Comments on: TAMING

By: andy

andy — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 20:52:21 +0000

Joe, I love the metaphor of lion tamer and that the lions are never tamed. That we can never tame a wicked problem . One thought struck me is that with lion taming we can at least see the lion. We know it is there. We know what is required. Taking your metaphor a little further what if the problem is a “tiger” and we are in the jungle. So it’s camouflaged. I heard a saying once, “the so often talked about elephant in the room is not such a problem. We all know it is there. We are just not talking about it. The tiger in the room is far more dangerous. It is camouflaged, dangerous and can eat you. ” . Part of the danger with wicked problems may be we don’t even see them. We are looking through a lens that is trying to define a problem like rapidly escalating health costs in a way that ignores either the true problem or the complex network. making the invisible visible might be the first step to taming the untameable. I wonder how we get better at connecting , leading and working together to see the tiger. Your tips on formulating and defining are part of the recipe. thanks Andy

By: Julie O

Julie O — Thu, 27 Feb 2014 00:06:20 +0000

Hi Joe! Andy just shared the link to your site – Love it! Wicked problems often require wicked questions to unearth the problem. What are some of your favorite wicked questions? If no favorites, how do you create wicked questions? Hugs… Julie O

By: Colleen

Colleen — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 20:27:21 +0000

Thank you for this thought-provoking post, Joe. You made mention of control a couple times, as in ‘creating a measure of control over variables’ which makes sense. At the same time, I wondered “How does surrender show up in circumstances such as these?” Ask my significant other — he’ll tell you surrender comes up most often as we work on our relationship (and our business where we are partners). I know it’s there and I’m curious how you see it show up in the ‘wicked’ world of multifaceted, sticky problems.