Posts Tagged ‘mental models’

Recharge your Batteries with the U Process

March 12th, 2010

I’ve been down and out lately, both mentally and physically.  In fact, I spent most of yesterday in bed sleeping.  While the sleep recharged my body, a comment left by Michael Bischoff, a Minneapolis based consultant, has helped recharge my “mental” batteries.

Bishoff’s comment read: 

I just came across your posts about the U Process. I’ve seen many summaries of Theory U. These are some of the best. Thank you for putting them out there!

It’s always nice when someone recognizes your work.  In this case, Bischoff was recognizing a 5-part series Joe Bartmann wrote describing the U Process, a theory of change the Rural Learning Center subscribes to.  Although Joe has moved on to the Sioux Falls Green Project, I felt proud that Bischoff was recognizing ReImagine Rural for offering quality advice. 

Bischoff’s comments also cause me to pause and reflect:  have I been practicing the U Process lately?  It forced me to go back, reread what Joe wrote about a year-and-a-half ago, and reflect on it.

 

Why should I care about the U Process?

In short, the U Process is a change theory that suggests the best way for problem solving is to:  (1) slow down and let go of your old thinking;  (2) deepen your understanding of the problems by listening and learning;  (3) let new ideas emerge from a quietness of your new understanding;  (4) and then jump into action with solutions.  

In some ways, it’s not a very radical theory to embrace; but practicing it is! 

As Joe describes in his opening post in the series, most of us in community development work define our problem and then jump into action.  We say we want to understand our problems more deeply, but in practice, we rush into solving them.  The result is that we end up investing more time and energy into the work of solving the problem than we might have had to if we would have spent more time trying to understand it.  What’s worse is that rushed to solutions often aren’t solutions at all-they do little to solve the real problem.

 

What this meant to me today

As I pause and reflect on my work lately, I realize that my engine has been so revved up by all the work I have to do that I’m not taking the time to deepen my understanding of the issues I’m working on.  In addition to creating shallow thinking, I believe this hectic, get ‘er done attitude is partly to blame for the low energy in my batteries.

If you feel like I have lately, I highly recommend you dig into U Process.  Check out Joe’s 4-part series (I’ve posted the links below) and find other resources describing it on the web.  Then spend some time really digging into the problems you face through this new lens, and let the new ideas emerge. 

I think you’ll find the solutions that emerge are more focused and more approriate — and I bet you’ll have a lot more energy as well.    

The U Process on ReImagine Rural

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U Process Part 4: The Big ‘Ah-Ha!’

December 1st, 2008

This is the fourth post in a series on the U Process (read parts 1, 2 or 3)

So far, I’ve argued that it’s worth taking the time and effort to follow a different path from tough problem to solution. But why? What are we working toward? The answer, to that question and to the tough problem you’re trying to solve, is found at the “bottom of the U.”

The journey through the U begins as we dive into the problem on the left side. We’re here to observe, to learn, to see the whole picture. We Immerse ourselves in the muck and mire, working to see the tangled mess with more clarity.

After really digging into the system we’re trying to change, it’s important to step back and reflect. Get quiet and still, stop doing a bit. This is the bottom of that left side of the U, where we let go of trying to solve the problem, and let the solution come.

Letting Go

Let go…and let come. It’s surely worked for you many times, without you even thinking about it. You’re eyeball-deep in some work, trying to solve some issue. Then you take a break, maybe a little walk or grabbing a snack or throwing some clothes in the washing machine. You give your mind a rest, and suddenly–whammo! It all comes together and the answer you’ve been digging for smacks you in the face. “Ah ha! That’s it!”

You’ve just found the bottom of the U. The example I used happens (usually) by accident, but the theory of the U is based on finding that “Ah-ha” on purpose. That doesn’t mean it works on call, like a schedule or anything. It just means that if you can hone your skills at practicing ‘presence,’ you have a much better shot at finding a truly innovative and trans formative solution.

Presencing

So what is this ‘presencing’ stuff? It’s a word made by combining ‘present’ and ’sensing.’ As in being fully present in the moment, and opening up your senses to the future that is bubbling up right now. You see, there are two sources of learning: from past experiences, or from the future as it emerges. Presencing is about sitting in that space where the two (past and future) collide right now. It’s learning to see our own seeing (remember those mental model prisons?), and then see the whole of our situation, recognizing how everything is interconnected while we learn more and more. And finally, it’s listening from a place of quiet and openness to the stuff that wants to be born.

Presencing is not a journey of the mind, but one of opening your mind, heart and will to see the future solution that is emerging right now, and choose to be a vehicle for it.

I’ll share more thoughts on this Presencing idea in my next U process post, and then fill in the right side of the U: All About Action. In the mean time, please share your thoughts or questions with the Reimagine Rural community by clicking on “Comments” below.

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U Process Part 3: Radical Listening

November 13th, 2008

This is the third post in a series on the U Process (read the first two here and here).

In a couple of previous posts, I began to outline a social change technology called “U Process.” I gave a quick overview of the three movements of the U (deep learning dive, inner knowing, and swift action), and I shared a bit about mental models and the role they play as blinders to new ideas.

If learning to recognize your own mental models and setting them aside is the first step down the left side of the U, then learning how to listen deeply is the second.

Levels of Listening

Listening isn’t quite as simple as just sitting down while someone else is talking to you. We’ve all had a conversation with someone when it feels like they aren’t really there with us, and we’ve all drifted off somewhere else when we were meaning to really listen to someone, right? Below is a concept of four deepening levels of listening outlined by C. Otto Scharmer in his book about the U Process.

