leadership burbank 2016

Non-positional Thinking:

Thinking Beyond the Obvious

Today you’ll see that you don’t really know what you think you know

…and you’ll learn how to “see” what you’ve never been able to see

before

Shrink-Wrapped in Our Own Thinking:Thinking That Transforms

Presented byAriane David, PhDSenior PartnerThe Veritas Group

Senior LecturerCalifornia State University, Northridge

[email protected]

Non-positional Problem SolvingLeadership Burbank 2016

Leadership Burbank 2016

Ariane David, PhDThe VERITAS Group

Woodbury [email protected] TheVeritasGroup.com ArianeDavid.com

mailto:[email protected]


http://www.theveritasgroup.com/

Leadership Burbank Non-positional Thinking Ariane David PhD

The Life of Organizations

The four principles of non-positional thinking

Non-positional problem solving and decision making

Critical listening and reading

Today we’ll focus on…


Non-positional thinking is Based on

Four Principles


Principles of Non-positional Thinking

and Intellectual Virtues

Uncertainty > intellectual humility

Curiosity > intellectual openness

Discernment > wisdom

Courage > commitment


The Science of the Brain

Why should we be uncertain?

A Quick History of the Thinking


Max Wertheimer’s Stroboscope

The whole is more than the sum of the parts.


Sir Frederick Bartlett

The War of the Ghosts

“Asian” mask *

Schemas

Making Memory, Meaning, & Schemas



The War of the Ghosts

“Asian” mask *

Schemas

Making Memory, Meaning, & Schemas


Elizabeth Loftus

Eyewitness Testimony

Memory is affected by:

Pre-existing knowledge

Post-event information and language

What we remember might never have happened.


Thinking: The ProcessPerception, Emotions, Memory

The Neurobiology of Thinking


Perception Millions of bits of information every minute; we can perceive

only a tiny number.

We focus only on what is relevant, what moves us emotionally NOW.

Present perception is shaped by the past: based on what we believe is so, not on what actually is so.



Emotions

Body reactions to what’s happening Paired with every sensory impression as an

emotional tag at the moment of perception The pair become memory Purpose: rapid response Govern decision-making (myth of rational decision-making)



Memory

NOT a video

NOT stored complete anywhere in the brain.

Neurons carry only the pattern code.

“Memory Is a trick of timing”! (Antonio Damasio) like the image on your TV screen.



…thus

Memories are a subjective and creative fabrications.

Memories change every time we recall them. We can never be certain our memories are accurate.

Confidence doesn’t mean accuracy: memories can be completely fabricated and seem absolutely real.


Organizing Patterns

Organizing patterns: templates that allow us to organize everything; are constructed out of our beliefs about the world (similar to Bartlett’s schemas).

We start making them at birth; the first are the most persistent, resilient, and powerful.

All future organizing patterns are formed within the first.

The totality of all our organizing patterns creates our constructed universe – the only reality we know.

A working model of the brain.


No impartial evidence needed.

What we perceive is taken as proof that our position/beliefs are right.

Organizing patterns (beliefs) dictate what we see, what we see reinforces the organizing patterns.

Organizing Patterns

Reinforce themselves.


Examples of Simple Organizing Patterns

Organizing Patterns


Organizing Patterns


View from Apollo 17


Organizing Patterns


…and my favorite

“Sensible and responsible women do not want to vote.”

– Grover Cleveland, US President 1905

Say WHAT?


We each live in a universe of our own making.

Its organizing patterns and logic are perfect for physical

survival but tend to hamper good thinking.

Why is it important to know this?


Challenges to Good Thinking

Tyranny of Knowledge

Tyranny of Emotion

Tyranny of Logic


What is logic?

What determines if something is logical?

Can anything be illogical?

Tyranny of Logic


Example: Zero Sum Illusion

Believing that only one position can be right – if I am right then you must be wrong

Believing that there is a limited number of solutions

How many “accurate” points of view can there actually be on any given issue?

Tyranny of Logic


Tyranny of Logic


Nothing is … either/or

It’s always … both/and

Non-positional Thinking in a Box

In complex situations…


Uncertainty Principle

Uncertainty: realizing our constructed universe is not the world, just a good-enough representation of it that allows us to survive(ish).

