Ruby Allure's Books

Ruby Allure's Books
Ruby Allure's Books

Wednesday 9 September 2015

Be Dynamic at Problem Solving

Be A Little Dynamic in Your Problem Solving...

 

 
There are challenges and there are problems, both require a flexibility of thought to solve them. If we continue to think the same way then we end up with the same results and nothing progresses.  Last week I had the opportunity to take part in a Dynamic Problem Solving Course. A room filled with corporate employees were poised to find new ways to solve problems. If the old ways have not worked then surely the new ways would be welcome. So there we are all expecting the solution to solutionising  and the first thing we are asked to consider is how we bake a cake. Bake a cake? What is the process we use? Some would get a recipe from the internet or cookbook and follow instructions. Others were a little more spontaneous and glanced at what was in the cupboards and combined ingredients they had available. What was revealed was how most people got on with the process rather than define the type of cake. Who was the cake’s audience? Was the desired outcome a wedding cake, a Christmas cake or a birthday cake? Essentially this little exercise provided an insight into how we approach the ‘problem of baking a cake’.  Yet we had not defined the type of cake or who for. Such a simple exercise can reveal how we approach problem solving.
 
Image result for problem solving
 
When you bring a group together the first step is to define the actual problem. We can’t assume that we all have the same perception of the problem. Once the problem has been defined then we need to work out the intended outcome and who the audience is, if there is an audience. It is then things become creative – yes creative. Before you say ‘I am not creative,’ this is where you are wrong. Simply by placing ingredients in a sandwich is an act of creation – you created a sandwich. The fact that you select a set of clothes to wear in the morning is also an act of creation. So you may well have dormant creativity desperately desiring to explode into the problem solving arena.  With this in mind, there are two types of thinking – traditional thinking, solving problems through reasoning that is already known and Lateral thinking, using reasoning that is not immediately obvious and generating ideas that may not have been considered using traditional step logic. One of the main barriers to being creative is fear – how do you overcome it? Look at the barriers and ask what it is you fear about being creative.
 
Once you are ready for your creative problem solving escapades there are numerous techniques you can use:
 
·         ‘What if-ing’ – asking what if…. Numerous times and considering the repercussions
·         Write down numerous ideas of how to solve the problem and resolve the issue not using the obvious answer.
·         Thinking counter intuitively – this is going against the obvious to find the solution.
·         Make a mind map of all potentials.
·         Use the SCAMPER model –S=Substitute, C=Combine, A=Adapt, M=Magnify, P=Put to          Other Use, E=Eliminate or Minimize and R=Rearrange. 
·         The 5 Why’s technique
·         Pareto Analysis (80/20 rule)
·         Cause and effect diagram / Fishbone diagram
·         Cost Benefit analysis
·         Grid analysis
·         Force field analysis
·         SWOT analysis – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
 
 
The details of the above can be looked up on Google.
Once you have the concepts if is time to think critically and assess the potential solutions. This too has a potential process:
 
·         Stop and think – be insightful
·         Recognise your Assumption – be inquisitive, truth –seeking and open minded.
·         Evaluate the information – systemically and analytically
·         Draw conclusions – systematic, analytical and insightful
·         Create a plan of action – this will be timely and analytical
 
Once you have a plan then does someone need to make a decision?
The Classic Decision Making Process includes:
·         Define Objectives
·         Collect Relevant Information
·         Generate Feasible Options
·         Make THE decision
·         Implement and Evaluate
 
 
 
Another Technique is called The RAPID Decision Making Model:
 
·         Recommendation
·         Agreement
·         Perform
·         Input
·         Decision
With all the above in mind, there is so much more that one can learn on the Dynamic Problem Solving course and I can highly recommend it. You might find your process for baking a cake may well completely change!
 
 
 
Ruby Allure Books created to inspire you:)

 

LINKS TO AMAZON.COM:

 
New in Paperback:  http://amzn.com/151230526X
 
 
 
 
Labyrinthine: Interior Worlds, Book 1
LABYRINTHINE AMAZON.COM LINK: Link: http://amzn.com/B012FAYI5U

 
 

:
AUDIBLE LINK FOR A SHORT COURSE IN CREATIVE WRITING: http://amzn.com/B01390THLK



 
21/08/15
 
"An Unexpected Gem"
***I was provided a copy of this audio book for the purpose of a review ***

With the required disclaimer out of the way, let me be brutally honest, I had not expected this little gem. In fact, I had expected my listening would be a bit rough and was fortified by it being less than 2 hours.

The synopsis says the author wrote the book as a takeaway from her evening classes on creative writing. My mental context was ... Community Ed evening classes ...and expected a well intended but kind of amateur product. However, I am interested in adult education, and batter my own nerd head against a giant personal creativity brick wall.

So you have an idea of my mind set... low expectations along with high interest.

Amateur hour it was NOT.

I don't know where the author teaches her class, but Sign Me Up! And bring the narrator. Wow. Two hours of unadulterated, straight up, right on, good learning material delivered by a close friend just sharing the material. The narrator's voice was warm, sincere without any artifact or pompous patronising, and well modulated throughout. The material was mind opening for me, with the right mix of the mechanics of writing exercises, sufficient context that using prompts now makes sense to me, and a sprinkling of the inner heart work of creativity through written material.

This was just what I didn't dare hope for in a how to creative writing listen.

Truly an unexpected gem and a learning and growing experience for me.

A keeper and one I will return to many times as I deconstruct my own wall, one block at a time.

Thank You, Ruby and Thank You, Erin.
 Money Farm
TO BUY MONEY FARM ON AMAZON.com http://amzn.com/B010F04W9O
· Frode
06/08/15
5 STAR
"M.O.N.E.Y. is bad? This book is not!"
So Money Farm by Ruby Allure was a surprise! When I REALLY did not read things about this book I review for Audiobook Blast, I sometimes get books I don't know something about. BTW: I read 99% about the books I want to review, but this book I can't remember I did that for. Anyways: This was a nice surprise, and I think it is one of those books that is better the second time you read it. No joke! I listen to this twice before I made this! Money Farm makes you thin, and who does not like to hear a book that makes you think? It is an awesome book, that I will recommend to all that likes audiobooks, and really to people that does not!

Helen Lloyd English accent its the topic like a glow and a hand! Her "lady like" voice is so cold, and clear I feel that the author made this book thinking that Helen Lloyd would read it out loud! That is how I feel those two fits together! The 2 times 14 hrs and 6 mins I spend with her never feels boring or uninteresting! I would love to spend it again, and I will because this book I will hear again, and again, even when it is 14 hrs and 6 mins long! That is saying something!

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com


What did you like most about Money Farm?
It was an eye opener.
 
What did you like best about this story?
I like the way it made you think about the way normal everyday life is here and now, and the future...
 
Have you listened to any of Helen Lloyd’s other performances? How does this one compare?
Helen Lloyd narrated this fairly long audiobook brilliantly. Although the story content was very intense and thought provoking, her lovely smooth voice was very easy to listen to and I thought it was just perfect, a fascinating book wonderfully narrated.
 
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes it was, although it is too long to do so.

 

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