Drawing on Visual Intelligence
A Perceptual Thinking Course
Training the mind to balance analysis with perception for more effective problem-solving
I. Introduction – “Excellence in processing does not make up for inadequacies of perception. Edward de Bono, de Bono’s Thinking Course.
Virtually every problem solving model in use today begins with correctly defining the problem because a failure in this critical first step would result in time, capital and resources being wasted on going in the wrong direction or trying to solve the wrong problem. The purpose of this course is to train the mind to think more perceptually, and demonstrate how a balance of perceptual and analytical thinking can increase one’s ability to more exactly define a problem and as a consequence, discover the key to solving it.
A. Trends – Peter Drucker suggests that to Descartes observation, “I think therefore I am;” we “…will now have to say also “I see therefore I am.” This ability to see the “big picture” requires today’s decision-makers to learn how to balance analysis and perception; or in Drucker’s words: “…perception can – indeed it must – be trained and developed.” (The Essential Drucker, pp. 337 - 346, Collins Press, 2001).
Unfortunately, Drucker passed away before he was able to explain exactly how perception should be “…trained and developed.” This course begins where Drucker left off. It will introduce participants to the same kinds of thinking skills and visual exercises taught by design educators to train the minds of individuals to become more visually perceptive and expand their existing dimension of Visual Intelligence.
B. Why a course on Visual Intelligence? “Intelligence is the ability to see things as they really are.” George Santayana
· The 21st Century has seen the rise of what management guru Peter Drucker referred to as the “New Realities,” i.e.: the globalization of the marketplace; the proliferation of the multi-tiered, transnational corporations, the ever-increasing tide of information technology and the advent of the knowledge worker.
· These “New Realities” bring not only new opportunities, but also new challenges and problems. In order to successfully meet these challenges and solve these problems, today’s decision-makers will need to cultivate the ability to balance analysis with perception. This “balance” will be required because effective problem-solving requires a high level of proficiency with both analysis and perception.
· Due to our public education system; institutions of higher learning and most ongoing business training, Western Culture has mastered the ability to think analytically (85% of the population is left-brain dominant). However, with the exception of architects, designers, and artists, the majority of our population has had very little instruction on how to think perceptually (right-brain dominant), and even less training on how to combine both analytical and perceptual thinking to define and solve problems.
Exercise: Exhibit A: Lateral Dominance & Exhibit B: Problem-Solving Models (BC DEMO)
C. What need does the course meet? - “The significant problems we face can not be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” A. Einstein
The need most frequently expressed by our clients is some variation of the following: “We already know what our problems are; we just don’t know how to solve them.” This course will demonstrate that the more clearly perceived and exactly-defined the problem the more essential and self-evident the solution; if the solution is not self-evident then there is a high probability that the problem has not been well-defined. Consequently, the real need is not another problem-solving tool, but an increased ability to perceive, define and grasp the essence of a problem, challenge or opportunity before trying to solve it.
D. Objectives: The primary objective is to improve problem-solving skills by demonstrating how a balance of perception and analysis can improve one’s ability to perceive, define and solve problems; and the secondary objective is to improve one’s “translation skills” (the ability to reduce complex ideas to a single concept). To accomplish these objectives the course is divided into two parts and each part contains four segments. The first part is “The 4th Reality” (perceptual thinking, as in conscious awareness “I see what it is“), and the second part is “The Essence of Content” (perceptual thinking as in comprehension, “I get what that’s about, and I understand what it means”). Within these two parts, the course condenses a traditional 7-8 step problem-solving (re: Root Cause Analysis) process into three phases:
1. PERCEPTION: Improve your perceptual thinking skills by cultivating a more “holistic perspective” (The Big Picture)
2. CONCEPT: Increase your ability to define the essence of a problem instead of working on surface ideas (The Irreducible Concept)
3. MEANING: Increase your problem-solving skills by cultivating the ability to grasp the essence of a concept and what this means to the organization, the workforce and/or the customer (The Core Value).
Part One: The 4th Reality (Determining what’s there or not there) – “Perception creates reality, the more accurate the perception the more objective the reality; the more objective the reality the easier it becomes to see circumstances and problems as they really are instead of how we think they are or want them to be.”
Part One introduces Phase One of the process (PERCEPTION); its four segments include how we see what we see; why we see things and relations as we do; how to overcome “cultural conditioning”; and how to see things differently. In addition we will discuss two very common misconceptions about problem-solving: 1. the myth of trying to “think outside the box;” and 2. the limitations of trying to “identify” problems and/or solutions. During this portion of the course, you will increase your level of Visual Intelligence by learning the following:
· How we see what we see - The “Mechanics of Cause & Effect,” looking vs. seeing; filtering reality
· Why we see what we see - Cultural conditioning, authority figures, institutions and Gestalt Principles
· Overriding Cultural Conditioning - Training the mind to think past the obvious.
· Seeing things differently – Cultivating a more “Holistic Perspective”
Part Two: The Essence of Content (Defining the problem & what it means) – “The answer to every problem is inherent in the problem itself; the more clearly defined and grasped the problem the more self-evident and essential the solution.”
Part Two introduces Phase Two & Phase Three (CONCEPT & MEANING) and its four segments include how to dig beneath surface ideas about the problem in order to define the essence of the problem; how to “dig deeper” into the concept to determine what it means to the organization, the workforce and/or the customer; and two segments that demonstrate application of the process. During this portion of the course you will increase your level of Visual Intelligence by learning the following:
· How to better define the essence of the problem; and improve your “translation skills”
· How to better understand what the “essence” means to the organization, workforce and/or the customer
· Principles to practice – working through a sample problem; improve communication skills
· Practical application – working through a workplace problem
Revised 26, September, 2009