MGT 320 Exam 2

Two unique aspects that are fundamental to the nature of formulating solitions

1. A transition point between ideas and implementation, more closely related to the steps that come before it aka exploring ideas 2. Divergence and convergence are more integrated

Assessing the situation: Exploring ideas vs. formulating solutiosn

1. After arriving late for an exam you decide it is finally time to do something about your constant tardiness. You're well aware that you tend to overschedule your days, stay up late, and ignore potential traffic delays--- In terms of overscheduling, staying up late, there may be multiple ways to solve those. So exploring ideas 2. You'd like to be healthier. Your doctor has pointed out several aspects of your health that need improvement and given you ways to improve each - Formulating solutions. 3. You and your best childhood friends are planning what you hope will be a very memorable trip to Boston. Your trip will only 3-days and you are in charge of planning what to do what and where to eat - Exploring ideas. 4. You're working on a paper for a class. You've written only one draft. Unhappy with the ordering of the sections in the paper, you begin to consider how the different sections fit together. - Not changing content, just re-ordering it- So forming solution. 5. During NASA's Apollo 13 mission the oxygen tank was damaged. They had to abort their mission to the moon, power down the command module, and move into the lunar module to get back to earth. The lunar module was filling up with CO2 and the ground crew had to improvise a way for the crew to use the materials on board to fashion a working CO2 filter. - Exploring ideas, you have the challenge of using materials to make a CO2 filters but you need IDEAS on how to use those materials, people, time and space. Once you craft all of those together, then you work to formulating the solutions. 6. The store manager at Target is responsible for designing work teams that will perform well together. The manager is aware of the key characteristics of high-performing teams, familiar with current employees' strengths and weaknesses, and has a list of current employees' schedules. She sits down on a Saturday night to start designing the teams, what tasks they will be responsible for, and how they will coordinate their work. - exploring ideas? 7. Rockingham County is growing and as a consequence, a lot of things are being built-- residential neighborhoods, retail spaces, and recreation sites such as parks. A private family has offered a far smaller but centrally-located space to the county for building a park to be named after the family. A local real estate firm owns land near the planned park where it plans to build two apartment complexes. the firm also owns a very sizeable piece of land farther away from the planned park and is planning to build retail space there. Several business owners are considering opening dining and shopping businesses in the new retail space but are concerned it is not close to the planned apartment buildings. Take the perspective of the real estate firm. - formulating solutions 8. Management consultant is helping to negotiate a joint venture agreemtn between Coca Cola and Nestle. Negotiations have been underway for a week. During that time the consultant has been working with the CFO from both companies to identify the objectives each company has for the venture and several options for meeting as many objectives as possible - Formulating solutions Formulating solutions only comes about if forming a solution did not work the first time.

Some key concepts for formulating solutions

1. Avoid premature closure 2. Evaluative thinking: assessing the reasonableness and quality of ideas in order to develop workable solutions 3. Solution: an elaborated idea that has been examined and strengthened to develop the best possible fit 4. Strengthening: a convergent thinking skill that keeps novelty alive by focusing first on the positive aspects of an idea and then by seeking ways to overcome shortcomings associated with the idea. 5. Transforming: hanging something into more refined or better articulated form; in the case of CPS, changing rough ideas into more elaborated and workable solutions.

Key concepts for formulating challenges

1. Challenge: an obstacle that stands in the way of achieving a desired vision (resolving a predicament or pursuing an opportunity). 2. Formulating Challenges: the CPS process stepwhere gaps are identified that must be closed to achieve the desired outcome. 3. Problem: a predicament or an opportunity, a gap between what you have and what you want. 4. Problem Finding: "behaviors, attitudes, and thought processes that are directed toward the envisionment, posing, formulation, and creation of problems, as opposed to the process involved in solving them" 5. Root Cause: the most basic reason, which if eliminated, would prevent a recurrence; the source or origin of an event (iSixSigma, n.d.). 6. Sensing Gaps: to become consciously aware of discrepancies between what currently exists and what is desired or required. 7. Strategic Thinking: identifying the critical issues that must be addressed andfindingthepathwaystomovetowarda desired future.

reasons for dot-com failures

1. Customer Service Meltdown Inadequate customer service via e-mail and telephone turned shoppers away. 2. Inadequate Order Fulfillment Low inventory, missed shipping dates, and underestimating shipping costs led to unsatisfied customers. 3. Use of Primitive Search and Transaction Tools Slow and cumbersome systems frustrated users. 4. Failure to Globalize International surfers outspend U.S. surfers: Ventures that ignored the international market sometimes lost a competitive edge to those who did not. 5. Building Community, Not Clientele Failing to convert a network of users to paying customers meant no business growth.

Convergent thinking tools for formulating challenges

1. Hits or highlighting Converge and select those that resonate with you. Convergent thinking: Apply affirmative judgment, keep novelty alive, check your objectives, stay focused If the problem is complex, there may be subissues that you will need to tackle on at a time to clarify the situation even more

Using webbing

1. Identify a goal or desired outcome, which is written in the center 2. Ask "why" and turn the answer into a question with a Statement Starter. 3. Ask "why else is this important to me?" To further explore other challenges, you return to the vision. 4. Ask "why" and "why else" to those new challenges just iden- tified. This will extend your generation of challenges. 5. Pose the question, "what's stopping me" to explore more con- crete challenges. 6. Continue asking "what's stopping me" or "what else is stopping me?" Continue exploring the lower part of the web by asking "what's stopping me?"

why leaders need to be skilled at exploring the Vision

1. To be able to identify future opportunities 2. To help others identify and work toward meaningful goals 3. To ensure high levels of performance by engaging in forward thinking, anticipating what will be required in the future 4. To create consensus among followers 5. To provide others with a direction 6. To create a sense of purpose 7. To proactively initiate change by beginning with a clear image of the desired outcomes 8. To discern which activities pose the greatest potential for forward progress either for the individual or group 9. To inspire others to accomplish great feats

Key reasons why leaders need to be skiller in exploring ideas

1. To get a breakthrough 2. To have many, varied, and unusual ideas from which to find a solution 3. To get a fresh perspective 4. To go beyond the surface ideas that usually come up 5. To be engaged in truly original thinking 6. to create an environment where ideas are welcome 7. To go to places you could never have anticipated 8. To feel more energized, to be fully alive 9. To create a competitive edge

Goals of evaluative thinking

1. criteria 2. evaluation matrix 3. Pluses, potentials, concerns, and overcoming concerns (PPCO)

Which of the 6 CPS steps would be the most appropriate next step?

