Five Flashlights--the Five Dimensions and Problem Solving in the Dark

I had an MBM mentor that I would bring questions and issues to about once a month.  EVERY time, he would analyze the problem and give advice in the same format.  He'd write down "V, VT, KP, DR, I" on a piece of paper, and proceed to ask dimension-related questions about the problem at hand.  

Another mentor would call this "using the five flashlights of MBM" to shine light on murky situations.

It was always surprising to see how quickly this simple practice brought issues into focus, or highlighted holes in my thinking.  Of course, it was then up to his experienced advice and my flawed decisions to figure out what to do next, but this was often helpful.

For example, the questions would go something like:

Vision--what's the purpose of the project?  How does it uniquely create value?  Are there multiple people involved--do they have a shared understanding of the purpose?  Are there ways to experiment small vs. a full roll out?  What creates value for the customer?  Why should WE be the ones to do this project?  Does it fit with the vision of the organization?

Virtue & Talents--Who is involved--why?  What capabilities are needed for this project (then) does the team have those?  How do the Guiding Principles come to play here?  Is there a culture of openness to change/respect/etc.?  What compliance issues are most important here?

Knowledge Processes--What are your major outcomes, and how will you measure them?  What information is critical; who needs to know it?  What are the communication styles of key team members?  Is there a culture of challenge?  Is useful information being institutionalized?

Decision Rights--Who "owns" (i.e. is responsible for the outcomes of) this project?  What are the key drivers of the project, and who is responsible for them?  How do you hold one another accountable?  Whose buy in do you need to get resources or "the go ahead" (in your department or others)?  Is the "ownership" of each portion of the project clearly communicated and understood?  How does this fit into your RR&Es?

Incentives--What's your motivation here?  What motivates others working on the project with you?  If you have involved others, do they feel like they have a stake in success/failure, or are they a cog in your machine?  Map out the incentives of yourself, your team, others involved, your customer, etc.--any conflicts or opportunities there?

Though the next unexplored cave will never be the same as the last one you spelunked (not a word), you can consistently use these five flashlights to help find your way in any setting.

Comments

[Tammy Carroll]

I wanted to say that this way of looking at the dimensions has proven beneficial to me twice in just the last week! Having these questions there to answer made the decision-making process and problem solving so much more manageable. One involved a deep look into our production planning/scheduling functions and the other was an organizational model decision based on the divisions strategy. One thing I learned is that once you've addressed the "flashlights", it does not mean a magical door is opened and the answer appears in bright lights. It's just that your mind is open to all of the elements invovled and you can better identify which areas have gaps and where you want to examine further. Thanks!