CHAPTER 4

Analyzing Problems and Opportunities Strategically

It is the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) that those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.

—Charles Darwin

Preview

This chapter discusses the importance of being both adaptable and systematic about determining what to spend time and energy on as a collaboration topic. This means doing the necessary planning to determine if it is best for the collaboration outcome to focus on a problem or an opportunity. In this chapter, a problem is defined as a past or present situation or issue to resolve, and an opportunity is featured as a future possibility to create. Each, problem or opportunity, requires different thinking styles and communication approaches for the most efficient and effective collaboration outcomes.

Having a Clear Collaboration Focus: Problem or Opportunity?

A major risk to the results of a collaboration is to accept the topic at face value and rush to finalize the tactical details of who, what, when, where, and how. This approach can lead one to the path of failure. The surest path to success is to begin by analyzing the collaboration topic framework as either a problem or an opportunity, and then to choose what is best for the collaboration goals and outcomes overall. Focusing strategically on the big picture of how the collaboration topic is to be reframed helps ensure that the collaboration parties spend their energy and time most productively.

The first step is to view the collaboration topic from the double lens of both a problem and an opportunity. Whereas a problem is a past or present situation or occurrence that has to be resolved, an opportunity is a future reality that can be created.

Each one, a problem or an opportunity, requires a different thinking approach, time allocation, structure, and discussion emphasis. Attempting to address a problem and an opportunity simultaneously, in the same way, with a one-size-fits-all solution, only serves to diminish the quality of the discussion and can impede the results significantly(Table 4.1).

Asking Relevant Questions

Knowing what questions to ask that are most relevant to either a problem or an opportunity is essential for the most productive and effective team discussions. Problem solving effectively requires sufficient time to discuss all contextual information about the data and facts. The problem must also be analyzed in-depth: is it a symptom or the underlying cause? Collaborations that focus on a problem usually involve extensive discussion and disagreement about the methodology and solutions to be considered or tested, before agreement can occur. In comparison, opportunity-focused collaborations typically concentrate more on inventing options based on idea generation than on facts.

For example, a collaboration based on resolving a problem would typically involve analytical questions about the causes, effects, and context of a past or current problem before attempting to explore innovative solutions. In contrast, the questions that would typically be asked in an opportunity-based collaboration involve less focus on the past or current context, and more speculation about possibilities for the future. The following are examples of relevant questions to ask about a collaboration problem:

• • What is the apparent problem?
• • Is it really the problem, or is it a symptom of a deeper root cause?
• • What is the context of the problem: background, users and stakeholders, assumptions, causes, and pertinent information?
• • What is the supporting data and related research?
• • What has been done in the past to resolve the same or similar problems?
• • What systems, policies, and procedures are currently involved?
• • How effective are these systems, policies, and procedures in resolving the problem?
• • What specific actions need to take place to resolve the problem?
• • What are some innovative solutions that would resolve the problem?
• • What are the requested or required timelines to resolve the problem?
• • How will results be measured?
• • Is a collaboration the best way to resolve the problem?

The previous questions draw attention to the need to gain more context about the problem, including root cause analysis, and related systems, policies, procedures, and resolutions. In contrast, the questions for an opportunity-based collaboration are typically more concerned about investigating ideas, motivations, and innovations as possibilities than about analyzing the concrete data and facts to support them.

Some examples of typical questions about a collaboration opportunity include:

• • What is the perceived opportunity?
• • What are other related opportunities?
• • Which opportunity is the best to consider?
• • What are the benefits of pursuing the opportunity?
• • What are the risks if the opportunity is not pursued?
• • What are some current ideas that can be adapted for the opportunity?
• • What are some upcoming future trends in innovation that should be considered?
• • What is the supporting data and research?
• • What are some new ideas that can be invented for the opportunity?
• • Suppose you are one of the stakeholders or end users:
• ° What would motivate you about this opportunity?
• ° What would demotivate you about this opportunity?
• • What really excites you about this opportunity?
• • Is a collaboration the best way to address this opportunity?

Framing the Discussion Strategically

Making a collective decision about how to reframe the collaboration topic can be challenging because not everyone will have the same thinking style, knowledge, or level of interest. Some people will prefer focusing on the problem since it is easy for them to think that way if they are extremely analytical, or perhaps due to habit based on their current role. Other collaborators will prefer exploring the topic as an opportunity because they are used to this type of thinking on the job, or they find it more interesting personally. So it is important for all parties to be open-minded about the benefits and drawbacks of investing time on a problem or an opportunity, and to agree collectively on which topic emphasis they believe will be the best way to achieve their goal.

Once the collaborators have agreed on the big picture strategy for the topic focus, they will need to decide how to manage the discussion process. Collaborations with a problem-solution focus tend to need a logical and linear structure to organize the content and format systematically. Some ways to tailor the structure for a problem-based collaboration include:

• • Establish time limits for each participant’s input to reduce information overload.
• • Enforce “ground rules” for discussion-only segments without interruptions or debates.
• • State the problem to address at each meeting to keep all ­parties focused.
• • Follow a process for decision making based on specific ­criteria.
• • Include “lessons learned” at the end of each session to encourage risk-taking.

