Paolo Terni's Posts - SOLWorld2024-03-29T15:44:03ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTernihttps://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/357571814?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1https://solworld.ning.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=id37pongw17c&xn_auth=noLittle e-book about solution-focustag:solworld.ning.com,2015-08-27:2102269:BlogPost:690912015-08-27T00:07:47.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
<p>How can you make Solution-Focus as easy to understand as possible?</p>
<p>By using children stories!</p>
<p>I gave it a try, and now my little book of solution-focused-inspired children stories is available on Amazon as an e-book.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01453VVTQ">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01453VVTQ</a></p>
<p>For educators, practitioners and change agents.</p>
<p>How can you make Solution-Focus as easy to understand as possible?</p>
<p>By using children stories!</p>
<p>I gave it a try, and now my little book of solution-focused-inspired children stories is available on Amazon as an e-book.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01453VVTQ">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01453VVTQ</a></p>
<p>For educators, practitioners and change agents.</p>Can focusing on progress undo the progress?tag:solworld.ning.com,2013-05-22:2102269:BlogPost:590372013-05-22T15:10:23.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
<p>Professor <a href="http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/ayelet.fishbach/research/" target="_blank">Ayelet Fischback</a> and Professor <a href="http://mba.yale.edu/faculty/profiles/dhar.shtml" target="_blank">Ravi Dhar </a>discovered one paradoxical effect of focusing on progress: “<a href="http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/ayelet.fishbach/research/FD_JCR_05.pdf" target="_blank">goal liberation</a>“.</p>
<p>Here is how it works: happy with the progress made toward a long-term goal, the brain turns…</p>
<p>Professor <a href="http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/ayelet.fishbach/research/" target="_blank">Ayelet Fischback</a> and Professor <a href="http://mba.yale.edu/faculty/profiles/dhar.shtml" target="_blank">Ravi Dhar </a>discovered one paradoxical effect of focusing on progress: “<a href="http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/ayelet.fishbach/research/FD_JCR_05.pdf" target="_blank">goal liberation</a>“.</p>
<p>Here is how it works: happy with the progress made toward a long-term goal, the brain turns off the mental processes that were driving the pursuit of the long-term goal and turns towards goals that have not yet been satisfied. Which often are in conflict with the long-term goal.</p>
<p>For example, a group of successful dieters were complimented on the progress made toward their ideal weight. Then they were offered either an apple or a chocolate bar as a thank-you gift. 85% of those reminded of their progress chose the chocolate (vs. 58% in control group). Similarly, students made to feel good about the amount of time they studied were more likely to spend the evening hanging out with friends instead of studying.</p>
<p>The above is relevant to Solution-Focused practitioners since we invite clients to notice progress.</p>
<p>Is this SF practice actually undermining clients’ goals?</p>
<p>I think not, for a few significant reasons:</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">= to read more, please go to: <a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/goal-liberation/" target="_blank">http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/goal-liberation/</a> =</p>Love 2.0 and the interactional viewtag:solworld.ning.com,2013-04-24:2102269:BlogPost:592022013-04-24T15:18:28.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
<p>In her latest book, <a href="http://www.positivityresonance.com/" target="_blank">Love 2.0</a>, the renowned Positive Psychology author <a href="http://www.unc.edu/peplab/barb_fredrickson_page.html" target="_blank">Barbara Fredrickson</a>introduced an interactional view of love.</p>
<p>According to the latest research she presents in her book, love is not so much a noun but rather a verb. It is something that emerges in <strong>micro-moments</strong> of <strong>interactions</strong> between…</p>
<p>In her latest book, <a href="http://www.positivityresonance.com/" target="_blank">Love 2.0</a>, the renowned Positive Psychology author <a href="http://www.unc.edu/peplab/barb_fredrickson_page.html" target="_blank">Barbara Fredrickson</a>introduced an interactional view of love.</p>
<p>According to the latest research she presents in her book, love is not so much a noun but rather a verb. It is something that emerges in <strong>micro-moments</strong> of <strong>interactions</strong> between living beings, when they share a positive emotion, resonate with it in synchrony and build on it to deeply care about each other.</p>
<p>In other words, <strong>love is in-between</strong>.</p>
<p>This view mirrors the stance of Solution-Focused practitioners when we say that solutions and change and the future all emerge <a href="http://www.sfwork.com/jsp11/index.jsp?nnk=5d8" target="_blank">in-between</a>, in the space of dialogue and interaction, rather than being determined by inner drives or outer social pressures.</p>
