Individuals and team can benefit - anything from 5 to 45 minutes
This technique is about trying to find a way to make your problem state
desirable. This does not mean saying, `just cope' or, `learn to live
with it'. It involves asking what would have to change in the world to
make your problem a desirable state of affairs.
Let's illustrate this with a generic example. Assume that your problem
is falling profits in a small business. Most techniques will look at
ways of increasing profits. Here you will look at why lower profit
provides an advantage, then take this forward as a solution. Lower
profits could be good if the profitability was higher. If costs and
overheads can be reduced, having lower profits may not matter because
the rate of return is high. This may not be true, but it gives a
starting point. Lower profits will lead to lower taxation. This gives us
an alternative direction: lowering tax overhead.
There are two possible outcomes from this technique: being happier to
live with the problem; or finding an alternative way of tackling it.
This technique is useful for apparently intractable problems. However,
there is a danger that those helping to solve the problem will fall into
the mindset that there is nothing to be done about the problem itself
and, therefore, see no point in using other techniques to tackle it.
You will not always generate ways of learning to live with your problem.
You will almost certainly generate ways of tackling your problem from
another angle. Despite this, the starting point is always the intent to
find a solution that involves living with the problem.
Variations:°With more time, Problem perfect can be used in two explicit
stages: how could you change the world to live with it (set of
), then how could you change the world so it goes away (second
set of ). The outcome of the two sessions can then be combined.
Creativity
requires spending time "doing nothing" - workaholism guarantees its
death
_______________________________________________________________________________
