published in 1938.

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 26 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Tool 2 Tough Questions

What The Tool Is

Questions open doors to exploration and creativity. Answers close those doors:
often, the moment we believe we have solved a problem, we stop exploring it. Tough
questions is a powerful tool that helps an individual or team to explore a problem in
depth before attempting to find a solution. Indeed, when used well, the technique
may throw up questions that have not been considered and change the nature of the
problem being explored.

When to Use It
■ In the early stages of planning change, exploring an issue or attempting to solve a
difficult problem.
■ When a colleague has a difficult problem and requires fresh thinking to resolve it.

What You Will Need

■ Some paper.
■ Two chairs opposite each other with a space between them.

How to Use It
The technique works best with one or more teams of around five people.
1 One person (the originator) writes down on a sheet of paper a question to which
they have found no satisfactory answers.
2 The originator puts the sheet on the floor, sits down on one of the chairs, reads
out the question once or twice and focuses on the question, staring down at it on
the floor.
3 Others stand around the chairs and consider the question.

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 TOOL 2: TOUGH QUESTIONS 27

4 If the original question prompts a new question in one of the others, they may
sit in the vacant chair and ask that question out loud. Nobody must make any
attempt to answer any of the questions raised – their job simply is to ask more
and more questions. Nobody needs justify their question nor explain why that
question should occur to them based on the previous question – participants
must accept that the question seemed relevant to the questioner.
5 Anyone can tap one of the seated participants on the shoulder at any time and
take their place. When a person is tapped on the shoulder, they must stand up
and give their place to the person who tapped them.
6 Once seated, a participant must ask one or more further questions.
7 Continue until nobody has any more questions.
8 At this point, the originator should write down the last question asked, read out
the original question again and the final question.
It can be incredibly powerful to see how the original question mutates through a series of
other questions into something that may, at first hearing, seem unrelated to the original
question. Often, the final question has more depth and power than the original and
opens up new thinking about the original subject. Sometimes, a transitional question may
generate a new stream of thinking and bring insights to the original problem. The person
posing the original question may choose to note some of the transitional questions.

Variants
Use this as a breakout activity in a bigger event. A number of people declare in plenary
the questions that they want to explore, each related to the broader theme of the
event. Interested parties join them in smaller breakout groups and each group uses this
technique to explore the individual questions. In plenary, the owners of the questions
read out just the starting and final question from their breakout session. It is interesting
to see the reactions of the larger group as the questions are read out.
When the activity is working at its best, the final questions can be quite startling to
the larger group and can be the basis of further discussions using other techniques in
this book.

Points to Watch Out For

Ensure that nobody:
■ tries to answer any of the questions raised but focuses simply on asking new
questions triggered by each other’s questions;
■ is critical of a question because they cannot see its relevance. It was relevant to
the person who asked it.

References
Adams, M. (2009) Change Your Questions, Change Your Life. Oakland, California:
Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Pope, G. (2103) Questioning Technique Pocketbook. Alresford: Teachers’ Pocketbooks.

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 28 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Tool 3 Ritual Dissent (And Ritual Assent)

What The Tool Is

The owner of a problem often has fixed ideas about both the problem and possible
solutions. Ritual dissent, developed by Dave Snowden of Cognitive Edge, allows a
group of people to discuss a problem whilst its ‘owner’ turns around and listens to the
discussion without intervening. A good discussion gives the owner new insights which,
arguably, could not have been gained had the owner taken part in the discussion.
The benefit of ritual dissent is that the problem owner has no opportunity to defend
an idea. Whilst this may seem a disadvantage, it prevents the owner becoming
proprietorial or defensive about an idea until it has been explored thoroughly by people
with less emotional investment in it. This way, the problem owner hears a balanced
discussion of the idea and is able to refine it, develop or, perhaps, even dismiss it
without first getting caught up in debates which simply entrench biased thinking.
Whilst the technique can be used on its own, it is also a very useful way of assessing
ideas generated in bigger collaborative sessions.

When to Use It
■ To test proposals or ideas.

What You Will Need

■ A table and chairs.

How to Use It

Small Group Method

Use this method when a single idea is being discussed by a relatively small group (say,
six to eight people).
1 A small group sits around a table.
2 A problem owner, also seated, presents an idea or an argument in favour of
something (e.g. a change, a new way to do something). Usually, the problem
owner is given three to five minutes to talk about the new idea.
3 The owner then turns the chair to face away from the table group, who vigorously
attack the idea (dissent), find ways of improving it or suggest alternative, better
ideas (assent) for a given time (say, 10 to 15 minutes).
4 The problem owner is not allowed to enter the discussion, simply listening to what
is said, learning from it and making notes, as appropriate.
5 The problem owner may choose to leave the group after the discussion in order
to assimilate the main points, returning later to discuss what he or she has learnt
from it.

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 TOOL 3: RITUAL DISSENT (AND RITUAL ASSENT) 29

Large Group Method

Use this method when a number of ideas is being discussed by a large group (sufficiently
large to spawn at least three smaller groups with at least three or four people in each).
1 The larger group is divided into smaller, roughly equal-sized groups.
2 Each smaller group sits at its own table, with reasonable space between the
tables to ensure that the noise of the discussion about to ensue will not prevent
individuals hearing their own table group discussion.
3 Each group works on developing solutions to a problem or issue.
4 Each group appoints a speaker, who is sufficiently resilient both to speak on behalf
of the group to another group and to cope with criticism of the group’s ideas.
5 Speakers are given some preparation time to assimilate the group’s thinking and
prepare a brief presentation.
6 Each speaker is asked to stand and move to the next table, clockwise, and take
the now vacated seat there.
7 Each speaker presents their group’s thinking to the new table. Usually three to
five minutes is sufficient.
8 When the time limit is called, the speaker turns the chair to face away from the
table group who vigorously attack the idea (dissent), find ways of improving it or
suggest alternative, better ideas (assent) for a given time (say, 10 to 15 minutes).
9 The speaker is not allowed to enter the discussion, simply listening to the
discussion and learning from it.
10 Speakers leave the group after the discussion and move to a central area to wait
until all the table group discussions are complete.
11 Speakers then rejoin their original groups to discuss what they have learnt in the
process. Significant ideas may be presented in plenary.

Variants
If appropriate, you may repeat the cycle, for example:
■ asking the speakers to join a different table to present and listen to the discussion;
■ asking groups to further explore their ideas, informed by feedback from the
speaker in the last round, then getting each group to appoint a different speaker
to present their refined ideas to a different table group.

Points to Watch Out For

■ The problem owners/speakers need to be very resilient.
■ If you have a number of large groups discussing an issue, ask a member of each table
group to go with the speaker to the new table group and take notes of the discussion.
■ In facilitating a ritual dissent session, stay away from content – your role is solely
that of facilitating the process.
■ Consider whether the table groups should bring together a diversity of experience,
views, etc. or whether it would be better to have table groups of people with
similar levels of experience or views.

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 30 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Tool 4 Brain-Friendly Brainstorming

What the Tool Is

Have you ever taken part in a brainstorming session and thought, ‘There is nothing new
here – I could have thought of all these answers myself’, then become frustrated that
one or two dominant or senior people pushed hard to support their own ideas at the
expense of sensible ideas from quieter people less confident in asserting themselves?
Our brains work best on problems at the subconscious level: the ‘Eureka!’ moment
comes when we walk away from a problem. Brain-friendly brainstorming, combined
with a technique called PMI (plus, minus, interesting) to sift the brainstormed ideas,
overcomes both these problems.

When to Use It
■ To generate ideas to be used in problem solving or decision making.

What You Will Need

■ A flipchart and marker pens.
■ A timekeeper.
■ A scribe (who notes the group’s ideas on the flipchart).

How to Use It
1 State the problem to be resolved or decision to be made. Ensure that everyone
understands it.
2 Brainstorm ideas for just two minutes. You may ask someone to keep time for the
group. As each idea is called out, it is noted on the flipchart, with no discussion.
3 Stop and discuss something completely unrelated to the problem for a minute
or two.
4 Restate the original problem or pending decision.
5 Resume the brainstorming, noting each item on the flipchart as it is called out.

You will find that the most creative and useful ideas will emerge after the short break.
The participants’ unconscious minds continue to work on the issue, trawling through
past experiences to produce better answers.
To resolve the dominance/seniority issue and to arrive quickly at a list of ideas worth
further discussion:
1 When the brainstorming session is finished, ask for a show of hands from the
whole group for each idea in turn. If the majority believes an idea worthy of further
discussion, mark it with a green + (plus).
2 If the majority believes it is not worth pursuing, mark it with a red − (minus). Do
not allow any discussion or defence of an idea; if it is outvoted, it is not
discussed.

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 TOOL 4: BRAIN-FRIENDLY BRAINSTORMING 31

3 If an idea is deemed to be interesting but not strictly relevant to the current

discussion, mark it with a neutral coloured ‘i’.
This technique (plus, minus, interesting) comes from Edward de Bono and may also be
used to generate new ideas. Very quickly, it produces a list of items worth discussing,
regardless of who thought of them.

Variants
If you struggle to write the ideas as quickly as they are called out, the group loses
energy. When you are working with a large group of people – say more than 12 – it
can be difficult to keep up with the group. Use more than one flipchart, appoint one or
more additional scribes to note ideas, and take turns to write the ideas down. On one
occasion, we worked with around 30 people, using four scribes and four flipcharts.
Each scribe, in turn, would write the next idea as it was called out. This allowed us to
keep up with the flow of ideas and maintain the energy in the group.

Reference
de Bono, E. (1985) de Bono’s Thinking Course. London: Ariel Books.

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 32 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Tool 5 Reverse Brainstorming

What the Tool Is

Standard brainstorming focuses on how to solve a problem, and the danger is that we
bring to it preconceived notions of how something should work. Reverse brainstorming
focuses on how to create the problem. After determining every possible way to make
something go wrong, use the brainstormed ideas as a jumping-off point for thinking
about how to get it right.

When to Use It
■ When discussion of possible solutions to a problem yields pedestrian answers.
■ When you are trying to resolve a problem related to something that people
constantly do badly or wrong.
■ When you are working with a group of people who have done something the
same way for a long time, not considering that it could be done differently or
better.

What You Will Need

■ Flipchart.
■ Marker pens.
■ A scribe.

How to Use It
The technique works best with a group of between 6 and 12 people.
1 State the problem to be solved.
2 Ask the group to call out every possible way of creating the problem.
3 Write each suggestion on the flipchart.
4 When no further ideas are forthcoming, ask the group to use the suggestions to
stimulate real solutions to the original problem.
For example:

The problem: How can we improve the service offered by our call centre?

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 TOOL 5: REVERSE BRAINSTORMING 33

Brainstormed ideas Solutions stimulated by brainstormed ideas

Don’t train the staff Train the staff
Take as long as possible to answer the phone Hire Answer the phone by the third ring
staff who have poor language skills Test language skills before hiring
Be woefully understaffed Hire sufficient staff to offer quality service
Judge quality by number of calls answered Judge quality by speed and quality of response
Be rude to callers Be polite to callers
Don’t share information about problems, trends Share information about problems, trends and
and solutions across staff solutions across staff to avoid ‘reinventing’ the
wheel

Now use the PMI technique (see Tool 4) to determine which of the answers are worth
further discussion. Consider using a voting or ranking technique to prioritise them.

Points to Watch Out For

Reverse brainstorming is great fun. Just as children love to destroy things they have
made, so adults take pleasure in destroying ideas. There is a danger that participants
call out silly ideas for effect rather than to help solve the problem. Take care to bring
them back on track.
Be careful, too, to steer participants away from simply reversing the brainstormed
ideas. A literal reversal may or may not work. Instead, use the brainstormed ideas to
stimulate thinking, rather than simply writing the opposite of the initial statement.

Reference
de Bono, E. (1985) de Bono’s Thinking Course. London: Ariel Books.

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 34 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Tool 6 Procrastination

What the Tool Is

This may be the most surprising idea in the book – the idea that you are more likely
to solve a problem by procrastinating (putting it off until later). It has been suggested
that the most creative people are the ones who, rather than trying to find any quick
solution to a problem, dwell on it for a while, leave it and come back to it later when
there is more pressure to resolve it. There are several possible reasons why this works,
including:

1 Under pressure, you may have to be more resourceful.

2 We solve a problem best when we allow our subconscious to work on it in the
background. The subconscious mind goes back through your memory to find
similar situations and their solutions, determines the likeliest solution to the current
problem and then presents the answer without jogging your memory to remember
those situations – the result is a flash of intuition without any conscious rationale
for the solution.
Just wait...

Leonardo da Vinci took years to paint the Mona Lisa, perhaps as long as a decade. Its
slow progress frustrated him, but, in the years in which he carried the idea of the picture
around with him and continued to improve it, he studied optics and his understanding
of light may have informed his painting – arguably, he became a better artist as he
failed to finish his masterpiece.
Psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik noted that people are better able to remember tasks
that they have not completed than those that they have. A waiter will tend to remember
what diners ordered up to the point at which the bill is presented, and then the order
will disappear from the waiter’s short-term memory. Zeigarnik said that people were
twice as good at remembering interrupted tasks as they were at remembering
completed work – the fact that it preys on your mind suggests that your subconscious
has continued to work on it in the background.
The cliff-hanger ending to an episodic drama has precisely the same effect as the
unfinished task – it gnaws away at us until we see some resolution.

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 TOOL 6: PROCRASTINATION 35

When to Use It
■ When you have spent some time staring at a problem, unable to find a solution.

What You Will Need

■ Pen and paper.

How to Use It
1 Start by writing concisely the problem to be solved.
2 Recite the problem statement to yourself a number of times.
3 Sketch a few ideas that may contribute to the solution.
4 Walk away.
5 Return to it occasionally, and attempt to solve it only when you are under
pressure to do so.

Points to Watch Out For

There is, of course, a danger that you procrastinate so much that you fail to resolve
the problem or return to it. You will need a certain self-discipline to make yourself go
back to an unfinished task. Still, if Zeigarnik is correct, you will have no difficulty in
remembering that the issue is outstanding.

References
Grant, A.M. (2016) Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World. Viking.
Zeigarnik, B. (1938) On Finished and Unfinished Tasks: A Source Book of Gestalt
Psychology (pp. 300–314). New York: Harcourt.

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 36 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Tool 7 Cartesian Logic

What the Tool Is

This tool helps a problem owner to explore an issue from all angles. You can use the
technique on your own or involve others in the process.

When to Use It
■  hen you need to ensure that you have looked at the problem from every possible
W
angle.
■ When you are torn between two possible solutions.
■ When avoidance of the issue could be as useful as tackling it.
■ When you want to test a possible solution to a problem.

What You Will Need

■ Pen and paper.

How to Use It
Consider your problem and a possible solution. Let us call the solution X. Ask yourself:
■ What would happen if I do X?
■ What would not happen if I do X?
■ What would happen if I do not do X?
■ What would not happen if I do not do X?
Write down the answer to each question.

Do Do not
Would happen
Would not happen

For the logically minded, the questions are based on the statements:
■ If A then B.
■ If A not B.
■ If not A then B.
■ If not A not B.
You will discover quickly that the questions lead to similar answers and, usually, the answer
to your problem becomes obvious as you work through the questions. Sometimes, the
answers raise further questions about your values – what is really most important to you?
You may choose to ascribe weights or scores to each element of your moral dilemma,
according to its importance to you and use the weighting to select the best answer.

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 TOOL 7: CARTESIAN LOGIC 37

For example:

I am nervous about giving feedback to a member of my team. He is technically very

strong and hard-working, but I know that he is rude and abrasive to other team
members (although extremely polite when I am present). I don’t want him to lose
his enthusiasm for the work, but I do want to create a harmonious team and it will
be important for a forthcoming project that he learns to work more effectively with
others. Should I tackle him about his behaviour?

Do Do not
Would happen He may lose his enthusiasm He will continue to be rude
The team will be happier with He may alienate the rest of
his behaviour the team
He will continue to be
enthusiastic about his work

The project will suffer

Would not happen His continued enthusiasm He will change his ways
The team’s continued upset at He will be alienated
his behaviour
His continued input to the
project

The subtle differences in wording in each box take some thinking through. Very often,
the method confirms what you already knew, but it is good to have that confirmation.
Often, too, the result is not quite clear-cut: the reality in this example is that I should
tackle the rudeness issue because it is inappropriate and affecting the whole team. The
more basic question seems to be about my management ability! I have avoided talking
to someone about inappropriate behaviour because it makes me uncomfortable, and
it seems I have decided that the only way my team member can be motivated is by
allowing him to be rude to others. The problem of his enthusiasm may need to be
tackled as a separate issue. Asking all the right questions helps to clarify the way
forward, at least partially, even if the results are uncomfortable.

Here is another example:

I am ambitious and I enjoy learning. I am considering doing a fast-track, distance-

learning one-year MBA, starting next year. It will require me to work around 15 hours
per week. I have a full time job, a spouse and a young family.

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 38 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Here is a selection of answers to the four questions:

Do Do not
Would happen I will be eligible to apply for a I would be frustrated that
director’s post in my firm (all I haven’t advanced either my
the directors have MBAs) learning or my career
I continue to see as much of I could never fulfil my ambition
my family of becoming a director

Would not happen I would not be able to see as I get my MBA

much of my family I put my family life on hold

What comes out of this is the moral dilemma: what is more important – career or
family? Perhaps the real solution is to consider studying for an MBA over a longer
period, so that I can fulfil both ambitions, taking more time with my family and still
getting the qualification that makes me eligible for directorship.

Variants
You can use Cartesian Logic with a group of people who will tend to expand the range
of ideas beyond those that you could think of for yourself.

Points to Watch Out For

The most important thing here (as with so many problem-solving techniques) is to
formulate the right question. It is all too easy to avoid the real issue by skewing the
question towards one you want to answer or to which you already have an answer,
rather than tackling a more difficult question.
The most difficult box to complete is the bottom right (what will not happen if we
do not . . .?). It is easy to drift into giving the same answers as in the top left box (what
will happen if we do . . .?) and there may be subtle differences that shed more light on
the issue.

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 TOOL 8: BRAINWRITING 39

Tool 8 Brainwriting

What the Tool Is

This is a very fast, relatively quiet and very democratic method of brainstorming.

When to Use It
■ It is particularly useful for collecting ideas from people who are reluctant to offer
ideas in a group session or when you need to solve several problems in parallel.
■ Use it, too, to prevent senior or loud participants dominating a session – this way
everyone gets a say, and in silence.

What You Will Need

■  heets of A4 paper printed with the following headings and a table with as many
S
‘cells’ as there are people working on the problems or as many as you can fit on a
sheet of A4 paper, still leaving space to write in each cell.

Problem:
Owner:

How to Use It
Small Group, Multiple Problems

1 Distribute a brainwriting sheet to each participant.

2 Ask each participant to write their problem and name at the top of the sheet.
3 Rotate the sheets so that every participant has a chance to add one or more
possible solutions or the seeds of solutions. Note that if a participant has no ideas
about a particular problem, they can simply pass the sheet on to the next person.
4 Continue to rotate the sheets until all ideas are exhausted.
5 Finally, give each sheet back to the appropriate problem owner.
6 The problem owner takes the sheets away to assimilate the suggestions and
implement whichever seem most sound.

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 40 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Large Group, Shared Problem

1 Distribute a brainwriting sheet to each participant.

2 Ask each participant to write the shared problem and owner’s name at the top of
the sheet.
3 Ask each person to write a single idea/solution, complete a row of ideas/solutions
or write as many ideas/solutions as they can think of.
4 Pass each sheet to the next person in the group who adds further ideas/solutions
of their own and those triggered by others’ ideas already on the sheet.
5 When everyone has written something on a sheet, or passed it on if they have no
further ideas, give the sheets back to the problem owner.
6 The problem owner takes the sheets away to assimilate the suggestions and
implement whichever seem most sound.

Variants
The same technique can be adapted to large groups with multiple problems and small
groups with a single problem.

Points to Watch Out For

■ Ask everyone to write as clearly as possible – the problem owner needs to be able
to read the solutions!
■ On occasions, someone will query another’s idea, declaiming it as silly. Encourage
participants to work in silence.

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 TOOL 9: INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE MIND MAPPING 41

Tool 9 Individual and Collective

Mind Mapping

What the Tool Is

We do not think in linear, structured ways, instead combining ideas and making
associations. The mind map allows us to organise these connected ideas visually
and so sparks new associations. Individual mind maps can help us to solve simple
problems.
Collective mind maps, drawn on a large scale, can help us to see new associations
as others add their ideas to the picture.

When to Use It
■  hen you need to think on a large scale, resolving problems whose solutions may
W
have far-reaching effects.
■ As a planning tool, to ensure that you have covered all possibilities.
■ As a design tool, working in collaboration with others.

What You Will Need

■ Working alone, a sheet of paper and coloured pens.
■ Working with others, one or more sheets of flipchart paper and coloured marker pens.

How to Use It
1 Draw a circle in the middle of a sheet of paper, turned landscape, and write a brief
description of the problem inside it.
2 Allow yourself to think freely about the problem.
3 As each major solution occurs to you, draw a branch leading from the central
circle, and label it with a brief description of the solution.
4 As you think in more detail about each possible solution, draw sub-branches
leading from the appropriate branches and label those, too, with a brief
description.
5 If you see links between sub-branches, connect them with lines or arrows.
6 Now look at the overall picture you have created and allow it to inspire new ideas,
new connections not yet made, new branches and sub-branches. Add them in to
the mind map.
If you are working with a group of people, ensure that you have large sheets of paper
(flipchart pages attached to a wall are ideal) and lots of space to manoeuvre. Encourage
people to take lots of time out to stand back and look at the map as it begins to
emerge, so that each person’s thinking stimulates ideas in others. Use colourful arrows
to connect ideas.

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 42 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Points to Watch Out For

There is a danger that, rather than using the mind map to create free associations
and engage the creative side of your brain, you simply use the mind map format as
an alternative to linear notes. The power of the mind map lies in our brain’s ability to
make connections, one idea stimulating another. Rather than explore each possible
branch/solution in detail, just jot down ideas as quickly as they occur to you. Notice
how branches and sub-branches link to each other and suggest new solutions. If you
think it, write it down – do not dismiss an idea because it does not immediately seem
sensible. Often, the apparently silly ideas contain the seed of something really useful.
To stimulate your whole brain:
■ use keywords or key phrases, rather than whole sentences;
■ draw pictures in place of, or in addition to, words;
■ use different colours for each branch.

Brain-friendly Reverse

Pro
b Brainstorming
fra lem
OFF min Argument
g Divergence
ImpON Discussion
leme
ntatio Problem Debate
do n
st solving Eme Dissent
Ju it! rgen
ce
Revelation
Aha!
Co Lightbulb
g nv
stin erg moments
t Te en Agreement
Pilo ce
all Comin
Sm ale toget
g
sc her
ll
Fu cale
s

A simple mind map relating to problem solving shows five main branches, each related
to the five primary stages, and sub-branches illustrating more detail about each area.
Drawings can be useful to trigger key thoughts, memories or ideas.

