Foolishman Case Study

Wiseman and Foolishman

One day, the Lord gave Wiseman and Foolishman an assignment:

"Go out to the sea-shore and bring back to me, by this time tomorrow, the best, the most beautiful, the most flawless woodunit you can find on the beach ..."

"Your wish is my command, my Lord," chorused Wiseman and Foolishman and off they shot to the beach.

Foolishman picked up the first woodunit he found and carefully examined it. There was a fine crack. Foolishman flung it into the water. He picked up another woodunit and scrutinised it. He found a scratch on it. A little angry, he threw it far away. He went on, examining one woodunit after another. Every one had some chip or blemish or discoloration or some flaw on its surface. Foolishman threw every

In the corporate environment, the PDCA Improvement Cycle is the recommended methodology for solving chronic problems, problems that have defied resolutions by conventional quick-fixes, gut feels and experience. This approach is scientific, structured and systematic and calls upon the use of data at every stage of the process at which a decision has to be made. It is the recommended collective thought process and problem-solving methodology for Quality Circles (QCs), Quality Improvement Teams (QITs) and other problem-solving teams. This thought process will positively facilitate communication amongst team members, enhancing focus and

But, options do not drop from heaven. Teams such as QCs and QITs use brainstorming to derive a list of options. When problem-solving individually, the lone problem-solver will have to brainstorm by himself. He can of course talk to people around him to solicit ideas. In my work with corporate clients, brainstorming is usually well practised, well applied. Everyone understands that even far-fetched or wild ideas can be or should be accepted during brainstorming. Few people will have any qualms about admitting any such ideas into their brainstorming list. Problem is, even when such ideas manage to get onto the list, they usually don 't get past the short-listing and evaluation phase, immediately following the brainstorming phase. It is at this stage that many good ideas are eliminated irrationally. Problem-solvers are particularly fond of abandoning or throwing out an idea the minute they foresee the first difficulty with the implementation of that idea.

The fallacy here is that every idea has its pros and its cons, its strengths and its weaknesses. If every time we encounter a difficulty with an idea, we immediately write it off, we may end up eliminating every available option. Even if we are left with a couple or even a handful of ideas, you may notice that these are the weaker, less desirable, less effective options. That 's why they have no major