Option Solving Blog

In our last blog, we helped a client whose son was striving to generate a fresh career direction and we worked up a potential option solving solution of six alternatives. We understand that his son chose to pursue Option B: Pursue a fresh career related to the aviation industry. To make the most of his son’s choice, it seemed appropriate to pursue a Peeling the Onion exercise: to gain further insight on the best track within that industry.

They thus spent new time going through another round of option solving centered on Option B. Hence we produced a new question that looked like this: “What is my best alternative to move my career in an optimal direction: Option B – Pursue a fresh career related to the aviation industry; considering 1) I have a successful background in the aviation industry, 2) it’s important to find an enlightened outfit, 3) that I can make an valuable contribution, and 4) I cannot relocate for the time being?” These turned out to be his son’s four subsequent considerations based upon a new question, despite several other possibilities, so as to make his related decision outcome that much easier to handle.

We then determined that his current two yin and yang “bookends” remain as outlier possibilities. These would aid focusing his son’s intuitive, decision-making mind on his most realistic options. Bookends such as these are vital for preventing people’s fertile intuitive minds from wandering and losing focus. We are mostly unaware of how powerfully valuable but foot-loose our intuition can be unless properly focused.   

Again, these two bookends turned out to be: “Let it happen when it will,” although time was not on his son’s side, and “Engage a career counselor,” where the expense may be out of range: so both of which were his least likely options for the reasons given. Even so, they would provide his intuitive mind the challenge it needed to kick-start his most creative sub-options and eventually help draw-out his son’s most realistic sub-sub-option – see our Latest Worked Example.

Again, we went beyond the minimum of five – to six – reasonable alternatives, so as to stretch his son’s range of sub-options as much as possible. Once he has picked that channel, where he should absolutely follow his first major instincts, he can then either put together a gameplan for that sub-option or Peel the Onion once more: to gain even greater clarity on his best career track, right now. In career choice activities like this, a further Peeling the Onion may be the right solution.

But first his son had to contemplate our first Peeling the Onion effort, since he may wish to adjust it. Then he would need to set some time aside for emotional distancing – a form of objective thinking – before making his choice…perhaps after 2 hours, later that day, or first thing the following morning.

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 week’s time: “2^nd Peeling the Onion: What is my best alternative for moving my career in an optimal direction- after Option B: Fresh career related to the aviation industry… (?)?” 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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