Reference
Buzan, T. (2009) The Mind Map Book: Unlock Your Creativity, Boost Your Memory,
Change Your Life. London: BBC Active.

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 TOOL 10: STRUCTURED WALKTHROUGHS 43

Tool 10 Structured Walkthroughs

What the Tool Is

When you have an idea of how to resolve an issue and want insights from others,
the structured walkthrough can be helpful. In a highly structured way, an audience of
interested parties can offer you critical and constructive feedback on your own thinking
for you to take away and consider, with no pressure to implement the group’s ideas.
The structured walkthrough originated in the IT industry.

When to Use It
■ When you have a partly developed solution to a problem.
■ When you need constructive criticism to take an idea further.
■ When you feel you can benefit from the collective wisdom of others.

What You Will Need

■ Comfortable seating for the participants.
■ An area in which the presenter can present comfortably.
■ Check in advance whether the presenter will need a PC, projector and screen;
a flipchart; handouts to be printed.

How to Use It
One person is the presenter. Appoint a leader and recorder; other participants are
reviewers. Roles are as follows:
Presenter: Presents the ideas and listens to participant feedback.
Leader: Chairs the meeting and ensures an egoless approach, an even pace,
concentration on the key issues and dictates what will be recorded.
Recorder: A non-participant in the discussion, there to record only what the leader
asks to be recorded.
Reviewers: There to listen intently to the presenter, question areas that they do
not understand fully and ask for clarification in difficult areas. Reviewers should
be both interested parties and people with no vested interested in the finished
solution. They should have sufficient background to understand the subject of the
presentation.

1 The leader introduces the topic and, where necessary, the participants.
2 The leader explains each person’s role, how the session will work and sets strict
time limits.
3 The presenter is there to present an idea, a design, a possible solution but not
him/herself.

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 44 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

4 The presenter must present the work in a dispassionate, egoless way.

5 The presenter will benefit from the walkthrough in direct proportion to the
selflessness of the presentation.
6 The presenter is there to learn and improve the design, idea or solution.
7 The reviewers are there to assist the presenter by asking questions designed
to help the presenter consider other aspects of the problem, explore alternative
ways of thinking about the problem, etc.
8 The reviewers must never attack the presenter.
9 The reviewers are there to help, to learn but never to be critical.
10 Alert reviewers will look for loopholes, potential problems and unworkable
methods.
11 The reviewers must raise objections as questions to the presenter.
12 The leader must ensure that the reviewers do not attack the presenter and vice
versa.
13 The leader must smooth out the presenter’s (almost inevitable) feeling of
persecution, regardless of the constructive attitudes of the reviewers.
14 The leader must present in a way that concentrates simply on the presenter’s
areas of comfort or areas in which the presenter has avoided following through.
15 The leader must ensure that the unresolved issues are noted by the recorder in
the sequence in which they are raised during the presentation.
16 The leader asks the recorder to record each unresolved point as it arises and
read it back immediately so it can be amended, if necessary.
17 At the end of the session, the leader asks the recorder to read out all the
recorded points.
18 The recorder’s report is given to the presenter not as a definitive plan but as a list
of points that the presenter may wish to consider.
19 The structured walkthrough is not designed for decision making. Points raised by
reviewers are not considered binding on the presenter.

Points to Watch Out For

The leader must be fair and firm, allowing the reviewers space to comment and
question, ensuring that the points raised are pertinent and helpful. The leader must be
sensitive to the effects of the reviewers’ points on the presenter.

Reference
Yourdon, E. (1978) Structured Walkthroughs. New York: Yourdon Press.

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 TOOL 11: LIFE THROUGH A LENS 45

Tool 11 Life Through a Lens

What the Tool Is

Each of us sees life from our own perspective. This simple technique asks you to
consider how someone from a different profession would view your problem and how
they would begin to resolve it. Seeing a problem through a different lens can give us
insights that we would not gain easily from our own perspective.

When to Use It
■ When no obvious solution presents itself.
■ When your possible solution seems too obvious and you want to see it from new
perspectives.

What You Will Need

■ Paper and pens.
■ A large room, if you plan to work with smaller, breakout groups.

How to Use It
State your problem. Ask yourself or others, if working collaboratively, how would a(n) X
begin to solve it? X may be, for example, an/a:
■ doctor;
■ lawyer;
■ engineer;
■ artist;
■ statistician;
■ politician;
■ office cleaner;
■ IT technician;
■ chef.

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 46 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Add as many professions as you like to this list, selecting those professions that are
sufficiently unlike your own to give you a broader perspective. Stress that you do not
expect anyone to understand the detailed work of the chosen professions, instead
consider how that person would think about a problem.
For example:

A doctor might diagnose the root causes of a problem before suggesting a cure;
a lawyer might explore opposing sides of an argument before presenting a case;
an engineer might explore the detailed workings of an issue; an artist might make
preliminary sketches before starting the real picture; a chef might ensure that all
ingredients are in place before beginning to create something.

Discuss which combination of these approaches will guide you towards a better
solution and implement the most appropriate.
If you are working with a large group, delegate the appropriate approaches to sub-
groups and have them work in parallel on them, presenting to all in a plenary session.
For example, one group may compile the balanced arguments for and against an
approach, one may sketch a number of approaches and one may analyse the current
situation and its likely effects in more depth.

Points to Watch Out For

Help participants to understand that the method is not about a literal application of the
work of each profession to the problem, but about free association of the characteristics
or methods of each profession with the problem. What do they bring to the party that
does not naturally fall out from your own way of thinking?

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 TOOL 12: NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUE 47

Tool 12 Nominal Group Technique

What the Tool Is

A useful technique, developed by Delbecq and VandeVen, to ensure that everyone
involved in solution finding has an equal voice. Some believe that nominal group
technique (NGT) produces a higher quality list of solutions than brainstorming.

When to Use It
■ When a group includes very vocal or highly dominant individuals.
■ When you believe that quieter members of the group are reluctant to speak in
front of the more dominant ones.
■ When the group has, traditionally, not generated a large volume of creative ideas.
■ When the issue is controversial.

What You Will Need

■ Pen and paper for each participant.
■ Flipchart and marker pens.

How to Use It
1 State the problem and check that everyone understands it. The problem is best
voiced as an open question, for example: ‘What are some of the ways in which we
could encourage employees to come to work on time?’
2 Individuals silently generate ideas, writing as many possible solutions as they can
in a fixed time period (5 to 10 minutes is usually adequate). The facilitator may
also write down ideas.
3 In plenary, each participant declares one idea in turn and the facilitator records
them on a flipchart:
a) No discussion of the ideas is allowed.
b) In some versions of NGT, clarification may be sought at this stage. In others,
clarification is sought after all ideas are recorded.
c) A participant may call out an idea that is not on his or her list, but is inspired by
other ideas.
d) A participant may decide to pass in a given round and then offer an idea in a
subsequent round.

4 Discuss each idea in the sequence in which they are written on the flipchart:
a) Members may ask questions and state whether they agree or disagree.
b) The facilitator must ensure that each contributor has equal space to talk about
their ideas and is not subject to verbal attack.

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 48 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

c) The group may combine ideas into categories and offer new ideas stimulated
by what they have heard. The group ranks ideas in relation to the original
problem and votes on them. (See ranking and voting.)

Variants
After ideas have been generated and recorded, the facilitator questions whether the
ideas are relevant to the stated problem. If they are not, the problem is declared ‘ill-
structured’ because it allowed for responses that were not strictly related to it. The ideas
that participants have generated are then clustered into groups – for example, one
group would relate directly to the stated problem, another to a different interpretation of
that problem. The ill-structured ideas are then regarded as problems in their own right
and another round of NGT may be applied to them.

Points to Watch Out For

■ Ensure that the group really understands the issue being discussed, to avoid ill-
structured ideas.
■ Ensure that discussion is always calm and constructive and based around the
development of ideas and not personal attacks.
■ Be careful with the language of NGT. The owner of a problem may feel passionate
about it, only to be told that the problem was ‘ill-structured’. In their mind, it was
probably perfectly structured. You do not have to use the original NGT language.

References
Delbecq, A.L. and VandeVen, A.H. ‘A Group Process Model for Problem Identification
and Program Planning’, Journal Of Applied Behavioral Science VII (July/August
1971), 466–91.
Delbecq, A.L., VandeVen, A.H. and Gustafson, D.H. (1975) Group Techniques for
Program Planners. Glenview, Illinois: Scott Foresman and Company.

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 TOOL 13: GROW FOR PROBLEM SOLVING 49

Tool 13 Grow For Problem Solving

What the Tool Is

Whilst the GROW model is associated traditionally with one-to-one coaching, it
provides a clear framework for problem solving, either individually or collectively.

When to Use It
■ When you need a range of possible solutions to a problem.
■ When you need to explore a problem in depth and bring something concrete to a
partly formed idea.

What You Will Need

■ Paper and pens.

How to Use It
Perhaps the world’s most popular coaching tool is GROW, which provides a sequence
for questioning the coachee. GROW stands for goal, reality, options, will/way forward.
Typically, the coach asks the coachee a number of questions to help the coachee explore
a goal, further questions to establish the reality of the coachee’s current situation and the
possible options available to the coachee based on that goal and reality. Finally, the coach
tests the coachee’s willingness to continue to work towards the goal and asks which
option or options the coachee will undertake first.
The same tool offers a useful framework for problem-solving. You can use it on your
own or with others.
Goal: Explore in as much depth as you can the problem you are attempting to solve.
For example:
■ What would happen if you did solve it?
■ What would happen if you did not?
■ What would it look like, feel like (even sound like) if you had solved the problem?
Engage as many senses as possible to make the end goal seem as realistic as
possible.
■ How would you know that you had solved it?

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 50 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Reality: Explore, again in as much depth as possible, the reality of your current
situation and the environment in which you are trying to solve your problem:
■ Who or what might help you?
■ What are the potential barriers or constraints?
■ What might be the indirect consequences of finding a solution?

Options: Explore the choices available to you that might resolve the problem.
Be as creative as you like at this stage, constantly checking that your possible
solutions will actually resolve the original problem and testing the feasibility of your
proposed solutions against the reality of your situation.
Will/way forward: Given the reality and possible options, do you still have the will
to resolve this problem? Which option or combination of the options will you select
to start resolving the problem and what will be your first step?

Points to Watch Out For

Inexperienced coaches, eager to help their coachees, often dive into solution finding
before really understanding the coachee’s goal and reality. Equally, when using GROW
as a problem-solving tool, you may be tempted to start creating solutions before you
have explored the goal and reality properly. Ideally, spend more time on goal and reality
than on the other two categories. When you truly understand your goal and have
realistically appraised what will help and hinder you in its achievement, the options will
start to appear.

Reference
The GROW model has been attributed variously to John Whitmore, Alan Fine and
Graham Alexander. There are few references to it as a method for pure problem solving.
As a coaching tool, there is an abundance of literature. Perhaps the best known is:
Whitmore, J. (2009) Coaching for Performance: GROWing Human Potential and
Purpose – the Principles and Practice of Coaching and Leadership. London:
Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

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 TOOL 14: HEAD/HEART-PUSH/PULL 51

Tool 14 Head/Heart-Push/Pull

What the Tool Is

Head/heart-push/pull allows you to view the solution to a problem or a decision from
all angles so that you can communicate it more effectively.

Head

Pull Push

Heart

The head argument is a rational one, dealing with facts, figures and information
coolly and objectively.
The heart argument works at the emotional, subjective level, tugging at the heart
strings and offering opinions rather than facts.
The push approach argues a case so that the listener feels that they have no
choice but to comply.
The pull approach attracts the listener towards an argument, making it seem
irresistible.
By combining head-push, head-pull, heart-push, heart-pull, you can create a set of
arguments to convince people from varying standpoints that what you are doing is
right for them and for the organisation.

When to Use It
■ To ensure that you communicate the solutions to a problem in the best way for
different audiences.
■ Typically, you would use this at the end of a problem-solving session. You have
found a solution to a problem and now you and those who participated in
the problem-solving exercise need to consider how to communicate the
solution to others.

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 52 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

What You Will Need

■ Paper and pens.

How to Use It
Either work as a single group or divide the group into four smaller teams, each of which
focuses on one facet of communication and then reports back in plenary. The facets
are head-push, head-pull, heart-push and heart-pull.
For example: You are a travel agent and you want to entice a couple to buy an
expensive holiday from you:
Heart-pull – ‘Imagine the scene: you are standing on a beautiful beach, the
gentle waves lapping at your feet in the soft white sand. Above you, in the azure
sky, there is barely a wisp of cloud and a warm breeze strokes your cheeks.
In your hand, a cocktail. You haven’t a care in the world. And all this could be
yours for just £2,550 per person, half board!’ The aim is to make an expensive
holiday so attractive that the couple cannot resist it, by taking them with you at
an emotional level.

Head-push – ‘On the limited budget available to you, there are only two holidays
that you can afford – pony trekking in the Welsh mountains or a city break in
Edinburgh. So, if you are restricted to the first week of May, those are your
options.’ The aim is to push the couple into accepting a holiday at the top of their
budget by stripping out any emotional appeal and being absolutely rational.
In reality, you may have to communicate your solutions to a broad range of people,
and the trick here is to have considered your communication from all four viewpoints,
so that you have your arguments ready and can deal with objections or resistance at a
personal level with those to whom you communicate your ideas.

Points to Watch Out For

There is a small danger that those working on the heart-pull arguments become too
dramatic and overplay their ideas. Equally, those working on the head-push arguments
may risk seeming cold and coercive. Remind participants that this is simply a starting
point to consider objections to your ideas or ways of pre-empting those objections to
gain more acceptance and that they are dealing with real people here.

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 TOOL 15: OSBORN-PARNES’ CRITICAL PROBLEM-SOLVING PROCESS 53

Tool 15 Osborn-Parnes’ Critical Problem-

Solving Process

What the Tool Is

A five- (and sometimes six-) step process for critical problem solving. It was developed
in the 1960s by Alex Osborn who founded the Creative Education Foundation (CEF)
and Sidney Parnes who succeeded him as president of the CEF. Many creative thinking
techniques begin with a divergent stage (in which many ideas are generated) and are
followed by a convergent stage (in which a smaller number of ideas is selected to
address the initial problem). The Osborn-Parnes process is unusual in that it includes
divergent and convergent phases at each step of the process.

When to Use It
■  hen you are faced with a problem that affects a large number of people or a
W
decision whose effects could be wide-ranging.

What You Will Need

■ A flipchart and marker pens.

How to Use It
1 Mess finding (objective finding)
Challenge yourself at this stage so that you identify clearly the problem to be
explored.
For example:
■ What is the challenge or goal that you wish to explore?
■ What would you like to do or to have?
■ What would you like to improve?
■ In what ways do you work inefficiently?
■ Which relationship(s) would you like to improve?
■ What is currently making you angry or frustrated?

2 Fact finding
Use the six question words here: Who? What? Where? Why? When? How?
For example:
■ Who is currently involved? Who should be involved? Who might expect to be
involved? Who will we deliberately not involve?
■ What is happening? What is not happening? What would happen if . . .? What
would happen if not . . .?
■ Where does X happen? Where does X not happen? Where could I make X
happen?

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 54 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

■ Why does X happen? Why does X not happen? Why do we face this problem?
■ When does X happen? When does X not happen?
■ How does X happen? How can I make X happen? How can I stop X from
happening? How is X a problem?

3 Problem finding
You get what you focus on, and the way you define a problem will have a distinct
impact on the solutions you find. At this stage, you should list a number of
alternative definitions of the problem. Try prefacing the problem statements with,
‘In what ways might I/we . . . ?’ Then ask, for example:
■ What is the real underlying problem?
■ What is the primary objective?
■ Why do I want to do X?
■ What is my goal in accomplishing this?

4 Idea finding
Use any brainstorming or creative thinking techniques you like here to generate
ideas. Avoid criticising or evaluating the ideas at this stage. Your aim is to create
the broadest list of possible ideas.

5 Solution finding (idea evaluation)

If you are to select the best solutions, you need to set out the criteria by which
you would judge them. Go back to the problem-finding stage to remind yourself
of what you were trying to achieve in order to create useful evaluation criteria.
■ Set evaluation criteria.
■ Evaluate your ideas according to those criteria.
■ Select the most appropriate solution(s).

6 Acceptance finding (idea implementation)

Create an action plan to implement the solution(s). Ask yourself, for example:
■ Who needs to be involved?
■ When will you/they start?
■ How long will it take?
■ When will it be finished?
■ How will you know that you have implemented it successfully?

Points to Watch Out For

There is a danger, using this method, of getting bogged down in detail and losing sight
of the original issue. It requires strong facilitation and clarity of direction.

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 TOOL 16: APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY 55

Tool 16 Appreciative Inquiry

What the Tool Is

Appreciative inquiry (AI) is designed to orchestrate organisational change. It is based
on the notion that an organisation is a socially constructed phenomenon, not a reality.
If we can accept that this is so, then changes to an organisation are limited only by our
imagination. In essence, we created the organisation based on what we dreamed it
might look like and so can change it by that same creative process.
Its originator, David Cooperrider of Case Western Reserve University, believes that
traditional problem solving focuses on fixing what is, rather than imagining what could
be. There is no single way to do AI, because Cooperrider was keen that, rather than
using one fixed method, those using it developed it in ways that suited them. After
all, a single method does not allow those applying it to ‘dream’ about what could be
different, thus flying in the face of the very principles of AI.
AI works on the principle that we should do more of what works rather than focusing
on fixing what does not. It focuses on the big picture and on rapid change based on a
shared vision of the future.

When to Use It
■ For organisational change.
■ For strategic planning.
■ For community development.
■ For building networks.
■ For resolving conflict.
■ For helping teams to see how to work better together.

What You Will Need

■ A flipchart.
■ Paper and pens.

How to Use It
For some years, the most widely applied version of AI was a four-step approach to
problem solving, which focuses on:
Discovery: Appreciating the best of ‘what is’ now. The idea is to hold on to the
aspects of the object of inquiry that are really worth preserving. What is working well
that we should preserve?
Dream: Envisaging what might be. What would the organisation, team, etc.
look like at its very best? This is often created as a graphical representation of a
possible future rather than a carefully wordsmithed vision.

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 56 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Design: Discussing what should be. What concrete proposals can those involved
suggest? These are sometimes referred to as possibility statements or design
statements.
Delivery/destiny: Innovating what will be. Cooperrider changed the name of the
fourth stage from delivery to destiny because of a concern that the term ‘delivery’
had connotations of traditional change management. At this stage, participants
in the process take actions to make the dream and design a reality. The process
avoids the establishment of committees and project teams, encouraging
participants to do what they believe is right based around some agreement of the
design statements.
It is interesting to note that Jan Carlzon, president of the airline SAS in the early 1980s,
decentralised power to allow his employees to make decisions and solve problems in
the interests of the passengers without first asking for permission. If each of the airline’s
10 million passengers came into contact with 5 airline employees for an average of 15
seconds for each encounter, the airline was ‘created’ 50 million times a year. By taking
authorisation away from management and giving it to the employees, he created new
possibility statements that took a failing airline to ‘Airline of the Year’ in just three years.

Points to Watch Out For

Take care when using AI with some hard-headed business people who may consider
concepts like ‘dream’ and ‘destiny’ to be a little too New Age or fanciful. You do not
have to name the stages in order to use them!

Reference
Cooperrider, D. and Whitney, D.D. (2005) Appreciative Inquiry: A Positive Revolution in
Change. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

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 TOOL 17: COMPETITIVE IDEAS 57

Tool 17 Competitive Ideas

What the Tool Is

Whilst often it is said that the creative juices flow best when you are relaxed, there are
times when a spirit of competition can inspire the creative mind. Competitive ideas
introduces a competitive edge to problem solving.

When to Use It
■ Best used with groups of people who are naturally competitive.

What You Will Need

■ Paper and pens or flipcharts and markers.
■ (Optionally) a prize for the winning team.

How to Use It
1 Present a business problem to a large group and then break the group into smaller
groups.
2 Tell them that they have a set time (as appropriate) to create the best solution(s)
to the problem and must present their ideas to the other groups. The solutions
must be worked through and feasible. State that this is a competition between
the groups to find the best solution(s).
3 After each small group has presented their solutions, groups will vote on the best
solution. Groups may not vote for themselves.
4 When the best solution is selected, other techniques may be used to explore in
more depth how it can be put into practice.
As a further incentive, you may choose to offer small prizes to the team with the winning
ideas.

Points to Watch Out For

Ensure that the focus is on quality of ideas, not quantity. In a competitive environment,
participants simply may generate as many ideas as possible in order to ‘win’.

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 58 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Tool 18 Why Not?

What the Tool Is

This is similar to structured walkthroughs but largely conducted in silence.
A solution is presented. Participants try to prove all the ways in which the solution
is flawed.

When to Use It
■ To test a possible solution to a problem.
■ To refine a partly developed solution.

What You Will Need

■ Paper and pens.

How to Use It
1 Present the context of the problem for which you have a notional solution. Explain
your proposed solution.

Why? Why not?

2 Each participant quietly reflects on the solution, only speaking to request

clarification where necessary.
3 Participants quietly write down all the reasons why the proposed solution may not
work.
4 Participants hand their objections to the problem owner who is not bound by
them but may take them away to reflect on them in order to refine the proposed
solution or create a new solution.

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 TOOL 18: WHY NOT? 59

Variants
1 Participants read out their written objections, then hand them to the problem owner
for consideration, without further discussion.
2 Participants read out their written objections and the problem owner may
question them but not justify the original solution – this way the problem owner
may learn from the participants without becoming proprietorial about the original
solution.
3 In a slightly reworked version of Ritual dissent, (Tool 3) participants read out and
discuss their objections in front of the problem owner, who may listen and take
notes but not take part in the discussion.

Points to Watch Out For

Ensure that participants criticise the solution and do not attack the problem owner who
may be sensitive to the criticism.

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 60 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Tool 19 Muse

What the Tool Is

This is a staged problem-solving technique. MUSE stands for me, us, select, explain.

When to Use It
■ To draw out quiet people who may have something useful to contribute.
■ To ensure that those with the loudest voices do not dominate the process.

What You Will Need

■ Paper and pens.
■ A flipchart.

How to Use It
1 State the problem and invite questions and discussion to ensure that everyone
understands it.
2 Individuals (me) silently write possible solutions to a problem.
3 Pairs (us) discuss their ideas and challenge each others’ thinking to refine the
ideas.
4 Pairs now select the best of their ideas and post them on a flipchart or poster,
visible to all.
5 Pairs explain their ideas in plenary.
6 The larger group ranks the solutions and votes on them.
7 The larger group agrees who will implement the solution(s) and by when.

