An Illustration of How Insight Thinking Methods Are Employed
Typically, Insight Thinking Lessons are given to all participants, consistent with their role on the project
Because each situation is unique, the use of Insight Thinking is always developed in concert with the client and based on insights that we and our client have about the situation. Here are examples of some of the principles Insight Management Partners employs.
Establish Creative Tension and Design the Process by first clarifying and confirming the desired result and taking stock of current reality. Knowing what you want and where you are starting from is essential. The difference between the two serves as both context and anchor for the intended process. Driving toward something you truly want evokes a creative energy that is particularly conducive to insights. Then the appropriate process (who should participate, the approach/key steps, timeline, etc.) becomes obvious. It can range from a 2-day workshop (for intractable problems) to a 2-3 month series of workshops and meetings (for example, in strategy development). The final and critical step in designing the process is to have all key participants and stakeholders aligned.
Typically, Insight Thinking Lessons are given to all participants, consistent with their role on the project, i.e., the majority of lessons for the core team, and few to none for minor or occasional players. For the most part, further development of Insight Thinking capacity beyond these "formal" lessons occurs during actual work sessions.
We generally start by getting deeply curious about the problem or issue. What are the various ways people are thinking about it? What are some alternatives? A key part of most Insight Thinking processes is to Determine What Is Known and Unknown. For a 3-day workshop this would be done at the start of day one. In a multi-month project, it would probably occur through interviews. The intent is to uncover all relevant questions and determine what data and/or answers already exist. These are usually categorized into:
• questions with good agreement on the answer
• questions with disagreement on the answer
• new/novel questions for which an answer does not yet exist
Once these questions are known and agreed upon, the next step is generally to Resolve the Questions. The first category is left to one side to be returned to later since, at this point, there is not as much to be gained by refining what everyone already agrees on. Some questions in the second category can be answered by more data and analysis, in which case the appropriate work is carried out. Other controversies don't require more data as much as they need discussion and insight. People's minds must change. For these and for those questions in the last category, sessions (one-on-one, small-group, or workshop) are held to generate insights. The iterative process of Generating and Resolving Questions continues as people gather insights and monitor the answers to determine what next to exclude and what to emphasize. Insight Thinking is also used to explore areas with agreement to ensure that nothing has been missed or that the group is not blinded by "group think". In the course of these iterations, insight into the solution emerges.
A final step is determining what is required for successful implementation. Implementation Planning includes not only the obvious concrete steps, but also how the new solution will be "socialized" and grasped by the various parts of the organization that are critical. Again, insights can provide real help in forming solid, easy-to-implement plans.
