RealityCharting e-book .pdf - SERC Home Page

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Step Six: Identify Effective Solutions
way to turn off the reasoning and only allow the absurd connections to
come into our mind. Regardless of how creative people are, logic and
reasoning usually creep back into the thought process. This is true except
for the very creative, who have the ability to suspend all judgment and
just go with their feelings. One way to force this activity is to not allow
the mind time to analyze what is being presented. This requires a group
of people and a facilitator who rapidly extracts ideas from the group,
starting with the completed Realitychart. Use the following steps to find
creative solutions.
Step 1: Create possible solutions.
Some call this step brainstorming, and it is in a way. However, it is
different in that we are addressing a specific cause from the Realitychart,
one cause at a time. This step requires the group to answer the question
of what solution do you have that will remove, change, or control the
cause being questioned. Before getting started, we need to establish
some simple rules.
Rule #1: Speak only when it is your turn. The facilitator will let you
know when it is your turn. No comments are allowed by anyone else for
any reason during the creation session. If you have nothing to offer, you
say “pass.”
Rule #2: Do not explain your ideas. Again, that is an act of rationalizing.
Put it on a bumper sticker and move on, quickly.
Rule #3: One solution at a time.
When I say work fast, I do mean fast. It may take two people writing
to document the ideas because one cannot keep up and you don’t want
to slow down the group. If they slow down, they start thinking. The
facilitator moves from one person to the next, focused on the cause you
want to challenge until all participants have said “pass.” Then move on to
the next cause.
Step 2: Evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed solutions.
Go back and look at all the proposed solutions. Here, each person
can explain their ideas as much as they want. Anyone can help the other
person look for the connection if they have difficulty expressing it. When
they hit on something interesting, the group begins to synergize. At this
point, appreciatively understanding the other persons experience can
help significantly. It is not unusual to discover your Realitychart, which