Points to Watch Out For

Sometimes a group will assume that the originators of an idea should be the ones
to implement it. Ensure that the most appropriate people implement a solution. The
most creative thinkers are not, necessarily, the best executors of an idea – design and
implementation are two different skill sets.

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 TOOL 20: ISHIKAWA FISHBONE DIAGRAMS 61

Tool 20 Ishikawa Fishbone Diagrams

What the Tool Is

The fishbone diagram was developed in the early 1940s by Dr Kaoru Ishikawa of the
University of Tokyo. Though it was designed initially as a product improvement tool,
it now has much wider application as a general problem-solving tool, particularly for
understanding the many causes that may contribute to a particular result.
Ishikawa believed that quality improvement should be a continual process and that
customer service was as important as high-quality products. He worked with Dr W.
Edwards Deming, whose work on quality control is represented in this book by his
plan, do, study, act tool (see Tool 21).
Using the fishbone diagram allows you to see every possible cause contributing to
a particular result.

When to Use It
■ When a team has fallen into a rut in its thinking about a problem.
■ To uncover new connections not immediately obvious through more linear
problem-solving methods.

What You Will Need

■ A flipchart, whiteboard or large pad of paper.
■ Sticky notes.
■ Marker pens.

How to Use It
You can use this technique on your own or with others. The group method is described
below. Working alone, substitute ‘you’ for ‘the group’:
1 Write down the problem to be solved (the Effect) to the centre right of your flipchart
or whiteboard.
2 Draw a box around it.
3 Draw a horizontal line from the right of the paper, connecting to the middle of the
box.
4 Brainstorm the major categories of possible cause of the problem and write them
as branches from the horizontal line.
5 Brainstorm all the possible causes of the problem and for each one, ask ’Why
does this happen?’
6 Write each answer as a sub-branch attached to the appropriate category,
duplicating the ideas if they logically fit in more than one category.

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 62 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

7 For each cause, ask ’Why does that happen?’ and write the answers as sub-
causes attached to the appropriate causes.
8 Keep asking why and adding more layers of branches until the group has no
more ideas.

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Points to Watch Out For
The biggest issue in using a fishbone diagram is to ensure that you have sufficient
space on the paper for all the sub-branches. It is frustrating having to start again!

Reference
Ishikawa, K. (2012) Introduction to Quality Control. London: Chapman & Hall.

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 TOOL 21: DEMING’S PDSA CYCLE (THE SHEWHART CYCLE) 63

Tool 21 Deming’s Pdsa Cycle (The Shewhart

Cycle)

What the Tool Is

W. Edwards Deming (an American colleague of Kaoru Ishikawa – see Tool 20) believed
that, through careful measurement and analysis of business processes, it should
be possible to determine why products deviate from customers’ requirements. He
produced a rather simplified feedback loop designed to help managers to identify and
modify the parts of a process that need to be improved – the PDSA cycle. PDSA
stands for plan, do, study, act.

Plan Do

Act Study

There is nothing very magical about the model – it is a commonsense approach to

continual improvement and the real power comes not from using it once but from its
constant use. Deming credits his mentor, Walter Shewhart of Bell Laboratories, New
York, with the creation of the cycle and referred to it as the Shewhart Cycle. Shewhart
referred to it as the PDCA (plan, do, check, act) Cycle. Deming modified it to PDSA.
It is interesting to note that in ‘lean’ thinking, the plan stage is the biggest, whereas
in more traditional organisations, the do stage is the biggest.

When to Use It
■ In planning for change and continual improvement.
(Note that I have used ‘continual’ here in place of ‘continuous’. Continual implies
stopping and starting, whereas continuous means there is no break in the process.
Realistically, there is!)

What You Will Need

■ No special equipment.

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 64 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

How to Use It
Work in sequence through the loop:
Plan: Define your objective, and make predictions about the outcome of your plan.
Be prepared to answer questions about the plan: Who? What? Where? When?
Create or revise a business process to improve results. Determine the data that you
will need to collect to measure the success of the plan.
Do: Implement the plan and collect data to measure the success of its
performance. Ideally, you should test the change on a small scale at first.
Study (also known as check): Analyse the data and report your results to
the appropriate decision makers. Compare your data to the predictions and
summarise what you have learned from the experience and what went wrong.
Act: Decide which changes are needed to further improve the process. Plan the
next cycle and decide whether the change can be implemented or abandon it if
it cannot be made to work.

Points to Watch Out For

At first sight, the process looks simple. In reality, being able to predict the outcome
of a simple change requires a broader look at everything else on which that change
may have an impact – do not just look at the splash as you throw a stone in water, but
look at the more distant effects of the ripples after the splash. If you are going to use
Deming’s method, then you need to commit to it over the long term. It is an iterative
process and you should work on a small scale before making wide-ranging changes.
Involve as many people as you can, even in the smallest of changes, to reduce the
barriers to changes that will affect many people.

Reference
Deming, W.E. (2000) Out of the Crisis. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.

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 TOOL 22: 3D STAKEHOLDER MAPPING 65

Tool 22 3D Stakeholder Mapping

What the Tool Is

In any major project or business change, it is essential to identify and manage the
stakeholders – those with a vested interest in the issue. The standard two-dimensional
stakeholder map is often filed away and not consulted during the lifetime of the project
or change. The three-dimensional stakeholder map is constructed using a grid marked
on the floor and real people who take positions in the grid, according to the level of
influence, anticipated level of support and effect of the project or change on the person
or stakeholder group that they represent.
In bringing the map to life, you can increase greatly the chance that the map will be
used dynamically to ensure that stakeholders are appropriately managed.

When to Use It
■ At the start of any project involving multiple stakeholders.
■ At the start of any major change programme.
■ When there are complex relationships between stakeholders.
■ When you need to understand the best ways to influence stakeholders.

What You Will Need

■ Duct tape.
■ A4 paper and marker pens.
■ A ball of string and a pair of scissors.
■ A room with plenty of space.
■ A camera or mobile phone with camera.

How to Use It
1 Bring together a team that has a role in implementing the project or major change.
2 Use duct tape to create the grid shown. Mark the axes and scales using paper
labels. Squares/cells must be big enough to accommodate several people.
3 Brainstorm the names of each individual or group with a vested interest in the
project or change.
4 Write each name in big, bold letters on a separate sheet of paper and distribute
the sheets to participants.
5 Each participant must, with the group’s agreement, move into the appropriate
square/cell in the grid for the stakeholder they represent and hold up the piece of
paper showing the name of the stakeholder they represent.

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6 They should stand, kneel or sit according to the expected level of impact of the
project or change on the stakeholder they represent (stand=high, kneel=medium,
sit=low).
7 If a stakeholder is where we would want them to be (e.g. in terms of support or
influence), then leave them as they are.
8 If the project or change would be easier to manage if a stakeholder occupied a
different square, ask the participant representing that stakeholder to point to the
ideal square for that stakeholder – the square in which that person would offer
the most help or cause the least damage to the change or project.
9 If any of the participants believe that they are in a position to influence the
stakeholder to change his/her mind and move to a different square, leave them
as they are. If not, identify someone else in the grid, known to the participants,
who could influence them to move. Attach the influencer and errant stakeholder
to each other with a piece of string.
10 When everyone is in place, hands are pointing and string is attached, either take
photographs of the 3D grid from every possible angle or sketch the map on a
piece of flipchart paper.
Now there are two possibilities:
1 Disband the group and send the photos to each participant. Use prints of the
photos at each project meeting to manage stakeholder relationships.
2 Use the flipchart map immediately in planning how the group will manage
stakeholder relationships.

Points to Watch Out For

■ Initially, some of those involved in creating the map may think that standing, kneeling
or sitting in a grid on the floor is silly and do not want to be involved in it. Typically,
the moment one person steps into the grid, others follow.
■ Stakeholder maps are dynamic tools and will change throughout a project or
change programme. Physical involvement in the creation of the map tends to
impress upon the participants the importance of proper stakeholder mapping and
management, but they need to understand that the map will change constantly
and that they have a role in making it change, as they work to influence the
appropriate stakeholders, whether directly or indirectly.

High
Level of influence

Low         Anticipated level of support         High

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 TOOL 23: THE TWO WORDS TECHNIQUE 67

Tool 23 The Two Words Technique

What the Tool Is

A tool that uses free association of words relating to a problem to create fresh insights
into the problem.

When to Use It
■ To create fresh insights into a problem or to inform a decision.

What You Will Need

■ Pen and paper.

How to Use It
1 Create a two-word phrase to summarise a problem.
2 Write each word at the head of a column in a table and then freely associate
ideas with each word, listing them in the table columns.
3 Randomly match pairs of words across the columns to gain new insights into the
problem and its possible resolution.
For example:

I manage a team of 20 people whose motivation levels fluctuate and vary from
highly motivated all the time to hardly motivated any of the time (and all possibilities
in between). I want to know how I can create higher levels of motivation for more of
the time. I create a table, headed with the words ‘Staff’ and ‘Motivation’ and make
free associations with those words, writing my thoughts in the appropriate columns.
I then create random pairings of words to see what new ideas emerge:

Staff Motivation
Diverse Happiness
Teams Reward
Individuals Recognition
Clever Gifts
Difficult Parties
Busy Challenge
Lazy Recognition
People Achievement

Let us say I randomly pair the words ‘individuals’ and ‘recognition’. Am I showing
individuals the recognition they deserve, commensurate with effort? Am I showing
favouritism (too much recognition) to some at the expense of others?

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Now I pair ‘lazy’ and ‘challenge’. Am I giving people sufficiently stretching work to
stimulate them? Are the ones I deem to be lazy actually efficient workers who complete
their workload more quickly than others? Am I considering some to be lazy who would
work better if they understood more of the context of their work and its importance to
others?
I pair the words ‘diverse’ and ‘achievement’. Am I too focused on one specific
aspect of the team’s work, favouring those who excel in that area and neglecting other
areas of excellence and achievement simply because it has not been on my radar?
I pair the words ‘busy’ and ‘happiness’. Have I been too busy doing my own work
for purposes of self-fulfilment (happiness) to pay sufficient attention to members of my
team?
As you make these random pairings, so they stimulate questions and those
questions open the doors to new learning.

Points to Watch Out For

Do not assume that, because a question arises from these random pairings, that you
must answer it and that it has deep significance. Equally, do not be too quick to
dismiss a question because it makes you feel uncomfortable. The best questions are
the ones that cannot be answered quickly – the greater time you find yourself thinking
about the answer, the better the question.

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 TOOL 24: THE ASSOCIATION GRID 69

Tool 24 The Association Grid

What the Tool Is

This is an extended version of the two words technique (see Tool 23).

When to Use It
■ As for the two words technique, to create fresh insights into a problem or inform a
decision.

What You Will Need

■ Pen and paper.

How to Use It
Create a table of five or six columns and rows. Think about the problem to be solved
and, as you begin to associate words or ideas with the problem, write them in the table
cells, one per cell, in any sequence. Now combine ideas randomly from the table, and
new and creative solutions to the problem will begin to emerge.
For example:

You are overwhelmed with work at the moment. Your boss assures that you that
the situation is temporary and that, as soon as a new team member is hired, your
workload will be reduced again to more normal levels.

stress headaches resilience overload respite

overworked unfair pressure unsupported help
delegation protection resign priorities support
drowning important urgent logjam nightmare
solutions unmanageable exhausted strained overloaded

Now, combine words randomly and see what insights emerge.

For example, I combine ‘urgent’, ‘important’ and ‘priorities’. Using Covey’s time
management matrix, I can start to prioritise my work in terms of what is/is not urgent
or important:

Urgent Not urgent

Important 1. 2.

Not important 3. 4.

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 70 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Anything deemed to be urgent and important goes into box 1; anything important
and not urgent goes into box 2, etc. I know that I should execute the work in sequence –
box 1, then 2, then 3 then 4 and that the bulk of my work should be in box 2, where I
can plan it properly. What tells me that something is urgent? Whose sense of urgency
is it? If someone tells me something is urgent, a good question to ask is, ‘Which part of
this is urgent?’ Often, a small part is important and urgent (box 1) and the rest belongs
in box 2, where I can take a little more time over it. Many things stop being urgent the
moment that they are delegated to someone else. Perhaps I have more time to do
them than I thought?
Now let us look at the word ‘delegate’ and combine it with ‘overloaded’ and
‘nightmare’. Which team members can I trust? What would happen if I approached
them and said, ‘I’m having a nightmare at the moment. I am covering for X who has
left and I’m overloaded with work.’ Ask them if they can help, even with small things,
which would allow you to concentrate on the bigger issues.
Combine ‘unsupported’ and ‘logjam’. Think about your standard working hours and
how much overtime work you can feasibly do. Prioritise your work, using the Covey
matrix or another favourite method and discover where the real logjams are. Is there
anything that, if it could be completed, would free up a significant amount of time to
tick a number of other items off your list? Consider how you could approach your boss
a second time and explain that you are feeling unsupported at the moment. (It may be
more useful to reframe it in terms of needing support rather than the more accusatory-
sounding ‘unsupported’.) Show your prioritised list and ask your boss to take some
time to work through it with you, asking if there are others who could take on some of
your excessive workload.
You will notice that, in this example, the solutions that begin to present themselves
are largely commonsense. When you are overwhelmed, it can be difficult to see a
situation rationally, and the association grid may help to clear the fog and bring some
objectivity to the problem.

Points to Watch Out For

Do not expect every word or combination of words to suggest a new insight or solution.
Make associations as freely as you can with the problem at the outset; even if it is not
clear to you why a word should be relevant to the problem, write it down anyway.
Then be as free as you can in making associations between the combined words in
the grid and the original problem. The most off-the-wall ideas often spring from the
subconscious in surprising ways to create new approaches to a difficult situation.

Reference
Covey, S., Merrill, A.R. and Merrill, R.R. (1994) First Things First: To Live, to Love, to
Learn, to Leave a Legacy. New York: Simon and Schuster.

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 TOOL 25: THE DELPHI TECHNIQUE 71

Tool 25 The Delphi Technique

What the Tool Is

This is a technique that allows experts to forecast probabilities and possibilities
anonymously in a number of structured rounds, each time refining ideas based on
inputs from others. It was designed in the 1950s by Dalkey and Helmer of the Rand
Corporation. Experts exchange views via an anonymous questionnaire or survey,
independently reporting to a facilitator who collates and summarises those views.
Subsequent questionnaires allow the experts to dig deeper, refine their ideas and
reach consensus. The anonymity of the process allows them to save face, should they
change their views.

When to Use It
■  hen you want to know with some certainty the likelihood and outcome of future
W
events. For example, as a project manager, what future events may have an impact
on your projects?

What You Will Need

■ Time and patience! (This is the slowest technique in the book.)

How to Use It
1 Appoint a facilitator. Ideally, this should be someone with a background in research
and data collection.
2 Identify a team of experts – people with relevant knowledge and experience of the
topic you are going to discuss.
3 Define the problem to be solved. Create a clear, comprehensive definition of the
problem in language that the chosen experts will understand.
4 Round one: Distribute an open-ended questionnaire to begin the process of
collecting information about a specific area of content. Collate the responses
and summarise them, removing irrelevant material and checking for common
viewpoints.
5 Round two: Create a new questionnaire based on the responses to the first,
designed to explore the topic in more depth. Once more, collate the responses
and summarise them, removing irrelevant material and checking for shared
viewpoints and common ground.

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 72 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

6 Round three: Create and distribute a third and final questionnaire, designed to
support decision making. What have the experts agreed on in their responses to
the first two questionnaires? (You may choose to create further questionnaires if it
is necessary to achieve consensus.)
7 Analyse the findings from the final questionnaire, and plan actions based on the
consensus views.

Points to Watch Out For

Even when exploring a relatively simple situation, the Delphi Technique is slow, so allow
time for it. Be extremely careful in defining the initial problem. Experts like to be right
and can be quite pedantic – if they see a fault in the definition or the process, they may
exploit it and so sabotage the process. They may be slow to respond to questionnaires
because they are busy or because the subject matter does not seize their imagination.

References
Dalkey, N.C. (1969) ‘An Experimental Study of Group Opinion’, Futures, 1 (5), 408–26.
Dalkey, N.C. (1972) ‘The Delphi Method: An Experimental Study of Group Opinion’ in
Dalkey, N.C., Rourke, D.L., Lewis, R. and Snyder, D. (Eds.) Studies in the Quality
of Life: Delphi and Decision-making (pp. 13–54). Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
Dalkey, N.C. and Helmer, O. (1963) ‘An Experimental Application of the Delphi Method
to the Use of Experts’, Management Science, 9 (3), 458–67.

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 TOOL 26: THE LOTUS BLOSSOM TECHNIQUE 73

Tool 26 The Lotus Blossom Technique

What the Tool Is

The Lotus Blossom technique, invented in Japan by Yasuo Matsumura, combines
brainstorming and mind-mapping to create an extensive graphic that explores many
aspects of a problem in a way that combines structure with creativity. It is not only
elegant but can reveal complex relationships and depth that do not necessarily emerge
from more standard brainstorming techniques.

When to Use It
■ When standard brainstorming techniques would not give depth of solution.
■ When you want to explore relationships between components of a problem.

What You Will Need

■ Flipchart paper and marker pens.

How to Use It
1 Draw a 3x3 grid in the centre of the page. This is grid 1, which represents the
central problem to be solved or the issue to be explored. In the centre of the grid,
write a word or phrase that summarises the problem to be explored:

Core idea

Each of the cells around the centre will represent a sub-topic of the main idea.
2 Brainstorm solutions, related concepts or ideas, and write a keyword description
of each in the boxes surrounding the problem in the central grid. You may
struggle at first to suggest eight related ideas, but persevere – the greater the
detail, the richer the solution and the greater the number of associations you will

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 74 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

see between ideas. For our purposes, we have simply lettered the subtopics
A–H:

A B C

H Core idea D

G F E

3 Around the central grid, draw 8 more 3x3 grids – grids A to H (3 above, 3 below,
1 to each side). Each of these grids will be used to further break down the
subtopics, A–H.

1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3

8 A 4 8 B 4 8 C 4

7 6 5 7 6 5 7 6 5

1 2 3 A B C 1 2 3

Core
8 H 4 H D 8 D 4
idea

7 6 5 G F E 7 6 5

1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3

8 G 4 8 F 4 8 E 4

7 6 5 7 6 5 7 6 5

4 Take each of the words that you wrote in the central grid (in our case, A–H) and
put those words in the centres of the surrounding grids. The diagram will show
you how this would look.

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 TOOL 26: THE LOTUS BLOSSOM TECHNIQUE 75

5 For each of the eight grids, brainstorm ideas related to its central theme and write
them in the boxes surrounding the central idea. In our diagram, we have simply
numbered them 1–8 for each grid. In reality, you would have eight sub-sub topics
per grid.
6 When you have finished, you will have 64 ideas to help solve the original problem.
They will vary in usefulness and importance and you may find that just one or
two suggest the best solution. However, by looking at the problem broadly, you
may start to identify the ripple effects of a solution across other aspects of your
operations or organisation.

The problem – We want to improve our customer service at a call centre which is
central to our operations.

In the central grid, we write Call centre and then brainstorm ideas related to the call
centre:

Monitor repeat contact Customer feedback Sharing information

Proactive not reactive Call centre customer service Faster response times

Incentives Customer contact preferences Staff training

Each of these ideas now becomes the central idea in boxes A–H. Now we need to
brainstorm ideas in each of the grids.
Let us look at box C. In the centre, we write Sharing information. The concept here
is that the better the information sharing among call centre staff, the less duplication of
effort and the better they can offer a quick and consistent service to callers.
Brainstorming Sharing information yields the following ideas . . .

Share clever solutions Train each other Use intranet

Share best practice Sharing information Publish FAQs

Email tips to super-users Create customer web forum Create staff manual

Repeat the process for each major idea in the central grid. Now you have a wealth
of ideas to help focus your management effort in call centre improvement.

Variants
To complete the 8 grids requires you to think of 64 ideas, which may, at first, seem
daunting. In reality, it is not unusual to generate 64 ideas in a brainstorming session, and
the Lotus Blossom technique gives a structure to the thinking that is lacking in more
traditional brainstorming – you are finding only eight new ideas under eight headings!

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 76 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

■ If you are working with a group of people, break it into smaller groups, with everyone
involved in the plenary discussion about the eight main areas, then each group working
on one or two of the subtopics. You might consider printing nine separate blank grids –
one for the core topic and one each for the subtopics. Distribute the blank grids to
smaller groups. Working on a 9x9 grid may seem less daunting than working on
the full nine-grid model. When each subgroup has finished, put the pieces together
and fix them to a wall so everyone can see the completed picture. One word of
warning here: when everyone works on the grid together, they start to see and
make connections whilst constructing the overall set of grids. If the smaller groups
work in isolation from each other, it may reduce the number of creative connections
and the end result may not be as effective.
But:
■ Consider using something other than squares in your grids. In line with the name
Lotus Blossom, some people create a flower, writing the topic at the centre and the
subtopics on the surrounding petals.

Subtopic

Subtopic Subtopic

Subtopic Core topic Subtopic

Subtopic Subtopic

Subtopic

Points to Watch Out For

The better the ideas generated in the central grid, the better the overall solution will be.
Spend a little more time getting the first grid right, and the rest should flow relatively
easily from there.

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 TOOL 27: PHOTOGRAPHIC ASSOCIATIONS 77

Tool 27 Photographic Associations

What the Tool Is

Often, when solving a problem, we look at the most obvious causes and miss the
real underlying issues. Photographic associations is a creative tool in which we make
associations between randomly selected photographs and the presenting problem.
As we make more creative or even outlandish associations, so solutions to the original
problem will start to emerge.

When to Use It
■ With creative, imaginative groups.
■ With groups who are bored with more conventional brainstorming techniques.

What You Will Need

■ A selection of photographs with no particular, obvious relationship to each other.

How to Use It
1 State the problem to be solved/the issue to be explored.
2 Distribute a number of photographs among participants. Ensure that there is a
diverse range of subject matter in the photos.
3 Ask participants to make free associations between the images in the photos and
the problem and to document those associations.
4 In plenary, ask participants to call out their ideas and use others’ solutions to
stimulate further ideas.
5 When all solutions have been suggested, use PMI (see Tool 4) to sort them, or a
voting/ranking technique to prioritise them.

Points to Watch Out For

As with many other creative techniques, there is a danger that the more process or
logic-minded will try to make literal connections between the photos and the presenting
problem. Stress that the associations should be as free as possible to stimulate thinking
and to help the creative side of the brain to make associations that would not emerge
from head-on, logical approaches to the problem.