1. the longtime owner of a regional grocery chain has been frustrated for years with the problem of broken eggs. so have his customers. A lot of money is lost dealing with broken eggs in traditional egg cartons. The problem is not the egg cartons themselves, but that the cartons don't protect against even small "drops" when shipping crew move the gg cartons from the truck to the store. Over the years, the workers has carefully observed where and when the eggs are broken. - Exploring Ideas because they idea of where and when the eggs are broken so it is not formulating challenges. 2. Shipping puzzle: XYZ company recently hired a new shipping manager. The company, which manages vending machines in the DC metro area, is dealing with rapid growth and needs to keep its operations highly efficient as it expands. The new manager was hired in part because of a shipping system she developed at ABC company, a similar company in NYX, where she successfully reorganized a very similar problem during that company's initial growth. - Exploring acceptance Will this work here? It's not formulating challenges because exploring acceptance is "will this work in this situation? 3. Drone data capture: A local technology firm, Canvex, uses drones to capture aerial data. Their technology can, for example, scan eroding historic structures, farm lands, and more to capture very precise and detailed information. Being a new company they have to be flexible; they often adapt their techniques and procedures to new problems. They were recently hired to make a scan of the historic municipal building in Harrisonburg. JMU professors commissioned the company to make a model of the building for a book the professors are writing about architectural history. Canvex has captured buildings in the past but need to adapt their existing techniques to capture new detail in this project. - formulating solutions, you already know a bit about what needs to be done, you have ideas in mind and may not have to generate a lot like in exploring ideas, so you are moving more towards formulating solutions 5. Graduating: Bonnie practically grew up in her parents small businesses. Over the years they started and sold several successful, and some unsuccessful, ventures. She would sweep floors or wash windows as a child and as she got older she took on more and more responsibility. She always dreamed of following in their footsteps, starting her own business. Now she is about to finish her undergraduate business degree and is deciding what to do after she graduates. - Exploring the vision. Background broad goal, start solidifying this goal. 6. COB2020. Architects held a meeting in 2017 where they presented several topics related to the new COB learning complex to COB faculty and staff. They asked the faculty and staff to brainstorm in groups, with each group focusing on the different topic. What would the architects do next?- Formulating solutions. Brainstorming is in exploring ideas stage, divergent skill. 7. Grilled Cheese mania: Casey moved from NY t Harrisonburg 4 years ago. She grew up working in her family's supermarket. She and her husband owned a deli in New Jersey for 13 years and in She has a descriptive image of what she wants to do, so moving forward: formulating challenges. 8. First-time guy creating a problem for Ticketmaster. Online business has grown rapidly. New company goes further then Ticketmaster by providing more details about venues, something Ticketmaster cannot do. Ticketmaster wants to buy the small company for a lot, but they only want to buy the company and shut it down. They want to sell but doesn't want to see a business go away. Unsure of how to navigate such a process, the entrepreneur hires a lawyer who has dealt with many similar situations and with Ticketmaster in the past. They meet to discuss the matter. - Formulating a plan. No clarification needed. This is not unfamiliar anymore, just need to come up with a plan. Not a new environment. 9. Bono of U2 fame had been thinking a lot about the AIDS crises growing in Africa during the 1990s. He wanted to help but wasn't sure how. He knew whatever he did would require a lot of funding and political support in the US. So he decided to meet with various US politicians from all across the political spectrum, from conservative to liberal, to understand their views. What CPS step was Bono most obviously doing? - Formulating challenges, he got's the idea but doesn't know how to go about it. He needs to know exactly what the challenges are. If he knew specifically why certain politicians would resist, then come up with ideas on how to persuade them. Hunter talked about sensing the gaps and how that was the difference between exploring the vision vs. formulating challenges.

Brainstorming

A type of divergent thinking in Exploring ideas "to practice a conference technique by which a group attempts to find a solution for a specific problem by amassing all the ideas spontaneously contributed by its members" while actively following the four guidelines for divergent thinking. Helps get novelty from divergence Allows a group of individuals working to productively generate a diverse set of options by encouraging them to follow the principles of divergent thinking. What you do: 5-8 in a group, identify challenge, stated in question form (In what ways might we, how might we, what might, how to), follow guidelines for divergent thinking (Defer judgment, go for quantity, make connections, seek novelty) to generate as many possible solutions to the problem

problem finding

According to Jay and Perkins (1997), problem finding refers to "behaviors, attitudes, and thought processes that are directed toward the envisionment, posing, formulation, and creation of problems, as opposed to the process involved in solving them" (p.259) a comprehensive definition of problem finding encompasses. (1) conceiving or envisaging problems or questions and forming possibilities in a situation (problem identification) (2) defining and formulating the actual problem statement (problem definition) (3) periodically assessing the quality of the problem formulation and its solution options (4) problem reformulation from time to time

tolerance for risks

Affective skill for supporting tactical thinking in implementing a plan not allowing yourself to be shake nor unnerved by the possibility of failure or setbacks. This will keep you from avoiding difficult tasks that must be done to implement a solution.