Certainty that our constructed universe is the world leads to almost all of the world’s problems.

Uncertainty doesn’t mean being paralyzed by doubt,

but rather being aware of the fallibility of our knowledge.


hold in our minds that our knowledge, beliefs and assumptions are fallible.

doubt constructively, with the intention of learning.

realize that our beliefs cannot tell us with certainty anything about the world.

keep ALL conclusions, no matter how excellent, open to scrutiny.

The Ability To:



The uncertainty principle makes us realize that we can’t be

certain what color the ball actually is no matter how

obvious it seems.

The curiosity principle makes us want to find out.



Means we are eager to discover what we don’t know, and…

That we are determined to see the merit in others’ points of view.

Leads to the impartial gathering of relevant information.

Curiosity Principle


Enthusiastically and impartially gather information.

Be open-minded with respect to the assertions of others and questioning of our own beliefs.

Honestly ask, “What is it that I am not seeing the seeing of which

might change everything?”

Honestly answer, “Do I really want to know?”

Curiosity Principle

The Ability To:


The desire to weigh evidence impartially, without favoring confirming evidence.

Recognizing/questioning our own assumptions and biases, and seeking to go beyond them.

Judging the merits of others’ points of view by the same standards we use to judge our own.

Discernment Principle

Wisdom


Be truthful with ourselves, and weigh information fairly.

Recognize when information is factual, provable, anecdotal, or opinion.

Assess the credibility of the all sources.

Identify and question all assumptions including our own.

Seek an impartial solution.

Discernment Principle

The Ability To:


Means being determined to move beyond our own point of view, even in the face of our own fear, and

Having the courage to acknowledge and act on those discoveries, and being willing to change our dearly held position, and

Having tolerance for differing, even opposing, points of view.

Commitment Principle

Courage: The Overarching Principle


be open to new evidence even if it conflicts with our beliefs; have courage to acknowledge it.

discard inadequate hypotheses no matter how dear to us

adapt oneself to new facts.

persevere even when it’s uncomfortable.

operate in a demonstrably fair and tolerant way.

Commitment Principle

The Ability To:


Individual Breakout 5 minutes

Written:

Briefly describe an ongoing/recurring problem at work.

What do people/you think the problem is?


Non-positional Problem Solving and Decision Making

The Myth of Rational Problem Solving and Decision Making


There’s one thing, and ONLY one thing that keeps a complex problem in place:

How we THINK about it.


The Bridge Bat Problem


Bridge-Bats Bind


What is the issue or problem?

What are the decision criteria?

How important are each of those criteria?

What are possible solutions?

What are pros and cons of each solution?

What is the best solution?

How we usually solve problems:

Rational Problem Solving Method

Bridge-Bats Bind


Faulty assumptions

Problem clarity

All relevant options are known

Preferences are clear and unchanging

Maximum payoff is unambiguous and known

Emotions play not part

Doesn’t work for a complex problem; never has!

The Problem with Rational Problem Solving

Bridge-Bats Bind


Non-positional Problem Solving


Beneath every apparent problem is a hard to see condition that fosters the problem.

Discovering the actual condition/problem is the most important part of finding the solution!

The actual condition/problem involves people and how they think about the problem, including their attitudes, beliefs, and feelings about the problem.

Solving only the apparent problem (the symptom) leads to worse problems.

Foundations of non-positional problem solving



Challenges to Good Thinking

Tyranny of Knowledge

Tyranny of Emotion

Tyranny of Logic

The Tyrant Brain


What do people/I think the problem is?

What are the factual issues (technical; human dynamics)?

How are we thinking about the problem?

What information is there?

How does the system operate?

What will we do to remedy the problem?

Process of non-positional problem solving



Design a plan that fits the actual issue

Examine the consequences of the plan on a systemic level

Decide on measures that measure what counts not what’s easy to measure

Non-positional Solutions

Finally…


Group Breakout(teams of 3)15 minutes

• Finish filling in your worksheet• Each person will take 2 minutes to share their results


Solving the Bridge Bat Problem


Bat Facts

500,000 bats eat 10,000 pounds of bugs a day.

Bats are no more prone to rabies than squirrels or chipmunks.

No cases of rabid bats were reported in the area.

The four reported bat bites did not break the skin.

