The principals, consultants, facilitators, coaches and trainers of the Thinking Dimensions Global network have constant input into new developments and innovations in thinking. With over 80 years of combined global consulting expertise - Dr. Charles Kepner and Dr. Matthys Fourie - work with Thinking Dimensions consultants on the path of expedited innovation to deliver results that impact on organizational processes and people.
The whole basis of effective thinking in problem solving situations is nestled in the concept of accelerating the use and practical application of the DIVERGENT and CONVERGENT thinking model. In today's working environment and its subsequent pressing business issues it has become necessary to make use of the integration of RATIONAL, CREATIVE and INTUITIVE dimensions of thinking.... especially the importance of INTUITIVE THINKING as it has previously not been recognized or valued by or from staff members.
"In most problem situations someone has the answer. It is not a question of what the correct answer is, but rather a question of how to prove the correct answer among the various suggestions offered". So, the question then really is "How do we tap this resource of knowledge effectively?" For this, a process is needed that will provide a common basis for investigating and analyzing information in the problem situation. In other words, we need to shift our thinking into a higher gear and the way to do that is through the unique application of Divergent and Convergent Thinking.
The KEPNERandFOURIE™ thinking model is based on the building blocks of thinking..."first you have to gather information and then you need to evaluate the information for an answer". In this quotation lies a number of thinking problems, such as:
The KEPNERandFOURIE™ technology is all about approaching an incident/problem correctly. The following would be a typical and general approach for solving any incident/problem:
You will learn how to sharpen your thinking skills...innovatively, under pressure, in the boardroom and on your feet. That is what we do...it is the KEPNERandFOURIE™ (KandF) approach to Experiential Learning. The KandF style of training is designed for you to reach in and take hold of the intellectual property – and then to adjust it, adopt it and apply it to real life scenarios. That is what we call 'hands on' learning, or learning through doing.
In today's business world life is becoming more specialized. We are relying to a greater extent on technical experts to see that trouble shooting is done correctly and effectively. Still we have situations where incidents are recurring in organizations without the root cause being found and decisions being made without much commitment. At KEPNERandFOURIE™ we contend it is all NOT just about process...it is not just process alone but process combined with content.
Process vs. Content
A thinking approach is a process whereby incident investigators approach an incident or problem in a specific way. Have you ever heard the saying "If you are faced with a problem, stand a few paces away from it and try to approach it from a different angle!" It is difficult to figure out how one could do that with single-dimensional information ...how one would be able to stand away from the problem and approach it in a different way.
Let us explain...problem solvers learn how to gather information by asking questions and asking for reports to gather incident information. Some of these questions are good and some are not so good. In every instance you get the information asked for, but you may not know if that piece of information is relevant or not. We have found that in most cases an overload of information can confuse the analytical process rather than enhancing it. Too much information can confuse the most brilliant mind. We contest that you only need to ask a limited number of 'relevant' incident questions and when you get the answers for these questions; you should have enough information to solve the problem.
We have done exactly that over the past 25 years and never had a situation where we could not help a team to resolve their incident/problem. Through this process, we have come to realize that we have found that elusive "different angle of looking at an incident or problem" that most investigators are looking for.
Here is an example of what we mean by process versus content. Let us take the situation of a $100, 000 check going missing. You have the record that the check has been sent and the client has proof that they did not receive it. The typical "content mind" would then start to ask questions such as:
So it will go on until the answer is found or not found and the check in question cancelled and a new one issued.
In the case of the "process mind', the questions would be a bit different:
This is just a simple example of how to ask the different questions differently. It also demonstrates that you still need the information from a technical expert. We use 7-9 sets of questions to get the relevant answers.
2012-04-25 11:20:43"One of the biggest frustrations for Problem Management staff is re-creating the information involved in an incident. This also creates one of the largest costs to IT divisions & organisations as the difficulty in finding the correct root cause may mean the root of an incident situation is not eliminated and the incident keeps recurring.
It is time to put an end to this, because there is a very effective way to rectify it. The most important challenge is to create a consistent Model and Process, which would earn the respect and support of Incident and Problem Investigators. A model that removes the confusion and inaccuracy with terminology where some companies have hundreds of causes to work through and on the other side of the scale some companies are looking at only three root causes, one of which is “Human Error”".
2012-03-27 11:56:24
SAN DIEGO - John Case promoted everyone attending Myriad Software's 18th annual User's Conference here to president, and then went to work explaining how to use focus, accountability and teamwork to build successful companies.
Case, a former president of La-Z-Boy Residential, then CEO of Electrolux Home Products of North America, walked retailers here through the concept of what he calls F.A.T. leadership, using the aforementioned attributes to align a business for success - the perfect tie-in for a Myriad conference themed "Alliance."
2012-01-24 14:58:30 | |
Thinking Dimensions CEO and Managing Director of ITRCA Practice, Matt Fourie (See Matt's Profile) will be speaking at itSMF Conference in Singapore on March 16th 2012 : "HARDWARE, SOFTWARE UPGRADES…WHAT ABOUT A PEOPLE UPGRADE IN IT ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS?" | |
This session will concentrate on how IT Root Cause Analysis practices can impact the following bottom line metrics;
• Improved security
• Reduced operating costs without cutting overheads
• Improved service availability in all critical systems
2011-08-09 20:16:55
Thinking Dimensions won the itSMF Australia "Innovation of the Year" award. Thinking Dimensions received this award at an itSMF Australia Gala in Perth in August 2011. They won the award for their innovative approach taken with incident investigations.
2011-08-09 19:33:45In September 2011 Thinking Dimensions received accreditation for their unique Incident and Problem Management workshops and consulting services.
2012-05-19 20:13:00SAY the phrase process improvement and watch the eyes of a CEO roll back in their head. They recoil from conversations about the touted virtues of process improvement methods like Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing or Business Process Re-engineering as they are inclined, and rightfully so, to talk abou...
2012-05-18 19:35:01Companies can have different definitions or views of profitability. Nevertheless, it is one of the most important metrics that a business should take care about. Many companies measure their success on revenues and units sold, but these metrics are not always helping the management in making dec...
2012-05-18 06:05:17One area we are asked about frequently is acquisitions- yes or no? Why to acquire? The decision for an acquisition is not easy- it is one alternative to developing capabilities organically however can be costly and also difficult to integrate. So what are the steps required to approve an ac...
2012-05-09 10:29:31Managers or CEOs seeking to improve the way the company makes pricing decisions need to implement changes starting from the way the organization collects, sorts and uses data as an input in selecting the best performing alternatives. As an example, one of our clients is a leading company that desi...
2012-05-07 15:17:19At a recent client meeting you could sense the slow burn of frustration on the supply chain executives face despite an excellent pedigree to deliver high performance, extensive cross industry success - his forehead lines were visible when he asked how do you TURN the BEAST around when we ha...
