‘Out of the box’ thinking works best ‘in the box’

As a manager you sometimes have to deal with complex issues you cannot resolve immediately. Luckily you are human too! 😊 

And even worse, they might seem unresolvable, once you have figured out that all possible scenarios you can think of are no good. Are some problems simply unresolvable?

I would say not, even if a solution is far from ideal, but it just needs some different insights.

If all good ideas seem to be exhausted, why not bring forward one or more scenarios that seem impossible or even totally ridiculous?

For example, if you resolve one issue after the other to comply with a contract and every step forward sets you two steps backward, you are getting so locked in that you lose sight of its origin. So why not consider a scenario to cancel the contract? Even the thought could already give brilliant insights how to go to the next step.

Another suggestion is to consider using the Dutch art of flip-thinking (omdenken). The basic idea is to divert the process of solutioning from 'yes-but' to 'yes-and' or differently stated from problem thinking to thinking in opportunities. If you want to know more about this interesting approach pls refer to https://omdenken.com/. Obviously, its use is not limited to dealing with complex issues, but I thought I mention it in this context.

As I mentioned before, my absolute favourite help in addressing issues or supporting complex conversations is visualizing. If you start to visualize the problem, it provides you with much more insights and certainly more structure . You can apply this as you prepare. And once you start to brainstorm it is also a very good way to get common understanding, guidance and to avoid useless discussions.

Now you do not need to be an artist to apply visualizing. I am more into simple drawing such as process diagrams, which is squares, arrows, etc. But if you want to take this to the next level, I would advise you to consider some support. There are people that make their living to support brainstorming sessions with visual presentations to express what is agreed and marked. And in such cases it does pay out that a picture is worth a thousand word!

Last but certainly not least, why not give it a good night sleep... Interesting enough, your brain never stops working. It helps you 24 hours a day, even when you are asleep. And while your brain is cleaning up to start another fresh day, it is not seldom that you wake up and have this famous 'aha-moment'.

Anyway, my most important message to you is to avoid getting locked into a problem and to get lured into endless conversations and running around in circles. Instead, apply out-of-the-box thinking by getting rid of all the noise and external interrupts, and prepare for a different insight.