Decision Making; It S Not What You Think, and If Managers Thought Like Designers

Assignment:

Quickly skim through all six of the articles I have listed until you find the two articles which "call to you". Read those two with care. Then "build a bridge" between the two articles you have chosen. In your "bridge building paragraph" of approximately six-eight sentences, share your thinking about the implications of these ideas for organizational managers. What matters most in each article? What is the nugget that is powerful and memorable in each? How might the two articles connect in your own perception of effective managerial practice?

Thread 1 of 2:

“Decision Making; It’s Not What You Think,” and “If Managers Thought Like Designers,”

Author: Henkin, Hilary

2/9/2010 | 10:11 PM

I chose the articles “Decision Making; It’s Not What You Think,” by Henry Mintzberg and Frances Westley, and “If Managers Thought Like Designers,” by Jeanne Liedtka, because they suggested that creative, non-linear ways of finding solutions are not only available, but can be very successful. Both articles are about convincing us there are ways to approach solution-solving other than the traditional, analytical (dare I say, left-brained?) ways.

Mintzberg suggests we think, see or do our approach to a solution, and Liedtka interlinks Mintzberg’s three ways into nine ways of working outside the usual problem-solving parameters. The nuggets of the articles could be expressed by saying that according to the Mintzberg article, a leap of faith or a leap of feet may be as effective as a graph; the Liedtka article suggests that creative thinking in ways a designer might, very much outside the box, may be more useful than a spreadsheet. As a creative problem -solver who has found it difficult to fit into the “regular” business world, I truly appreciate these perspectives being presented as practical for that world, and would hope to find myself working for a manager who believed in these approaches. My own perception of effective managerial practice would be a system that, by encouraging creative and open thinking, generates practical, economical, and elegant solutions to problems facing the organization, in ways that the individuals involved function as a cohesive unit. Effective managerial practice would use the approaches suggested in the two articles (in addition to traditional methods), and a manager who implemented these approaches, and had a cooperative staff, ought to find that their solutions, strategic planning, and operational systems function much better. Both articles could be condensed into a single metaphor: think three -dimensionally instead of two-dimensionally.

RE: “Decision Making; It’s Not What You Think,” and “If Managers Thought Like Designers,”

Author: Sawyer, Carol

2/19/2010 | 12:23 PM

I really appreciated your last sentence!

Last evening, in a course that is "in person/in the classroom", my graduate students were building three dimensional models of leaders and followers. I could tell by the extended and complex de -briefing of this activity that there was significant learning taking place. It is Howard Gardner who tells us that we each can tap into multiple 'learning entry points' to access new knowledge/new information. Hands-on is one learning entry point he has identified.

Carol

Thread 2 of 2:

“Inner Work Life” and “If Managers Thought Like Designers”

Author: TP

2/11/2010 | 8:50 PM

In their article “Inner Work Life: Understanding the Subtext of Business Performance,” Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer(2008) define “inner work life” as “the dynamic interplay among personal perceptions, … emotions, … and motivation” (p. 21). Amabile and Kramer suggest that if managers want their organizations to be successful, they must recognize the value of inner work life and the important effect it has on both work performance and an employee’s personal happiness. They found that managers can have the greatest positive influence on inner work lives by “enabling people to move forward in their work and treating them decently as human beings” (Amabile & Kramer, 2008, p. 24). These two things can be facilitated by the types of managerial behaviors described by Jeanne Liedtka (2006) in her article “If Managers Thought Like Designers,” in which she proposes that the processes and values of design can be applied to organizational management. Liedtka argues that to achieve great design, one must look beyond standard and traditional methods and be open and willing to try new approaches. Great design, she points out, can develop from invention, persuasion, an elegant simplicity, mastery of core skills, and experimentation; but for this to happen, certain processes need to be in place: starting conversations with possibilities rather than constraints; inviting people with various perspectives and knowledge to participate and collaborate; being open to new questions and ideas, rather than arguing over existing solutions; and working backwards from a clear outcome or goal (Liedtka, 2006). These processes involve many of the elements discovered by Amabile and Kramer to have a significant impact on a person’s daily perceptions, emotions, and motivation, suggesting that the same processes that facilitate the development of great design can be effectively used by organizational managers to positively affect their employees’ inner work lives.

Amabile, T., & Kramer, S. (2008, winter). Inner work life: Understanding the subtext of business performance. Rotman Magazine, 20-25.

Liedtka, J. (2006, spring). If managers thought like designers.Rotman Magazine, 14-18.

RE: “Inner Work Life” and “If Managers Thought Like Designers”

Author: Henkin, Hilary

2/12/2010 | 8:09 PM

TP,

I know that commentary is not required for this assignment, but I wanted to compliment you on the way you described one aspect of Jean Lietka's article: that in order for her approach to succeed, problems are best solved by conversations "starting with possibilities rather than constraints." This perspective would certainly elevate a good manager into a better one, especially if he or she managed to have a support staff capable of presenting those possibilities.

I am currently in a work situation in which I and a fellow worker are trying to help our manager meet her goals, with difficult parameters. My partner tends to think the negative -- that it can't be done and we've already done what we can. I looked at the parameters and "givens" and suggested new strategies. It's too soon to see if my approach is wholly successful, but initial indications are that it's working.

Start with possibilities rather than constraints - that's elegant!