<p>Seeing how SF and current Positive Psychology thought are somehow converging on this interactional view was quite interesting to behold.</p>Mr Bear Wants to Be Loved and other SF-inspired stories, for children & their parentstag:solworld.ning.com,2012-12-03:2102269:BlogPost:556512012-12-03T18:09:36.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
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<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/398824543?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/398824543?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"></img></a> My latest SF book, "<em>Mr. Bear Wants to Be Loved: And Other Stories to Make Change Easier, for Children & their Parents</em>" is now out and available for purchase on Amazon.</p>
<p>This book was born as a challenge: how to introduce Solution-Focus in terms so simple that even a<br></br>6-year-old would understand.</p>
<p>True to its objective, it…</p>
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<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/398824543?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/398824543?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"></a>My latest SF book, "<em>Mr. Bear Wants to Be Loved: And Other Stories to Make Change Easier, for Children & their Parents</em>" is now out and available for purchase on Amazon.</p>
<p>This book was born as a challenge: how to introduce Solution-Focus in terms so simple that even a<br>6-year-old would understand.</p>
<p>True to its objective, it became a book for children (and adults!) about how to make change easier.</p>
<p>In this book you find 9 short stories about change.</p>
<p>Each story illustrates a simple strategy to make change easier or to think differently about problems.</p>
<p>The main characters of the book are Ms. Elephant and Mr. Monkey.<br>They meet other animals who want to make a change in their lives.<br>Mr. Monkey is very well intentioned, and he tries to help the forest’s inhabitants following the traditional, or problem-focused, approach to change. Ms. Elephant is very well intentioned too. She helps the forest’s inhabitants by empowering them using a Solution-Focused approach.</p>
<p>The stories can be read by (or to) children age 4 to 8.</p>
<p>Each story is accompanied by some comments and suggestions for further reading.</p>
<p>The comments are aimed at adults who might want to find out more about the concept presented in each story, and learn a little bit more about how to make change easier in their own lives.</p>
<p>To find more about the book and purchase it, please go to <a href="http://making-change-easier.com/" target="_blank">http://ning.it/UkCSI0</a></p>Is Solution-Focus becoming mainstream?tag:solworld.ning.com,2012-05-01:2102269:BlogPost:530332012-05-01T15:47:56.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
<p><a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/IMG_1077.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1019" height="224" src="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/IMG_1077-300x224.jpg" title="IMG_1077" width="300"></img></a> Rockefeller Plaza, NYC, March the 27th</p>
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<p>I am very grateful to Peter Szabo for inviting me to co-facilitate the <a href="http://www.conference-board.org/conferences/conferencedetail.cfm?conferenceid=2366" target="_blank">Executive Coaching Conference</a> …</p>
<p><a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/IMG_1077.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1019" title="IMG_1077" src="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/IMG_1077-300x224.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="224"/></a>Rockefeller Plaza, NYC, March the 27th</p>
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<p>I am very grateful to Peter Szabo for inviting me to co-facilitate the <a href="http://www.conference-board.org/conferences/conferencedetail.cfm?conferenceid=2366" target="_blank">Executive Coaching Conference</a> <a href="http://www.conference-board.org/conferences/conferencedetail.cfm?conferenceid=2366&view=topics&eventid=2361" target="_blank">Pre-conference Workshop</a>, on the 26th of March in <a href="http://www.westinny.com/" target="_blank">NYC</a>.</p>
<p>It was an amazing experience to see Peter in action - and it was awesome to see the response of the audience, all seasoned coaches or HR professionals!</p>
<p>It is definitely the time for Solution-Focus.</p>
<p>The point was driven home further by <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/david-b-peterson/6/117/6a9" target="_blank">David Peterson</a>'s keynote presentation the following day.</p>
<p>David Peterson, after 25 years of being at the forefront of the coaching industry, is now working at Google as Director of Learning & Development.</p>
<p>In his presentation, he shared what he learned at Google and how, based on that, successful Executive Coaching would look like in the future.</p>
<p>I was blown away - Solution-Focus is the way forward!</p>
<p>Even though he did not mention SF explicitly, it was implied in his presentation - as a matter of fact we were honored to have him at the pre-conference workshop, and he gave a shout-out to Peter Szabo during the keynote address.</p>
