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Parochial Mindset
Facilitation Skills
Parochial mindset or provincial thinking is yet another human
condition that limits effective problem solving. My travels throughout the
world have convinced me that it exists everywhere. It is a significant barrier
to effective solutions because it drives us right to our favorite solutions.
It is the common belief within a group that if no one in the group knows
the answer to a question, then there is no answer to be had anywhere.
The next time you are working on a problem with others, step back
and watch the discourse. As the questions and answers unfold, eventually
a question will go unanswered. That is, someone will ask a question and the
air is still with silence. After a short pause, because we don’t like dead air,
someone will change the subject or ask a completely different question. At
this point there occurs an unstated but conscious agreement by all players
that there is no answer and any pursuit of one has no value. The cause
chain is stopped and never followed up unless someone in the group
understands and implements the rules of the RealityCharting process.
This is a most interesting observation to me because it is a totally
irrational act on the part of very rational people. I have observed this
in almost every group since I first discovered it. When asked why they
stopped asking why, the team members acknowledge they stopped but
seem perplexed that I am asking about it. They seem to believe it is obvious
why they stopped. When I ask them if they think someone outside the
group might have an answer, they will acknowledge the possibility but
will not pursue it unless pushed.
Always go outside your group for answers to the unanswered why
questions. It is incredibly arrogant to think that you or your group are
the only ones on the planet who know what’s going on. Even if you are
working on a specialized problem within a specialized industry, there is
usually someone else who may know about these causal relationships
and be able to provide some insights. Go to your local university; they
love to work on real-world events. Get on the Internet. Stopping too soon
is a common reason for ineffective solutions.
Programmatic Barrier
Another cause of stopping too soon is the programmatic barrier.
This is similar to the parochial mindset but has different origins. When
following a cause chain, the programmatic barrier occurs as we reach a
point where the answer to the next why question will result in questioning
some organizational program. This seems to be caused by the fear of
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