Level 1: This is the way, unfortunately, I believe most “listening” takes place. Level one is really not listening at all, it’s reacting from old habits and mental models. It’s when we’re thinking about what we want to say next instead of listening to the other person. Level one is like downloading old ideas and habits of judgment from some database in our heads, reconfirming old opinions and positions.

Level 2: If Level One downloading is really being stuck inside ourselves and our old ideas, the next level is like stepping outside to the edge of yourself, and observing what’s really going on. The difference is being open-minded enough to see new data, see more of the picture. This level isn’t too hard to reach.

Level 3: Taking another step deeper into listening is like observing from within the person you are listening to. It’s opening your heart enough to see through another’s eyes, to see and hear what they see and hear. It’s a major shift in perspective.

Level 4: The fourth, quite radical level of listening that Scharmer proposes is more tricky to explain, and achieve. It’s listening from a different ’source,’ a place where you open your spirit and will to let the future emerge through you. It’s not really about what you hear another person say, but more about trusting the inner knowing that bubbles up inside you from somewhere.

Voices in the Way

So, there are deeper levels of listening that most of us don’t tap into very often. The deeper you go, the more radical the listening is. So why don’t we all listen at level 4?

Our mental models get in the way of hearing or seeing the whole picture, and so do little voices in our heads. The voices I’m referring to aren’t evidence of insanity or anything like that, they are the tricks our mind plays on us sometimes. There are voices of judgment, of cynicism and of fear that become serious obstacles to deep listening.

To get to a place of true listening, we have to create a safe space for it within ourselves. We have to recognize and acknowledge the mental models, the judgment, cynicism and fear that become roadblocks to really listening. And then set them aside and continue the journey. They don’t go away, we just learn to ignore them as much as we can.

Overcoming the roadblocks lets us climb down that ladder of deep, radical listening. Give it a try, and please share your thoughts or experiences in the comments.

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Small Wind: The next community development opportunity?

October 28th, 2008

Small wind is a term used to define wind turbines of under 100 kilowatts.  As wind developers push the size of utility scale wind turbines to 1.5 megawatts and larger, many people are also turning to small wind as an option for homes and small businesses.  This is especially true in off-grid applications. 

Inspired by the economic and social conditions in Haiti, Shayne Frayne developed a “miniature” wind generator based on a revolutionary “turbine-less” design.  Although difficult for most of us to imagine, Frayne does a nice job of explaining his Windbelt technology in the video below:

 

Small Wind & Mental Models

In a post yesterday, Joe described how our “mental models” can blind us from recognizing new ideas and opportunities.  Frayne obviously overcame that problem in developing the vision for his wind generator.  

In a similar fashion, leaders in Miner County, South Dakota developed a vision for how wind energy could help transform their struggling economy.  Beginning in 2001, the community set out to accomplish that vision by:

With over 200 new green jobs created since 2001 in the county of 2,800, that vision is paying dividends.

So, why didn’t more communities recognize this opportunity?  Part of the answer can undoubtedly be attributed to the mental models created by cheap energy and decades of decline in rural communities. 

Today, many communities see the opportunity and are rushing to see if they can become a home to a wind turbine farm or a wind energy business.  With growing job and financial opportunities, it’s a great opportunity to pursue.  

At the same time, I hope those of us in rural communities pause long enough to examine the mental models that cause us to covet this kind of development.  Perhaps our rush to get into the wind energy game has blinded us to other opportunities like those of the WindBelt.  And we can’t afford to miss any opportunities just because we’re in too big of a hurry to pause and think. 

See the following for further information:

 

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U Process Part 2: Those pesky mental models

October 27th, 2008

This is the second post in a series on the U Process (read the first post here).

A big part of practicing the U process as a method to solve tough problems is learning to recognize the “mental models” that impact our every perception. These mental models are like images or preconceived notions we have formed about the world or people or ideas. They just lurk in our subconscious minds most of the time, and step in to influence our decisions and judgments. 

My Example: a calendar

Here’s a personal example. When I was in the second grade in Canistota, SD, Mrs. Cooper taught me to read a calendar. The entire south wall of the classroom was a twelve month calendar, and the months were arranged in three columns, beginning with August in the upper left corner. So, having learned the twelve month calendar by studying that wall, I still today “see” twelve months in that arrangement in my mind’s eye. When someone talks about December, I automatically think of the top of the second column, not the end of the year. Imagine my trouble in Business School when I had to think of the year in terms of quarters–three columns just don’t divide into four parts very easily! 

That’s a silly example, but the point is that I’ve had to recognize that mental model that was influencing the way I “see” a year. And I often have to put it aside, and open my mind to other ways of arranging 12 months in my head. That’s the thing about mental models: it’s not so much about whether they are right or wrong, or even about changing them (which is very hard to do), the trick is to just recognize those blinders that your mind and past experiences are putting in your way. Wide zoom the lens and see more of the whole picture.

 

Mental Models as Blinders

Now imagine all the different experiences and bits and pieces of information in your past that form mental models about people or places or notions. Mental models are blinders to new ideas. They “help” us form pre-conceived judgments and prejudices. They become a prison, and block the way–prevent us from listening from a place of quiet and openness.

That’s why it’s so key, if we want to see the whole of whatever tough problem we intend to solve, that we learn to recognize more and more of the mental models that are blocking the view. Once we “see our own seeing,” as Otto Scharmer often calls it, then we can kind of set those blinders aside one by one and widen our view.

There’s more to come about the U Process in future posts. If you have personal mental model examples, or any thoughts about this post, please share them in the comments.

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