Invent Options for Mutual Gain (Part II) [ARR]

Annie's Reading Room

Let’s go over the strategies or the first two at least, to invent new and creative options in more detail, Okay, so we have:

1) separate the act of inventing options from the act of judging them; broaden the options on the table rather than look for a single answer; 2) search for mutual gains; and 3) invent ways of making their decisions easy.

Separate inventing from deciding

Separate the process of thinking up possible decisions from the process of selecting among them.

By definition, inventing new ideas requires you to think about things that are not already in your mind. You should therefor consider the desirability of arranging an inventing or brainstorming session with a few colleagues or friends.  Wild ideas are encouraged.

Here is a framework for the brainstorming session:

Invent Options for Mutual Gain
(Part II)

Before:

1.       Define your purpose

2.       Choose a few participants

3.       Change the environment

4.       Design an informal atmosphere

5.       Choose a Facilitator

During:

1.       Seat the participants side by side facing the problem.

2.       Clarify the ground rules, including the no-criticism rule

3.       Brainstorm

4.       Record the ideas in full view

After:

1.       Star the most promising ideas

2.       Invent improvements for promising ideas

3.       Set up a time to evaluate ideas and decide

And for something different altogether, try brainstorming with the other side. To protect yourself, distinguish the brainstorming session explicitly from a negotiating session where people state official views and speak on the record.

Broaden your options

The tendency during this stage is to look for the one best answer. However, you are developing room within which to negotiation. Room can be made only by having a substantial number of markedly different ideas – ideas on which you and the other side can build later in the negotiation, and among which you can then jointly choose.

Multiply options by shuttling between the specific and the general: The Circle Chart

The Circle Chart provides an easy way of using one good idea to generate others. One good option on the table opens the door to asking about the theory that makes this option good and then using that theory to invent more options. Here is a picture of the chart from the book.

Look through the eyes of different experts. This could be combined with the Circle Chart. Consider how each expert would diagnose the situation, what kinds of approaches each might suggest, and what practical suggestions would follow from these approaches.

Invent agreements of different strengths.  You can multiply the number of possible agreements on the table by thinking of “weaker” versions you might want to have on hand in case a sought-for agreement proves beyond reach. Similarly, where a permanent agreement is not possible, perhaps a provisional agreement is. At the very last, you can usually reach second-order agreement – that is, agree on where you disagree, so that you both know the issues in dispute, which are not always obvious.

Change the scope of a proposed agreement.  You could break your problem into smaller and perhaps more manageable units.

Next week we will flesh out the remaining two strategies: searching for mutual gains and making your partner’s decision easy.