Principles for convergent thinking

Apply affirmative judgment: Instead of just faultfinding (a habitual or excessive emphasis on identifying shortcomings), focus on affirmative evaluations- carefully considering both the positives and negatives of an idea. (Constructive criticism" in creativity, inc). Keep novelty alive: Purposefully entertain original ideas. Force yourself to be open to unexpected ideas/thoughts Check your objectives: Revisit the original objectives of the situation. Try to clarify them if needed. Consider how well ideas align (or can align) with those objectives Stay focused: Don't rush the evaluation process. Use intuition, but also be deliberate in selecting criteria and assessing ideas.

Exploring ideas: Divergent tools

Brainstorming and force connections

Assessing the situation

Consider what part is open-ended: the goal or the part to get to it? If it's how we do it, formulating challenges 1. You feel anxious about getting a job after graduation: Vision, what job? 2. you'd like to be healthier: Vision can be innovative with being healthier. HOW can you be healthier? 3. Your GPA is not what you'd like it to be: Challenges 4. You're constantly late to meetings: Formulating challenges 5. At a local newspaper, readership has declined steadily for the past 3 years: formulating challenges 6. en Entrepreneur wants to open a restaurant in Harrisonburg. She'd like it to capitalize on the unique culture of Harrisonburg, JMU, and EMU: Vision 7. You own a car repair shop and you want to help female customers feel more comfortable as customers and empowered as car owners: Formulating a challenge 8. Your CEO tells you, the VP of HR, he'd like to make the company more attractive to college graduates: formulating challenges. It's not changing the desired outcome, it's how you do it. Open-ended versus close-ended. If your goal is too vague to take action you might need to explore the vision

Contextual Thinking

Contextual Thinking: understanding the interrelated conditions and circumstances that will support or hinder success. thinking skill in exploring acceptance Through the Exploring Acceptance step, you intentionally inject Contextual Thinking into your creative process to develop an understanding of the environmental conditions that might help or hinder successful implementation. Contextual Thinking involves scanning the environment in which you wish to introduce a solution or change. Through this environmental scan, you become aware of factors such as people, resources, conditions, and so on, that will either support or block the new idea. Will increase likelihood of success

Convergence thinking tools for Exploring Acceptance

Convergent Thinking allows you to focus on those factors that will be most crucial to con- sider as you go forward. We recommend using tools like Hits to narrow down a larger set of options to a smaller, more manageable, number. For instance, Hits could be used to identify key sources of assistance and resistance or key stakeholders.

Robert Fritz and the creative process

Creative process begins with a concept of what you want to create, but it is the strong desire to make your vision into reality that engages you in creative thinking. Begin with a general idea of what you want, then form it into a specific vision of the end result. Purpose of the vision step is to provide the tools and procedures to establish where you wish to go

Divergent thinking in Exploring Ideas

Divergence in Exploring Ideas is about really letting loose, digging deep, and abandoning any preconceived notions about what you think might or what should work to solve the problem in order to make room for novel solutions. The goal of divergent thinking in Exploring Ideas is to generate as many ideas as possible. If the divergent guide- lines are being used effectively, you can generate many different and unique ideas just using Brainstorming. otherwise, need to use forced connections

Divergent thinking tools for exploring acceptance

Divergent thinking in Exploring Acceptance ensures that you have suf- ficiently examined the environment for things that will either support or undermine the success of your idea. The goal of divergent thinking in this step is to cast a wide net to identify as many factors as possible that should be taken into consideration when you build a plan for implementation. Divergence in Exploring Acceptance encourages a broad search for many factors that need to be taken into consideration for the solution or proposed change to be effective. assisters and resisters, stakeholder analysis

Statement starters (Divergent tools for formulating challenges)

Enables you to articulate the challenge in a positive, forward-thinking framework that encourages idea generation and problem solution. framing questions is a very powerful way to have people think more deeply and creatively. On the other hand, an open-ended question requires more thought to formulate a response and more elaboration in communicating the response. The use of Statement Starters frames thinking in a way that is particularly helpful when working to identify challenges by inviting ideas that might solve the problem.

Convergent thinking role

Exploring the Vision: helps you pick the best ones amongst those

Divergent thinking role

Exploring the vision: gets you outside of the box, get's you to consider new possibilities.

benefits of webbing

First, it demonstrates how quickly and effectively this tool helps to scope out the many challenges associated with a desired outcome. Second, it demonstrates how the "why"and"what's stopping me/us"questionsidentifychallengesat quite different levels of abstraction. Challenges become more concrete Main benefits: 1. Discover that the goal they thought was important really was overshadowed by some other goal. This type of insight can radically change where you focus your energy. 2. Also, the web may confirm an original goal and map out the main challenge/challenges that must be addressed to achieve the goal. Challenges are now visible , you can be more explicit about identifying what needs to be done to overcome these challenges.

CPS help clarify situations that lead to two benefits

First, you have the structure of the CPS process to rely on, which takes a lot of the guesswork out of clarifying. Second, you have tools to support your deliberate efforts.

Playfulness

Freely toying with ideas supports ideational thinking Playfulness supports the divergent principles that are so crucial to Ideational Thinking. Seeking novelty and deferring judgment are much easier when being playful. There are many positive consequences when leaders model playful behavior for others: relaxed atmosphere, reduce stress, keep productive, leaders more approachable, if leaders do it so will others

CPS: Explore the Vision

Goal: encourage forward thinking

How-How Diagram

Helps individuals and groups dig deep to identify specific action steps necessary to carry out a solution or change. Identify a solution, or change your wish to implement. Ask the question "how can this be achieved?" Record the responses to this question. These become the first layer of action steps. For each of the initial action steps again ask "how can this be achieved?" Record the responses. Continue asking "how" until you reach the logical limits. Although the Generating Action Steps tool is a broad and intuitive search for action steps, the How-How Diagram introduces more speci- ficity and structure This procedure encourages us to first identify general action steps and then drill down to very concrete actions and activities. To use the How-How Diagram: 1. Identify the solution or proposed change 2. Ask "how" and record responses 3. ask "how" again and record responses. After the initial action steps have been listed, ask the "how" question again, but this time, pose the question "how can this be achieved?" 4. Continue to ask and record When you use this tool, follow the guidelines for divergent thinking.