Reference
Tanner, K. and Cotton, D. (2006) Picture This. Altrincham: Wize-Up Ltd.

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 78 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Tool 28 The Random Word Technique

What the Tool Is

Like Photographic associations, the Random word technique allows us to make free
associations between something apparently unrelated to the presenting problem and
the problem itself, giving creative insights not accessible using more linear problem-
solving methods.

When to Use It
■ When you need to look beyond the obvious for a solution.

What You Will Need

■ Paper and pen or flipchart and marker pens.

How to Use It
State the problem to be solved. Select a random book, random page and random
line number. Find the first noun on the chosen line and write it on a flipchart. Ask the
group to call out anything they associate with the chosen word – it does not matter
how outlandish their suggestions are – in fact, the more creative, the better. Write each
word or phrase on the flipchart as it is called out. There should be no discussion at
this point.
When no further ideas are forthcoming, restate the original problem and ask the
group to freely associate the brainstormed ideas with the original problem. They can
combine the ideas to form new associations with the original problem.
For example:

A restaurant owner is concerned that, because of the location of her restaurant, she
is not attracting the volume of trade she needs. Although the restaurant is in the
centre of a major city, it is on a side-street off a main shopping street from which it
is not visible. She wants as many ideas as possible of how to attract more people
to the restaurant.

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 TOOL 28: THE RANDOM WORD TECHNIQUE 79

After selecting a random book, page and line, the first noun on the line is hammer.
The group’s suggestions include:

heavy
nails
construction
repeated action
metal
wood
destruction

The group now starts to associate the ideas freely with the original problem. Ideas
include:
■ Heavy metal and other themed music nights to attract different audiences (heavy
and metal).
■ Children are given pizza bases and a variety of toppings and encouraged to
decorate the pizzas themselves, which are then cooked and served (construction).
■ Greek-themed evenings with Greek food, music and plate smashing (destruction).
■ Loyalty cards offering a free meal after each six purchased (repeated action).
■ Beautician offering manicures/pedicures before lunch (nails).

Points to Watch Out For

Participants may, at first, try to make logical links between the random word associations
and the original problem. Help them to understand that the power of the technique
comes from free association and combining ideas to make new associations.

Reference
de Bono, E. (2009) Lateral Thinking: A Textbook of Creativity. London: Penguin.

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 80 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Tool 29 Challenging Assumptions

What the Tool Is

This is a simple and powerful creative tool. List everything you know about something
familiar, then treat every statement as an assumption, finding alternatives to the
apparently obvious.

When to Use It
■ When you feel constrained by a system or process.
■ When you feel that a design is becoming old and tired.

What You Will Need

■ Flipchart and marker pens.

How to Use It
1 Ask the group to call out everything that they know about the current object of the
discussion. What are the attributes of the current version? List each answer on a
flipchart.
2 Now ask them to consider that none of these attributes is real nor cast in stone –
each is simply assumed to be real.
3 For each attribute listed, ask them to suggest one or more alternatives.
4 Draw together the alternatives and see what you could create.
For example:

Imagine going back in time to the days of desktop telephones. What were the
standard attributes of the early telephone?
They might include these:

It rings! Separate base

and handset

Wires
Dial
Heavy Static

Substitute something new for each of these attributes:

■ It had a dial – change to a touch screen, push buttons or voice control.
■ It had a separate base and handset – combine them into a single unit.
■ It was static – make it portable.

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 TOOL 29: CHALLENGING ASSUMPTIONS 81

■ It was heavy – make it light.

■ It had wires – make it wireless.
■ It rang when someone called you – make it play music or flash a light.
In the space of a few minutes, you have ‘created’ a mobile phone!

Points to Watch Out For

Some participants will object to change from the outset, claiming, ‘You can’t do that!’
simply because they have always done something a particular way and a change
takes them out of their comfort zone. Others may want change simply for the sake
of change. Strong facilitation is needed to keep ideas flowing and ensure the group
strikes a good balance between conservatism and outlandish suggestions.

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 82 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Tool 30 Metaphorical Problem Solving

What the Tool Is

Sometimes, when we tackle a problem head-on, we struggle to find creative solutions.
This technique involves finding something analogous to the problem to be solved,
brainstorming ways of solving the analogous issue, then ‘back-mapping’ those
solutions to the original problem.

When to Use It
■  hen more conventional ‘head-on’ problem-solving techniques have yielded
W
pedestrian solutions.

What You Will Need

■ Flipchart and marker pens.
■ Paper and pens.

How to Use It
1 State the problem.
2 Invite participants to suggest a different problem that is analogous to the
presenting problem.
3 Find solutions to the metaphorical problem.
4 Map these solutions freely back to the original problem.
5 Select from the ‘back-mapped’ ideas, those that have merit.

For example:
1 Attracting more customers/clients – catching fish.
2 Developing our business – growing plants and flowers.
3 Reducing the bureaucracy at work – weeding the garden.

Let us take example 3 – reducing the bureaucracy at work.

Step 1 The problem is that we have too much form-filling to do at work. There is a
sort of trivial rigour surrounding even the most mundane tasks. Everything
requires several levels of authorisation. We seem to spend more time on red
tape than actually doing our jobs.
Step 2 The chosen analogy is weeding the garden.

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 TOOL 30: METAPHORICAL PROBLEM SOLVING 83

Step 3 Now we have to brainstorm ways of clearing the weeds from the garden.
Ideas might be:
■ Turn over the soil to expose the roots of the weeds, to make them easier
to clear.
■ Use weedkiller.
■ Dig out the offensive weeds.
■ Ensure that, as we dig out the weeds, we retain the flowers that we want
to keep, etc.
Step 4 Now we need to ‘back-map’ the new solutions to the original problem. The
trick here is to do it fairly freely, not trying to find an exact match. For example:
■ Turn over the soil to expose the roots – do a thorough review of existing
policies and procedures and sift out those that are neither valid nor
workable.
■ Use weedkiller – be ruthless in removing useless administrative procedures,
retaining nothing simply because it is the way we have always done things.
■ Dig out the offensive weeds – this really repeats earlier ideas. That does
not matter at all in this process because, often, a repeated ideas suggests
a certain strength of feeling behind the idea. If it feels like the right thing to
do, then it most probably is.
■ Retain the flowers we want to keep – be careful not to be so ruthless that
we throw away useful policies and procedures.
The example is a relatively straightforward one. Somehow, by taking a metaphorical
view of a problem, the discussion can become less emotive because it is held,
effectively, at arm’s length. Then the decisions that fall out of the discussion will seem
easier to execute.

Points to Watch Out For

Some people struggle to make the leap between a metaphor and the situation that it
represents. They may try to create literal associations between the metaphor and the
problem. Encourage them from the start to be free-ranging in their thought, using the
metaphor as a jumping-off point for thinking, rather than an exactly mapped parallel
universe!

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 84 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Tool 31 Who Else Has Solved This

Problem?

What the Tool Is

There is little point in spending time solving a problem that has already been solved
elsewhere. This technique is about determining where our current problem may also
be a problem for others and how they have resolved it. What can we learn from them?
It does not matter if our problems and theirs are not absolutely identical – what matters
is that they have found solutions from which we can learn.

When to Use It
■ When we need a solution in a hurry.

What You Will Need

■ Paper and pens.
■ Flipchart and marker pens, if working with a larger group.

How to Use It
1 State the problem.
2 Setting aside the specific context in which the problem occurs in our organisation,
list those who, at a more generic level, have had to face this or a very similar
problem. You may consider direct competitors, similar organisations or even
organisations or individuals unrelated to your area of work who faced something
similar.
3 What did they do to solve the problem?
4 How can we, either directly or with some tailoring, adopt the same solution(s)?
For example:

An IT repair company asks how it can respond more quickly to its customers in
order to offer better and quicker service.

The analogy – doctors’ management of waiting times for patients.

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 TOOL 31: WHO ELSE HAS SOLVED THIS PROBLEM? 85

List what the doctors do to solve their own problem and, against each solution, write
tailored solutions for the IT repair company:

Doctors’ solutions IT repair company solutions

See customers strictly in order of call Ticketed waiting system
Triage system Rank repairs by urgency or other criteria
Touch-screen registration in waiting rooms Customers register problems online to free up
phones
Pharmacists are trained to offer solutions Call centre staff are trained to offer solutions to less
to less serious ailments serious problems

Points to Watch Out For

There is a danger that some participants will find reasons not to accept that anyone
else has faced their problem. Somehow, they feel undermined if others have found a
solution and they have not. You will hear a number of ‘yes, but . . .’ arguments. Help
to set the scene at the outset by making participants feel good about the work they
currently do and valued as members of the problem-solving team. Stress that it is
their experience in this field that has made them the ideal candidates to help solve
the problem.

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 86 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Tool 32 How-How?

What the Tool Is

By asking how something happened, then drilling deeper each time with another ‘how?’,
you can quickly get to the root causes of a problem, regardless of the complexity of
the circumstances. By asking how something could happen, you can start to generate
new ways of working.
There are many benefits to this simple but powerful technique:
■ It allows those participating to follow several parallel streams of thought, using each
question and answer to stimulate further questions and answers.
■ It allows participants not to follow certain streams of thought – in discussion-
based problem solving they would be forced to move in the same direction as
everyone else.
■ It engages several senses – seeing, hearing and feeling (through the physical
placement of the cards) and works in the way the brain works naturally, by making
connections rather than through linear processing.
■ It allows people to change their minds and amend what they have produced as
part of the process, rather than as a tacit admission of flawed thinking, which may
result from more traditional processes.

When to Use It
■ When trying to analyse the root causes of a problem.
■ When generating new processes or working methods.

What You Will Need

■ Index cards or sticky notes.
■ A table.

How to Use It
In the examples below, we are concentrating on generating new ideas. The same
principles apply in analysing how something has gone wrong. Instead of asking, ‘How
could we do this?’, ask, ‘How did this happen?’
1 State the problem clearly and ensure that everyone understands it. Express the
problem as a need, e.g. ’We need to increase our widget sales by 50 per cent in
the next three months’ or ’We need to attract more people to our library services to
avoid library closures’.
2 Write the problem on a card.
3 Place the card to the left centre of the table.
4 Ask the group (or yourself if working alone) ’How can this be done?’

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 TOOL 32: HOW-HOW? 87

5 Write each possible answer on a separate card and place the answer cards in a
column to the right of the problem card.
6 For each answer, ask again, ’How can this be done?’ and write the new answers,
one per card. Place each answer to the right of the card that prompted the
question, so building up a hierarchy or tree.
7 Continue the process until you have solutions and no further questions.

Target wider Research Use market

audience market researchers

Sell different Research top Speak to

colours paint colours decorators

Increase
widget sales

Recruit more Pay better Industry

sales people commission standards?

Broaden Combine NW Recruit 2nd

sales regions and Wales sales person

Variants
Use sticky notes on a wall/flipchart instead of cards on a table.

Points to Watch Out For

Be sensitive in facilitating this technique. Some participants may become very defensive
about a failed process. Equally, they may be reluctant to discuss new ways of working
that take them out of their comfort zone.

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 88 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Tool 33 The 5 Whys/Question Everything

What the Tool Is

The 5 Whys was developed as a root cause analysis technique in the 1930s by the
founder of Toyota Industries, Sakichi Toyoda. Where it is suspected that there are
multiple root causes, asking ‘Why?’ repeatedly can uncover those causes. Whether
or not the 5 Whys needs to be implemented formally, simply questioning everything
relating to an intractable problem – almost as a stream of consciousness exercise –
can uncover hitherto unseen root causes and related issues.
5 Whys is also used as a tool at the Analyse phase of the process improvement
methodology Six Sigma. The technique is best used by those who work day by day
with the process that is being examined.

When to Use It
■ When a process is not working.
■ When something has gone wrong despite the process in place.
■ For quality improvement.
■ To determine the relationship between different causes of a problem.

What You Will Need

■ A flipchart and marker pens.

How to Use It
1 State what has gone wrong and ask why it has gone wrong.
2 Write down the answer. Answer in terms of what actually happened rather than a
supposition about what might have happened. Does this get to the root cause of
the problem? If so, suggest a counter-measure to prevent the recurrence of the
problem.
3 If not, ask ‘Why?’ again and repeat step 2.

Because!

Why, mummy?

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 TOOL 33: THE 5 WHYS/QUESTION EVERYTHING 89

4 Continue, repeating steps 1 and 2, until you have an answer and can go no further
with the questioning.
The 5 Whys suggests counter-measures rather than solutions, because a counter-
measure prevents the problem recurring, where a solution may fix the presenting
problem and recur when the same situation occurs again. It does not matter whether
you ask ‘Why?’ once or 50 times – the number 5 is notional. In practice, you need to
keeping ask it until you have reached the root cause.
For example:

Why did we lose one of our major customers, ABC Corporation?

Because we delivered three recent shipments late.
Why did we deliver three recent shipments late?
Because we had logged incorrect shipment dates in our tracking system.
Why did we log incorrect shipment dates in our new tracking system?
Because our administrator did not know how to use the new tracking system.
Why did our administrator not know how to use the new tracking system?
Because he had received no training in its use.
Why did he receive no training in its use?
Because training on the new system was not available until this week, after the
shipments had been made.

Solution: Ensure that everyone is trained on the new system before using it to plan real
shipments.

Points to Watch Out For

Ensure that you ask the right questions. Often, we fail to resolve a problem because
we focus on the wrong aspects of it and so ask the wrong questions. For example,
many organisations ask, ‘Why are people not buying from us?’ when a better starting
question might be, ‘Why are some people buying from us?’ The second question
allows you to focus on strengths on which you can build rather than a comprehensive
investigation into your competitors’ practices. You get what you focus on and some
forethought about the best starting question will yield quick rewards.

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 90 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Tool 34 The Jelly Baby Tree

What the Tool Is

The Jelly Baby Tree is a public domain cartoon image of a number of ‘jelly babies’
in different positions and poses in a tree. It can be used in a variety of contexts,
including conflict management, career advice and decisions about career prospects,
organisational design and change. The power of the tool lies in both its simplicity and
its ability to draw people away from emotive arguments to a rational discussion about
a problem.

When to Use It
The Jelly Baby Tree has multiple uses, limited only by your imagination! They include:
■ resolving a dispute between two colleagues.
■ helping to plan an individual’s career progression.
■ helping to plan organisational career paths.
■ organisational design.

What You Will Need

■ Printed copies of the Jelly Baby Tree.
■ Coloured pencils or crayons.

How to Use It
Resolving a dispute between two colleagues

1 Bring together the two people in conflict and explain how important it is that they
work together harmoniously.
2 Tell them that you want to try to experiment – that it may look odd at first, but you
believe that it will help them to resolve their dispute.
3 Give each a copy of the Jelly Baby Tree and some coloured pencils.
4 Ask each of them to colour in the jelly baby that represents them and, in a
different colour, the jelly baby that represents the other person.
5 Ask them to show each other their pictures and invite each, in turn, to explain
why they have coloured in their chosen jelly babies.

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 TOOL 34: THE JELLY BABY TREE 91

6 Because they spend much of their time focusing on the picture and describing,
almost dispassionately, why they have chosen certain jelly babies, they tend to
have a calmer, more rational discussion about the reason for their conflict. Each
will interpret the same character in the tree in different ways and you will hear
them say, ‘I chose this one because it is doing X’ and the other may reply: ‘Oh,
I hadn’t looked at it that way – I saw this character doing Y’. The Jelly Baby Tree
helps them to discuss their issues as though they relate to a third party and, as
the raw emotion is taken out of the discussion, so they begin to realise that they
can talk reasonably to each other, that perhaps they have simply seen things
from a different perspective and that there may be some room for agreement or
settlement of their dispute.

Helping to plan an individual’s career progression

This should be done on a one-to-one basis because it asks someone to open up and
speak quite personally:
1 Give the individual a Jelly Baby Tree and some coloured pens.
2 Ask them to study the picture and then use one colour to shade in a jelly baby
that represents where they see themselves now and another colour to shade the
one that represents where they would like to be in, say, a year from now or five
years from now (pick the time as appropriate to the individual, possibly selecting a
number of different jelly babies for different time periods).
3 Ask them to describe why they have chosen each jelly baby and how they
interpret each picture. Avoid judgement or comment – do not tell them that this
is not how you had viewed a particular character – it is their interpretation that
counts here.
4 Ask them what they believe they would have to do to achieve the position
indicated by their chosen jelly baby. Use this as the start of objective setting or
their personal development planning.

Helping to plan organisational career paths and organisational design

The idea is to stimulate thinking about the current organisation and visualise the future
structure using the jelly babies as symbolic of whole teams or departments:
1 Distribute copies of the Jelly Baby Tree to your fellow problem solvers and ask
them to identify the various organisational teams or departments as they see them
by colouring in the appropriate jelly babies.
2 Ask them to consider what they believe is working in this structure and what can
be improved.
3 Let them be creative in using the Jelly Baby Tree, drawing, for example, arrows
indicating where departments should be combined and other symbols to show
what is working well, what should change, etc.

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 92 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

There are many possible uses of the Jelly Baby Tree – be creative!

Points to Watch Out For

Occasionally, people will insist that a jelly baby’s pose can be interpreted in only one
way and struggle to see others’ interpretations of it. Stress from the outset that one
of the powers of the tool is the variety of possible interpretations. For example, some
see the jelly baby at the top of the tree as the high achiever who has reached the
pinnacle of ambition or career progression. Others see this as someone supremely
arrogant, looking down scornfully at others. Some see the jelly baby creating the tree
house as an empire builder; others as someone who accepts that they are going no
further in their career and are bedding in or preparing to coast along to retirement in
the same role.

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 TOOL 34: THE JELLY BABY TREE 93

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 94 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Tool 35 Future Shock

What the Tool Is

This is a simple, structured method of answering the question: ‘If I/we continue to do
X, what will be the result N weeks/months/years from now?’
We live in a world of constant change. The world is not designed to support your
organisation; instead, your organisation must adapt to the world. Ignoring external
and internal factors that may have an effect on your organisation could be disastrous.
Future shock forces you to consider the medium- to long-term effects of decisions or
changes or the impact of continuing as you are without any change.

When to Use It
■ For strategic or operational planning.

What You Will Need

■ A flipchart and marker pens.

How to Use It
1 Determine the area of your organisation that you will focus on.
2 Brainstorm the current processes and systems in use in this area.
3 Outline the results that you currently achieve in this area.
4 Now ask, for each process and system: If we continue to do this, what will the
results be at some pre-specified time in the future?
5 List the suggestions as quickly as they are made, without evaluation at first.
6 Then discuss each in turn, with emphasis on what we can/will/must do to sustain
or improve our current position.
7 Take care to explore the ripple effects of proposed changes on other areas of
operation or likely results.

Points to Watch Out For

Some participants may feel very threatened by this approach for a number of reasons.
First, those with a personal agenda may see proposed changes turning that agenda
on its head; second, some may be uncomfortable at the implied threat of danger to
their organisation (and thus to their jobs) should nothing change; third, some may be
unhappy about the change to their own role, which will, inevitably, result if you were
to make the necessary changes to the organisation. Handle it carefully and sensitively.

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 TOOL 36: WHAT IF? 95

Tool 36 What If?

What the Tool Is

This technique was inspired by a TEDx talk from the guitarist/comedian Mike Rayburn,
who adopts a ‘What if?’ mindset in discovering new possibilities in both stand-up
comedy and music. Rayburn has suggested that, rather than starting with what is
possible, we should start with what is ‘cool’! If you suspend any thoughts of what you
believe to be possible now, what kind of future could you create by playing ‘What if’?
The technique can turn apparent problems into opportunities, or produce the seed
of a new idea that can be developed and grown using other techniques in this book.

When to Use It
■ This is particularly useful in a dynamic, enterprising organisation or team that wants
to explore possibilities for improvement.

What You Will Need

■ A flipchart and marker pens.

How to Use It
1 State your business issue. It may be in the form of a business problem, an explanation
of a current process or a way of doing something within the organisation.
2 Participants play ‘What if?’ – calling out ideas of what might be possible. It does
not matter how outlandish or far-fetched the ideas seem to be at first sight.
3 Record the ideas without debate, judgement or discussion.
4 You may ask the participants to rank the raw ideas before developing them
further. Use other techniques, such as PMI (see Tool 4), to develop the ideas.

Points to Watch Out For

This technique requires participants to suspend their disbelief. It works best with a
group who are open to new possibilities and excited at the thought of creative thinking
around change. Encourage participants from the outset to enter into the activity with a
completely open mind, alert to possibilities and freed from any perceived constraints.
The essence of the technique is to think about what you can do, not what you cannot
do. Even if you do not yet know how to do something, if it is beneficial or attractive you
will find some way to make it real.

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 96 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Tool 37 What If We Didn’t?

What the Tool Is

This is a technique for testing the validity of a solution by determining whether the
benefits of not implementing it outweigh those of implementing it. (See also Cartesian
Logic, Tool 7, for a broader perspective.)

When to Use It
■  hen you have a potential solution to a problem but are unsure that it will reap the
W
desired benefits.

What You Will Need

■ A flipchart and marker pens or paper and pens, according to the number of
participants.

How to Use It
1 State the problem and your proposed solution.
2 Brainstorm (and write down) each potential benefit of implementing the solution.
3 For each benefit, ask ‘What if we didn’t do/didn’t need this?’ and ask, for
example, ‘What is the cost of solving this?’ and ‘What is the likely cost of not
solving this?’
4 Score the total ‘package’ of benefits (1=low and 10=high) and then score the
counter-arguments on the same scale. Which carries the higher score? If the
score given to benefits that would result from solving the problem is lower than
that for the counter-arguments, do not proceed to solve the problem, instead
accepting that it is a given and that you can live with it.
For example:

Should we increase our staff salaries by 5 per cent to match those of our biggest
competitor?

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 TOOL 37: WHAT IF WE DIDN’T? 97

Potential benefits What if we didn’t?, etc.

Greater staff retention ■ We are in a competitive industry with high
Lower recruitment costs churn rates.
More motivated staff ■ Our churn levels are roughly equal to our
A feeling of being equal to our competitors competitors’, even though they are paying
more.
■ Because churn rates are high in our industry,

we would still have to recruit in high volumes.

■ Money is well known to be a ‘hygiene’ factor

not a motivator.
■ We have actually recruited from our

competitors, because our company is seen in

the marketplace as treating its staff better.
■ We would have more money to invest in

developing the business.

Score 7 Score 9

Whilst the potential benefits here look appealing (score of 7), each is counterbalanced
with an argument (total score of 9) which suggests that, overall, the solution is not
worth implementing.

Points to Watch Out For

Participants may hold on to certain ‘benefits’, based more on familiarity than on rational
thinking. Others may defend a benefit because it was their idea. It takes a certain cold
detachment to be able to reject ideas that have known benefits because the alternative
may, long term, yield better results.

