Option Solving Blog

One of our friends was discussing her daughter’s college options the other day. Things had not been going well for some time and she was really quite upset about her daughter’s college prospects. We began to explore her daughter’s options and, as she became more interested in a more objective approach, she was ready to explore the idea of option solving.
Once she became familiar with the approach, she participated in mapping out an initial, rational question. Her ultimate question, with its related considerations, ended up as: “What is the best option for our friend’s daughter for getting back on her feet and finishing her degree; considering that she’s just had some sort of breakdown, has developed some unhelpful habits, tends not to keep her commitments, and it’s important she gets a degree relative to her career aspirations?” We’re sure you can imagine there were other considerations, but these represented the most significant ones. Such considerations would play an important part in shaping our friend’s intuitive judgment, and ultimately that of her daughter, too, when the time came for her to make a solid decision.
Now our friend proceeded to come up with two “bookends,” which would function both as extreme, unlikely markers and prompt her creative thinking. After some due deliberation her bookends came out as, at one end “Take her to task and challenge her to get a hold of herself ,” as the Yin, while the Yang at the other end was: “Give her everything she needs to move forward .” She has indicated why these were both highly unlikely in our Latest Example. Once she had her bookends in place, it set her intuitive mind churning to come up with other realistic choices.
With this in place, she now had to devise at least five options; so as to pull out the most feasible possibilities. In fact we left room for six, one for her daughter to propose, if she came up with an additional one (or maybe more). One of the six, turned out to be: “Help her set-up a daily/weekly framework to give her a new platform to build upon”…Option C. Her four other considered options are again shared by clicking on our Latest Example tab… click on the tab and view for yourself.
Our friend’s pictogram was now complete, and awaited her daughter’s input. Our friend was primed to share it with her daughter at the first opportunity. When this occurred, she was encouraged to allow her daughter some time for emotional distancing to make an optimum decision. She should get her daughter to put the pictogram out of sight for a while and focus on something else, while her intuitive senses absorbed and worked through her different options (including her own, if that /they, was/were injected into the picture).
Since it was such a momentous decision for her daughter, I suggested that she get her daughter to sleep on it. She should review the pictogram before she went to sleep and immediately she awoke. Whatever her intuition rested-on would be her likely best option.
Once she made her choice, she should be encouraged to develop her most likely game plan immediately while still fresh in her mind. What choice would you have made, if you were in her daughter’s shoes?
If you have an option solving example of your own, please share it with this blogger, through the COMMENTS area.
Thanks Option Solving. (NOTE: Next posting in 2 weeks: “What is my best New Year’s resolution option?” – It’s that time of year again. Let’s have your COMMENTS or go to peter@ileadershipsolutions.com to connect with the blogger.)

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Year end and life’s journey is a natural place to be thinking about the next step in ones career and with ones business. After a slow return to business as usual and rethinking fresh approaches to move Leadership Solution’s (LSI) paradigm forward, it has become more clear that LSI’s approach toward Enlightened Leadership is likely to have more appeal among the younger generations than current mainstream executives. This also implies a younger generation person to promote the concept among younger generations.
Being well-versed in the option solving approach, it didn’t take long to start generating a likely question to pose to my intuitive mind for consideration when the time came. My question came out as: “What would be my best future option; considering it probably needs a younger person to take the helm, it is poised with fresh thinking and capabilities, the market is still rather slow, and its know-how should not be lost?” As you can imagine, there were other considerations, but these were the most significant ones. These considerations would play an important part in shaping my intuitive judgment when the time came for a decision.
Within this context, I then set about producing two “bookends,” which would serve both as extreme, unlikely markers and prompts for my creative thinking. My bookends came out as, at one end “Cease to operate,” as the Yin, while the Yang at the other end was: “Seek a conventional buyer.” Why these were both unacceptable can be found in our in our Latest Example. Once I had these bookends in place, my intuitive mind started racing to come up with other more likely, realistic options.
From there I set out to produce at least five options; so as to plumb the best thinking out of my mental senses and dig-up every reasonable possibility. One of the five, although not the one I ultimately chose, turned out to be: “Expand current alliance partners”…Option D. My four other considered options are again shared in our Latest Example tab… click on the tab and view for yourself.
Now that my pictogram was complete, since our intuitive mind prefers to interpret pictures, I was primed for emotional distancing to make an optimum decision. This meant putting the pictogram out of sight for a while and focus on something else, while my intuitive senses absorbed and worked through my options… relative to my life’s experience base. Since it was such a momentous decision, I decided to sleep on it and review the pictogram before I went to sleep and immediately I awoke. Whatever my intuition led me to would be my likely best option.
I did subsequently make my choice and now I’m beginning to work that through.
In fact, I more-or-less immediately drew up an action initiative, while the whole matter was still fresh in my mind, and that initiative is now before me. What choice would you have made, if you were in my shoes?
If you have an option solving example of your own, please share it with this blogger, through the COMMENTS area.
Thanks Option Solving. (NOTE: Next posting in 2 weeks: “What is the best option for a friend’s daughter?” Let’s have your COMMENTS or go to peter@ileadershipsolutions.com to connect with the blogger.)

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