Further examples of dot-corn ideas that failed principally as a result of poor Contextual Thinking are found in Table 11.1.

IAM.com, thirdvoice.com, mercata.com

Key reasons why leaders need to be skilled in formulating a plan

Ideas are just ideas unless you do something with them Communicating a plan to others says that you are serious about making it happen Deliberate planning helps you avoid forgetting something critical You will avoid some of the costs of backtracking—wasted resources, paying more for convenience items if needed at the last minute, overtime pay, and so on. It helps you to frame tasks in sequence and see how they play out and avoids putting steps out of order You can see how actions and events interact with each other It helps you to deal with detailed, multilayered situations It creates a can-do attitude; "this is not so hard" It provides a "stop and think it through" step for those prone to rushing to implementation

Stakeholder Analysis for Exploring Acceptance (Divergent- exploring acceptance)

Identifies key people who have a vested interest in the solution or change and categorizes these individuals into those who will support and those who will reject the change. The example shows the key stakeholders and an estimation of current levels of support, along with projections as to what level of support is needed to initiate the project successfully. Using: 1. Generate list of all stakeholders 2. Identify their current levels of support. 3. Estimate where levels of support need to be. 4. Generate steps to close the gaps

Evaluation matrix

Illustrates relative strength of ideas in relation to Criteria. Helps to make decisions about the most promising ideas to pursue. assess the relative strength of a large number (4 to 10 as a rule of thumb) of choices against explicit Criteria and then to present the results in such a way that you can strengthen the weak points of any of the options if you so choose. Using the tool: 1. Develop Criteria 2. Check to see that the criteria are basically distinct from one another. avoid negative questions 3. Build your matrix: When you have a large number of ideas (4 to 10), list them on the right side of a grid, and put key Criteria across the top. 4. Select an evaluation system: Compare and rate each idea by each criterion. Analyze the results for weak and strong points; consider these implications for further development or a final decision. The more abstract the symbol, the broader the discrimination among the choices. Numbers are more concrete 5. Evaluate each choice: work down the options to avoid halo effect 6. Review matrix 7. Develop options and make a final decision: attempt to improve those options that were viewed as requiring some improvement

So, how much is the right amount of risk? That is an excellent question.

It would seem that Tolerance for Risks has a point of diminishing returns; some is necessary but too much can be foolhardy.

Being an effective leader

Leaders must have capacity to envision a future state that does not exist today and effective at drawing out the desires from others

example of a visionary leader

Martin Luther King, Jr., is an excellent example of this visionary leader. But, it is not enough for a leader to have a vision; a leader must also have the ability to think strategically, that is, not only to dream but also to recognize what must be done to manifest the vision.

Convergent thinking tools for formulating a plan

Once these long lists of action steps are created, you need to identify which actions are most important. The tool Hits is a useful procedure for identifying the most important action steps. Once a short list of actions has been identified, you can work further with them. To accomplish this, we present two convergent tools. The first, Sequencing, helps you arrange action steps along a time continuum. The second, Performance Dashboard, provides a playful and visual method for tracking progress within the solution or change.

BHAG

One of the chief differences that set the best companies apart from the rest was what they referred to as Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals \ As they explained, "A true is clear and compelling and serves as a unifying focal point of effort—often creating immense team spirit"

Sequencing

Organizes action steps along a timeline. Define the deadline by which you wish to implement a solution or change. Define four blocks of time within this time horizon (immediate, short term, intermediate, and long term). Sort the action steps into these four blocks of time. Sequencing is a tool that can help you to be more explicit about which action steps are undertaken when. When done individually, it enables you to pursue a goal in an efficient manner and to monitor progress. When done by a group, it allows members to coordinate their efforts and to keep each other accountable for making progress toward the goal. To use sequencing: 1. Confirm solution or change 2. Determine the time horizon 3. breakdown the timetable. Identify four distinct blocks of time: immediate, short term, intermediate, and long term. 4. Organize the action steps. Once the time frames have been defined, organize the actions steps into the four blocks of time. 5. Check for overlooked action steps. Review the actions steps once they have been sequenced into the four blocks of time to determine if any important action steps have been overlooked. Once action steps are sequenced, you have a road map that outlines how to proceed toward the desired outcome.

Good quotes

PJ Heller made an interesting comparison between COB 300 and visionary thinking. When you are coming up with an idea and trying to create an image, you are using visionary thinking. Once you have formulated the idea, you use strategic thinking in order to identify issues and what needs to be done to make this idea happen.

P P C O Meanings

Pluses (list what is good, positive about the idea) Potentials (list what might happen if the idea were pursued, what the possibilities are) Concerns (what are the shortcomings, weaknesses, or limitations of the idea) Overcome(generate ideas to overcome concerns, starting with the most important)

A vision

Provides an image of where you want to go and help you articulate your desired future

Performance Dashboard

Provides ongoing feedback on progress made toward a goal Identify the key outcomes that would demonstrate progress toward the goal. For each outcome, define a graphic performance indicator that provides visual feedback. Monitor progress by checking the performance indicators. The pur- pose of the tool Performance Dashboard (Senge et al., 1999) is to provide visual stimuli that keep track of progress toward the desired end. With this in mind, we would now create a graphic instrument that has a needle that literally indicates how many inquiries were received for that week. To summarize, begin creating a Performance Dashboard by defin- ing the important outcomes that represent progress toward the goal. Select and define graphic instruments that provide visual feedback with respect to the performance indicators. You may want to be play- ful in how you name the instruments. Check the performance indica- tors on a regular basis. Use the information depicted by the performance indicators to determine if progress is on schedule or whether corrective action needs to be taken to overcome impediments.