<p>Here are some of the key points of Peterson's presentation:</p>
<p>READ MORE HERE ----> <a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/exec-coaching-sf/" target="_blank">http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/exec-coaching-sf/</a></p>When a trainee in SF coaching says he is worse off after the training... and why the trainer is happy to hear thattag:solworld.ning.com,2011-11-07:2102269:BlogPost:489742011-11-07T20:04:44.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
<p> </p>
<p>>>>>>>>>>>>>></p>
<p>... So I felt great about our training.<br></br>I checked in daily, and I was comforted to see it was not just an impression of mine :)<br></br>On the final day, I was happy to see that on a scale from 1 to 10, where 10 was meeting all their learning goals, beyond their wildest expectations, and 1 the opposite of that, they rated themselves to be <em>8.5 or more</em> (some at 8.5, others at 10) on that scale.</p>
<p>I was…</p>
<p> </p>
<p>>>>>>>>>>>>>></p>
<p>... So I felt great about our training.<br/>I checked in daily, and I was comforted to see it was not just an impression of mine :)<br/>On the final day, I was happy to see that on a scale from 1 to 10, where 10 was meeting all their learning goals, beyond their wildest expectations, and 1 the opposite of that, they rated themselves to be <em>8.5 or more</em> (some at 8.5, others at 10) on that scale.</p>
<p>I was particularly impressed by a distinction made by one of the participants.<br/>He distinguished the “<strong>learning scale</strong>” from the “<strong>confidence scale</strong>“.<br/>On a learning scale, he said he reached an 8.5, maybe even a 9.<br/>But on a confidence scale about being a SF coach, he said he was worst off!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>read more here >>>>>>>>> <a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/the-participant/">http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/the-participant/</a></p>"You have a filter that..."tag:solworld.ning.com,2011-08-24:2102269:BlogPost:449452011-08-24T14:55:45.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>You have a filter that makes you see the good in people and so…</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><br></br></em></p>
<p>The sentence above was said in a simulated Coaching conversation that took place during our recent <a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/solutionsurfers-california/" target="_blank">Solutionsurfers Brief Coach Training</a>.</p>
<p>A student of mine, a seasoned Coach, made that comment as he…</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>You have a filter that makes you see the good in people and so…</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><br/></em></p>
<p>The sentence above was said in a simulated Coaching conversation that took place during our recent <a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/solutionsurfers-california/" target="_blank">Solutionsurfers Brief Coach Training</a>.</p>
<p>A student of mine, a seasoned Coach, made that comment as he was role-playing as a Solution-Focused Coach.</p>
<p>The comment was meant as a compliment for the Client, as affirming Client’s strengths.</p>
<p>Yet it felt to me as a piece of chalk screeching on a blackboard.</p>
<p>That comment vividly highlights a <strong>key distinction between Solution-Focus and other Coaching models</strong>.</p>
<p>Mainstream Coaching models are based on more or less explicit theories about how the mind works and about how change happens.</p>
<p>So, depending on which Coaching school you are training with, you might learn we have “filters” in our minds: or that we have “orientations“; or that each person belongs to a specific “personality type” with a set of characteristics and preferred ways of behaving; you might learn that some people are inclined to specific “defense mechanisms“, each one with its own dynamic. You might learn people have different ways of “processing information” so you need to tailor your communication in specific ways. It is very likely you might learn that we have “blocks” or “obstacles” to overcome, “patterns” to defeat. You might also learn that people need “motivation” or more “willpower” – as if they were specific “things” that can be acquired, used and depleted.</p>
<p>All of the above are constructs which have an intriguing explanatory power. They make sense.</p>
<p>They are based on underlying metaphors for understanding the mind: the mind as a computer, the mind as a mechanical (or hydraulic) machine, the mind as a theater of different characters…</p>
<p>Notice that no one ever observed a “filter” in the mind, or a “block” or a form of energy called “willpower” – they are just ways to make sense of how we think.</p>
<p>I am not saying that they are not scientifically legitimate constructs; some of them might be – all I am saying is that they are constructs, not observable entities.</p>
<p>And <strong>in Solution-Focus we stay on the surface. We do not deal with mental constructs.</strong></p>
<p>We encourage Clients to focus on <strong>observable behaviors in specific situations</strong>; we ask them about events and their <strong>context</strong>; we ask about what they might notice and what other people might notice.</p>
