Option Solving Blog

Our last option solving challenge dealt with a professional friend who is experiencing business and growth difficulties and wants to figure out his best course of action in the circumstances.  At that point he chose option E- “Bring in a professional CEO to run the practice.” This brought him an opportunity to utilize Peeling the Onion to figure out his sub-optimal approach for doing this.

Already being fully aware of the technique, he set about producing a new question: “What is our best approach to utilizing a professional CEO: considering 1) will be initially disruptive to practice, 2) as owner will have to possibly play second-fiddle, 3) insure CEO pays for self, and 4) CEO have right incentive to make it work?” There were other considerations, but he felt it was best to stick with four new ones, without overly complicating this secondary approach.

Again he produced two “bookend” choices to serve as his new yin and yang extreme possibilities. They would enable his intuitive mind to focus on his most realistic set of options. The bookends he selected this time were: “Not do it” and “Owner bail-out of practice at earliest point,” both of which he felt were again least probable outcomes. Since our intuitive minds can so easily be distracted, bookends help keep them on track and focused – see our Latest Worked Example.

He now had to produce at least five realistic options to again stretch his mind- options to an optimal degree – you will see he produced six.  Look at our Latest Example and you will see those six options, one of those proposed was: “Option C – Owner &CEO act as co-CEOs – agree on weekly objectives.”

With this new “pictogram” now in place, indicating all six options, it was now time for him to engage in further emotional distancing. Emotional distancing would allow his intuitive mind to sub-consciously ponder his six options, now they were all in place. It will also enable him to be more objective when he returned to this pictogram to make his optimum choice. Once he made that choice, it would be important for him to stick with it and create an associated action initiative, while it is still fresh in his mind. He could of course go through a Peeling the Onion cycle again as a means of fleshing out a further tactical approach toward resolving his practice re-imagining issue.

Which sub-option would you have chosen, if you were in his shoes?

If you have an example of your own, please share it with this blogger, through the COMMENTS area.  Thanks Option Solving. (NOTE: Next posting will be in two weeks time: “What is our best option for a home room rental?” 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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