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 98 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Tool 38 Reframing

What the Tool Is

Reframing is the art of rephrasing a question from a new perspective to gain new
insights. It can be used, for example, to view a problem as an opportunity or a disaster
as a learning experience. It is useful for putting a positive spin on something that has
been viewed as negative. Even a mediocre painting may be enhanced by a nice frame.

When to Use It
■ To gain new insights into a problem.
■ To inform decision making.
■ To lift the morale after something has gone wrong at work.

What You Will Need

■ A flipchart and marker pens.

How to Use It
1 Brainstorm the most pressing concerns for your team, department or organisation.
2 State each one as a question.

Still a vision of loveliness ...

3 For each in turn, invite participants to frame the question so that it becomes an
avenue for exploration or a statement of opportunity.

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 TOOL 38: REFRAMING 99

For example:

Problem Reframe
Why aren’t sufficient people buying from us? Why do people buy from us?
Who does buy from us, and can we expand that
market?
Why is client X so difficult? What can we do differently to work more effectively
with client X?
How are we being difficult with client X?
How can we offer the same services, faced Which services can we offer, faced
with budget cuts? with budget cuts?
Which services can be made cheaper?
Which services do people really need?
Who else is offering a similar service?
Who wants our current services?

Now use other tools to explore the best of the reframed statements in more detail.

Points to Watch Out For

The chief enemies of this process are cynicism and scepticism. Some participants will
view the process as unrealistic – trying to create something positive where there are
no positives. Acknowledge their concerns at the outset to effectively ‘inoculate’ them
against this behaviour.

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 100 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Tool 39 The Ripple Effect (Systems

Thinking)

What the Tool Is

A well-designed organisation is like a machine, in which every component has an
important part to play. A change to one tiny component in the machine may have severe
or complex implications for another part of the machine, although the consequences
may be distant in time and space from the change.

A problem solved in one part of an organisation may have ripple effects in other
areas of the organisation, again sometimes appearing only some time after the solution
is effected. The ripple effect is a technique designed to tease out the effects that a
change made in one specific area of the organisation has on all the other areas of the
organisation.

When to Use It
■  hen you plan a major change in your operational area and need to know if/how it
W
affects others and, as such, whether your plan is workable in its current form.
■ You may want to use the solution effect analysis method (see Tool 43) first, to
satisfy yourself that you have looked at all the possible side-effects that you could
predict before looking at the wider organisation.

What You Will Need

■ Paper and pens.
■ A flipchart and marker pens.

How to Use It
You will need a group of people representing as many areas of the organisation as
possible.
1 State the problem for which you have a possible solution.
2 Ensure that all participants understand the nature of the problem – state it as
factually as possible, avoiding any emotional hooks and remembering that the
participants may not understand the jargon you use in your own operational area.
3 State your proposed solution, again ensuring understanding.
4 Now ask the participants to reflect silently for five minutes on the possible
ramifications for their area of work, noting down questions and concerns.

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 TOOL 39: THE RIPPLE EFFECT (SYSTEMS THINKING) 101

5 After five minutes, ask participants to raise their questions and concerns.
6 Do not worry if you do not have immediate answers to each concern, but thank
them and note it.
7 Invite participants to suggest modifications to your ideas that could reduce
or remove the effect on their operational area without rendering your solution
unworkable.
8 When all suggestions have been discussed, thank the participants and agree a
time by which you will report back to them.
9 After the meeting, assimilate their ideas and rework your solution.
10 Distribute the revised solution to the participants, inviting final comments by a
specified date.

Points to Watch Out For

This method relies on the goodwill of people who may not stand to benefit at all from
the solution to your problem. Indeed, it may create additional work for some of them.
Take care to invite a good cross-section, and be sensitive to those who would be
offended if not invited to join in. Sadly, office politics will play a part here.
Do not use this method for relatively small changes – only for those whose reach
may extend beyond your own work area.

Reference
Senge, P.M. (2006) The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning
Organization. London: Random House Business.

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 102 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Tool 40 What I Need From You

What the Tool Is

Rarely can we solve a work-based problem alone and rarely does a problem affect only
one person or area of an organisation.
This technique is designed to tease out what each interested party needs from the
others in order to ensure that the problem can be solved satisfactorily for everyone
involved.

When to Use It
■  hen you have reached a solution to a problem and want to ensure that everyone
W
knows what may be expected of them as the solution is implemented. Ideally, use
this after collaborative, cross-departmental or cross-functional problem solving.

What You Will Need

■ Flipchart paper and marker pens.
■ Reusable adhesive or tape.
■ Sticky notes.
■ Pens.
■ Camera or mobile phone with camera.

How to Use It
1 Invite representatives of each area of the organisation who will be affected if you
implement a proposed solution to a problem.
2 Write the name of each department represented on a separate flipchart sheet and
fix the sheets to the walls.
3 State the original problem and your proposed solution. Invite participants to ask
questions to ensure their understanding of both the problem and the solution.
4 Ask each one to reflect, in silence, on what they would need from your department/
business area and others’ departments/business areas if the solution is to be
viable. Each request should be written on a separate sticky note and signed by its
author, then posted on the flipchart page representing the department or business
area of whom the request is being made. For example, if someone representing
HR needs something from IT, then they write the request and post it on the IT
flipchart page. If requests are time-critical, then the time for fulfilment of the request
should be added to the sticky note. If the requests can be fulfilled only by specific
individuals, their names should be added to the sticky note.
5 After posting their requests, participants should walk around the room and read
the requests on each flipchart page to get a broad picture of others’ thoughts.

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 TOOL 40: WHAT I NEED FROM YOU 103

6 Finally, participants should stop at the flipchart relating to their own area of work,
then in turn, in plenary, ask requestors clarifying questions to ensure that they
truly understand what is being asked of them. If necessary, the written requests
should be modified by those who wrote them.
7 If appropriate, additional specific requests should be added to the flipchart pages
to balance any modifications made in the plenary session.
8 Photograph each flipchart page and either send the appropriate photo to each
participant or type and send the appropriate requests to each participant.
There is a nice spin-off effect from this method – almost by stealth it achieves buy-
in from other departments as you involve them in the process. It can be even more
powerful if you involve the same participants first in the problem-solving process using
one of the methods in this book, and then facilitate this process so that everyone
knows exactly what is expected of them.

Points to Watch Out For

There may be a sense among the participants of ‘what’s in this for me?’ – they may see
that, whilst they are helping you, they get nothing in return. This problem is removed if
those participating are also in the problem-solving or decision-making process which
preceded this event.

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 104 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Tool 41 Concentration Diagrams

What the Tool Is

This is a visual representation, built up over some time, of where a problem or defect
is occurring. At the centre of the diagram is, for example, a picture of a product, a
machine, a process, a map of an area, a floor plan of an office or factory, and the
diagram is annotated with marks indicating where a problem has occurred. This is a
useful tool in ensuring that the right problem is being solved and that the focus is in the
most appropriate area.

When to Use It
■ To discover exactly where a problem is occurring, which may, in turn, reveal patterns
of occurrence of the problem.

What You Will Need

■ A flipchart and marker pens.

How to Use It
1 Draw a map of the building, the room, the area or the system.
2 Determine whether you already have data about the location in which a problem
occurs. If you do, then go to step 4.
3 If you do not have that data, list the events that you need to record to connect
them to locations.
4 If recording more than one event, assign symbols to each event.
5 Map the events on the diagram.
6 Analyse patterns or trends in the diagram.
For example:

Our office cleaners have been complaining that there are coffee stains on the
carpets and that they are struggling to keep pace with the number of people who
appear to throw more coffee on the carpets than they ingest. We want to know
where the worst stains are and whether we can detect a pattern that suggests why
this is happening.

First we map out the areas that the cleaners tell us are worst affected – the areas
around the reception desk, guest seating area, kitchenette and photocopier room.
Then we mark the worst areas of staining on the map.
From the map, it seems that there is a trail of stains between the reception desk,
kitchenette and guest seating area and another cluster to the side of the photocopier.
We can guess that the receptionists, eager to welcome our guests, slop coffee as they

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 TOOL 41: CONCENTRATION DIAGRAMS 105

carry it from the kitchenette to the guest seating area, and that people photocopying
rest their coffee cups on the side of the copier.
Although this is a trivial example, it illustrates how the concentration diagram can be
used to detect patterns, useful in analysing root causes of a problem.

Reception desk

X
X

X Kitchenette

X
X
X X
X

Guest seating area Copier room

X XX

Points to Watch Out For

At first sight, the method may look trivial. Surely we would know where a problem
is occurring? In reality, although we may be vaguely aware of a recurring problem,
we tend to guess at the reasons. Plotting the occurrence by location gives us useful
evidence to help resolve the problem. For example, does a particular problem occur
only in one branch of our organisation? Does it happen in only one country and not in
others? What is different about that branch or country? Having discovered patterns of
occurrence, you may choose to use other tools like The 5 Whys (see Tool 33) or How-
how? (see Tool 32) to explore the causes in more depth.

Reference
Andersen, B., Fagerhaug, T. and Belz, M. (2010) Root Cause Analysis and Improvement
in the Healthcare Sector: A Step-by-Step Guide. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: ASQ
Quality Press.

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 106 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Tool 42 The Pareto Analysis – Simplified

Version

What the Tool Is

The Pareto analysis is used to ensure that the first steps you take solve the maximum
number of problems or eliminate the greatest number of causes.
Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto observed that 80 per cent of Italy’s wealth lay in
the hands of 20 per cent of the population and vice versa. In the 1940s, management
expert Joseph Juran began to adopt the ratio in other areas of business.
Pareto’s Law (also known as the 80/20 rule) has been adopted by the business
community to describe paradoxical ratios. For example, 80 per cent of the benefit from
a project may come from 20 per cent of the total effort and 80 per cent of the problems
encountered in a particular situation may come from 20 per cent of the causes. It was
first applied in business circles in the 1940s by Romanian-born American engineer and
management consultant, Joseph M. Juran. Where Pareto’s Law was described as
the ‘vital few and the trivial many’, Juran called it ‘the vital few and the useful many’ to
deter people from dismissing the 80 per cent, which may yield important information.
The ratio may be applied to many aspects of work, and raises some interesting
questions about your operations, for example:
■ 80 per cent of your work yields 20 per cent of the result and vice versa. This
suggests that perfection is achievable only at great cost. It may be better to release
a service or product that is 80 per cent developed, based on 20 per cent of total
effort, rather than try to achieve perfection, which would cost the other 80 per cent
of effort.
■ 20 per cent of your clients give 80 per cent of your revenue and vice versa. Are
you spending a disproportionate amount of time pursuing non-profitable clients?
■ 20 per cent of your sales force generates 80 per cent of your profits. Are you
rewarding them adequately?
■ 20 per cent of your products and services generate 80 per cent of your profits. Is
it time to reduce the range of products and services and expand the market for
your more profitable items?
Whilst the 80/20 ratio would not survive scientifically rigorous testing, it is a useful
rule of thumb in determining how much effort we should put into a complex task.

When to Use It
■ To determine where to focus management effort in solving a problem.

What You Will Need

■ A flipchart and marker pens.
■ Paper and pens.

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 TOOL 42: THE PARETO ANALYSIS – SIMPLIFIED VERSION 107

How to Use It
There are many variants on the Pareto diagram, and some require detailed statistical
analysis. Here is a simplified version, which can be adapted to many situations to
discover the primary causes of major problems and thus show you where to focus your
main management efforts.
1 Identify and list your problems.
2 Identify the root cause of each problem.
3 Score the problems.
4 Cluster the problems by root cause.
5 Add the scores for each cluster.
6 Take action to resolve the problems.
For example:

I have assumed responsibility for a team that manufactures widgets. The level of
customer complaints and accompanying returned products is rising sharply. I need
to understand where to focus my management effort for greatest impact.

I list the problems I have observed in the team, the likely causes and the number of
complaints. I have clustered the problems by root cause:

Problem number Problem Cause (from step 2) Score (from step 3)

1 Misaddressed Distribution department 2
packages error
2 Late delivery Distribution department 4
error
3 Only 40 widgets in a Machine error 9
packet of 50
4 Packets not properly Machine error 5
sealed
5 Widget sizes vary Operator error (poor 29
training)
6 Widgets are Operator error (poor 19
discoloured training)

Now I order the problems in descending order of complaints:

Operator error: 48
Machine error: 14
Distribution department error: 6

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 108 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

It is immediately obvious that the greatest source of problems comes from operator
error. In a more complex scenario, it is worth charting the causes and scores to see a
graphical distribution. For this example:

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
Operator Machine Dist. dept.
error error error

From the distribution of errors, I know that I should focus my first efforts on training
the staff. After this, I may wish to have a quiet word with the maintenance department
and distribution department.

Points to Watch Out For

The method is useful in identifying the most significant root causes of problems but
takes no account of the cost of a solution. You may need to undertake a separate cost-
benefit analysis once you are aware of the root causes.

Reference
50minutes.com (2015) Pareto’s Principle: Expand your Business! 50Minutes.com.

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 TOOL 43: THE SOLUTION EFFECT ANALYSIS 109

Tool 43 The Solution Effect Analysis

What the Tool Is

This technique is the reverse of a cause and effect diagram, designed to check whether
a solution actually solves a problem, to compare effects of different solutions, to ensure
that the chosen solution does not cause even bigger problems and to identify any
other actions that may be necessary to ensure that a solution is fit for purpose.

When to Use It
■ Consider using in conjunction with the Ripple effect (see Tool 39). This method will
help you to identify possible ramifications of your solution in your own area. The
Ripple effect will help you to identify possible effects of your solution across the
wider organisation.

What You Will Need

■ A flipchart, paper and marker pens.

How to Use It
1 Use other methods outlined in this book to create the solution to a problem.
2 Use a fishbone diagram to identify the major effects of the solution.
3 Brainstorm possible further effects of those major effects.
4 Analyse those effects and look for solutions.
5 Amend the original solution or re-evaluate to create a new, more effective solution.

Major Major
effect effect

Minor effect Minor effect

Solution

Minor effect Minor effect

Major Major
effect effect

Points to Watch Out For

You will need a detailed knowledge of your organisation or a range of participants from
across the organisation to help you in the process.

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 110 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Tool 44 The Work Map

What the Tool Is

The Work map can be used by individuals or teams working together to recoup time –
the most valuable commodity at work. It produces a graphical snapshot of the
individual’s or group’s work and prompts a series of questions about how time is being
used, where a disproportionate amount of time may be used in undeserving areas,
what we want from others and they from us and how we can start to rationalise what
we do and so start to use our time more effectively.

When to Use It
■ The work map is very useful in analysing where your own time goes and discovering
ways of recouping lost time.
■ It can also be a powerful tool to use with a small team working together.

What You Will Need

■ Pen and paper.

How to Use It
1 On a piece of paper (at least A4 in size) and turned to landscape, draw a small circle
in the centre and put your name in the circle.
2 Consider all the people or groups of people both inside and outside work who
require something from you or have expectations of something at work – it may
be that you deliver goods, services, reports, information to them – it does not
matter what you offer, as long as they have some expectation that you will deliver
something to them. These groups and individuals might include, for example,
your boss, your direct reports, key customers or clients and others. Ranged
around the central circle, draw another circle for each person or group who
requires something from you and put their name inside the circle that represents
them. Note that if several people or groups require exactly the same thing from
you, their names can be entered in the same circle. If there are differences in their
expectations of you, no matter how subtle, draw a separate circle for each one.

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 TOOL 44: THE WORK MAP 111

Client Client
X Y

Supplier Client
3 Z

Supplier
2 Me Boss

Supplier Boss’s
1 boss

Team

3 Connect each circle to the centre circle with lines like spokes of a bicycle wheel.
Above each connecting line, write a very brief description of what you believe
each of these ‘stakeholders’ requires from you.

Client Client
X Y

Supplier Client
Time

ce

3 Z
ervi
ly su

Oc
at s

ca o
ord sion inf
pply

ate
Gre

ers al r
£ cu
Ac
Supplier Large Keep clients
2 Me Boss
orders $ € Ra happy
ise
rev
lar en
gu $ ue
Re rs £
Direction/

e
delay

o r d
Supplier Boss’s
1 boss

Team

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 112 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

4 Consider how each stakeholder would evaluate your offerings to them. Do they
measure it in terms of quantity, quality, cost or time, or a combination of these?
By each circle, indicate how they evaluate it using Qn (quantity), Ql (quality), C
(cost), T (time).

Ql,T
Ql,T
Client Client
X Y
Ql,T
Supplier Client

Time

ice
3 Z

serv
l
Oc

y su
C,T
ca o
inf

at
ord sion

pply
te

Gre
ers al ra
£ cu
Ac
Supplier Large Keep clients
2 Me Boss
orders $ € Ra happy
Qn,C,T ise
rev Ql
lar en
e gu £ $ ue
Direction/

R rs
e
delay

Supplier ord Boss’s

C,T
1 boss

Qn,C,T
Team

Q,T

5 From each stakeholder circle, draw a line and write on this line what each
stakeholder does with whatever you offer them. For example, if you send
stakeholder X a monthly report, what do they do with the information in that
report? (See completed work map overleaf.)
6 Now go back to the lines connecting each stakeholder to the central circle. If
you believe that what you wrote above the line represents what the stakeholder
expects from you, now write below the line what you need or expect from the
stakeholder in order to provide this. (See completed work map overleaf.)
7 Finally, consider where you spend the bulk of your working time. Shade in the
circles representing the stakeholders who, whether rightly or wrongly, take up
most of your working time. (See completed work map below.)

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 TOOL 44: THE WORK MAP 113

ion
Ql,T licat
Pub Ql,T !
sure
Not f
Client Client staf
Not
sure X Y re with
! Sha
Ql,T
Supplier Client

Time re!

Pub service
Not

-
Oc

gnit lic reco

3 Z
ord casi

ly su
su
C,T
No ers onal

ion
o
inf

at
ts £

pply
te ular

Gre
Dev ure o
elo ! r a
cu Reg enu
e ort t
EME p in Rep ss
A Ac re
v bo
Supplier Large orders $ € Keep clients happy
2 Me Boss
Timely supply Regular feedback
Ra
Qn,C,T £$ i
Oc se re
e rs me c Ql
or d ti rec as ven
lar lity & Direction/delay og iona ue
Motivation &
productivity

u nit
g
Re h qu
a ion l
i g C,T
Supplier H Boss’s
1 boss Board report
inv est
Re-
Qn,C,T
Team

Q,T

Now you have a picture of your working life, which may prompt a series of questions:
1 How do you know what each stakeholder wants from you? When did you last
discuss it with them?
2 How do you know how they evaluate what you do for them? When did you last
discuss it with them?
3 Do they know exactly what you expect/need from them in order to meet their
expectations? When did you last discuss it with them?
4 How do you know how they use whatever you deliver to them? When did you last
discuss it with them?
5 If you are spending a disproportionate amount of working time with certain
stakeholders, are you neglecting others who would value spending more time
with you?
Notice in the example diagram, some of the expectations are marked as ‘Not sure’ as
the end results of whatever I am providing to the stakeholders. If I am not sure what
they do with whatever I provide, then I must go and speak to those stakeholders and
re-establish what we need from each other and why we are doing what we are doing.
The idea is to question everything. You may discover, for example, that you produce
a detailed report for one stakeholder who needs only a high-level, bulleted summary.
You may discover that you are taking too much time to produce something of quality
when the stakeholder requires something basic, or perhaps requires nothing at all and
simply has not told you (because you did not ask).

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 114 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Go back and talk to the people you have included in your diagram and discuss
mutual expectations. You will be surprised at how much extra time you can gain from
reducing some of the work you do for them and, in some cases, stopping it altogether.

Points to Watch Out For

Be careful not to defend something that you have always done, simply because you
have always done it. It is important in using the work map to be realistic and to be
willing to let go of things that no longer work. It may also take some courage to go and
have the necessary conversations with people about your mutual expectations, but the
rewards will far outweigh the discomfort.

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 TOOL 45: THE COMPETING VALUES FRAMEWORK 115

Tool 45 The Competing Values Framework

What the Tool Is

Kim Cameron and Robert Quinn are regarded as the world’s experts on corporate
culture and, as a result of extensive research, produced a diagnostic tool that helps to
analyse and, ultimately, change corporate culture. A spin-off effect, not documented
in their classic book (see the Reference section at the end of this tool) is that their
model provides a wonderful tool for making career decisions. It is in that light that it is
included here. If you are debating whether or not to apply to a particular organisation
for a job, then this tool will help you to frame your findings so that you can test whether
the organisation is for you.

When to Use It
■  hen you are looking for a new job and choosing the organisations for which you
W
could work comfortably or (if seeking a challenge) change!

What You Will Need

■ Pen and paper.

How to Use It
Cameron and Quinn’s extensive research into organisational culture suggested that
every organisation, regardless of whether it is in the public, private or third sector
(voluntary, social enterprise, charity), displays a combination of characteristics in four
particular areas, which they named as:

Clan Adhocracy
Hierarchy Market

They recently added a second descriptor to each area:

Clan Adhocracy
(Collaborate) (Create)
Hierarchy Market
(Control) (Compete)

Any two boxes that are diagonally opposite each other are considered to be
diametrically opposed. For example, the greater the clan characteristics displayed by
an organisation, the fewer market characteristics it will display and vice versa.

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 116 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Cameron and Quinn described the cultural characteristics typical in each area and,
as you begin to understand them, so you can start to choose the type of organisation in
which you would feel comfortable working. Broadly, the characteristics are as follows:

Clan Adhocracy
(Collaborate) (Create)
Friendly and sharing family Dynamic and entrepreneurial
Leaders are ‘parents’ or mentors Leaders are innovative and risk takers
Loyalty and tradition Experimental and inventive
High commitment Leading edge
Emphasis on personal development Emphasis on growth and new resources
Sensitivity to internal and external clients Success is new services or products
Participation and consensus Individual initiative and freedom
Hierarchy Market
(Control) (Compete)
Formal, structured and procedural Results-oriented, getting the job done
Leaders are efficient organisers Competitive and goal-driven
Smooth running is essential Leaders are tough and demanding
Formal rules and policies Emphasis on winning
Stable and dependable service Achievement of measurable goals
Secure employment Success is in market share and penetration

In purely personal terms, a strong preference or dislike for a particular quadrant is

likely to indicate the following:

Quadrant Like/want it because . . . Dislike/do not want it because . . .

Clan You like to feel valued You would feel suffocated
You like to work collaboratively You do not always want to work
closely with others or as part of a
team
Hierarchy You like the sense of security You would feel constrained by
that comes from rules and rules and process
process
Market You like to work under pressure You would feel too pressurised
You like to meet targets You would feel there is too much
emphasis on achievement of
goals
Adhocracy You like the sense of freedom You would feel that things are out
You like to be a soloist of control
You would miss working in a team

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 TOOL 45: THE COMPETING VALUES FRAMEWORK 117

Now imagine a scale of 0 to 50 for each quadrant, starting at the centre of the box and
radiating out towards the corners. Score each quadrant based on its appeal to you
and join the dots.

