Option Solving Blog

A highly successful client over many years was facing a transition to restructure his enterprise to be more integrated with his parent company: all designed to generate some sizeable efficiencies, and bolster parent’s “bottom-line” and business needs. His career had successfully evolved with the company’s success and he had just completed another successful, profitable year to benefit the parent.
Due to the nature of some of its specialized contracts, there would be difficulties in maintaining business effectiveness with this restructuring. There would also be great challenges in avoiding any upset of their major customer: as well being personally tough to reorder something that was working well.
He was already well aware of the option solving approach, so it wasn’t difficult to encourage him to utilize this technique to develop an optimum strategy. After due thought, he came up with the following rational question: “What is my best leadership option; considering 1) have relatively short window to complete; 2) somewhat dismembering an effective team; 3) possible historical “get-even” issues; and 4) how it affects my future career prospects?” As is usual with this approach, there were other considerations but these were the most important ones. The others were set aside for the time being so as not to over-complicate things at this juncture..
With his question in place, he now had to determine the most appropriate yin and yang “bookends” – see our worked example. These bookends would frame his eventual choices and challenge his imagination to produce the optimum number of alternatives . The resultant bookends were, “Resist changes at every turn” and “Throw myself in to do owners’ bidding.” Our Latest worked Example shows why these two bookends were the least practicable, but, at the same time, sparked his creative juices for producing interesting, pragmatic alternatives.
Once his bookends were figured out, he was then encouraged to produce at least five, practical alternatives. This is the minimal number you should shoot for. Such a number goes a long way to ensuring we stretch our minds as much as possible in our desire to identify our optimum option. You can view the client’s six alternatives in our Latest Example: one was: “Option C – Guide, negotiate and set-in-place by mid-year; then exit deal.”
We invited him to take some time -out to subconsciously reflect on his “pictogram:” what we call emotional distancing. He was expected to reflect upon it while the pictogram was not in his view and he was engaged in other activities. This is possible while his powerful intuitive capabilities and experience subconsciously aid him to make an optimum choice. Our instincts and inherent experiences make our decisions and not our rational logical capabilities.
Once he decided which was his best option, relative to his rational question and considerations; he would then either put together an action initiative OR peel the onion . Peeling the onion allows the decision maker to search for sub-insights or strategies, and we will look at what he decided in our next option solving session in 2 weeks. Which option would you have chosen?
If you have an example of your own, please share it with this blogger, through the COMMENTS area. Thanks Option Solving. (NOTE: Next posting in 4 weeks due to intervening vacation by author: “Peel the onion: How Executive Handles Restructuring?” Let’s have your COMMENTS or go to peter@ ileadershipsolutions.com to connect with the blogger. Also consider buying the book: “Smart Decisions: Goodbye Problems, Hello Options” through amazon.com)

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