<p>If a Client wants to have more “willpower” the classical Solution-Focus response would be: “How would you know you have more willpower? What would you be doing differently? What would other people notice you doing differently?…” Everything is brought back to observable behaviors which make a difference.</p>
<p>This is because of the way <strong>Solution-Focus was born and was developed</strong>: not deduced from a theory but built <strong>empirically</strong>, <strong>inductively</strong>, from the bottom-up, by slowly figuring out what worked and what did not work in conversations designed to help Clients.</p>
<p>In Solution-Focus there is no overarching theory about change. We have some tenets, which have been found inductively. We might have different clues about why SF works, but<strong>we do not have a coherent theory</strong>. That is the unique characteristic of SF, its pride and maybe the main obstacle to a wider diffusion. It is tempting to offer an explanation. It is sexy to have a Model of Change: with neat graphs, diagrams, arrows and fancy names. But <strong>in Solution-Focus circles we like to travel light in the realm of assumptions and explanations</strong>. We like to stay in the conversation, as it happens, without adding anything.</p>
<p>The student of mine who was playing the Coachee in this role-play was relating some specific episodes of her life and her positive, upbeat attitude in dealing with them – she never mentioned having “filters”.</p>
<p>That is something the Coach added.</p>
<p>And now the dynamics of the conversation changes. From a Solution-Focused perspective, it becomes more difficult.</p>
<p>Instead of having richness of details, and maybe some seeds of solutions, some useful exceptions, we have a <strong>generalization</strong> – unique perspectives have been swept under the rug of “filter”. Useful behaviors already happening have been swallowed by a concept, by a rationalization.</p>
<p>Note that this is a standard approach in other Coaching models: the Client has to learn the theory of the Coach and the language of the Coach; only then, the Client can appreciate and use the “<strong>expert solution</strong>” handed down by the Coach.</p>
<p>It is not a formal learning, but an implicit learning that Clients go through – with comments like that, Clients learn about “filters”, and “styles” and all sorts of mental constructs.</p>
<p><strong>We do not do that in Solution-Focus.</strong></p>
<p><strong>We do not add anything. We do not have anything to add!</strong></p>
<p><strong>We stay on the surface.</strong></p>
<p>We use the words Clients use and we try to make their meaning explicit, to us and to the Client.</p>
<p>Our intent is not to explain things and offer interpretations (adding stuff); rather, our intent is to help clients see what is there (describing, showing), hoping they find something useful.</p>
<p>So it is the other way around: it is the Coach who has to learn the language of the Client.</p>
<p><strong>Because it is in the Clients’ worldview, expressed in their own words, from their unique perspectives, based on their experiences, where sustainable and long-lasting solutions are found.</strong></p>
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<p><strong>>>>> originally posted here: </strong><a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/you-have-a-filter/">http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/you-have-a-filter/</a></p>Clients are the Expertstag:solworld.ning.com,2011-04-07:2102269:BlogPost:377602011-04-07T15:47:36.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
<p> </p>
<p>Here is a short story that very well illustrates why I love <strong>Solution-Focus Coaching</strong> and its magic in bringing out clients’ expertise.</p>
<p>My Coaching Client is the Administration Manager for a small but fast-growing company, and we are having a Coaching session over Skype.</p>
<p>Topic of the session: he wants his co-workers to be “more <strong>motivated</strong>“.</p>
<p>I know that the concept of “motivation” is a tricky one.</p>
<p>Personally I am very…</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Here is a short story that very well illustrates why I love <strong>Solution-Focus Coaching</strong> and its magic in bringing out clients’ expertise.</p>
<p>My Coaching Client is the Administration Manager for a small but fast-growing company, and we are having a Coaching session over Skype.</p>
<p>Topic of the session: he wants his co-workers to be “more <strong>motivated</strong>“.</p>
<p>I know that the concept of “motivation” is a tricky one.</p>
<p>Personally I am very skeptical about the whole construct.</p>
<p>And recently published works by <a href="http://www.danpink.com/drive" target="_blank">Daniel Pink</a> and by <a href="http://danariely.com/tag/the-upside-of-irrationality/" target="_blank">Dan Ariely</a> show how the notion of “motivating someone” is little more than a <a href="http://abhishekmittal.com/2009/08/29/myth-busting-motivation-daniel-pink-ted/" target="_blank">myth</a>.</p>
