Dr. Mat-thys Fourie is currently Chairman of Thinking Dimensions Global and Managing Director of Thinking Dimensions, USA and Thinking Dimensions, Singapore and still works selectively with some of his clients. He is also co-author and co-designer of the KEPNERandFOURIE® methodologies. He has over 30 years of problem solving and decision making experience helping organizations across the world solve some of their most vexing and seemingly unsolvable problems. He has worked with companies such as Macquarie Group, SASOL, Unisys, SITA, Barclays, RBS, NCS, Singapore Stock Exchange, BMW, VW, Cadbury Schweppes, Westpac, National Australia Bank, Kimberly Clark, Hollister, Stihl Inc. and the US Navy.
ET: Human beings are born problem solvers, it is said. Yet, we find that managers in organizations repeat the same mistakes again and again. What can we do to break the cycle of mistakes?
MF: Unfortunately human beings only learn from their mistakes and rarely improve their problem solving and decision making abilities proactively. Most successful people learn about how to solve problems through trial and error and some were lucky to be mentored by their parents and/or an official mentor. Over a period of 30 years in the problem solving business we've learned that most business people need to receive training in problem solving techniques to become more effective.
ET: The legendary problem solving expert Chuck Kepner has famously said that, 'Very often, the first alternative suggested is greeted with open arms. 'Hey, that's a good idea,', and the search is over. The best ideas usually come later, after people have had a chance to think about it.' What is the method to generate more ideas for problem solving & decision making so that we do not make better decisions?
MF: This is correct. The first ideas are always the obvious ideas or also known as the "same old, same old". Only when pushed for further ideas will individuals become more creative and produce innovative and exciting alternatives. The method to use is to break down the requirements for a decision and then to generate specific suggestions per requirement. This method allows the decision maker to generate specific innovative actions and when put together would produce an answer that they would not have thought of originally.
ET: Quality of information is the key input to problem solving. How does one gather information & ensure the authenticity of this critical input?
MF: By breaking down the problem into components and then to restate those components in as specific as possible terms. This would enable the problem solver to structure specifically worded questions that will cut through to the core issue and thus improve the date and information regarding a specific issue.
ET: The IT industry is committed to continuous process improvement. Please share with us your thoughts on Continuous IT Service Improvement, especially in the context of identifying Technical Cause & Root Cause Analysis?
MF: One of the components of Continual Service Improvement is to reduce recurring incidents on a consistent basis. This does not always happen because the average IT Professional does not understand that there are at least two answers to an incident. There is a technical cause, which would represent what happened technically. In other words, what change or event in time caused the eventual deviation from the standard? Then there is also at least one root cause and this represents a condition that exists. This is the company environment condition, unless removed will produce technical causes and incidents in perpetuity. The bottom line is that you need to find the specific technical event first before you would even have a chance to find the root cause. Without this philosophy you cannot really cause an improvement in your IT environment.
ET: Please share with us the essential and core principles of the Kepner&Fourie® framework of problem solving & decision making.
MF: The core principles are the following:
- Use a framework to gather factual information about the incident or the solution needed.
- Ask the right question from the right person to get a right answer.
- Verify the validity of information or data offered.
- Test assumptions by testing SME inputs against your factual snapshot of the incident or solution needed.
ET: Tell us about the Institute of Professional Problem Solvers?
MF: The IPPS is an institute to raise the level of corporate awareness about the importance of good problem solving and decision making skills. This institute is trying to create a framework that would recognize the different proven skills levels of individual in problem solving in the work place. These levels could be attained through formal training and application or through experience. There are three levels:
- Level One - The Foundation Level - basically learning about decision making and proving that he/she can apply the principles and practices of sound problem solving and decision making.
- Practitioner Level - This is the level where the individual proves they have the ability to apply these skills in a normal working environment.
- Professional Level - This is the ultimate level and at this level the individual proved they can apply their professional problem solving skills with any team in any environment at any level in the organization.
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