60 Clan Adhocracy 60

50 50
40
40

30 30
20 20

10 10

10 10

20
20
30
30
40 40
50 Market 50
Hierarchy
60 60

In this hypothetical example, I want a medium high clan score and a high adhocracy
score. I want a low hierarchy score and a medium market score. At a personal level, it
suggests that I do not much like being constrained by rules but enjoy the freedom to
think and act for myself; I am a reasonable, but not strong, team player; I am moderately
driven by targets but do not like too much pressure.
Now try to discover as much as you can about the company that you are thinking
of joining and overlay on top of your diagram a picture of how you see that company
using a different style or different coloured pen. You might like to add a key to indicate
which is your score and which relates to the company. How would you score them
in each area? How close is your ideal to what you perceive as the actuality of the
company? Where are the gaps? Can you tolerate them? Would you be applying for a
sufficiently senior position to be able to change anything?

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 118 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

60 Clan Adhocracy 60

50 50
40
40

30 30
20 20

10 10

Hierarchy 10 10 Market
20
20
30
30
40 40

50 50
60 60

Me
Company

If there is a close match, then the company looks like a good choice for you. If there
are discrepancies, then you need to think carefully about whether it is for you. Look at
the following points for guidance.

Points to Watch Out For

Perhaps the biggest difficulty is in finding out what an organisation is really like. After all,
six organisations working in the same area will claim, on their websites, to be the best
in their field, which means that five of them are deluded or not telling the truth! Look at
press reports, talk to people who already work for the organisation and do the most
comprehensive research you can to find out what it is really like to work there. Then
bear in mind that you have a choice:
■ If the culture of an organisation does not match your needs, are you prepared to
tolerate it and grin and bear the attendant frustrations?
■ If the culture of an organisation does not match your needs, are you applying for a
job at a sufficiently senior level to be able to change some aspects of that culture
and so make it more tolerable?
■ If a particular organisation has to have a certain culture to support its work and
you are unhappy with that culture, are you sure that you are working in a field that
really suits you?

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 TOOL 45: THE COMPETING VALUES FRAMEWORK 119

■ To what extent do external forces, such as regulatory or compliance requirements,

shape an organisational culture? For example, pharmaceutical companies are
profit-driven and heavily regulated. It may be that a research and development
department maintains a sub-culture of adhocracy but, inevitably, their two biggest
cultural footprints will be in hierarchy and market. The Armed Services are an
interesting mix – at regimental level they show strong clan characteristics; at HQ
level, hierarchy; in field operations, adhocracy; and, possibly, at recruitment level,
market.

Reference
Cameron, K.S. and Quinn, R.E. (2011) Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture
Using the Competing Values Framework. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons.

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 120 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Tool 46 Timelining

What the Tool Is

A very powerful group technique, much of which is conducted in silence, to ascertain
where the group should focus its efforts, what it can realistically hope to achieve and
by when, and the likely level of involvement of individuals within the group.

When to Use It
■ When a group needs to plan and prioritise its actions.

What You Will Need

■ Flipchart paper and marker pens.
■ Sticky notes.
■ A room with plenty of space for participants to walk around.

How to Use It
Round 1 – major achievements

1 Around a room, post flipchart sheets, each headed with a date – the first shows the
date six months from now, the second a year from now, the third eighteen months
from now, the fourth two years from now – as far ahead as you believe you can
look or need to plan.
2 Ask participants to walk around the flipchart sheets, in complete silence, staring
at each date and imagining what they could achieve/must achieve/would like to
achieve (as appropriate) by then, then walk to the next and the next in sequence
until they cannot imagine their work any further into the future.
3 When they reach the latest date at which they can visualise something being
achieved, they should write on the flipchart sheet a brief description of the
milestone they intend to reach by this stage.
4 Participants then walk back in the opposite direction, writing on each flipchart
sheet the major achievement(s) they expect by each date in turn. Remember that
this is all done in silence.

Round 2 – milestones

1 Participants walk to the flipchart displaying the furthest date (in the future) at which
they had marked a milestone achievement.
2 Then they consider what has to happen at earlier dates to make the end date
feasible.

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 TOOL 46: TIMELINING 121

3 They walk back and write on each flipchart in turn the major phases that must be
finished at each specific date in order to achieve their end goal. Again, this is done
in silence.

Round 3 – actions

1 Give participants sticky notes.

2 Ask them to walk round the flipcharts, noting on separate sticky notes the actions
that have to be taken to achieve the milestones. They should write one action per
sticky note and stick them on the appropriately dated flipchart sheets.

Round 4 – people

1 Finally, the participants are allowed to speak! Participants should consider who
must undertake each of the actions in round 3.
2 They should seek out the appropriate people (if they are in the room and participating)
and take them to the appropriate flipchart sheets, ask them to undertake the work
in question and, with their agreement, assign the actions to them by putting their
names or initials on the appropriate sticky notes.

Round 5 – assimilation

1 Everyone now walks through the flipchart sheets from earliest to latest date, reading
the milestones, actions, assigned names and ultimate achievements and double-
checks the feasibilities and dependencies, asking permission from others to make
changes, as appropriate.
2 Take photographs of each flipchart sheets in sequence and have them typed up as
a high-level action plan, to be discussed (if necessary) in more detail at a later team
meeting.

Points to Watch Out For

Some people struggle with silence, and yet it is the silence that gives power to this
method. Explain at the outset the need for silence in the early stages, with the promise
of conversation later!
Some participants will be over-ambitious, believing that they can achieve more than
is feasible in the time available. Ensure that, in round 4, participants check carefully the
likelihood of achieving the actions, milestones and ultimate goals by the allocated date.
Ask them to check dependencies extremely carefully, asking themselves (and each
other) what must have happened before this can start. In a loosely structured way, they
are creating a critical path analysis.

Reference
The provenance of this method is unknown. I am indebted to Angela Peacock and
Jeremy Lewis of the People Development Team (www.pdtglobal.com) for showing
me the technique and demonstrating it so powerfully with clients.

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 122 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

TOOL 47 One Question

What the Tool Is

This is a simple, yet effective, approach to help a group to ask the right question in
order to solve a problem, then explore sub-questions.

When to Use It
■ When attempts to solve a problem have failed or solutions have not been
forthcoming, it is often because the wrong question is being asked, or the problem
is badly framed. One question can help the participants to reframe a problem as a
question so that it is easier to find a viable solution.

What You Will Need

■ Flipchart paper and marker pens.
■ Sticky coloured dots.
■ Sticky notes.

How to Use It
1 Outline the problem in the broadest terms, answering participants’ questions to
ensure that everyone understands it fully.
2 Each participant then frames the single question that they believe needs to be
answered first to start to create a solution. Participants write their questions on
sticky notes and post them on a wall or a flipchart.
3 Read out each question in turn and ask participants to vote for the question that
best encapsulates the problem to be solved. You may choose to vote by a show
of hands or by placement of sticky coloured dots. Participants may vote for any
question except their own.
4 When everyone has voted, read out the question that gained the majority of the
votes.
5 Ask the group whether it needs to be refined in light of the other questions – is
there anything missing that would make solution finding easier?
6 Now you have the final question, use other methods outlined in this book to
resolve it.
7 It may be that reading out all the questions suggests that there are sub-questions
or sub-topics to be explored. Discuss with the group which other questions are
worth exploring, or use the voting system to pick up, say, the second and third
most popular questions as voted by the participants and explore those, too.

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 TOOL 46: ONE QUESTION 123

Points to Watch Out For

It is sometimes more effective at step 7 to pick up sub-questions by the number of
votes they have received, rather than by discussing them with the group. Often, a more
senior or dominant person may try to sway the group towards their question, and the
voting process removes this possibility.

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 124 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Tool 48 Peer Assist

What the Tool Is

Peer assist is a variant of Action learning (see Tool 49), bringing together peers to
give feedback on an issue, problem, idea, project, etc. The principle behind it is that,
whatever you are about to do, someone has probably done it before you and you can
benefit from their experience. It works best with a group of six to eight people.

When to Use It
■  hen you are starting a new project and could benefit from the advice of more
W
experienced people.
■ When you are facing a problem that others have faced in the past.
■ When you are planning a project similar to one that another group has been
involved in or even completed.

What You Will Need

■ Working space and time.

How to Use It
Before the peer assist session:
1 Determine who has experience of the topic to be discussed.
2 Email them to present your purpose and plan for the session.
3 Set a date for the session.

During the session:

1 The facilitator introduces the session, the people and the roles people will play.
2 The person wanting help presents their case. Participants speak only to clarify
their understanding at this stage.
3 Facilitated discussion.
4 Check any actions or agreements with the group and presenter.
5 Close.

Variants
If a number of people are involved in a new project and seek assistance, you may
choose to divide the large group into smaller, more manageable groups and have
parallel discussions with one presenter and one facilitator per smaller group. Follow the
format above but add in a plenary session between steps 4 and 5 in which the whole
group convenes for a plenary sharing of information and ideas.

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 TOOL 48: PEER ASSIST 125

Points to Watch Out For

Plan ahead for a Peer assist session. If you leave it too late, you will have no chance to
implement the ideas that come from it.

Reference
There are many articles online about peer-assisted learning, but most of the books
focus on classroom methods in school.

  

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 126 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Tool 49 Action Learning

What the Tool Is

Action learning was the brainchild of Professor Reg Revans, the Director of Education for
the British National Coal Board. Revans believed that peer groups and team members
are the best coaches and facilitators for problem solving, although acknowledged
that if a team (a ‘set’ in action learning parlance) lacks the ability to be reflective –
a key component of action learning, has difficult team members or needs help with
processes or direction, an outside facilitator can assist in the process. Action learning
sets help solve problems rather than recommend actions.

When to Use It
■ This is useful after more formal training to keep a peer group together so that they
continue to learn and assist each other in problem solving, decision making and
learning.

What You Will Need

■ Working space and time.

How to Use It
1 Establish a relatively small, mutually supportive group of four to eight people, ideally
peers from a number of departments.
2 State clearly the organisational problem (or opportunity to be developed).
3 Group members ask clarifying questions.
4 Group members now focus on asking the right questions to help the presenter to
learn, rather than on finding solutions, exploring both what is known and what is
not yet known and using questions to break away from received wisdom about
the past and ‘how we do things around here’. Good open-ended questions,
asked one at a time, rather than ‘stacked’ work best.
5 Members are encouraged to be challenging in their questioning to help the
presenter to see an issue from other perspectives whilst remaining supportive
and attentive to the presenter’s feelings. They must not give personal solutions or
work from their own, personal agendas. Examples of good questions are:
■ ‘Could you say a little more about that?’
■ ‘Are you saying that . . . ?’
■ ‘What happened after that?’
■ ‘Have you considered exploring X?’

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 TOOL 49: ACTION LEARNING 127

And, towards the end of the discussion:

■ ‘Is there anything we have not covered?’
■ ‘Are there any aspects that you would like to explore further?’

6 Members are now asked to reflect upon the questions.

7 After this phase of questioning and reflection, action items are identified.

Points to Watch Out For

The facilitator must ensure that:
■ the presenter never feels attacked;
■ only one person speaks at a time;
■ the presenter is given time to reflect on the questions and space to answer them;
■ that the group members ask questions rather than give advice;
■ that no group member tries to control the direction of the discussion.

References
Butler, L. and Leach, N. (2011) Action Learning for Change: A Practical Guide for
Managers. Oxford: Management Books 2000 Ltd.
Pedler, M. (2013) Facilitating Action Learning: A Practitioner’s Guide. Maidenhead:
Open University Press.

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 128 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Tool 50 Story Circles

What the Tool Is

Many collaborative techniques involve opinion, judgement and subjective viewpoints.
Whilst they draw on the experience of the participants, they do not necessarily invite
participants to share their experience directly. Story circles use participants’ real-life
stories to add flesh to the bones of an idea.

When to Use It
■ To elicit the experiences of a group of people who have already done something in
an area in which you are just becoming involved.
■ To test the viability of an idea before implementing it.
■ To understand better how to implement a particular change at work.

What You Will Need

■ A presenter or small group of presenters with something to learn.
■ A group of (maximum eight) people with practical experience in the area to be
discussed and the generosity of spirit to help someone less experienced.

How to Use It
1 The presenter discusses an idea, a challenge, a topic in which he/she is seeking
help.
2 The facilitator asks a number of open questions, designed to elicit experience
in the area of discussion and allows sufficient time for participants to tell their
stories, which illustrate their personal experiences of the issue.
3 The presenter may also question participants to get them to delve deeper into
their stories.

Points to Watch Out For

The Story circle needs strong facilitation to ensure that participants simply tell their
stories, rather than offer their experiences as best practice. Often, the disaster story
can be more useful in illustrating points to watch and areas of danger.
Ensure that no single participant dominates the session in an effort to prove that
they have more experience than others – the power of the method comes from the
variety of experiences offered.

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 TOOL 51: SWIM LANE DIAGRAMS (RUMMLER-BRACHE DIAGRAMS) 129

Tool 51 Swim Lane Diagrams (Rummler-

Brache Diagrams)

What the Tool Is

Swim lane (aka swimlane) diagrams were created by Geary Rummler and Alan Brache
to clarify interconnections between teams, departments and processes and, as a
result, to determine the efficiency of the processes. The diagrams are called swim lanes
because of the horizontal rows used, which look like the lane markers in a swimming
pool. Sometimes, they are referred to as cross-functional flowcharts.

When to Use It
■ Use it to test the efficiency of a process that involves a number of participants in
different functional areas.

What You Will Need

■ Pen and paper.

How to Use It
1 Select the business process to be analysed.
2 State the specific process that you are working on.
3 Identify each participant in the process that you are analysing.
4 List each participant in the left column of the diagram. Each participant is given a
horizontal row (swim lane).
5 List the steps in the process as it is currently executed.
6 Map each step to the participant who executes it.
7 Analyse the diagram and assess whether any part of the process can be
improved. For example:
■ Are there any missing steps?
■ Is there any duplication of effort?
■ Is there any step that adds no value?

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 130 Part 3: PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS

Here is a fragment from a warehouse process:

Issue
Controller
ticket

Picker/packer Pick/pack Pack

goods truck

Pack Deliver to Unload Return to

Driver Finish
truck store truck store

Unload Check Yes Call

Store manager Correct?
truck inventory controller
No

In our example, you can see that both picker/packer and driver load the truck,
which reduces the number of people in the warehouse picking and packing. The driver
and the store manager unload the truck together. This may be a useful way of double-
checking the inventory, but it may be inefficient.
Having analysed the diagram, you may choose to draw another swim lane diagram
to show how the process could/should work. This may result in, for example, the
removal or addition of steps, removal or addition of participants in the process or
combination of steps.

Variants
You may want to start by creating a swim lane diagram for the highest-level processes
and then create new diagrams to explore one or more sub-processes in additional
detail.

Points to Watch Out For

Be careful not to eliminate steps whose purpose is not immediately obvious – there
may be good reasons why those steps exist and need to be perpetuated. Equally, do
not maintain a step for fear of hurting someone’s feelings by removing it – retain only
the steps that serve a real purpose.

Reference
Damelio, R. (2011) The Basics of Process Mapping. New York: Productivity Press.

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 Part 4

Large Group
Problem-
Solving
Techniques

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M04_COTT2319_01_SE_P04.indd 132 21/06/1938 SAKA 3:39 pm
 TOOL 52: CRAWFORD’S SLIP 133

Tool 52 Crawford’s Slip

What the Tool Is

Crawford’s slip was originated by a Dr C.C. Crawford of the University of Southern
California in the 1920s and so named, perhaps rather unimaginatively, because
participants write their ideas on slips of paper.

When to Use It
■ When time is limited and you need a lot of ideas but have little time for discussion.
■ When people are reluctant to speak out in front of the group.
The method works particularly well in cultures or organisations where people are
reserved and prefer to contribute anonymously.

What You Will Need

■ Paper (or sticky notes) and pens.

How to Use It
1 Distribute slips of paper or sticky notes to each participant.
2 Ask them to write ideas on the topic being discussed, one idea per slip.
Contributions are made anonymously.
3 You may offer to summarise the responses after the event (which encourages
participation).
4 Collect the slips when you see that participants are running out of ideas.
5 Outside the event, collate and sort the answers by subtopic or theme.
6 After the event, send a summary of ideas with a thank you email to participants.

Points to Watch Out For

The method can be frustrating for those who prefer more active discussion and for
those who have few ideas and become bored with the process as they wait for others
to finish writing their ideas.

Reference
Dettmer, H.W. (2003) Brainpower Networking Using the Crawford Slip Method.
Bloomington: Trafford.

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 134 Part 4: LARGE GROUP PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES

Tool 53 The Charrette Procedure

What the Tool Is

Several small groups brainstorm solutions to a problem, facilitated by ‘recorders’ who,
at a given time signal, move to new groups to continue the process there. After several
iterations, recorders pool and present their ideas.
The word charrette is French for cart. Allegedly, a cart would come to collect the
scale models produced by architecture students at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris
in the nineteenth century. The students, working hard at the last minute so that they
did not miss the deadline as the cart arrived, were said to be working en charrette.

When to Use It
■ For strategic planning.
■ For organisational design.
■ For discussion of issues/problems/decisions that cut across departmental
boundaries.

What You Will Need

■ A large workspace.
■ Flipcharts and marker pens.

How to Use It
1 Agree on the issue(s) to be discussed – these should be subtopics of a bigger idea.
2 Divide the group into smaller groups, maximum seven per group, plus a recorder
(who is also the small group facilitator).
3 Assign an issue to each group.
4 Each group brainstorms its issue.
5 The recorder facilitates and records all ideas.
6 At a given time/signal, the recorder moves to the next group.
7 The recorder reviews the issues/responses of the new group.
8 The groups begin brainstorming again around a new idea, building on the thinking
from the last idea.
9 Repeat steps 5 to 8 until each group has discussed all the issues.
10 Allow the recorders/groups time to draw all the ideas together into key themes or
strands.
11 In plenary, ask recorders to present the key ideas coming from their groups. You
may need to rank the ideas.

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 TOOL 53: THE CHARRETTE PROCEDURE 135

Points to Watch Out For

Much of the success of this and other large-scale techniques is due to the planning.
Plan well ahead of the event, send very clear instructions about the purpose, timing,
requirements, expectations and benefits of the session.

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 136 Part 4: LARGE GROUP PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES

Tool 54 Starbursting

What the Tool Is

Like Tough questions (see Tool 2), Starbursting is a team activity that ensures that all
the right questions are asked before any solutions are explored. Often, an apparently
silly question opens up a whole new series of questions. When Starbursting works
well, the person posing the question realises that they have much more work to do
before attempting to find a solution or that the problem is more complex than they had
imagined.

When to Use It
■ Before attempting to find a solution to a complex issue with many sub-strands.

What You Will Need

■  lipchart paper and marker pens or paper and pens (depending upon the number
F
of participants).

How to Use It
You can use this technique on your own, but it is more fun and more productive with
one or more small groups of, say, four people per group.
1 Create a six-pointed star on a piece of paper – you may choose to use ordinary
office paper or, for larger groups, flipchart paper. Label the points of the star with
question words: Who? What? Where? Why? When? How?

Who?
How? What?

When? Where?

Why?

2 Brainstorm questions about the topic, starting with each of the question words
around the star. Generate as many relevant questions as you can.
3 Do not attempt to answer the questions. At this stage, you are only generating
questions.

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 TOOL 54: STARBURSTING 137

4 Write the questions so that they radiate from the points of the star.
5 If several groups are taking part, ask one group to read all its questions,
prompted by a particular question word, and then ask other groups to add any
questions not posed by the first group. Now move to another group and let them
lead with their questions, prompted by another question word, with other groups
adding to it. Repeat for each question word.
6 Collect the Starbursting diagrams and, after the session, collate the questions
and distribute them to participants.

Variants
■  ou can either generate one set of questions or use each set of questions to
Y
stimulate the creation of a new set.
■ Break a large group into smaller groups. Either let each group explore the same
issue or give different issues (or different aspects of the same issue) to each smaller
group and ask them to share their questions in plenary.

Who would benefit most from attending?

Who are the key thinkers in this area?

How may people do we want to attend? What are the current topics of interest?
How long do we have to plan it? What’s our budget?

Who?
How? What?
Attract more
conference
delegates
When? Where?

Why?
When are the school holidays? Where does our target audience work?
When are the public holidays? Where would be a good, central location?

Why would they choose to come to the conference?

Points to Watch Out For

In any group there are know-alls who will try to dismiss some questions as too obvious.
Make it clear at the outset that, no matter how obvious the answer to a question,
it should be added to the sheet. The aim is to create the most comprehensive list
possible of relevant questions and it is important to capture them all because questions
spawn new questions.
Encourage participants to add questions to their sheets as quickly as they think
of them. Rather than try to exhaust all ‘Who?’ questions before moving to ‘What?’
questions, they should call out any question that occurs to them, as it occurs to them
so that nothing is lost. They can revisit each question word as often as they like.

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 138 Part 4: LARGE GROUP PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES

Tool 55 Open Space

What the Tool Is

Open space is a large-scale, collaborative problem-solving methodology in which the
group participating effectively creates its own agenda. Individuals post their problems
on a notice board and then convene breakout meetings in which the problems are
discussed and the owner takes notes of ideas. Participants can wander freely between
breakout groups, offering help and moving on when they feel they have nothing more
to contribute.

When to Use It
■ For strategic planning.
■ For organisational design.
■ For any decision making that will affect people cross-functionally.

What You Will Need

■ A circle of chairs for participants.
■ Signs indicating the meeting locations.
■ Breakout spaces or rooms for smaller meetings.
■ A blank wall for the agenda.
■ A news wall.
■ Paper on which to write session topics or questions.
■ Pens, pencils, markers.

How to Use It
1 Bring the group together in a circle.
2 Distribute paper to each participant.
3 Welcome the participants and explain the process.
4 Invite anyone with a concern or an issue to be resolved to write it on a piece of
paper, come into the centre of the circle and announce the concern to the group.
5 Those who express concerns are described as ’conveners’ and, having
announced their concerns, each places their paper on an ‘agenda’ wall with a
place to meet and a time slot. Ideally, this should be prepared in advance of the
session, with small placards on the wall listing each breakout room/area, so that
the conveners can place their written concerns under a location name and add
their start time.
6 Participants note the times and locations of the sessions that interest them.
7 The conveners start their sessions and interested parties come and join them.

