Option Solving Blog

In our last blog, a client who moved to Europe 2 years ago for pursuing a fairly prominent position in the country of the mother company, had to figure out his next career step as his assignment was coming to a close. As his family were ready to move back home, he decided to pursue a position offered back in the US. He now had to decide the best way of going about that, so decided to Peel the Onion on his earlier option solving exercise to figure out the optimum way forward.

With his now strong familiarity with the technique, he immediately set-about producing an appropriate question with considerations, which turned out to be: “What is my best option in taking the US position (Option D): considering that I have to complete the IMD course, my family wishes to return to the US asap, the need to ensure proper positioning toward my next career step, and need a success strategy for this new position?” These were only 50% of his total considerations, so as to reduce the question’s complexity.

Now that the right rational question was ready to present to his intuitive mind, it was important to prepare two extreme-minded “bookends.” They serve as two option-boundaries to act as back-stops for future options and are used to spark the imaginative nature of the intuitive mind for the most plausible options. The two he developed were: “Renegotiate the terms and conditions for my new role,” at one end, with, “Take a lower profile role” at the other. The indicators why these were not acceptable are given in our Latest Example.

It was now possible for him to determine at least five alternatives and, as you will see in our Latest Example, one of them was: “Request as an interim position to be reviewed in 6 months for an upgrade position.”… Option C. The other four options are available in our Latest Example. Can you come up with others?

Again, I encouraged him to sleep on his five new sub-options, as a means of emotional distancing, and then choose the one that he felt would best suit his situation by the following morning. I advised him to follow that intuitive call and work with it until a better option came up. He did sleep on it and then set about creating an action initiative, while the whole issue was still fresh in his mind.

If you have an issue example of your own, please share it with this blogger, through the COMMENTS area.
Thanks Option Solving. (NOTE: Next posting in 2 weeks: “Trying to come to terms with our boss?” We’re always interested in your COMMENTS or go to peter@ileadershipsolutions.com to connect with the blogger.)

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Over two years ago a client moved to Europe for taking up a fairly prominent position in the country of the mother company. He went there to broaden his company exposure, take on greater responsibility , and position himself for more interesting career positions going forward. The time had come for considering his career options, especially as his family were ready to move back home and there was an acceptable (not great) offer on the table back in the US.

We developed an online dialog to consider his options and so set out to create an appropriate question to start the ball rolling. This came to be: “What will be my best career step at this moment in time, considering that my family wishes to return home to the US, there’s an interesting US subsidiary position offer on the table, there are no apparent interesting openings at corporate, if I don’t take this offer I don’t know when the next possibility will become available, and I have the opportunity to pursue a 10 week IMD course?” We’ve shown about 50% of his total considerations, so as not to make the question overly complex..

With the appropriate question in place, we then created two consensus “bookends.” These are designed to define the boundaries for any future options and are purposely created to be the least likely options. They also act as spurs to develop more likely options. The two we developed were: “Remain in current corporate position,” at one end, with, “Ask to be groomed for current boss’s job” at the other. You will see why these were unacceptable in our Latest Example.

Now we aimed to come up with at least five alternatives and, as you will see in our Latest Example, we came up with six options, one of which was: “Complete IMD course then seek position in office of either Global R&D Leader or Global CEO for 1 year + family return to US”… Option F. You can see the other five options in our Latest Example. Can you come up with others?

I encouraged him to sleep on these six options, as a form of emotional distancing, and then choose the one that he felt would best suit his situation by the following morning. I advised him to follow that intuitive call and work with it until a better option came up. He did sleep on it but then decided he would like to “Peel the Onion”, to create further insights, before pursuing any particular career game-plan. We will follow his deliberations in two week’s time.

If you have an issue example of your own, please share it with this blogger, through the COMMENTS area.
Thanks Option Solving. (NOTE: Next posting in 2 weeks: “Peeling the Onion: My Next Career Move?” We’re always interested in your COMMENTS or go to peter@ileadershipsolutions.com to connect with the blogger.)

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At another recent workshop involving a group of CEOs, one business owner became quite interested in the idea of transforming his business. He was unclear as to the best way to go about it and so it was appropriate to look at his options for doing so. Once he and his colleagues became clear on the option solving technique, they decided to use it to help him determine his best approach.

After some due rational thinking and discussion, they developed an appropriate question that turned out to be: “What is our best option for transforming our company, considering that we’re operating as a typically managed company, have not normally involved my people in decision making, we need to go in a new direction, and our future looks rather foggy?” The considerations used here were about 50% of those listed, but were the most important ones.