Formulating challenges

Purpose is to clarify. In Formulating Challenges, you explore the obstacles that exist between the current situation and your vision of a desired future, focus on the ones that seem most significant, and frame them in a way that invites creative ideas. The step of Formulating Challenges will clarify and often significantly modify per- ceptions of two major things that hinder effective problem solving: (1) the scope of the situation (where does the problem begin and end); and (2) the direction that your problem-solving efforts should take (what is the best way to approach the problem).

PPCO Pluses, Potentials, Concerns, and Overcoming Concerns

Purpose is to evaluate by strengthening, has both divergent and convergent elements making it self-contained, minified version of the CPS process itself (primarily convergent) Uses itemized checklist (pluses, potentials, concerns, and overcoming concerns) to evaluate one to three ideas. Strengthens ideas by identifying and addressing key shortcomings and highlighting key advantages. Using the tool: Select one idea at a time, and place each one at the top of a sheet. List the letters P, P, C, and 0 on the page. Underneath the first P, list as many pluses as you can come up with. Then, move to the second P and list potentials (things that might happen). After these two rounds, list the concerns; word them as questions with an idea- inviting stem, such as "How might I .. .?" Under the 0, identify the major concerns, and then, diverge to overcome each of these concerns. Consider the implications for future action. Note that it is a good idea to have as many pluses as possible and a good list of potentials as well. In other words, use the divergent guidelines. Phrasing concerns in the form of a challenge invites ideas that may ultimately help you to strengthen the original idea being evaluated. Always begin with the pluses and potentials first, and then go to the concerns. . The ideas selected to overcome the concern will ultimately make the solution stronger. This is why we write the 0 in the acronym for this tool as an exponent—it is the ideas generated to overcome the concerns that give new power to the solution being evaluated.

Fixing failures and the transformation stage

Shocking face mask: Looks terrifying. The way it looks was a failure. DIVX disc: Not rental, not purchase... what is it?

Idea

Something, such as a thought or conception, that potentially or actually exists in the mind as a product of mental activity Ideas are everywhere, and often, the people closest to the issue have the most productive ideas for solving the problem. a leader sets the tone for how ideas are treated and whether generating ideas is really valued and rewarded. A leader who wants others to generate ideas must create a climate that supports and encourages individuals to bring their ideas forward. - This includes encouraging Playfulness, celebrating the generation of highly novel ideas, and providing space for individuals to follow their intuition and take risks.

Assisters and Resister (Divergent- exploring acceptance)

Sorts planning contingencies into two categories: those sources that will help (assisters) and those that will hinder (resisters) success. The basic questions of who, what, where, when, why, and how are used to identify what factors will assist or resist implementation of the new solution or change. Divergent thinking is applied to generate options within each of these categories. In some situations, the same factor can be both a source of assis- tance and a source of resistance. For example, if you are unaware of a key decision maker's attitude toward the idea, such as the boss, then this person may be listed as a possible assister and possible resister. These key sources of assistance and resistance would then be used to help iden- tify the necessary action steps to carry out the change or to implement the solution.

Exploring the Vision

The CPS process step used to create an image of a desired outcome The Exploring the Vision step is used when you recognize that something must be done and you need to focus in on what you want to attain. falls within the Clarification stage of the CPS process There is a natural transition from Exploring the Vision to Formulating Challenges; that is, to go from identifying the big picture of where you wish to go to identifying the obstacles that must be addressed successfully to get there Here you are thinking about broader concepts, like goals and desires, versus pinpointing specific challenges that operate as barriers to successful goal attainment, as you do in the Formulating Challenges step. As a reminder, the main thinking skill associated with the Exploring the Vision step is Visionary Thinking. Storyboarding is an excellent tool for engaging in Visionary Thinking

Exploring ideas

The CPS process step where novel ideas are generated to address important challenges The CPS step of Exploring Ideas assists you in generating many unusual ideas and to begin to sort them. 1st step in the natural process of the transforming stage: searching for solution to your problem you will be seeking ideas for a focused statement of the challenge(s)) that stand in the way of solving the problem. Exploring Ideas is also influenced by the process step of Formulating Challenges. The more clearly the challenge is stated, the more likely you are to get the kinds of ideas that can be used to solve the problem. In addition to feeling more divergent, there is a great deal of energy produced at this point in Exploring Ideas When engaged in divergent thinking in exploring ideas, there is an explosion of novelty, ideas fly fast

Formulating a plan: Divergence vs. Convergence

The Formulating a Plan step enables you to be explicit, because by its nature, it is very detail oriented and concrete. In its dynamic balance, this step has a more convergent than divergent feel, although divergence is still present. In Formulating a Plan, you use the divergent guidelines to search for many tasks that you might want to accomplish and then, using convergent guidelines, make your final selections You have moved from "that's a good idea" to "hey, I can make this happen." In fact, breaking down implementation into concrete action steps makes it seem more manageable and can create a sense of clarity, focus, and an energy that comes with feeling that something is possible.

Who used exploring acceptance

The compact, technologically- advanced Apple iPod, which can be used to download purchased music and much more, responded to all of these issues and has been wildly popular In fact, in response to the needs of busy working people, services such as personal shop- pers, dry cleaning delivery, gourmet takeout, and even doggie day care have emerged. The United States auto industry has always been subject to eco- nomic conditions and consumer demands. The Ford Edsel, built in 1958 and discontinued with the 1960 model, is cited historically as the poster child for colossal failure. While any and all of these factors may have played a part, it is clear that there was a lack of Contextual Thinking, not reading the market and the economic situation accurately. highlighted by the auto editors of Consumer Guide, "Had it been a truly different car introduced three to five years either side of 1958, the Edsel might still be with us yet. Instead, it's become a monument to the cynicism of an age when Detroit thought buyers didn't know—or care—about the difference between style and substance" More recently, a lack of contextual thinking was exemplified by the Big Three auto CEOs when they flew in private jets to Washington, DC, to request bailout money. The executives from Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors were asking for a $25 billion loan. Again, misreading the environment made implementing a potential solution, in this case a bailout, an uphill battle.

