Fast Company article

[Judy Rees]

Hi all, I wondered if you'd seen this piece in Fast Company magazine http://bit.ly/dAtiaV. A lovely little introduction, or so it seems to me.

[Hans-Peter Korn]

Thank you, Judy, for linking to this article!
What is described here is exactly the "Positive Deviance Method" http://www.positivedeviance.org/
You find some case studies for PD at http://www.positivedeviance.org/about_pd/case_studies.html and one is "Spotlight Case Study: Vietnam as a Prototype for the PD approach". IMHO it is the same story as in Fast Company magazine.

It is sorry to say, that the "PD-people" are not very interested to share with us.... Mark knows more about this....

Cheers
Hans-Peter

[Mark McKergow]

Thanks Hans-Peter. Yes, I gather that Steve de Shazer and Jerry Sternin (Positive Deviance) met and squabbled at some time in the past. My occasional efforts to get in touch with them have met with no response or reciprocation whatsoever.

[Rodney Daut]

This article is what informed me about Solution Focused approaches. I'm glad that the Heath's wrote it as Solution Focus has made a big difference for me personally.

[Hans-Peter Korn]

How did this article inform you about Solution Focused approach?
In this article I cannot find any reference to the Solution Focused approach.
I only can find this:
When we analyze a big, complicated problem -- like malnutrition in Vietnam, or a married couple nearing divorce, or a business on the verge of bankruptcy -- we seek a solution that befits the scale of the problem.
and - as a comment - this:
Ahhh, the power of focusing on solutions: Absorb the problem for a moment, then immediately jump to imagining solutions. As in Appreciative Inquiry. Very powerful mindset.

How was it possible for you to find from that to the "Solution Focused Approach" in the meaning of deShazer and Kim Berg?

I am very interested how you found that path from this article to SF, because sometimes I feel a bit discouraged reading and hearing so much about "positive psychology", "appreciative inquiry" and "positive deviance" with no links to "Solution Focused Approach".
So: How did you find this link to SF?

Cheers
Hans-Peter

[Rodney Daut]

Hans,

Page three of the article mentions Solution Focused Brief Therapy. Here's a link to that page:

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/142/switch-how-to-change-things...

Rodney

[Hans-Peter Korn]

Ah - thanks, Rodney:
The link http://bit.ly/dAtiaV provided by Judy points to the first page ... and "Solution Focus" is mentioned on page three... It didn't see the "next"-link on the first page....

Now I see it this way: Chip Heath and Dan Heath produced this excerpt of their book "Made to Stick" for Fast Company. And in this book they use as an example the story of Jerry Sternin from Vietnam which is one of the "case stories" of Positive Psychology. And in their comments to this story they refer to "Solution Focused Therapy" in their book "Made to Stick".

Cheers, Hans-Peter

[Rodney Daut]

Hans,

That's basically what happened. I read the whole article and found out about Solution Focused Therapy and searching for it online lead me to so many useful resources.

Rodney

BTW the Vietnam case study is from Positive Deviance.

[Hans-Peter Korn]

of course ... I wrote it here: http://solworld.ning.com/xn/detail/2102269:Comment:19222

Forgive an old man of becoming a bit crazy sometimes....

[Rodney Daut]

No problem. I just wanted to clarify for anyone who might read this thread later. BTW I just read your post on "The Progress Blueprint." Great idea!

[Paul Z Jackson]

Looks to me as if the Heaths have gathered stuff about SF, positive deviance and perhaps other 'positive approaches'. They are great popularisers. Made To Stick (which I think contains no references to SF) is about creativity and marketing. I've ordered the new book and will review it soon.
Cheers, Paul Z.

[Rodney Daut]

Paul,

I got the book the day it came out and devoured it. It's a great read and I hope it will help to popularize Solution Focused work.

I can't wait to see your review.

Rodney

[Paul Z Jackson]

Here's my review: http://www.solworld.org/profiles/blogs/switch-what-chip-amp-dan?com...