Now they had the right question, the group split into three entities, based on the number involved, to come up with two consensus “bookends.” Such book-ends define the boundaries for any future options, since they are least likely to be considered. Following some sub-group discussion and comparisons between them, the three sub-groups agreed upon: “Continue to stay on our current course,” at one end, with, “Seek merger with more successful competitor” at the other. The unacceptability of these two becomes pretty clear in our Latest Example.

With these in place, the sub-groups were challenged to produce at least five alternatives and, in fact, each group produced two as can be seen in our Latest Example. So you will notice six options, one of which was: “Staff retreat on transformation: use compability exercise to enlist involvement and commitment to fresh approach”… Option D. Take a look at the other five options and see if you can come up with others.

We invited the CEO concerned to take away the resulting pictogram (see Latest Example) for him to sleep on it, as a form of emotional distancing. This would allow his intuitive capabilities some sub-conscious time to reflect upon it. He was advised to look at it briefly before he went to sleep and then look at it again when he woke up? Whatever intuitive view he came to at that point, he should go with that option, since it has the best probability of being the right one in his circumstances. You can also decide which one you might pursue if you were in his shoes.

That very same morning, he will be well advised to put an immediate action
initiative together, while it is still fresh in his mind and then act upon it. If you have an issue example of your own, please share it with this blogger, through the COMMENTS area.
Thanks Option Solving. (NOTE: Next posting in 2 weeks: “My Next Career Move?” We’re always interested in your COMMENTS or go to peter@ileadershipsolutions.com to connect with the blogger.)

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At a recent workshop involving a bunch of CEOs, it suddenly became apparent that one business owner was struggling with getting his tech team to accept a better approach toward client maintenance issues. He was anxious to resolve this as soon as possible, since their current approach was likely to cause their company to go out of business. As the attendees has just learnt about option solving, they felt it looked like the perfect tool for resolving their colleague’s issue.

They were then encouraged to use their rational thinking to come up with an appropriate question, which proved to be: “What is our best alternative for getting my tech team on-board, considering they would like to keep client maintenance as is, we could potentially go out of business if we remain as is, with proposed changes we will be more prosperous, and we could grow much faster with the right client maintenance model?” There were other considerations but these were the most important ones.

Once this question was in place, the group split into two to come up with two “bookends,” so as to set boundaries for their future options. After some sub-group discussion and comparisons between the two, they produced: “Continue with current maintenance approach,” at one end, with, “Use outside maintenance org” at the other. Why these were unacceptable is indicated in our Latest Example.

It was explained to the group why it had to come up with at least five altern-atives so as to test its creativity as much as possible. Again, in two sub-groups, they produced five between them. One of these turned out to be: “Have option solving session with tech team to devise optimal solutions”… Option C. You are free to view the other four options and see if you could have come up with others.

The resulting pictogram (see Latest Example) was then turned over and put out of sight to give the CEOs a break for talking about something else for a while. It’s rather important to use emotional distancing as a means of allowing our intuitive minds to chew over the options and all our past experiences. About 30 minutes later, the group returned to the pictogram, quickly sized it up, and made their anonymous vote. Their colleague now had the “wisdom of the crowd.” What would be your choice in the circumstances?

Once the group made its choice, it helped the CEO immediately figure out an appropriate action initiative to make the most of the situation.. If you have an issue example of your own, please share it with this blogger, through the COMMENTS area.
Thanks Option Solving. (NOTE: Next posting in 2 weeks: “Transforming our company?” We’re always interested in your COMMENTS or go to peter@ileadershipsolutions.com to connect with the blogger.)

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Currently, we are grappling with the dilemma of how to take care of our very sick Aunt who lives 1500 miles away. We have been visiting with her on a highly regular basis to deal with doctor and hospital visits, but now her illness has reached a more advanced stage. We’ve discussed her wishes with her, as well as her options, but have not been able to come up with an optimal solution…hence our inclination to use Option Solving to find an optimal solution.

If you go to our Latest Example, you will see the question that we devised through our rational capabilities, along with the most appropriate considerations. That question was: “What is our best option for taking care of our sick relative; considering she lives a long way away, there is no immediate family living nearby, she has a 5 day-6 hour care worker now (Norma), there is a live-in housekeeper (Carmen), and Aunt does not wish to relocate to a cooler climate?” Other considerations were taken into account, although the ones used here were roughly 50% of the list.