Google

The fundamental philosophy of the founders is that they don't have all the ideas and that their employees will have more ideas than they could possibly come up with themselves. In addition to policies that support idea generation, such as the 20% rule, Google has also created a corporate culture that allows experimentation and risk taking and provides support for fledgling ideas Google encourages playfulness with their casual attitude toward business attire, "you can be serious without a suit," Clearly, Google is a company that illustrates how exploring ideas is benefi- cial to its success.

Convergent thinking in exploring ideas

The higher energy found in the divergent phase of Exploring Ideas must eventually give way to a focused search for the most promising ideas, which occurs during the convergent phase of this step. Convergent thinking in Exploring Ideas is about sorting through and beginning to select those that are most promising while still maintaining novelty. Use hits and highlighting

Role of a leader

The role of the leader is to manage the balance of divergence and convergence in Exploring Ideas so that ideas are both generated and considered.

Biosociation

This is the association of two incompatible frames of reference. Gordon (1961) talked of "making the familiar strange and making the strange familiar" through the use of analogy to deliberately spark creative insights.

Wishful thinking

This tool is designed to help you to think about many possible future outcomes, both positive and negative The statement starters used for Wishful Thinking are phrases, such as "Wouldn't it be niceif...,"whichcanbeabbreviatedasWIBNI,and"Wouldn'tbe awful if . . . ," which can be abbreviated as WIBAI. Hits tool to see which of the wish statements were identified as important to pursue. Alternatively, if you prefer to be more analytical in your decision making, you will want to use the Success Zones tool,

Implementation plan

To bring greater structure and accountability, the list of action steps can be placed within a broad implementation plan. An implementation plan is a way of elaborating on the action steps by pinpointing when the action will be completed, to whom the successful completion of the step will be reported, and if working in a group, who is responsible for carrying out the action step.

Divergence vs. convergence in Exploring acceptance

To skillfully engage in Contextual Thinking and to carry out the Exploring Acceptance step, individuals rely on effective divergent thinking to thoroughly scan the environment in which an idea or change will be introduced. convergent thinking is then applied to identify those factors that are most impor- tant to take into consideration as the solution or change is carried for- ward.

Leaders must

To successfully introduce novel solu- tions or to bring about creative change, leaders must learn to skillfully work within their social contexts. three sets of skills play a primary role in yielding effective leadership performance. One set of skills relates to CPS, while another refers to social skills, and a third to knowledge. Through the Exploring Acceptance step, we hope to enhance both the cognitive and affective skills that will enable leaders to introduce solu- tions that work and change that sticks.

evaluating thinking in leadership

Use this to take guesswork out of finding a solution In Evaluative Thinking you take the time to consider the reasonableness and quality of your ideas in order to develop workable solutions. Regardless, what you do or don't do is critical in preventing you from pursuing ideas that are not fully formed. The point is to envision the possibility of change, even though you may not see it at first, and then to evaluate in an affirmative, devel- opmental way. In Formulating Solutions, you need to continue to be aware of this and be willing to nurture the wilder options. UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, who said, "Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."

Divergence and convergence in formulating solutions: It's a brand-new game

When you begin the step of Formulating Solutions, you are entering a critical juncture between the dynamic balance of divergence and convergence. In CPS, convergence and selection occur in every step via dynamic balance, but in Formulating Solutions, this balance is now heavily tipped toward Evaluative Thinking to increase the feasibility, and thus the quality, of wild or delicate new ideas you wish to take forward. Navigating the lane switch between divergence and convergence in Formulating Solutions requires a more integrated approach than in the previous steps. The PPC° and Evaluation Matrix that follow are examples of this integration. The dynamic balance that we discussed in earlier chapters is still present; it just operates at a different pace as you move toward implementation.

Storyboarding

Where Wishful Thinking relies on words, Storyboarding is primarily a visual tool. Means of communicating events: Examples are sistine chapel, cartoon strips organizing plots for movies, constructing a story to create a future story in panels that highlight the sequence of significant events from the beginning of the story (i.e., the present) to the desired outcome (i.e., the future).

Forming solutions

Where ideas are evaluated and developed more fully into solutiosn

Informational vs. Controlling feedback

Zhou (2008) found that the manner in which feedback is given, either informational or controlling, has an impact on creativity. Zhou defined informational as feedback that pro- vides the individual with ways to learn and develop, allowing the indi- vidual to decide how to use the feedback. Controlling feedback, by contrast, gives the impression that there are external requirements and standards that must be met.

Hits.

a convergent tool that is used extensively with all kinds of thinking because of its simple but effective convergent function--selecting. Scan the array of data that have been generated and put an asterisk, check, or some identifying mark beside the ones that are interesting, intriguing, or capture the essence of the problem situation. You don't always have to have a specific reason for all the Hits you select. Often, with this tool, the choice is more intuitive. For example, it grabs you. You like it, but you can't really articulate why. It feels right. Be sure to deliberately select some novel Hits even if you have to go back and look again. Remember to follow guidelines for convergent thinking. When using this tool in a group, give each individual an equal number of Hits, generally between 3 and 10 depending on how much data were generated--the more data, the greater number of Hits. When working with others, allow each group member an opportunity to select data; this enables the group to develop a shared understanding of the key factors in the situation."

Force connections

a divergent tool used in exploring ideas Intentionally encourages flexible thinking by challenging the problem solver to generate solutions to the problem by using objects that are unrelated to the situation. Using force connections: 1. Identify challenge: Begin with a clear statement of the challenge framed as a question. Use invitational stems, such as How might . . . In what ways might . . . for example, How might I Find a new job? 2. Select an object unrelated to challenge 3. Note characteristics of the object: size, shape color, etc... 4. Force a connection between the object and the challenge (What deas do I get for ___ from this object?" 5. Repeat with other objects 6. Use other senses and modalities (explore the other senses to make connections, play music, touch objects, etc..) deliberately engages our minds in making connections. With the Forced Connection tool, you intentionally force, or stimulate, your mind to generate new ideas by trying to see some connection between a random object and your challenge.