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 TOOL 55: OPEN SPACE 139

8 Each group appoints a recorder to capture the important points and post their
reports on a ’news wall’. Reports will be collated and fed back in a plenary
session.
9 After a break, groups might move to a convergence stage in which they attach
actions plans to the points raised.
10 The group comes back together in a circle in which participants are invited to
share comments, insights and agreed actions arising from the process.
If you find yourself in a breakout meeting to which you can contribute nothing or in
which you are learning nothing, then exercise the Law of Two Feet and move to another
session to which you believe you can contribute something.
The principles of open space
The originators of Open space believe that:
■ Whoever comes are the right people.
■ Whenever it starts is the right time.
■ Whatever happens is the only thing that could have happened.
■ When it is over, it is over.
There are some flaws in these basic principles. In reality, there may be too little time for
the right people to take part in each small group discussion and the timing may not be
appropriate for everyone. The other two ideas suggest some kind of inevitability about
the process and outcomes that somewhat fly in the face of common sense.

Points to Watch Out For

There is a great deal of literature both in book form and on the internet about the art
of hosting.
Note that the originators of Open space, and a number of other methods for facilitating
large group discussions, use a language that may alienate hard-headed business people.
For example, gathering information is described as ’harvesting’, a facilitator is described as
a ’host’ and a participant’s choice to move between discussion groups is described as the
Law of Two Feet. For some, this language is a step too far. If you can move beyond the
language, however, open space and related methods include some great techniques and
principles for large-scale meeting facilitation.
Just because the originators of these processes use what may appear to some as
New Age language, does not mean that you have to adopt it. Gauge your participants
carefully and use language appropriate to them.
Any major event (and use of this technique is a major event) requires a great deal
of planning and strong, focused facilitation. If you have never run an event like this
before, consider bringing in an experienced external facilitator the first time, work with
the facilitator and build your confidence to lead future events.

Reference
Owen, H. (2008) Open Space Technology: A User’s Guide. San Francisco: Berrett-
Koehler Publishers.

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 140 Part 4: LARGE GROUP PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES

Tool 56 World Café

What the Tool Is

World Café was designed as a process to facilitate large meetings, give people an
equal voice and invite contributions from everyone.
Small groups sitting at café-style tables discuss a problem for a set time period.
One person ‘hosts’ each table group. At a given signal, participants move to other
tables where the host talks through the discussions of the last group. Either the same
question is repeated or a related question is discussed. Repeat the process, collect
the ideas, present them in plenary and rank the solutions the groups have produced.

When to Use It
■ For strategic planning.
■ For organisational design.
■ For any decision making that will affect people cross-functionally.

What You Will Need

■ A large workspace, set up in café or cabaret style.
■ Flipchart paper and pens. (It can be useful to place a piece of flipchart paper and
marker pens on each table and encourage people to sketch their ideas as they
discuss them.)
■ Paper and pens on each table.

How to Use It
1 Setting: Setup is usually café style, with small tables for four or five people. Provide
paper, pens and, possibly, a ‘talking object’ (only the person who is holding it may
speak). Each table has a host, who usually stays at the same table throughout the
process.
2 Welcome and introduction: The event host welcomes everyone, sets the scene
for the discussion and describes the process.
3 Question: A question is posed, related to the main topic of the discussion.

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 TOOL 56: WORLD CAFÉ 141

4 Small group rounds: Three or more 20-minute rounds of conversation based

around the question. At the end of 20 minutes, the table members move to other
tables (spreading out across tables rather than moving as a group). As the new
group arrives, the table host talks through the thoughts of the last group.
5 Question: Either the same question is repeated or a new question is posed,
which develops the theme already discussed.
6 Harvest: Insights and results are collated and presented in plenary through a
variety of methods, which may include graphical recording, clustering of ideas on
a board and ranking of solutions.

The operating principles of World Café

■ Create a hospitable space.

■ Explore questions that matter (to the participants, their organisation or beyond).
■ Encourage each person’s contributions.
■ Connect diverse people and ideas.
■ Listen together for patterns, insights and deeper questions.
■ Make collective knowledge visible.
In this and other collective contribution processes, it is said that we should ‘listen with
attention and speak with intention’. This means that participants listen carefully to what
others are saying and speak in response to what they have heard, rather than waiting
for a space to say what they want to say.

Points to Watch Out For

As for Open space (see Tool 55), any major event (and use of this technique is a
major event) requires a great deal of planning and strong, focused facilitation. If you
have never run an event like this before, consider bringing in an experienced external
facilitator the first time, work with the facilitator and build your confidence to lead future
events.

Reference
Brown, J. and Isaacs, D. (2005) The World Café: Shaping Our Futures Through
Conversations That Matter. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

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 142 Part 4: LARGE GROUP PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES

Tool 57 Pro-Action Café

What the Tool Is

This is a powerful technique used for collaborative problem solving with a large group
and is built on World café (see Tool 56) and Open space (see Tool 55) principles.
Individuals raise issues that they would like to discuss, based on a central theme.
The technique allows exploration of the quest behind the question and what everyone
needs to know to make the picture more complete.

When to Use It
■ When you need to move relatively quickly from problem solving to action.
■ For strategic planning.
■ For organisational design.
■ For any decision making that will affect people cross-functionally.

What You Will Need

■ A large circle of chairs, one per participant, and additional tables to accommodate
small groups of three or four people. If this is not possible, participants can move
the chairs from the circle to marked areas of the room to create smaller groups.
■ Flipchart paper and marker pens.
■ An agenda matrix on a flipchart on which conveners can write their questions.

Table Name Questions, issues, projects

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

How to Use It
1 Everyone meets in a circle to understand the purpose of the session.
2 Participants consider in silence if there is a question they would like to explore.
3 They are asked to share it and invite others to work with them on it. Those who
do not raise questions are asked to work with those who do.

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 TOOL 57: PRO-ACTION CAFÉ 143

4 Each person with an issue to explore stands up, states their issue and writes it on
an agenda, then chooses the number of the table at which they will meet. Ideally,
each table should have a host and three or four other people.
5 Three rounds of conversation for 20 to 30 minutes each, each focusing on a
specific question to broaden and deepen the process before converging. A five-
minute break between rounds.
Round 1: What is the quest behind the question? Dig under the surface of what
we already know to understand the initial question better.
Round 2: What is missing? What do we need to know to make the picture more
complete?
Round 3: Next steps and key learnings. In the final round, the convener remains
at the table and the groups rotate to the next table to hear the thoughts so far
and offer fine-tuning and help. The hosts and participants assimilate what they
have learnt and take away actions.
6 Feedback in a circle. Everyone gathers in a seated circle in which the hosts
describe what happened at their tables and what they will take away from the
discussions. If time permits, others may wish to share their experience of the
activity. To control the flow of conversation in the feedback session, some groups
use a ‘talking object’ – the object can be anything at all, and only the person
holding it may speak. For some, this may be taking things a little too far: it has
the advantage of ensuring that people do not interrupt each other, but can make
discussion a little stilted and over-formalised.

Points to Watch Out For

As for the last two methods, any major event (and use of this technique is a major event)
requires a great deal of planning and strong, focused facilitation. If you have never run
an event like this before, consider bringing in an experienced external facilitator the first
time, work with the facilitator and build your confidence to lead future events.

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M04_COTT2319_01_SE_P04.indd 144 21/06/1938 SAKA 3:39 pm
 Part 5

Problem-
Solving
Business
Games

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M05_COTT2319_01_SE_P05.indd 146 21/06/1938 SAKA 4:20 pm
 WHEN AND HOW TO USE BUSINESS GAMES 147

When and How to Use Business Games

S
ome people believe that ‘games’ have no place in serious organisations.
Meetings are serious events with a serious purpose. I could not disagree more
strongly! Children learn through play and so do adults. Our problem is that we
do not necessarily allow adults to learn the same way as children. Children learn by
play, by activity and by making mistakes. Rather than give up at the first sign of failure,
they persevere. How many of us would pursue the art of walking if it were something
we learnt to do only as adults? At the first fall, most of us would think, ‘Well, I’m not
trying that again!’
The art of using business games is to ensure that a game has a serious purpose,
and that the purpose either becomes apparent during play, or is brought to the surface
in the debrief that follows the game.
The trick of introducing games into ‘serious’ organisations is not to call them
games, but ‘activities’ and do them anyway. I have been designing and using games in
training and meetings for years and, only very occasionally, have I encountered people
unwilling to join in.
If you can use a game to stimulate thinking and create solutions to problems, then
it is as viable as any other problem-solving technique. (Just do not mention the word
‘game’!)

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 148 Part 5: PROBLEM-SOLVING BUSINESS GAMES

Tool 58 Retirement Speeches

What the Tool Is

This is a role-playing game that frees participants from the constraints of the present
to imagine a better future.

When to Use It
■  hen a group is struggling to see how it can improve its working methods, this role-
W
playing game can be enormously helpful.

What You Will Need

■ A large workspace.
■ Paper and pens (for small groups to plan their role play).

How to Use It
Ask small groups to project themselves into the future, imagining that it is their
retirement day and they have, throughout their working lives, created a great place to
work, a highly dynamic team, a place with seamless and efficient tools and processes
(or whatever is pertinent to the group).

They now have to imagine that they are going to make a presentation to a group of
new joiners to the team/department, explaining what they did to make it so good. They
actually present to the larger group.
In presenting the ideal future, effectively by looking backwards, they free themselves
from the constraints they would see if simply asked to look forward. Small groups
prepare, present to others in plenary and, after each small group has presented, ideas
are ranked, voted on and explored in more depth to turn them from abstract concepts
into practical reality.

Points to Watch Out For

Sometimes a group becomes so caught up in the creative freedom that this method
brings that they lose sight of reality, inventing a future that is beyond reach. This has
both positive and negative spin-offs. If their invented future is too outlandish, then the

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 TOOL 58: RETIREMENT SPEECHES 149

gap between the present and future will seem unbridgeable. However, in imagining a
future without known constraints, they start to believe that real change is possible and
from the often bizarre ideas suggested comes an imaginably better future.
Try using the PMI technique (see Tool 4) to explore in more detail some of the seeds
of possibility sown here.

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 150 Part 5: PROBLEM-SOLVING BUSINESS GAMES

Tool 59 Convince Me

What the Tool Is

This is a debating technique in which participants show their agreement or opposition
by moving physically towards or away from each other. Because participants are told
which viewpoint to adopt, they cannot simply argue vehemently in favour of their own
ideas. This forces them immediately to see a question from a different perspective,
which may free up their thinking, if not to agree with the other side then at least to
understand it and make some concessions to it.

When to Use It
■  hen there are opposing forces in an organisation and simple discussion or debate
W
has not yielded a solution.

What You Will Need

■ A large workspace/meeting room, with tables removed.

How to Use It
1 Two teams are asked to adopt opposing ideas of how to solve a problem. Whether
or not the stance they take reflects their own thinking does not matter for these
purposes. Their job is to produce a well-reasoned argument from the perspective
allocated to their team.
2 They stand in lines facing each other, at opposite sides of a room.
3 Anyone can present an argument to persuade the other team to come over to
their point of view.
4 As individuals hear a compelling argument, they take a step towards the other
team.

5 When the majority of members of one team have stepped over the halfway point
between the two teams, the first round is over.
6 Now small, mixed groups work together to discuss how the winning solution may
be implemented.

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 TOOL 59: CONVINCE ME 151

Points to Watch Out For

Participants must agree to play their part from the standpoint allocated to them,
regardless of whether they would naturally concur with it. Sometimes they present
only half-hearted arguments because they consider that they have been placed in the
wrong team.
If you suspect that any participants will be opposed to being told which team to join,
then you may have to group them according to common belief. The upside is that you
will have a good debate. The downside is that it does not push people quite so strongly
towards understanding another group’s perspective.

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 152 Part 5: PROBLEM-SOLVING BUSINESS GAMES

Tool 60 Evolution

What the Tool Is

The evolutionary theory is based on the survival of the fittest. This tool is designed for
deep exploration of the strongest and weakest areas of an organisation to gauge what
should be developed and what should not be allowed to survive

When to Use It
This is a tool for senior decision makers working in conjunction with functional leaders
at a time when there is concern about the direction an organisation is taking; for
example, when there has been:
■ a downturn in profits;
■ a decrease in take-up of services;
■ a fall in the level of charitable contributions received;
■ some reputational damage to the organisation;
■ anything that signals that the organisation is not working as well as it should.

What You Will Need

■ A flipchart and marker pens per team.

How to Use It
Teams work to establish the aspects of their business that are strongest and so most
likely to survive:
■ What can they do to ensure that survival?
■ How can they develop the strongest areas to be stronger?
■ Is there a danger in focusing too much on a limited range of areas of the
organisation and so missing something important elsewhere?
■ What happens to the weaker areas?
■ Can they be strengthened or should they be removed?
■ What would be the effect (in cost, time, materials, etc.) of shoring up the weaker
areas?

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 TOOL 60: EVOLUTION 153

■ What would be the ramifications of closing down the weaker areas?

■ What would ‘business as usual’ look like if the stronger areas were developed and
the weaker areas abandoned, scaled down or terminated?

Points to Watch Out For

It must be handled extremely sensitively because some participants may feel their work
areas (and possibly their livelihood) are threatened. It works best with a group of senior
people who are able to set territorial gains and personal agendas to one side and work
for the benefit of the organisation.

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 154 Part 5: PROBLEM-SOLVING BUSINESS GAMES

Tool 61 It’s in The News

What the Tool Is

By imagining themselves as teams of investigative journalists, small teams focus on
fact finding to gather as much information as possible to resolve complex business
problems.

When to Use It
■ To resolve complex problems involving many stakeholders.

What You Will Need

■ Paper and pens.
■ Time (the method is conducted in two parts, with a time gap between them).

How to Use It
1 A large group of people from a mixed range of grades is broken into smaller groups.
2 Each small group imagines itself to be a team of investigative journalists.

3 Small groups write their business problem as though it were a newspaper

headline and then write a brief article about it based entirely on current
knowledge, without surmise or assumption.
4 As they do so, they should note separately just how much they really know, what
they need to know, who they should talk to, etc. and then map this back to the
real problem, setting out their plan to investigate further, talk in more depth to
stakeholders and interested parties to get a more complete picture in order to
solve the problem.
5 They should agree a time period in which they will conduct their investigation,
write the complete article and get back to each other to present their articles and
discuss their findings with the larger group.

Points to Watch Out For

There is a danger that between the first and second meeting, teams write sensationalist
articles because they get too carried away with the idea of being journalists and lose
sight of the objective, which is fact finding to aid problem solving or decision making.

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 TOOL 62: THE TRIAL 155

Tool 62 The Trial

What the Tool Is

This is a courtroom-style activity in which participants present arguments for and
against the solution to a problem, call witnesses and, finally, the group assesses the
evidence and votes in favour of or against the solution.

When to Use It
■ When you need a variety of views on a critical or complex organisational issue. The
preparation for this technique can be time-consuming and it is a non-trivial method
of examining an important issue in depth before reaching one or more decisions on
how to proceed.

What You Will Need

■ A disinterested person to act as judge.

How to Use It
1 All interested parties are brought together to discuss an organisational problem.
2 Brainstorm solutions to the problem and use a ranking method to assess the
favourite solution.
3 Appoint a recorder and judge.
4 Divide the remaining group into two smaller teams – one for the prosecution and
one for the defence.
5 Each team must appoint a leader who will, ultimately, represent it in the trial.
6 The prosecution team must amass as much evidence as it can to find flaws in the
solution, and appoint key witnesses from within the team to speak on their behalf.
7 The defending team must amass as much evidence as it can to support the
solution, and appoint key witnesses from within the group to speak on its behalf.
8 The trial is convened.
9 The judge asks the lead prosecutor to present the team’s case against the
solution (the aim being to expose its flaws). The prosecutor may call witnesses to
support the team’s case.

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 156 Part 5: PROBLEM-SOLVING BUSINESS GAMES

10 At the judge’s behest, the recorder will note key arguments in favour of the
solution on a flipchart headed ‘For’, visible to all participants.
11 The lead defender presents the case in support of the solution (the aim being
to highlight its benefits). The defender may call witnesses to support the team’s
case.
12 At the judge’s behest, the recorder will note key arguments against the solution
on a flipchart headed ‘Against’, visible to all participants.
13 When each side has presented its case, the lead prosecutor and lead defender
may summarise their arguments.
14 At this point, the official trial is over and the evidence is assessed using the force
field analysis method (see Tool 1).

Points to Watch Out For

Ensure that whoever acts as judge has no vested interest in the outcome of the trial.
It may be worth recruiting the judge from an organisational group not directly affected
by the issue being ’tried’.

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 TOOL 63: TORTOISE AND HARE 157

Tool 63 Tortoise and Hare

What the Tool Is

In a world of sound bites and quick wins, sometimes it is useful to step back and
consider the effects of a slower approach to resolving a problem. In Tortoise and hare,
more immediate, rapid solutions are contrasted with slower, longer-term approaches.
The aim is to develop a range of solutions that work in the short, medium and longer
term to give depth to a solution.

When to Use It
■ For planning – whether strategic or operational.
■ For organisational design.

What You Will Need

■ Two flipcharts and marker pens.

How to Use It
1 Divide a group into two teams. One team is the hares, the other the tortoises. Each
team works independently of the other to discuss solutions to the same business
problem.

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 158 Part 5: PROBLEM-SOLVING BUSINESS GAMES

2 Hares must find quick wins, easy solutions and rapid approaches to solving the
problem. Tortoises must find medium- and longer-term solutions to the same
problem.
3 Each presents to the other in plenary and, after a facilitated discussion on the
merits and demerits of each suggestion, ideas are ranked/voted on and, where
possible, combined.

Points to Watch Out For

You need a strong facilitator to ensure that the more dominant participants do not
overshadow quieter ones with good ideas.

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 TOOL 64: ART GALLERY 159

Tool 64 Art Gallery

What the Tool Is

In highly logical, process-driven organisations, problems tend to be solved through
tried and tested analytical approaches. Art gallery helps participants break away from
a left-brained, logical approach and become more creative in their thinking.

When to Use It
■ When standard approaches to a problem are not yielding any new insights.
■ With creative groups who have rare opportunities to demonstrate that creativity.
■ With non-creative groups who need a way of breaking away from logical,
structured thinking.

What You Will Need

■ Paper and pens for each participant.
■ Wall space for displaying artwork.
■ Reusable adhesive or tape.

How to Use It
1 State the problem to be resolved.
2 Participants sketch whatever comes into their heads as they think about the
problem. They can focus on any aspect of the problem and illustrate it however
they wish.
3 Display their artworks in a ‘gallery’ and, as participants view each other’s
pictures, they use them to stimulate their thinking about solutions to the problem.
4 Facilitate a discussion to allow participants to air the ideas and solutions that have
come out of their tour of the ’gallery’.

Variants
Whilst participants are discussing a problem and possible solutions, ask someone with
artistic ability to sit back from the main discussion and sketch anything that occurs to
him/her, then display the artist’s pictures. Participants study the pictures and see and
discuss the new ideas they stimulate.

Points to Watch Out For

Typically, at the outset, many of the participants will claim that they cannot draw. Make
it clear that they are not going to be judged on the quality of their artistic endeavours
and that the idea is simply to use the creative side of their brain to generate fresh
insights into a problem.

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 160 Part 5: PROBLEM-SOLVING BUSINESS GAMES

Tool 65 Proverbial Problem Solving

What the Tool Is

Small groups are given a number of proverbs and must use them to stimulate thinking
about issues within their team or organisation.

When to Use It
■  hen a team is struggling to find insight into organisational issues using more
W
conventional methods.

What You Will Need

■ A printed list of proverbs – one copy per participant. You can find comprehensive
lists on many websites. Select around 10 that are relatively easy to understand.

How to Use It
1 Compile and print a list of proverbs. You might like to include, for example:
■ ‘Too many cooks spoil the broth.’
■ ‘A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing.’
■ ‘Better safe than sorry.’
■ ‘A rolling stone gathers no moss.’

2 Distribute the list to participants, who may work alone, in pairs or threes.
3 Present the problem to them and ask them to use the proverbs to stimulate
thinking about it, whether to create solutions or simply to ensure that they are
asking the right questions.
For example:
■ ‘Too many cooks spoil the broth.’ Where do we have too many people involved
in a process that requires fewer people’s involvement?
■ ‘A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing.’ Where do our people lack
information, knowledge or skills necessary to do their jobs better?
■ ‘Better safe than sorry.’ Are we managing risk appropriately? Are our health
and safety measures appropriate? Are we being too risk-averse/over cautious
in some areas?
■ ‘A rolling stone gathers no moss.’ Are there ways in which we can act quickly
and effectively, with low risk, to get ahead of our competitors?

Points to Watch Out For

Ensure that participants actually understand the proverbs!

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 TOOL 66: THERE ARE NO RULES 161

Tool 66 There Are No Rules

What the Tool Is

This is a structured way of revisiting long-standing rules and procedures to gain fresh
insight and dispense with the idea that we retain processes simply because ‘we’ve
always done it that way’.

When to Use It
■ When bureaucracy seems to be overshadowing common sense.
■ When ’the way we do things here’ has not been re-evaluated for a long time.
■ When the organisation is in danger of becoming a tick-box culture, driven by
process instead of using minimal processes to avoid chaos and using the
processes as a stepping stone to higher performance.

What You Will Need

■ Paper and pens.

How to Use It
1 Small groups are each allocated a process, procedure or a set of house rules.
2 They must decide on its original purpose, then effectively tear it up and start
again with a simplified set of rules or governing principles that address the original
purpose or problem.
3 Each group presents in plenary and the larger group determines whether:
■ the new rules/principles are an effective replacement for the original;
■ some of the ideas the activity generates can be incorporated into the original
rules to simplify or refine them;
■ in fact, no rules would be the best option, leaving an issue to the integrity of
those involved rather than dictating how it should be done.

Points to Watch Out For

Ensure that the participants understand the business context for the processes that
they are refining. If they have scant knowledge about the underlying business need,
they may innocently remove a step that is vital in the process.
Ideally, ensure that you have some subject experts in the larger group who are open
to reform of systems and processes and not likely to defend them out of familiarity or
a sense of ‘we’ve always done it that way’.

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 162 Part 5: PROBLEM-SOLVING BUSINESS GAMES

Tool 67 Documentary

What the Tool Is

Teams must create a radio- or TV-style ‘documentary’ about a business problem, to
include a statement of the issue, interviews and possible solutions.

When to Use It
■ To explore a business problem creatively and in depth.

What You Will Need

■ A workspace sufficiently large to allow several teams to work independently of each
other or breakout rooms (one per team) and a plenary room.