<p>However, operating under <strong>Solution-Focused assumptions</strong>, I am not supposed to share these recent insights from psychology with my Client. Even though the role of the “know-it-all” nerd fits me perfectly well, I have to bite my tongue.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>Read more on my blog here: <a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/the-client-is-the-expert/">http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/the-client-is-the-expert/</a></p>A High-Performing Factory via Solution-Focused Coaching: A Case Studytag:solworld.ning.com,2011-03-28:2102269:BlogPost:371462011-03-28T15:51:28.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
<h1>A High-Performing Factory via Solution-Focused Coaching: A Case Study</h1>
<small>24 March 2011 in <a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/category/booksarticles-review/" rel="category tag" title="View all posts in Books/Articles review">Books/Articles review</a>, <a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/category/musings/" rel="category tag" title="View all posts in Musings">Musings</a> Write by <span>Paolo Terni</span> …</small><br></br><br></br>
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<h1>A High-Performing Factory via Solution-Focused Coaching: A Case Study</h1>
<small>24 March 2011 in <a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/category/booksarticles-review/" title="View all posts in Books/Articles review" rel="category tag">Books/Articles review</a>, <a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/category/musings/" title="View all posts in Musings" rel="category tag">Musings</a> Write by <span>Paolo Terni</span> </small><br/><br/>
<div class="content_img"><p><a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/levissima.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-588" title="levissima" src="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/levissima-300x224.jpg" width="300" height="224"/></a></p>
<p><em>Production line at the Cepina Levissima Factory, Italy</em></p>
<p>From 2003 until 2005 I was heavily involved as a <strong>Solution-Focused Coach / Consultant</strong>in support of a major <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_development" target="_blank">Organizational Development</a> Project for <a href="http://www.sanpellegrino.it/" target="_blank">Sanpellegrino</a>, the Italian bottled-water company owned by <a href="http://www.nestle-waters.com/" target="_blank">Nestle Waters</a>.</p>
<p>It is one project I am still very proud of.</p>
<p>Here is one lesson learned re <strong>Coaching and Organizational Development</strong>:</p>
<p><em>Coaching was introduced as a way of helping them once they were already facing problems, i.e. first they were given the new role and thrown into the field, then they were offered the opportunity of having a coach to help them meet the challenges they were facing. I believe this is a key success factor. <strong>First, coachees need to experience the problem so they can experience the need for coaching</strong>. In this scenario, management does not need to sell coaching – quite the opposite, management can play the role of the saviour by graciously offering them this much-needed support.</em></p>
<p>You can read the whole <strong>case study I wrote for eO&P </strong>(e- Organisations and People) and published in November 2010 <a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/04HighperformingSolutionfocused_OP-article1.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
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<p>*** Originally posted on my website here: <a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/a-high-perf/">http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/a-high-perf/</a>***</p>
<p>For daily links to Solution-Focus related articles and research, follow me (by "liking" the page) here: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/paoloterni">www.facebook.com/paoloterni</a></p>
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</div>My Amazon Review of the book: "Switch" by CHip & DAn Heathtag:solworld.ning.com,2011-01-12:2102269:BlogPost:330902011-01-12T17:27:37.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
<div style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; font: normal normal normal 13px/19px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; padding: 0.6em; margin: 0px;"><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Switch.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-438" height="240" src="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Switch.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: 0px initial initial;" title="Switch" width="240"></img></a></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://heathbrothers.com/switch/" target="_blank">Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard</a></span><a href="http://heathbrothers.com/switch/" target="_blank"> - by Chip & Dan Heath</a></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Not all change is difficult.</span></p>
<p>We change all the time, voluntarily, in many different ways - we get married, we start a family, we take up a new job or a new role, we change ideas…</p>
<p>just think of much you changed in the last 10 years!</p>
<p>Based on this insight, the question is: <span style="font-style: italic;">what are the characteristics of successful change?</span></p>