What enhances a brainstorming session

a facilitator person who is substantively neutral and has no decision- making authority in regard to the challenge who helps a group work together effectively to solve problems and make decisions. Having a highly skilled facilitator will enable the group to stay on task, understand and maintain appropriate group roles, follow the guidelines for divergent thinking, manage group dynamics, and increase the likelihood of breakthrough ideas

strategic thinking

about articulating and addressing the challenges that stand in the way of achieving the desired vision and about creating a direction or pathway to the future One thing that made King remarkable as a leader was his ability to articulate the challenges standing in the way of his vision—some seem- ingly insurmountable—to create a path for others to follow Strategic Thinking is concrete and focused on developing a direction or pathway to the future. Strategic Thinking involves identifying the crit- ical issues that must beaddressed andfinding the pathways to move toward a desired future. Key co

Success Zones

allows you to evaluate any number of goals, future scenarios, or wish statements to determine which hold the greatest promise. two basic steps: evaluate the options against two criteria and then locate the options within a matrix. The two criteria that are used to evaluate each option are: (1) Degree of Importance; (How critical the option is to you) and (2) Probability of Success (How confident you are that you can attain the desired future state described in the option under consideration) When comparing competing options, those that fall in the top row are the most promising to pursue, followed next by the middle row, and finally the bottom row (Look at page 151 on Puccio chp 7)

Visionary Thinking

an ability to articulate a vivid image of what you desire to create Supported by dreaming

Avoiding premature closure

by avoiding the urge to decide, you are giving the idea a chance to really be evaluated before a yes or no decision is made. Her initial resistance to the idea was overcome by staying open and considering how she might make it work.

action steps

concrete,observable activities undertaken by individuals and groups that lead to a desired outcome.

4 principles for divergent thinking

defer judgment: Resist the urge to evaluate ideas shortly after you generate them Go for quantity: Generate as many ideas as you can. Then generate more. Make connections: Use your ideas, others' ideas, orinformation to tither extend or elaborate your own thinking. Seek novelty: purposefully try to come up with new, original and/or wild ideas

Tactical thinking

devising a plan in specific and measurable steps for attaining a desired end and monitoring its effectiveness. The outcome of solid Tactical Thinking is that solutions get implemented, events go off without a hitch, and complex projects are effectively completed on time and on budget. Consider the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and the contro- versy around the effectiveness of the planning. There were fears as early as 2000 that the city would never be ready for the August 2004 opening because planning milestones were not being met. Obviously a leader skilled in Tactical Thinking, she organized details, restructured tasks, and monitored the activities of the whole team until there was a flow of action toward the goal, and the 2004 Olympics went on as sched- uled. Fast forward to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. Hauled dump trucks of snow. Military operations: WWII invasion of normandy. This is illus- trated in Box12.2's story of two explorers, Norwegian Roald Amundsen and Briton Robert Falcon Scott. They were locked in a battle to be the first to get to the South Pole In each case, the thinking skill that is utilized is Tactical Thinking. This is no longer the what-if approach found in Exploring the Vision or Exploring Ideas, but the what-now thinking required to make something happen.

Generating action steps

divergent tool for formulating a plan A broad search for the steps required to implement a solution or change.- like a to-do list Use divergent thinking tools to generate the steps required to implement a solution or change. Follow the divergent thinking guidelines to amass all the action steps associated with the successful rollout of a solution or change. Action steps are concrete, observable activities undertaken by individuals and groups that lead to a desired outcome. To use Generating Action Steps: 1. Describe the solution or change 2. Divergeonactionsteps. Ask yourself, "What do I/we need to do to implement (fill in the blank)?" Use the divergent guidelines to generate a comprehensive list of action steps. If you are entering the CPS process at Formulating a Plan, it is a good idea to use one of the Exploring Acceptance tools before you generate action steps to make sure you have sufficiently considered the context. Assisters and Resisters or Stakeholder Analysis, for example, help identify factors that will facilitate or hinder success.

Webbing (Divergent tools for formulating challenges)

enables you to view a challenge from a wide variety of perspectives, including more abstract and more concrete views of the challenge as originally presented" At the center of the web is your vision or desired outcome, from which other ways of looking at the challenge are expanded by asking two basic questions: "why" and "what's stopping me/us?" When you ask "why," you generate broader, more abstract, or higher-order challenges. The question "what's stopping me/us" tends to produce more concrete or operational challenges.

The bridge between ideas and implementation

forming solutions links with exploring ideas As a process step, Formulating Solutions helps leaders take ideas that may need refining and strengthen them. It also helps them to iden- tify weaknesses and to look for ways to overcome them. In other words, the step of Formulating Solutions helps you to evaluate fairly and deliberately. Ideas in CPS are potential solutions, but they are not fully formed solutions until strengthened, developed, elaborated, or evaluated. we reserve the term solution for those choices and decisions that are more fully developed, because it is the work that goes into developing solutions that creates the transition into the natural process of implementation—once you have committed to a solution, it is natural to then think about what you need to do to implement it.

Divergent thinking tools for formulating a plan

generating action steps How-how diagram

Importance of having a vision

having clarity in what you want to accomplish creates a singular focus through which creative efforts can be focused. To achieve org success: Successful companies had a history of establishing and then pursuing audacious challenges

Formulating solutions

help lead to successful implementation, It provides both the time and the structure to develop the inherent strengths of ideas and to anticipate and overcome weaknesses. Why this is important for leaders in evaluative thinking: • To strengthen the potential of wild, unusual, or different ideas so that they will be less strange to others • To continue to keep an open mind on an idea's potential • To deliberately think through the strengths and weaknesses of ideas • To elaborate on a sketchy idea • To turn ideas into viable solutions • To determine the importance of what you need to do next, to begin to grow a plan • To provide balance between novelty and usefulness • To increase the chances that others will see the dazzle in a novel idea that you originally saw and felt • To allow you to test your beliefs and intuition about ideas without external judgment • To allow you to do your own evaluation before others see the final results Formulating Solutions provides a unique bridge from the speed, pace, and free-for- all nature of idea generation, which is designed to get you from nov- elty to usefulness without leaving the novelty behind. If in Exploring Ideas you set out to find and lasso the wild tigers of your imagination, in Formulating Solutions you set out to tame them without crushing their unique natures

Dreaming

imagine as possible your desires and hopes Propels visionary thinking, imagine that you can achieve what you want

Stakeholders

individuals, groups, or organizations that have a vested interest in the proposed solution or change.

