Phase 1: Reframe
MenuWe Want To Think Creatively About... (WWTTCA)
The tools of Reframing encourage divergent thinking about issues. Periods of divergent thinking always need to be followed up with a little bit of convergent thinking to assure focus going forward.
A useful way to summarize Reframing is to complete the sentence "We want to think creatively about...." WWTTCA is a shorthand way to write this.
Exercise
Generally speaking, three to seven WWTTCA statements are a good number to end up with. However, there may be times when a single statement really captures it all, or there may be some issues that are so complex that you really need a dozen or more statements to cover it all. Use your judgment.
Tips
- After all the
hard work that you have done to begin thinking differently, do not allow
yourself to simply choose the original, usual, or jargon-laden statements of
the issue. Insist that at least some of the WWTTCA statements that you will
carry forward for idea generation are provocative ones.
- This is a good time to pause and think ahead
to the eventual effort of making real changes. If your efforts are accountable
to others who will need to be the sponsors or leaders of any change efforts,
and/or if you need the engagement of frontline staff or colleagues in other
areas, it might be a good idea to ensure that they are on board with the
statements selected and the implied focus going forward. Alternatively, you
might decide that it would be better to wait until you have some concrete new
ideas to present to them. Just pause and think about this before you rush
ahead.
