Comments on: “Wicked:” A Thinking and Acting Tool

By: Madison McCue

Madison McCue — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 00:08:57 +0000

“Wicked:” A Thinking and Acting Tool

Madison McCue

Lead/Mgmt Change

“All words to some degree tools for thinking, suggests Dennett, but some are more important than others” (J Bentley, May 2014)

Those that may you formulate make connections to better under the situation at hand are going to be more important.

Douglas Hofstadter’s list of his favorite thinking tools:

– Wild goose chase

– Tackiness

– Dirty tricks

– Elbow grease

– Feet of clay

– Loose cannon

– Crackpots

– Lip service

– Feedback (J Bentley, May 2014)

These phrases and others that may be similar give on the ability to understand and express the issue without extensive or excessive explanations. (J Bentley, May 2014)

Speaking in terms of “Wicked” problems is should just be looked at as another “thinking tool”.

If all of those that are involved in addressing the messes and therefore the problems both wicked & tame are familiar with these terms and frame work it will reduce a lot of time and effort into formulating what the problem is and how to address the issue.

Taming 1: OOMM; Bridge/Close; Ownership; Actionable

“Bridge the GAP”

– Dialogue

– Understanding others point of view

– Not saying that they are right or wrong but where they are coming from

– Addressing that there are multiple points of view

“Close the GAP”

1. Where we are and where we want to be

2. Right people on the bus

– Increase diversity – different perspectives

– Formulate the Problem/Define the GAP

– Make it actionable

– Create an action plan

– Implement it

– EWS

“Advanced Leadership offers”

– Ownership (O)

Taking responsibility. It is now “mine” and not “theirs”.

– Order (O)

“The “MESS” needs to be formulated, defined, given structure, made into something we can get our arms around.

– Meaning (M)

“The issue or situation I have some to care about fits into framework purpose, values, importance, & significance.” Where the connection of why you know own it stems from.

– Membership (M)

“Who else should “own” the issue and come to care about it?”

– Who cares?

– Who will be affected?

– Who knows?

– Who can?

– Who will?

“Who do I ENGAGE, INVOLVE, RECRUI, and ENLIST them?”

Analysis

It is extremely important that when we are attempting to “bridge the gap” and address OOMM that everyone that is involved understands the thinking tools at hand. These tools can be as simple as everyone knowing what a “wicked” problem is to knowing that it is best addressed by a GAP analysis (where are we now and where do we want to be). With everyone that is involved knowing this framework and terminology it takes out a lot of preliminary stress and issues that would otherwise have to be resolved be for the “mess” could even be addressed.

By: Nolan

Nolan — Mon, 13 Oct 2014 16:07:23 +0000

“Wicked” A Thinking and Acting Tool / Taming the wicked PRoblems (OOMM)

Knowing you have a Wicked problem is useful and necessary thinking tool.
Having the knowledge to know what a wicked problem is causes less headaches and frustration with spouse, friends and colleagues. The less time you spend arguing about the problem could be used to come up with way to close the gap and move forward.

(OOMM)
Ownership: recognize that something needs to be done. “It becomes mine not theirs.”
Order: the mess needs to be formulated defined and given structure made into something tangible.
Meaning: issue or situation I have come to care about fits into a framework of purpose values importance and significance
Membership: How can I get ” buy in” from them and create ownership. Who cares? Who will be affected? Who knows? Who can? Who Will?

12 Angry Men: “Going Meta”
The example of 12 angry men is an example of going Meta. This jury stepped back and looked at everything through different eyes and different thought processes to come to a consensus. H. Fonda did a great job of taking ownership and bringing order to the group. He made them think of all the possibilites that could have happened and couldn’t have happened to make the jury process have meaning. H Fonda made the group engage and created ownership for the boys life that was at stake. This is a example of the OOMM and “Going Meta”

In the example of 12 angry men, most of the men didn’t realize they were dealing with a wicked problem. Henry Fonda brought order,ownership,meaning and membership to the problem. Henry Fonda showed great leadership and managed the wicked problem. He made the group step back and look at how they were thinking and talking about the problem using “Going Meta” This brought clarity to the problem and consensus from the group in the end. I hope to use all of these techniques in the future to deal with personal and professional problems.

By: Catie Jasper

Catie Jasper — Fri, 10 Oct 2014 21:46:21 +0000

“Wicked”: A thinking and acting tool

Summary:

Phrases such as “sour grapes” and “It’s a slam dunk” easily define the actions that they are trying to express. They are considered “abstract thinking tools”, and make it easy to narrow the understanding of the GAP that exists. “Wicked” is a useful and necessary thinking tool to help you better UNDERSTAND, define, and work on PROBLEMS.

Understanding your problem from the beginning is a huge advantage and is also an effective and productive shortcut to working towards a solution or to simply working on it in an effective manner. After CLEARLY understanding the situation, only then can you begin taking ACTION.

The advantages and necessities of everyone involved CLEARLY understanding that the problem is WICKED:

understanding that it can be “messy”, complicated and confusing
“managing messes” is different than solving problems
“messes” don’t have solutions, they can only be worked on
work on the parts of a problem that are able to manage
there is no “correct” solution
look for the “best” solution
there are no wicked experts
FIO-Figure it out
the more diversity the better
define the GAP between present and future
define the obstacles
dealing with obstacles
process needs chaos int he beginning (divergent)
convergent process occurs
divergent=easy/ convergent=difficult
Listen and understand
go with the best idea, even if it isn’t yours
solution= “actionable plan”
“actionable plan”= not permanent solution
understand before taking action
there is never a finish line
execution of “actionable plan”=crucial
execution can be wicked
activating the law of unintended consequences
Analysis:

Clearly understanding your problem before you take action is critical to taming wicked problems. Engaging problems using an advanced leadership framework can also be essential to the process. Defining the GAP, clearly understanding the processes, and taking a collaborative action is possible with the right thinking tools. Getting “the right people on the bus, and the wrong people off”, will help the action plan to be successful.

Finding order, ownership, meaning, and membership is essential to the process.

ORDER: define, give structure to, and figure out the processes in order to take action
OWNERSHIP: understand how and why it relates to you personally, through your responsibilities, or through your values, in order to take possession of a situation and take action (OWN IT)
MEANING: find the purpose, value, importance, and significance of the situation, in order to understand your connection to the problem
MEMBERSHIP: understand who else “owns” the issue (STAKEHOLDERS)
This process also should include your ability to “go meta” with your thinking, and be able to STOP, EVALUATE, and TAKE ACTIONS to change what needs to be changed. Every day of our lives we are problem solving, and understanding the WICKED PROBLEMS from the tame, and knowing that you must TAKE ACTION in order to get anywhere, will help you successfully deal with this important problems and help you be able to make a difference in your life and learn from every experience.

Being a leader requires you to continuously problem-solve and “manage messes”, and it also requires you to step back regularly and check not only yourself but the situations that you are dealing with. “Going meta”, and teaching yourself how to STOP and really look at how you are thinking, reasoning and talking, whether it be at yourself or at a problem that you are dealing with, is essential to good leadership.