With this in place, we set about pinpointing two “bookends” to frame option boundaries. These least likely bookends are there to set some limits, as well as spur our creative, intuitive minds to come up with the most likely range of options. After due deliberation, we unearthed: “Leave her to fend for herself,” at one end, with, “Put into hospice facility care” at the other. Their unacceptability is spelled out in our Latest Example.

It is important to come up with at least five examples in order to stretch the possibilities as much as we could. In fact, one of them proved to be: “24/7 nursing assistance at home –including VITAS hospice care “… Option D. Take a look at the other four options.

We then put our pictogram aside for around an hour for some emotional distancing and then returned to it after focusing on some other family activities. During that time our intuitive minds were diligently sorting through all our previous experiences to determine which option would best suit the Aunt’s situation. So when we did return to it, we quickly reacquainted ourselves with the options picture and made our intuitive choice. What would be your choice in the circumstances?

Once we made our choice, we immediately figured out an appropriate action initiative to make the most of the situation.. If you have an issue example of your own, please share it with this blogger, through the COMMENTS area.
Thanks Option Solving. (NOTE: Next posting in 2 weeks: “Getting my tech team on-board?” We’re always interested in your COMMENTS or go to peter@ileadershipsolutions.com to connect with the blogger.)

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The two most senior executives within a client company found themselves talking about wanting a senior executive colleague (Jack) to leave the company in the most seamless way possible. They had worked together for a number of years, but the relationship had become more fractious by the day in recent times. There was clearly limited respect among the two sides anymore, with Jack on one side and his two senior colleagues on the other.

A recent blow up between the two sides within the past few days had set the stage for the twosome to seriously consider Jack’s departure. They almost couldn’t stand each other anymore. So came the opportunity to show them the value of Option Solving.

Once they became familiar with the option solving technique, the twosome were encouraged to engage their rational minds for setting an appropriate question to commence the OS activity. With due facilitation, this turned out to be: “What is our best option for negotiating an exit strategy with Jack; considering it may not be easy for him to swallow, our business may flourish better if we go our separate ways, it could take a strain off our leadership team, need to keep discussions quiet until the right time, and risks of discussions becoming fraught and going nowhere?” Several other considerations were discussed, although these proved to be the most pertinent ones.

Now they had to convert this question into options. They started with pinpointing two “bookends” for setting option boundaries. These bookends, because they are really not viable, will spur the creative, intuitive minds of the twosome to find their most plausible options. After some due discussion they produced: “Had enough. Ask Jack to leave tomorrow ,” at one end, with, “Continue current struggle in the hope it will work out – status quo” at the other. You can see why neither were acceptable in our Latest Example.

The stage was now set to develop at least five. In fact, one of these proved to be: “Develop joint principles for Jack’s departure and formulate into a legal business agreement”… Option C. Their other four options are available for your thoughts.

Our twosome were then encouraged to sleep on this Option Solving pictogram overnight as a form of emotional distancing. A natural break like this would create the opportunity for their intuitive minds to draw upon their many life experiences for comparable situations and then produce an optimal choice when the time came. This would happen immediately they woke up, since their choice would be ready and waiting.

Once they made their choice, they were to formulate an action initiative, while their choice was top-of-the- mind. A good time to figure out what next steps to take. If you have an issue example of your own, please share it with this blogger, through the COMMENTS area.
Thanks Option Solving. (NOTE: Next posting in 2 weeks: “Best way to take care of our elderly, sick relative?” We’re always interested in your COMMENTS or go to peter@ileadershipsolutions.com to connect with the blogger.)

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At a recent executive forum, where we discussed the Option Solving technique, the group decided to use it to resolve a participant’s latest business dilemma. It was a freight forwarding company and therefore relied on a particular broker to help in moving freight westward. They had worked with the broker for a number of years, consequently it was a more difficult decision. The broker’s performance had been declining for some time and now was the time to “fish or cut bait.”

Having now familiarized themselves with the option solving technique, the group set about producing an appropriate question for their colleagues ultimate decision. After some due deliberation, it became: “What is our best option for moving freight West , considering current customer satisfaction, profitability impact, and opportunity to expand?” Other considerations were contemplated but these turned out to be the main ones.

They were now in a position to take the next option solving step: that is, to create two contrasting bookends, the least likely Yin and Yang frame-ends. These are designed to create option limits, as well as spur participants’ intuitive minds to search for the most practical options. After some debate, the book-ends transpired as: “Manage current broker to improve performance,” at one end, with, “Not go West” at the other. Neither of these were acceptable, even though they are legitimate options. You can see the reasons why not in our Latest Example.