How to Use It
1 Split a larger group into smaller teams.
2 Allocate a business problem to each team (either distinctly different problems or
subsets of the same problem).
3 Give teams a time limit in which they have to create a radio- or TV-style
’documentary’ that explores the issue and possible solutions to it

4 Each team enacts its documentary in front of the larger group combining
presentation and interviews.
5 You may then choose to use other methods to assess or further explore the solutions
presented and, if appropriate, vote on the best one or best combination of solutions.

Points to Watch Out For

■  articipants often start with some cynicism about this activity or fear of appearing
P
stupid (a common fear in any role play). In setting the scene, explain that this is
not about acting or playing a part but simply a medium for exploring an idea in
more depth.
■ Beware, too, of the show-offs who dominate the small groups, want centre stage
and rather miss the business point of the activity.

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 TOOL 68: PITCH PERFECT 163

Tool 68 Pitch Perfect

What the Tool Is

This is a competitive process in which participants, working in teams, are given a
problem to solve and then pitch their solutions to an expert panel that determines the
best solution. It is based on a British television programme (Dragons’ Den) in which
entrepreneurs pitch to a panel of wealthy investors to get funding to develop or market
their products.

When to Use It
■  hen a number of smaller groups has worked on the same problem and believe
W
their solution is the best.

What You Will Need

■ Paper and pens.
■ A small prize for the winning team (optional).

How to Use It
1 Appoint a panel of experienced people and allocate large amounts of notional
money to each one of them – say, 100,000 of your local currency.
2 Small groups each prepare a solution to a different, pressing business problem,
then one or two from each group pitch their solution to the panel of experts.
3 Give each group a time limit (of, say, five minutes) for their pitch.
4 Experts question the presenters about their solutions and can then allocate their
notional money to ideas based on their merit, or choose to opt out if they believe
a solution has no real merit (is not worth pursuing). An expert refusing to invest
explains the reasons not to invest and declares, ‘I’m out!’
5 The solutions with the highest ‘investment’ of points are then taken back to the
wider group and other techniques used to explore how they can be implemented
in practice.

Variants
Each group works on the same business problem and presents its suggested solution
to the experts. Experts allocate notional money (points) to each solution. The one with
the highest investment is then developed in practice.
Offer a small prize to the ’winning’ team.

Points to Watch Out For

Emphasise from the outset that the aim is to produce something viable, not to impress.

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M05_COTT2319_01_SE_P05.indd 164 21/06/1938 SAKA 4:20 pm
 Part 6

Sharing and
Implementing
Solutions

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 SHARING SOLUTIONS 167

Sharing Solutions

I
t is all very well involving groups of people in creative processes to generate ideas,
solutions to problems and new ways of working. But what happens when you have
those ideas? How do you determine which are worth pursuing?
In this section, you will find:
■ a wealth of methods of collecting (sometimes described as ‘harvesting’) ideas
generated in a collaborative problem-solving session;
■ ways of ranking those ideas and voting on them so that the best of them can be
implemented.

Sharing and ‘harvesting’ techniques

You have spent time solving a problem in small groups and are now asking those
groups to report back in plenary. Here are some ways of gathering information from
them:
■ One group presents its thoughts; others add anything not covered by the first
group. This is a quick way of getting feedback. Be careful – if one group declares
all its ideas, others may feel that they wasted their time in the process because their
ideas were not heard
■ Each group presents one key/significant point (‘cream off the top’). This is useful
for making people feel that they are equally important in the process. One point to
watch – if one group presents a point that another group had prepared to present,
that group will then enter into private (and distracting) conversation as they debate
their second best point and will not hear the other groups’ contributions.
■ Groups document their ideas on a flipchart; one person from each group stays
with the flipchart; groups rotate around flipcharts and the person who remained
with the flipchart presents to each group in turn. Do this at speed. If each group
effectively duplicates the same points, the tour can be rather dull. It works best
when each group has worked on a sub-topic of the main theme.
■ Ideas are ranged around the wall like art exhibits; groups or individuals take time
to walk round and examine the ‘exhibits’ before discussion of the best ideas.
■ Teams present three things they have learned/decided/concluded. Again, if they
have all concluded the same things, the repetition may be boring, but if you ask
each to declare something different from the others, teams may have to debate
what they are going to say whilst others are presenting their ideas.
■ One person from each team has 60 seconds to summarise their ideas. A variant
on this comes from a long-standing BBC radio game show called Just a Minute
in which contestants must speak about a given subject for 60 seconds without
hesitation, deviation or repetition. Other contestants may challenge any of
these transgressions! It puts people on the spot, but it adds a fun element and
ensures focus.

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 168 Part 6: SHARING AND IMPLEMENTING SOLUTIONS

■ Teams present their three/five top tips. Again, this may lead to repetition or side
discussions.
■ Teams present how to do something entirely wrong, so that the rest of the group
can learn how to do it right.
■ ‘The most important thing is . . .’ and ‘The least important thing is . . .’
■ Groups present opposite viewpoints as a precursor to discussion. This is useful in
ensuring a well-rounded, informed debate.
■ ‘Taboo’ – describe a subject without mentioning certain key words (determined in
advance by the facilitator). The rest of group must guess the words being described.
■ Create an aide memoir or mnemonic to help others to remember key points.
You may choose to photograph flipcharts and distribute the photos after the event, so
that everyone feels that they made a valid contribution and ideas of merit that did not
make the ‘cut’ are not lost.

Table group competitions

Set competitions between table groups/pairs/threes and ask delegates to vote for any
group other than their own. Here are some examples:
■ The table group with the greatest number of answers to a question.
■ The table group with the cleverest answer to a question.
■ The table group with the most thoughtful solution to a problem.
■ The table group with the most creative solution to a problem.
■ The table group with the most practical solution to a problem.
■ The first table group to achieve something.

Graphical ’harvesting’
In some circles, capturing ideas from a group is described as ’harvesting’. Drawings,
diagrams and cartoons can be a wonderful way to capture ideas and often stimulate
further thinking: our left brains handle the rational side of our discussions and pictures
tap into the creative, right side of the brain to help us to make more connections.
You do not have to be a great artist to capture ideas. Take a look at these videos
for ideas:
http://bit.ly/1Ak6lVL
http://bit.ly/1bdspN9

To develop a library of graphical ideas, see this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5DJC6LaOCI

Tips
■ Put flipchart sheets on tables or use paper tablecloths during problem-solving
meetings. Encourage people to scribble and sketch as they discuss an issue. Often,
new ideas are stimulated by the pictures.

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 SHARING SOLUTIONS 169

■ Put two or three flipchart stands in a row, so participants can capture big ideas
across several charts in parallel.
■ Ask if participants can think of a metaphor for the subject they are discussing and
use it as a visual representation or backdrop for the harvested ideas.
■ Ask one or two participants with reasonable artistic flair to capture ideas during a
conversation or discussion.
■ Treat the visual harvest as a giant doodle, focusing more on capturing ideas than
on the beauty of the artwork, and you will find it starts to flow.
■ Look online for symbols and have those to hand when you create the graphical
harvest.
■ Make your pictures colourful so they are attractive to participants.

Ranking and voting

You have worked with others to find multiple solutions to a problem, and now you need
to decide upon the best one(s) to implement. Here are some methods of voting on and
ranking those ideas:
■ Show of hands: The simplest voting method is a show of hands. Let us say four
small groups have each presented a solution: ask the groups to vote on each idea
in turn by a show of hands. They may only vote once and, importantly, not for their
own group’s idea.
■ Yes or No: The second easiest method is to ask all in favour to call ‘Yes’ and then
all against to call ‘No’. The obvious danger is that, if the vote is close, it may be
difficult to detect which vote had more supporters.
■ Sticky dots: Give participants sticky coloured paper dots. They are allowed to
allocate a fixed number of dots (say three or five) to collected ideas. They may
distribute them in any way they wish – for example, giving all five dots to a single
idea, one each to five ideas or three dots to one and two to another, etc. This is
a great way to rank ideas or solutions. It engages people physically in the act of
allocating the dots, it allows them to vote for ideas with relative anonymity and
ensures that the dominant participants have no more power in the voting than
anyone else involved.
■ Red card/green card: Give each participant a red card and a green card. Voting is
done by holding up the appropriate card – red for ‘no’, green for ‘yes’.
■ Anonymous voting: For sensitive issues, you may consider anonymous voting. Each
solution is given a letter or number. Each participant writes the letter or number
corresponding to their preferred option on a slip of paper and posts it in a box.
■ Rank by letter: A variant on the anonymous vote is to ascribe a letter to each
proposed solution and ask the participants to write the letters in descending order
of preference and hand them in to be collated.
■ Stand up/sit down: You may ask participants to stand up to show support of a
particular solution or ask all to stand up and those in favour to remain standing,
whilst those against sit down.

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 170 Part 6: SHARING AND IMPLEMENTING SOLUTIONS

Implementing Solutions
You have framed a problem beautifully, gathered together a team of interested parties
to help you resolve it, chosen and executed the ideal problem-solving method and
your solution creates a need for change – change to a system, a process, a method
of doing something, a way of thinking, the structure of a team or even an organisation.
Having the ideal solution is not enough – now you have to sell the idea to others.
Whilst this book is about problem solving rather than change management, the act
of implementing a solution can be a major problem in its own right, so let us explore
some ways of implementing solutions and making them work.
Let us start by dismissing a major myth about change management. This is the
change curve, espoused by change managers and management consultants many
years ago to describe the stages that people go through when they encounter change
at work. The curve was described originally by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross1, an expert in
‘near-death studies’, who worked extensively with people told that they had a terminal
illness. She talked about the five emotional stages (denial, anger, bargaining, depression,
acceptance) that those who knew they had little time to live might go through.
Significantly, she said that not everyone would go through all the stages, nor necessarily
in a prescribed order. Management consultants seized upon this and determined
that, if dying people go through these stages (after all, dying is a big change . . .),
then people facing change at work must go through the same stages. In my many
years working with two of the world’s biggest consultancies and training people who
faced change, I rarely saw anyone conform to this curve, unless their livelihood was
threatened. The truth is, if an organisation has good managers and leaders, rarely
should any change be a surprise: good managers and leaders communicate constantly
with their staff who, as a result, know what is happening in their organisation.
In reality, there probably are five reactions to change, which we outlined briefly
earlier in reference to preparing the ground for problem solving – but they are not those
outlined by Kübler-Ross! Now let us look at them in more detail:

Active acceptance Passive acceptance

Indifference
Active resistance Passive resistance

Indifference: A remarkably high number of people are indifferent to change. They have
seen it all before! Change is not new, not remarkable and often not terribly interesting.
The most emotional statements you are likely to hear from them are ‘Whatever!’ or
‘Here we go again’.

1
On Death and Dying (1969)

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 IMPLEMENTING SOLUTIONS 171

Active acceptance: There are many reasons why someone might actively (and vocally)
accept a change, some perhaps surprising. These include:
■ They see that it is a good idea.
■ They do not know any better.
■ They see benefits for themselves in the new regime.
■ They trust their manager who has got things right before and has probably got it
right this time.
■ They are sycophants who will agree with their manager for purely self-serving
reasons.
■ They are swayed by one of their trusted colleagues who agrees with the change.
■ Most of their friends believe the change is ok, and they are swayed by peer
pressure.
In a sense, it does not matter what motivates the active acceptor to agree with the
change – they make all the right noises and are prepared to vocalise their support for
the new idea.

Active resistance: There are many reasons why someone might actively (and vocally)
resist a change. These include:
■ They see that it is a bad idea.
■ They know that it will not work. They have a long corporate memory and have
seen similar schemes fail in the past. They are not negative in their outlook, but
realistic in their appraisal of your solution. Enlist them as change agents – they will
help you to make it work.
■ They see no benefits for themselves in the new regime.
■ They do not trust their manager because of past failures, predicting that this will
work no better than the last hare-brained scheme.
■ They are swayed by one of their trusted colleagues who disagrees with the
change.
■ Most of their friends believe the change is flawed and they are swayed by peer
pressure.
You need to understand at an individual level why these people resist the change and
are prepared to vocalise their resistance, then deal with them individually.

Passive acceptance: Passive acceptors accept the change and simply get on and
implement it. They do not talk about it but you will find them quietly doing what you
have asked them to do. It can be useful to get them to vocalise their support of the
change to sway some of the indifferent ones towards some level of acceptance.

Passive resistance: Passive resistors are the most dangerous people in times of change.
Publicly, they may appear to agree to the change but, privately, will either do nothing to
implement it or subtly sabotage it. You need to discover what drives this behaviour in
them individually and manage them one at a time through the change process.

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 172 Part 6: SHARING AND IMPLEMENTING SOLUTIONS

Once you are aware of individuals’ reactions to change, you can plan your approach
to talking to them. The key here is to understand individual reactions rather than
expecting that a whole team will react the same way.

Reasons why change fails

There is a vast number of reasons why change may fail. Here is just a small sample:
■ The change was silly/wrong.
■ The change was designed to fulfil a senior person’s personal agenda.
■ It was poorly communicated.
■ The context was not properly explained.
■ Change fatigue – too many changes in too short a time period.
■ It reverses something else that recently changed.
■ The ripple effects were not understood and the change has unforeseen
consequences elsewhere.
■ It was badly implemented.
■ Leaders fail to ‘walk the talk’, paying lip service to the change, but not
demonstrating that they, too, are changing their own working practices.
■ The change is at odds with the culture.
■ The organisational structure cannot support the change.
■ There is an absence of systems and processes to support the change.
■ Mis-starts – the change was badly implemented, its implementation had to be
stopped and restarted, so it lost credibility.
■ The change process was delegated to outsiders (for example, consultants or
contractors) who did not know the organisation sufficiently well to understand
what would work and how.
■ The right people (those who would be affected by the change) were not consulted
or were consulted too late.
■ The change might be valid at a strategic level, but little thought was given to its
implementation or the need to tailor it, based on geography, culture or local need.
You will, doubtless, be able to add many more reasons for failure from your own
experience. The sad fact is that we know how to make change work – we have known
for eons! – but we are not always given the time, support, budget or freedom to make
the changes work.

Here are some simple ideas to help you to implement your solutions:
■ Involvement: Involve those who will be affected by the change or have a political
interest in it from the outset. Many of the problem-solving techniques described
here can involve people at all levels without giving a bigger voice to the more senior/
vocal/political. Their involvement brings them in to the process and, effectively,
denies them the right to change the outcomes because they were part of the group

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 IMPLEMENTING SOLUTIONS 173

that agreed on how something should be done (and there will be many witnesses
who saw them agreeing!)
■ Consultation: Gather together at the outset anyone who may be affected by your
proposed changes/solutions and use the force-field analysis to explore what may
help/hinder the implementation of your solution. This way, those affected forfeit
the right to say that they were not consulted. Of course, if you involve them in
creating the solution at the outset, they have already forfeited this right!
■ Leadership buy-in: Get leadership buy-in from the outset, either by involving
them in the problem-solving process or working with them between crafting and
implementing your solution.
■ Timing: Pay attention to timing. People are tired of constant change. Wait until the
time is right for your idea rather than being carried away on a tide of enthusiasm
because it is high on your agenda.
■ Context: Contextualise everything. When people understand why something is
necessary, they are more likely, if not to support it, then at least to step out of the
way to allow it to happen.
■ Talk to them as adults: Do not patronise people. Often, in times of change,
managers and leaders adopt a parental stance and treat their staff like stupid
children. If you are having grown-up conversations all the time with your staff,
change will not come as a surprise and, even when the results of the change may
be difficult to accept, it is far easier to explain them if you have (and maintain) an
adult relationship with your staff.
■ Translate strategy into practice: Remember that strategic change has to be
translated into practice. If you are relatively senior, you may be privy to strategic
conversations in which your staff members take no part. Your staff suffer the
fallout of your strategic deliberations without being part of the process and may
not understand the reasons why certain decisions have been made. Explain them
in purely practical terms. Pre-empt questions like, ‘Can you help me to understand
this?’ and ‘What does this mean in practice?’
■ Plan it: Plan the implementation of your solution as rigorously as you can to avoid
false starts and the resultant loss of credibility.
■ Play it down: Remember that most of your staff will not be frightened of change,
but indifferent to it. Do not make a big issue out of something that does not have
a huge effect on your staff or colleagues. It is important to you, but may be of little
consequence to them. Making a fuss of something is more likely to arouse strong
emotions than being low key.

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M06_COTT2319_01_SE_P06.indd 174 21/06/1938 SAKA 3:45 pm
 INDEX

3D stakeholder mapping 65–6 change curve 170

40-20-10-5 approach 13 change management 3, 170
5 Whys/question everything 88–9, 105 change, reactions to 18–19
60 second summaries 167 active acceptance 18, 171
80/20 rule (Pareto’s Law) 106 active resistance 19, 171
indifference 19, 170
acceptance of change 18, 171 passive acceptance 18, 171
action learning 124, 126–7 passive resistance 19, 171
Alexander, Graham 50 charrette procedure 134–5
anonymous voting 169 collaborative problem solving x
appreciative inquiry 55–6 collecting ideas 167–9
art gallery game 159 communicating solutions/decisions 3, 173
association grid 69–70 failure in, as barrier in problem solving 11
assumptions competing values framework 115–19
challenging 13–14, 80–1 competitive ideas 57
escaping 11 concentration diagrams 104–5
attitudes, as barriers to problem solving 12 conflict management 3, 90–1
consultation 173
back-mapping 82, 83 contextualising change 173
barriers to problem solving 9–12 convergent stage in problem solving 17
Brache, Alan 129 convince me game 150–1
brainstorming xi, 23–4, 82, 134 Cooperrider, David 55
brain-friendly xi, 30–1 Covey, S. 69
reverse 32–3 Crawford’s slip 133
see also Lotus Blossom technique creative idea generation 3
brainwriting 39–40
broad problem areas, tools for 3–4 da Vinci, Leonardo 34
business games 147–63 Dalkey, N.C. 71
art gallery 159 De Bono, Edward 31
convince me 150–1 decision making 4
documentary 162 Delbecq, A.L. 47
evolution 152–3 Delphi Technique 71–2
it’s in the news 154 Deming, W. Edwards 61, 63, 64
pitch perfect 163 divergent stage in problem solving 16–17
proverbial problem solving 160 documentary game 162
retirement speeches 148–9 dominant people, as barriers to problem
there are no rules 161 ­solving 11
tortoise and hare 157–8 double loop learning 12
the trial 155–6
emergence stage in problem solving 17
Cameron, Kim 115, 116 equipment needed 19
career planning 3, 91, 115 evolution game 152–3
Carlzon, Jan 56
Cartesian logic 36–8, 96 Fine, Alan 50
challenging assumptions 13–14, 80–1 fishbone diagrams 61–2, 109
change force-field analysis 23–5, 156, 173
causes of failure 23, 172 graphical 25
ideas to help implement 172–3 two-team version 24

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 176 INDEX

framing a problem 4, 10, 13–15, 16

40-20-10-5 approach 13 Matsumura, Yasuo 73
broadening the view 14 metaphorical problem solving 82–3
challenging assumptions 13–14 mind mapping 41–2
changing the perspective 14 see also Lotus Blossom technique
collecting information when 13 mnemonics 168
importance of focus when 15 MUSE (me, us, select, explain) 60
narrowing the view 14
in positive language 14 nominal group technique 47–8
as a question, not a statement 14
rephrasing the problem 13 one question 122–3
SCAMPER checklist 15 open space 138–9, 142
turning it on its head 14–15 operational planning 94
free association 67–8, 77, 78–9 organisational design/development 4, 91, 142
frequency of problem 13 Osborn, Alex 53
future shock 94 Osborn-Parnes’ critical problem-solving
­process 53–4
games see business games
generic problem solving 3 Pareto analysis 106–8
graphical force-field analysis 25 Pareto’s Law 106
graphical ‘harvesting’ 168–9 Parnes, Sidney 53
group problem solving, preparation for 18–19 PDCA (plan, do, check, act) cycle 63
GROW model 49–50 PDSA (plan, do, study, act) cycle 63–4
Peacock, Angela 121
‘harvesting’ ideas 167–9 peer assist 124–5
head/heart-push/pull 51–2 photographic associations 77
Helmer, O. 71 pitch perfect game 163
How-how? tool 86–7, 105 planning 4
playing down change 173
ideas PMI (plus, minus, interesting) technique 30–1,
collecting or ‘harvesting’ 167–9 33, 77, 95, 149
ranking and voting on 169 politics, organisational 10–11
implementing solutions 18, 170–3 Pro-action Café 142–3
indifference to change 19, 170 process design and improvement 4
involvement in change 23, 172–3 procrastination 34–5
Ishikawa fishbone diagrams 61–2 product design and improvement 4
it’s in the news game 154 project planning/project management 4
proverbial problem solving game 160
Jelly Baby Tree 90–2
Juran, Joseph 106 Quinn, Robert 115, 116
Just a Minute radio game show 167
random word technique 78–9
Kübler-Ross, Elisabeth 170 ranking ideas 169
Rayburn, M. 95
Law of Two Feet 139 red card/green card voting 169
leadership buy-in and change 173 reframing 98–9
learning/career development 4 rephrasing the problem 13
letter ranking of ideas 169 resistance to change 19, 171
Lewin, Kurt 23 retirement speeches game 148–9
Lewis, Jeremy 121 Revans, Reg 126
life through a lens 45–6 reverse brainstorming 32–3
Lotus Blossom technique 73–6 ripple effect 100–1, 109

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 INDEX 177

ritual dissent (and ritual assent) 28–9 testing a solution 4, 17–18

root cause analysis 4, 12, 86, 88 there are no rules game 161
Rummler, Geary 129 time management 4
Rummler-Brache diagrams 129–30 time management matrix 69–70
timelining 120–1
SCAMPER checklist 15 timimg of change 173
sharing solutions 167–9 tortoise and hare game 157–8
Shewart Cycle 63–4 tough questions 26–7
show of hands voting 169 Toyoda, Sakichi 88
single loop learning 12 training needs analysis (TNA) 13–14
solution effect analysis 100, 109 translating change into practice 173
specific problems, tools for 5 the trial game 155–6
stages in problem solving two words technique 67–8
convergence 17
divergence 16–17 understanding, lack of, as barrier to problem
emergence 17 solving 11
implementation 18 urgency 13
problem framing 16
testing 17–18 VandeVen, A.H. 47
stakeholder management 4 voting on ideas 169
stand up/sit down voting 169
starbursting 136–7 What I need from you 102–3
sticky dots method of voting 169 What if we didn’t? 96–7
story circles 128 What if? 95
strategic planning 94, 142 Whitmore, John 50
structured walkthroughs 43–4 Who has solved this problem? 84–5
swim lane diagrams 129–30 Why not? 58–9
system design and improvement 4 work map 110–14
systems thinking 10, 100–1 World Café 140–1, 142

table group competitions 158 Yes or No voting 169

‘taboo’ technique 168
teamwork x Zeigarnik, Bluma 34

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