A broken arm requires a doctor to diagnose the break and set the arm in plaster. The problem is known and so is the solution. There are issues, however, where the solution is unknown. Solving the Middle East crisis or reducing the road toll are just two examples. These issues require adaptive thinking. The ability to cope with a complex problem and create a workable solution.

Tip 1 Investigate

At a crime scene, fire investigators examine the evidence and make an informed decision about the origin of the fire. Problems often require the same approach to ensure various perspectives of the problem are explored and understood.

Tip 2 Generate

The first solution is very rarely the best solution. The answer is to generate a range of possible options. A period of time where suggestions are shared and recorded, but not evaluated. Adaptive thinking needs freedom of thought to find a successful outcome.

Tip 3 Optionate

Restaurants can have too large a menu. Too many pages with too many options makes a meal choice more difficult. Optionating is progressively eliminating the options (based on agreed criteria) until one remains that best serves your desired outcome.

Tip 4 Activate

Well begun is half done. Resist the temptation to engage in further dialogue, more meetings or additional approval. Lots of ideas end here because people fail to implement. A purposeful idea only creates an outcome when action is taken.

Tip 5 Evaluate

Action without accountability is reckless. Improvements needs to be captured, learning leveraged and success celebrated. Taking the time to evaluate how your actions did or did not become outcomes will ensure you always fail forward.