With having got this far, the group began contemplating more acceptable options knowing that they had to produce at least five. In fact, you can see, they came up with seven; of which one was: “Handle all the freight in-house”… which happened to be Option E. Their other options are available for viewing.

I encouraged them to break-off for a while to talk about other things and allow some time for emotional distancing. A natural break, as well as time for sharing other option solving know-how, permitted their intuitive minds to subconsciously mull over their pictogram. When they returned to this pictogram, it was unveiled again and they were charged to quickly assimilate it and give their anonymous vote. The group did hone in on one choice, although there were a couple of outliers. What option would you choose for them?

Now that choice was made, they were encouraged to come up with an action initiative, while the choice was top-of-the- mind. A good time to take next steps.
If you have an issue example of your own, please share it with this blogger, through the COMMENTS area.
Thanks Option Solving. (NOTE: Next posting in 2 weeks: “Negotiating a colleague exit strategy?” We’re always interested in your COMMENTS or go to peter@ileadershipsolutions.com to connect with the blogger.)

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In our last example, we looked at the dilemma facing two family members as they considered an interesting offer to buy their company. They came up with 8 options and, after some emotional distancing, they concluded to postpone their decision for two years as the offer wasn’t rich enough right now to pursue. During that time, they would consider their optimum option to reap the best benefits of postponement.

As adherents to the option solving technique, they now set about producing an appropriate question for this new key decision. This turned out to be: “What is our best option in postponing a sell decision for 2 years and making the most of that hiatus; considering we might not find another buyer in 2 years, the market could go against us in that time, we may produce results beyond our expectations, complications if our workforce finds out, and our strong team may fall apart?” There were other considerat-ions, but these were the most predominant ones, in order not to make the question too complex.

Now they were ready to develop their two contrasting bookends, the least likely Yin and Yang frame-ends, which put the limits on option thinking, but, at the same time, spurred more realistic options. These turned out to be: “Minimize investment and maximize profit take,” at one end, with, “Maximize investment at minimum profit” at the other. You can see why these weren’t acceptable in our Latest Example.

The two of them then set about producing at least five plausible options . After a reasonable period of discussion they created these, one of which was: “Separate main from other growth businesses, and maximize performance in all “… which was Option C. You can view their other four options in our latest example.

With five options in place, they now broke off for a while for emotional distancing. They wheeled off to discuss other company issues and allow their intuitions to subconsciously work through their option picture. After some time, they came back to their pictogram and chose their option. What option would you choose for them?

Once their choice was made, they put in place an action initiative to move forward with their decision while everything was still fresh in their mind.
If you have an issue example of your own, please share it with this blogger, through the COMMENTS area.
Thanks Option Solving. (NOTE: Next posting in 2 weeks: “Better freight options?” We’re always interested in your COMMENTS or go to peter@ileadershipsolutions.com to connect with the blogger.)

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Less than three weeks ago, I was sitting with two family members who were contemplating whether to sell their business to an unsolicited buyer of considerable means. Although they had been invited to sell their business on several occasions before, mainly to competitors, the price either wasn’t particularly enticing or they feared for what would become of their hardworking , if their company was indeed purchased by someone within their industry.

This time around those particular barriers did not exist to anywhere near the same extent. It was a surprise discussion between the three of us, although quickly evolved into a natural option solving exercise. At that particular moment, they were only considering maybe two or three decision options.

Fortunately the two owners were already familiar with the technique, so it required minimum discussion to move them toward coming up with a comprehensive question. After some deliberation and drawing up a listing of considerations, it turned out to be: “What is our best option relative to a recent purchase offer: considering we have a tempting number, are too young to retire, it should be beneficial to our people, the number is not sufficient to make investment plays, it presents an opportunity to do something different, and due-diligence is not yet done?” These were about 50% of the key considerations listed. Both positive and less positive considerations were incorporated so as to take a balanced approach.

With this figured out, we threesome then turned to creating the least likely Yin and Yang “bookends,” which not only formed an outer framework but were far-fetched enough to stimulate our creative intuitions into producing more plausible options. “Bookends” produced by our threesome were: “We become part of the acquired executive team,” at one end, with, “Continue with building the company and hand over to the next generation” at the other. In our Latest Example you can see why the family members thought these were least likely.

