There are so many complicated problems that go unsolved for the lack of one major ingredient: open and honest communication.
Not just honest, but more: radically honest. So honest that feelings bubble to the surface and change the energy in the room. So honest that there are NO doubts how people perceive the situation. They may disagree, but they get closer to understanding.
How can you solve a complicated problem without a clear understanding of both the facts and the feelings of the situation?
The answer is, you likely can't.
Creative, high impact problem solving requires open and radically honest communication.
The analysis could be jarring. Feelings will be exposed and activated. People will occasionally want to hide the facts or hide from the feelings. But unless we completely understand what they are it is incredibly tough to effective deal with them.
Get it all out on the table. Tell it exactly the way we see it. Adjust and change as necessary but get the dialogue going -- unthreatening, unjudging, non-concluding but open.
Once it is safe to say what we see hear and feal, it's safe to start solving the problem.
It's at the heart of complicated problem solving: communication.
What will you do today to encourage people to say what they are really thinking?
-- Doug Smith
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