Structuring opportunity-focused collaborations most effectively can be accomplished in the following ways:

• • Communicate the opportunity at the beginning of each session to stay focused.
• • Keep idea-generating sessions separate from discussions involving disagreement about executional details and logistics.
• • Reduce the scope of agendas to allow more time for flexibility and spontaneity.
• • Include spontaneous, polychronic time segments: relaxed, unstructured, no specific timelines, and no watching the clock.
• • Encourage tolerance of ambiguity during idea generation and discussion segments to avoid moving to solutions and actions too fast.

There are some common strategies for managing discussion and disagreement that apply to both problem-based and opportunity-based collaborations. Initially, there needs to be a clear set of expectations about relationship norms for behavior that enable discussions to be constructive without becoming defensive or blame-oriented. This includes how to deal with interruptions, negative comments, and dominating or aggressive behaviors. It helps to address how some of these behaviors will be managed throughout the collaboration process by establishing and enforcing “ground rules”. Some examples of common phrases for “ground rules” to unite all parties to support each other include: “one team, one voice,” “us against the problem, not you are the problem,” and “discussion does not need agreement or disagreement.” Sometimes it is best to restrict comments or questions until everyone has had the chance to state their views. To achieve this end, all parties should understand the difference between a “discussion” to share ideas and “disagreement” to provide argumentation about why or why not?

Additional strategies for achieving strategic alignment within the group to achieve constructive discussions about the topic include:

1. 1. Ensure that the leader or facilitator remains “neutral” during discussions and disagreements.
2. 2. Avoid getting sidetracked during discussions and record ideas for later on in a “Parking Lot” list.
3. 3. Prepare the group for handling disagreement by encouraging everyone to take the first step by expressing their views openly regarding small issues of little relevance, such as when to take breaks, or how to improve a meeting process.
4. 4. Conduct informal surveys for participants to self-assess how well the group manages its own discussion and disagreement, and is able to implement some of its own suggestions.
5. 5. Provide training in conflict management, critical thinking, and problem solving to help those individuals who lead and facilitate discussions and disagreements to acquire new methods and
   techniques.

Specific strategies for managing discussion and disagreement in problem-based collaborations include:

1. 1. Create a group list of standardized questions to ask during discussions and disagreements, such as “how will that method address the problem?” and “what are the possible risks and gains of that solution?”
2. 2. Ask for commitment to prioritize the problem and solution first, and egos and personal agendas last.
3. 3. Utilize subgroups to share ideas and concerns with each other and then summarize a few for the entire team.
4. 4. Reframe and paraphrase comments to align them with the collaboration goal and the problem to address, so the discussion does not lose focus.
5. 5. Ensure that when others challenge an idea, methodology, or solution, they are hard on the problem, not the person.

For managing discussion and disagreement in opportunity-based collaborations, recommended strategies are as follows:

1. 1. Get commitment that during idea-generating discussions, any concerns about the present realities of budget, resources, deadlines, and other practical details will be deferred to a “Parking Lot” list to address at a more suitable time.
2. 2. Encourage conveying concepts and ideas in creative ways other than words, such as with drawings, photos, illustrations, diagrams, and other visuals that engage all of the senses to be most creative during brainstorming.
3. 3. Encourage the group to use exploratory and speculative language such as “imagine that,” or “suppose…,” or “what if we considered doing …?” to make discussing possibilities feel open, safe, secure, and noncommittal.
4. 4. Remind the group about their commitment to take ownership of all ideas together, to avoid self-promotion or overselling individual ideas.
5. 5. Emphasize disagreement as a way to make the opportunities better for all, rather than criticizing individuals for their ideas.

Some recommendations for structuring problem-based collaborations include: limiting time for each participant to speak to avoid information overload, stating the problem at each session to stay focused, and addressing “lessons learned” at the end of each meeting to emphasize continuous improvement and encourage risk-taking and innovation. For opportunity-based collaborations, ways to provide structure most effectively include: communicating the opportunity at each session to stay focused, reduce the scope of agendas to enable time for spontaneity and flexibility, and include polychronic time segments that are spontaneous and unstructured to encourage a relaxed pace without imposing time limits for expressing and exploring creative ideas.

Summary

Having a clear strategy for the purpose and goal of a collaboration is the first step to success. Before getting too caught up in the details of a collaboration, it is essential to determine its key purpose: to resolve a problem or to explore an opportunity. Whereas a problem-based collaboration is based on resolving a past or current problem, an opportunity-based collaboration concentrates more on a future state of possibilities.

When managing discussion and disagreement in a problem-based collaboration, some specific strategies include:

• • Assign the group a task to create standardized questions to ask.
• • Paraphrase or reframe comments to align with the problem and the discussion goal to avoid losing focus.
• • Be hard on the problem, and not overly critical of the person.

For opportunity-based collaborations, key strategies that work well for managing discussion and disagreement are as follows:

• • Ensure that when generating ideas for the future, any comments about the realities of the present, such as budget, deadlines, or resources, will be deferred to a “Parking Lot” list until a more suitable time.
• • Encourage input in more than just words, including: photos, drawings, diagrams, illustrations, and other visuals that engage all of the senses for effective brainstorming.
• • Discourage self-promotion of ideas and encourage group ownership and accountability instead.