As a threesome, we were now in the position to derive-develop at least five plausible options and, as you can see, we ended up with eight. This really stretched the possibilities that the two family members would probably have never considered, if they hadn’t called on option solving. One of those options was: “Postpone decision with purchaser for 2 yrs to strengthen hand – give offer of 1st refusal at that time”… which was Option G, again, in our Latest Example. Which one would you have chosen in the circumstances?

I left them to sleep on their options. I encouraged them to look at the Latest Example pictogram before they went to sleep and then revisit it as soon as they woke up. Whichever option they were drawn to, should be up for serious consideration. If they came up with two options, then they were to discuss-debate these for some time and then sleep on those two choices again. Once more, when they awoke, they would choose between the two. From there they would probably reach a consensus.

At this point, it was key for them not to change their minds or second-guess themselves. If they were to do that, they would not only be over-riding the precious intuitive decision making gift that they have, but they will also then be back in a full, never ending quandary. Once your intuitive mind is made up, it’s important to stick with it, even if it’s far from a perfect solution. It will be one that you will learn to live with and, over time, you will feel that you made the optimum decision.

Once they reached that consensus choice, they should consider whether to “peel the onion” for further sub-options to their choice, or set about producing action steps while the exercise was very much in the forefront of their thinking. Let’s assume they chose the former -Peel the Onion -, we can then pursue what that will look like in two weeks.

If you have an issue example of your own, please share it with this blogger, through the COMMENTS area.
Thanks Option Solving. (NOTE: Next posting in 2 weeks: “Peel the Onion – Shall we sell our business?” We’re always interested in your COMMENTS or go to peter@ileadershipsolutions.com to connect with the blogger.)

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(Note: We decided to pick up on this option solving example owing to its interest to so many in the organizational world.)

A recent senior team retreat, designed to help with team building and find better ways to “light fires within people,” appeared to go well but then reality set in. Delays in producing team notes and getting John – the leader of the retreat – re-engaged in the retreat output signaled that all was not well. Fortunately, the project external advisor had asked the team to anonymously volunteer one of its participants to be the overall coordinator. The team chose Mary, for reasons that will become apparent later. Mary wasn’t immediately available after the retreat owing to a personal situation.

When the advisor finally got together with Mary, she revealed how unhappy and frustrated the team were with the project, because they were disgruntled with John’s leadership (he was a relative newcomer) and they felt this project was just another re-iteration of what he had required many times before. Everyone was extremely busy and they didn’t have the time for additional tasks. The advisor was totally unaware of these undercurrents beforehand because John had never signaled the possibilities of a backlash. From what the advisor found out, John probably wasn’t even aware of his people’s feelings either.

The advisor now turned to Mary to inquire about possible options as a means to finding a way forward. To do this they devised the following question: “What is our best option for nudging our boss (John) forward, considering our team is rather frustrated with him, he doesn’t seem fully engaged, he demonstrates minimal follow-through, he doesn’t appreciate our efforts: but he does keep us informed , and seems like a decent person?” There were many other considerations, although more were to the less positive side, so the ones given here are roughly the key 50% of those listed. They tried to list both positive and less positive considerations to take a balanced approach.

Now they had figured this out, they then turned to creating two Yin and Yang “bookends” to become their most unlikely options as a framework, which would assist them in producing the more likely options. Our Latest Example shows these, along with reasons as to why these two extreme options didn’t “cut it.” The “bookends” produced by the duo were: “Drop our latest project all together,” at one end, with, “Do the whole exercise again, with his (John’s) better participation” at the other. You can see why the duo thought these were rather unlikely.

Mary and the advisor were now ready to develop at least five alternatives for building a picture of the most plausible options. One of those options: “Advisor and John talk, then conference call with Mary to discuss options” …. which was Option B, can be found in our Latest Example. Which one would you choose in the circumstances?

With their Option Solving pictogram now in place, Mary and the advisor took an emotional distancing break overnight to allow their minds to work through all the trade-offs associated with their options. They then went back to their picture and, after quickly absorbing it, made their choice. While the whole topic was still hot on their minds, they opted for creating a proposed action initiative. When you have made your choice, you can also make an action initiative.

If you have an issue example of your own, please share it with this blogger, through the COMMENTS area.
Thanks Option Solving. (NOTE: Next posting in 2 weeks: “Shall we sell our business?” We’re always interested in your COMMENTS or go to peter@ileadershipsolutions.com to connect with the blogger.)

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