Ideational thinking

leaders such as Franklin and Branson who come up with many different ideas in a variety of arenas Producing original mental images and thoughts that respond to important challenges Although a leader needs to able to think of ideas, it is unreasonable to expect that any leader, even one who is highly skilled in Ideational Thinking, will be able to generate ideas for every problem. leaders who are skilled in Ideational Thinking recognize the difference between an idea and a solution. A leader skilled in Ideational Thinking encourages others to play with ideas, explore pos- sibilities, consider alternatives, and to remember that it's just an idea. The affective skill that supports ideational thinking is playfulness

convergent thinking with exploring the vision

narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution Thus, divergent thinking regarding future opportunities must be balanced with convergent thinking. you must be able to sort out which options possess the greatest potential for delivering success. There are convergent tools that can help you to make an effective choice. Tools: Success zones

The pursuit of broad goals

results in false starts, inefficiency, rework, frustration, and sometimes no action whatsoever.

Transforming stage

searching for solutions to your problem exploring ideas is first step next: Forming solutions

sensing gaps

supportive of strategic thinking to become consciously aware of discrepancies between what currently exists and what is desired or required Being sensitive to gaps may enable you to uncover the heart of the problem and rethink how to frame the problem differently By Sensing Gaps between you and your future job, you will be able to identify the most significant challenges, generate appropriate ideas to overcome these gaps, and enhance your likelihood of success.

Exploring Acceptance

the CPS Process step used to increase the likelihood of success when implementing new solutions In Exploring Acceptance, you engagein Contextual Thinking: understanding the interrelated conditions and circumstances that will support or hinder success. By engaging a team in the Exploring Acceptance step, leaders can introduce some objective thinking to a situation and potentially enhance the degree to which a change will be successfully adopted. The purpose of the Exploring Acceptance step is to pause for reflection before rushing forward to implement a solution or creative change When Exploring Acceptance precedes Formulating a Plan, there is a greater likelihood that a more robust set of action steps will be created, thus increasing the potential for success.

formulating a plan

the CPS process step focused on developing a plan before moving to implementation. Formulating a Plan is a straightforward step in the CPS process. This is the concrete "what do I actually need to do to make this happen" The purpose of this step is to help you search for all of the possible action steps that will enable you to successfully implement your solu- tion or change, identify key elements and sequence them in a logical or effective order, and leverage people against tasks to make things hap- pen. The Formulating a Plan step enables you to be explicit, because by its nature, it is very detail oriented and concrete

Sensitivity to Environment

the degree to which people are aware of their physical and psychological surroundings. Affective skill that support contextual thinking the affective skill that supports Contextual Thinking, enables you to notice what is happening around you, recognizing that you are not operating in a vacuum. By being particularly attuned to these issues, you are better able to examine the conditions that will support or hinder your success. Effective politicians are often very aware of the right and wrong times to push an issue It is having the sensitivity to know what else is going on, being able to take the temperature of the situation.

Root cause

the most basic reason, which if eliminated, would prevent a recurrence, the source or origin of an event (iSixSigma, n.d.), provides a perspective on the problem that could directly lead to a successful solution.

Divergent thinking for exploring the vision

used in Exploring the Vision to make sure that you consider many possible future scenarios before committing to one. two tools: Wishful Thinking and Storyboarding.

Tentative ideas

used in exploring ideas, as the nature of this step is exploratory and open-ended

PPCO usefulness

useful when you have 1-3 options to evaluate provide feedback to individuals provides a balance of strengths and limitations and includes a process for addressing the limitations used to debrief a meeting the PPC° could be used to provide informational feedback, as it invites the person to develop potential solutions to overcome the concerns

When you do not use evaluative thinking

we still make the case that some deliberate evaluation tied to solid divergence and convergence would have brought out many overlooked issues. The widespread dot-corn failures are a powerful reminder of the costly mistakes that can be made when poor evaluation and premature closure take over. This lack of solid Evaluative Thinking coupled with the rush to clo- sure illustrated by the dot-corn example can make life in the fast lane of new ideas precarious. Economic bubbles and bursts may reflect the rise of novel ideas that were not well thought out, and the burst results because the limitations of the ideas finally come to fruition The recent mortgage industry bust is another example of ideas that should have been more closely examined in the first place.

reasons why leaders need to be skilled in formulating challenges

• To break out of old ways of looking at a challenge • To uncover opportunities that you didn't even realize existed • To discover the root of the issue • To identify subissues that may be hidden within complex challenges • To avoid wasting resources, including time and money in pursuing the wrong or poor-quality solutions • To avoid rushing to a solution that might be adequate but not elegant • To reframe the challenge to a productive level of abstraction or ownership for more efficient problem solving • To define the issue more clearly and efficiently • To test assumptions before moving forward

Reasons why leaders need to be skilled in exploring acceptance

• To ensure that the rollout of a new idea or change goes as smoothly as possible • To build a coalition of support • To avoid being blindsided by critics or hidden trip wires • To inform the plan of action with wisdom and social intelligence • To respond effectively in a fast-paced, global economy • To introduce change into multicultural and multinational contexts • To ensure psychological, emotional, and social support for proposed solutions and creative change • To attract resources necessary for success • To ensure alignment with organizational goals and mission • To facilitate an objective look at how to position an idea or change so that it will be supported by others