All cases involved people trying to handle or interfere with bats.

This information was readily available at the time:


Bridge Bats

What do you think the real problem is?


Austin Bats Create an Industry


The Four Principles of Non-positional Thinking

And Organizations


Hidden Organizational Thinking

What usually happens in organizations

Organizational defense patterns (hiding failure and errors)

Undiscussables

Blame (the buck doesn’t stop)

Mixed messages

Groupthink, group shift, and conformity

Espoused theory vs. actual theory

When culture trumps change (Levi Strauss)


Two Kinds of Learning

Adaptive learning Based in fear; blame Purpose is survival Defensive

Generative learning Based in curiosity and openness; accountability Purpose is growth and self-expression Creative


Non-Learning Organization

Blame

Problem

Fear

Blame / Fault

DefensivenessDenial

Distorted Information

Ineffective Action /No Learning

Fear /Blame

Problems are met with uncertainty and defensiveness.

Positional Problem Solving


Non-positional Problem SolvingProblem

Quality informationand communication

CollaborationEffective action

Organizational learning

Openness / Curiosity

Accountability

Problems are met with uncertainty and curiosity.

Learning Organization


Changing Organizations


Non-positional Organizational Change

Based in the knowledge that: Human thought is fallible:

we cannot trust what we think we know.

Organizations ARE the people in them.

Organizational thinking IS human thinking

If you want to create permanent change you need to transform the people/culture to support it.

A different way.


Clearly define where you are now

(This is what you figured out about the secret life)

Clearly define where you want to be

For each change that you want to introduce, ask

What in the culture needs to change? What are the behaviors associated with these? How can we strengthen the things that will help us and

minimalize the one that will hinder us?

Identify “resistance”

Transforming the Secret Life


Define a strategy for the change including how to overcome

cultural obstacles and resistance, and reinforce allies*

Include how to engage people

Communication: up and down

Ask for people’s ideas

Find out what people need

Find out what really motivates them

Be consistent in upholding changes

Transforming the Secret Life


Resistance


Overcoming Resistance

News Flash!



Resistance Does Not Exist!


Resistance is an illusion - it does not exist.

Only reactions to change exist.



All change generates reactions that:

Reinforce the change (positive feedback), or Push back on the change (negative feedback)

Push-back cannot be managed by bull-dozing it. It can only be handled by understanding what it’s made up of.

Reactions to Change


Reactions to Change

News Flash! It is not human nature to resist change or

fear the unknown.


Reactions to Change

How, then, do we deal with push-back?


Resistance is a natural, inevitable and unavoidable human reaction to disruption.

How much of it we have relates to the size of the disruption and the way in which it is being handled.

Begins immediately when people become aware of the change.

It is neither good nor bad.

It can be overt or covert

Reactions to Change

Perception is reality!


• Don’t assume you know what’s going on. Resistance is very rarely what we think it is.

• Identify specific resistors: people, conditions, fears, motives (think “fruit”)

• Identify the underlying causes of each of these resistors.

• Identify specific enablers.

• Make a Force Field Analysis for resistors and enablers.

• Find ways of weakening resistors and strengthening enablers.

Managing Resistance to Change

Non-positionally


Resistors(weaken resistors)

List RESISTORS and assign a value from 1 to 6, 6 being strongest

Enablers(strengthen enablers)

List ENABLERS and assign a value from 1 to 6, 6 being strongest

5 4 3 2 1 ITEM ITEM 1 2 3 4 5

Change Force Field Analysis


How can you take this back to your workplace?


It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble,

it’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so. – Mark Twain

Parting Thoughts…


Non-positional Thinking:

Thinking Beyond the Obvious

Today you’ll see that you don’t really know what you think you know

…and you’ll learn how to “see” what you’ve never been able to see

before

Shrink-Wrapped in Our Own Thinking:Thinking That Transforms

Presented byAriane David, PhDSenior PartnerThe Veritas Group

Senior LecturerCalifornia State University, Northridge

[email protected]

Non-positional Problem SolvingLeadership Burbank 2016

Questions?

Ariane David, PhDThe VERITAS Group

Woodbury [email protected] TheVeritasGroup.com ArianeDavid.com



http://www.theveritasgroup.com/

leadership burbank 2016

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