Pink's Six Senses: A Case Study

These efforts at evaluating scenario planning have received mainly cursory consideration in the literature, and the larger problem, of how to show organizational leaders that their investments in scenario planning are worthwhile, is more important than ever. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term "evaluate" literally means: "to form an idea of the amount, number, or value of."

One alternate strategy is to begin by finding a way to assess the quality; of any given set of scenarios with an aim of increasing the likelihood the scenarios will be engaging, effective, and useful for managers and executives. To "assess" means: "to estimate the nature, ability or quality of." The scenarios will be engaging, effective, and useful for managers

By definition, "scenarists" are knowledge workers, and the skills outlined by Pink would make for the intriguing beginnings of a competency model for scenario workers. However, these six senses can serve a more particular purpose. The following sections describe each of Pink 's six senses as a criterion for evaluating the usefulness of scenarios in scenario planning.

Wack (1985) stated: "The most important purpose of the scenario building process is to shift the thinking of the leadership inside the organization about what might happen, in the future, in the external environment." Useful scenarios, therefore, must force leaders to see familiar situations in an unfamiliar way.

Design as a Criterion

The design of a set of scenarios is critical. Scenarios must incorporate themes such as songs by the Beatles (Ogilvy and Schwartz, 11998), catchy phrases that are easy to recall (Ringland, 1998), and colorful images to make the set of scenarios aesthetically pleasing (Kahane, 1992). People need to want to read the scenarios, and the document itself is often the first contact some will have with the ideas that it

That is, empathy is at the center of the ability for individuals to see something with new eyes. By literally imagining a given situation from different perspectives, scenario planning participants cannot help but to empathize with situations and individuals they may not have previously considered, and when they do so, they are really getting the most out of their scenario exercise. Scenario planning facilitators must also be highly able to empathize with managers in order to make the scenarios compelling. This brings to mind the story of Pierre Wack throwing stones at bamboo stalks in Japan. When his aim was such that the stone hit the stalk just slightly to either side, it would glance off. However, when his aim was true, the stone would mlake a very distinct sound when it hit the center of the stalk. Wack used this story to describe the precision with which effective scenarios must be constructed. The ability to empathize with managers, and incorporate elements of concem from their initial interviews, is one key to making the scenarios more likely to be used, more compelling, and more likely to prompt managers to transform how they view a series of possible