Working with Intuition - The 2016 Odyssey Program Exercise

In the first part of my thinking backwards exercise I figured out what will make for a successful TOC Odyssey training. So the next step should be to keep working backwards and highlight the actions that need to be taken for these results to unfold.Logical, right?

Well, yes and no.

If you recall, I left the plan hanging at:

My first inclination was to go backwards to:

Then I got thinking.

It seems trivial. In TOC TP we call such trivialities "Oxygen". Since oxygen is always needed for human activity it is not necessary to state it in the logic diagram. Everybody knows it and it does not add information for our analysis. Oxygen statements should be handled with care. The mere fact something came up as an idea should be an indication that a double-check is in order, as one would rarely consider the need for oxygen under normal circumstances. In other words, the fact we have been thinking of the need for oxygen may point out that the conditions are not standard and this should be accounted for,

OK, so the fact that everybody should be in the room for the session to start could be an oxygen fact. It seems very logical, everybody should know this without me telling them, clearly there will be earlier steps that will take care of attendance. I should skip this step, it is redundant.

Or is it? I was stuck in a loop for some time, pondering this, wondering what is going on - why am I still thinking about this point after I figured it out? 

Well, turns out it was my intuition guiding me to a spot I missed. It is not enough to have a full enrollment. Life happens and we will surely have a few last minute cancellations. I know all our registrants will loath missing the session, but sometimes you just can't help it. So, if I want the session to be a real hit and create real value for all, I need to take care of this point and this is just the right place in my plan to inject a place holder for the results of those actions. Makes sense?

Here is what I came up with - In order to have a good kick of we need:

Which will happen if these prior steps happen (remember, we are in reverse order, the top box will happen after the bottom):

All graphics were done using Flying Logic

Well, I actually reached a task. It is going to be located very far into the future of this "project", of course and I expect to find it has some predecessors, but it is still exiting to move to that practical part. 

Next step will be to keep working from the definition of success back to the tasks that need to be done. I am expecting this will no longer be linear and I will be working on parallel tracks soon. Stay tuned and let me know if you have any ideas for making the Odyssey a hit.

Thinking Backwards - The 2016 Odyssey Program Exercise

So, if you remember my last post I suggested we need to prepare our mental muscles for the hard labour of TP and one of the exercises I suggested was thinking backwards. Now, this is not the TP's transition tree, which is also constructed backwards. It is also not the usual managerial focus of let's plan with the end in mind, which usually ends up being a forward construciton exercise. It's a free formed process that starts at the end and moves forward by imagining a probable route.

Here I will share the results of my recent use of this process. I have volunteered to make the 2016 TOC Odyssey happen. It will be in Jaffa during the first weeks of April, 2016 (Save the dates - April 3-7 for the Freshman session, April 10-13 for the Alumni, dates are currently estimates). It is my wish to make this session a big success - fun, enriching and enlightning for everyone. To make this happen I am starting out with thinking backwards (as suggested in Purple Curve Effect by Jeff Kinsey - see my book review here) to see what I can learn from it,

First of - my goal, the end result:

Can I imagine how reaching this goal would feel? yes, I can, right down to that pleased-embarrased feeling as everybody claps. This is a big issue, a lot of times I start this exercise and realise I have no clue what the end result looks and feels like. Just try this out right now - is there a change you would like to do in your life? lose some weight? go to bed earlier? spend more time with someone? learn something? OK, that's great. Now - can you imagine vividly, in your mind's eyes, the end point scene? what will you wear, say, feel, do?

So, I can see this goal coming to life. Great! Now what? Well, what could have or should have happened before that to make it possible? What was the step before the goal? Here is my answer:

Can I imagine achieving this milestone? again I can, I can even hear Alan Barnard's distinct accent as he tells me how much he enjoyed leading the session. Great! Now ask again - How did that happpen? What could have happened before that? Basically we are looking for possible causes to create the wanted effect.

And so I get on a backward roll:

All graphics were done using Flying Logic

So far, so good. This is where I got a bit sidetracked, as this is the stage where several predessessors converge. It is also where I move from reaping the future results to defining the work that needs to be done in order to make it happen. So this exercise seems to have been quite un-productive so far, doesn't it? Well, that's not true. This part has made it clear that this is a very just cause, quite worthy of my investment. Now I am really motivated to make the 2016 Odyssey one to be remembered! 

Next step - to take the next leg of down the future memory lane - what did I do to make it happen? Check out what happened here!

Tool update - Gliffy.com

Just wanted to share that I'm working on my first TP project and I came across this web site that offers a Visio-like, web based, tool. All I had to do was register and start working. The tool is easy to use, for some reason I find it a bit less frustrating than Visio and, graphically speaking, the results are great.
The free account lets you hold up to 5 public diagrams on the server. So if you need more diagrams or privacy you'll have to pay a monthly fee and upgrade. I'm still in my 30 days trial so I can define documents as private. Another great feature is the ability to collaborate with others as you build your diagram. The site sends them a link to connect and they can edit the document as well.
There are no TOC specific abilities, of course, but if you are not ready to commit or know you'll just need a tree here and there it seems like a great tool. Here's an example of how it looks:

Of course I could have taken on  Flying Logic's 30 days trial (I reported on the TP training in their tutorial here) but I don't feel ready for that commitment. At the end of that trial period I'll have to make up my mind - pay or leave and I am not expecting enough TP work in the coming weeks to support that decision, so a TP supporting tool will just have to wait and I'll just have to work a bit more. If you decide to purchase  check it out in Amazon.

Learning The Basics Of Thinking Process

Flying Logic is a software designed to help graph the logic trees used in TP. I have not tried it yet and right now I think it comes with a very high price tag with regards to what it does. The tool can also be purchased on Amazon at a better price point.

Their site offers a few free documents, including a PDF book called "Thinking with Flying Logic" by Robert McNally that covers the basics of TP, but about half way through it becomes a Flying Logic user manual whith a bit of technique thrown in. It gives a good overview and can help fill in the blancs. It is important to note that their present a slightly different logic than the one presented by GC people in some aspects. For example - they require all the assumptions in a cloud connector to be refuted in order for the cloud to evaporate, GC claims refuting one should be enough. Another point that bothered me is the option to combine solutions when evaporating a cloud, I have a hunch this will open the door wide open to compromises (which are considered lose-lose solutions)