<p><a href="http://heathbrothers.com/authors/" target="_blank">Chip and Dan Heath</a> set out on a quest to find what works to <span style="font-weight: bold;">make change easier</span>, at any scale - individual, organizational, societal.</p>
<p>And in doing so they dispel <span style="font-weight: bold;">3 big myths about change</span>: that some people are just hard to change, it is in their nature; that people are lazy, and that is why they do not change; that there is a "resistance" to change.</p>
<p>To illustrate their findings, the authors borrow Jonathan Haidt's metaphor of the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Elephant</span> and the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Rider</span>: the conscious, analytical part of ourselves is like a rider perched on top of an elephant, the adaptive unconscious.</p>
<p>The rider has the ability to plan, to analyze, to make rational choices - but it also has the tendency to spin its wheels and over-analyze, and it stands no chance guiding the elephant with brute force, at least not in the long run.</p>
<p>The elephant gives us drive and power, but it is easily distracted by short term rewards.</p>
<p>The authors use this simple metaphor as a framework to make sense of some <span style="font-weight: bold;">useful strategies for change</span>, based on research and illustrated with vivid, "<a href="http://heathbrothers.com/madetostick/" target="_blank">sticky</a>" stories - these strategies are grouped in 3 sections: how to "direct the rider", how to "engage the elephant" and how to "shape the path".</p>
<p>I am a Solution-Focused practitioner, so I was very happy to see <span style="font-weight: bold;">Solution-Focused Brief Therapy featured in this book</span>. It appears, together with Appreciative Inquiry, in the section about Directing the Rider, in the chapter "Find the Bright Spots".</p>
<p>As the authors themselves point out, an effective approach to change involves all 3 dimensions (rider, elephant, path), and sometimes this distinction is pretty fuzzy.</p>
<p>I believe Solution-Focus interviewing protocols to be a case in point:</p>
<p>- when we, as Solution-Focused practitioners, ask exception-finding questions, we "<span style="font-style: italic;">find the bright spots</span>" (chapter one)</p>
<p>- when we, as Solution-Focused practitioners, ask for concrete, behavioral details about what works, we help clients "<span style="font-style: italic;">script the critical moves</span>" (chapter two)</p>
<p>- when we, as Solution-Focused practitioners, ask the Miracle Question, we "<span style="font-style: italic;">point [the rider] to the destination</span>" (chapter 3) and we also help the elephant "<span style="font-style: italic;">find the feeling</span>" (chapter 4)</p>
<p>- when we, as Solution-Focused practitioners, ask "what would be the smallest sign that…" we "<span style="font-style: italic;">shrink the change</span>" (chapter 5)</p>
<p>- and since all the questions in the Solution-Focused therapy or coaching protocols are interactional, i.e. are aimed at focusing the client's attention on the situation, we do help in "<span style="font-style: italic;">shaping the path</span>".</p>
<p>The more I practice Solution-Focus, the more I am impressed by how effective it is.</p>
<p>Yet, despite the empirical nature of the work that led to the creation of Solution-focused interviewing protocols and despite the research supporting it, people have a hard time believing it can work. And that is because of ingrained assumptions about change. <span style="font-weight: bold;">The authors did an excellent job in showing that there is a different way to think about change</span>. And for that, I am very grateful to Chip and Dan Heath.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Crossposted at <a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com">www.briefcoachingsolutions.com</a></p>
</div>Solution-focused vs. problem-focused coaching questionstag:solworld.ning.com,2010-12-29:2102269:BlogPost:327012010-12-29T17:47:19.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span><p><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 19px;">This being the Holiday Season, I would like to share with you a great gift that <a href="http://www.psych.usyd.edu.au/staff/anthonyg/" target="_blank">Anthony M. Grant</a> and <a href="http://www.psych.usyd.edu.au/phoneDB/namecard.php?id=866" target="_blank">Sean A.…</a></span></p>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span><p><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 19px;">This being the Holiday Season, I would like to share with you a great gift that <a target="_blank" href="http://www.psych.usyd.edu.au/staff/anthonyg/">Anthony M. Grant</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.psych.usyd.edu.au/phoneDB/namecard.php?id=866">Sean A. O'Connor</a> gave to the Solution-Focused Coaching community this year: <span style="font-weight: bold;">a pilot study of "the differential effects of problem-focus and solution-focused coaching questions".</span></span></p>
<p>From the abstract:</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Findings</span> – B<span style="font-style: italic;">oth the problem-focused and the solution-focused conditions are effective at enhancing goal approach. However, the solution-focused group experience significantly greater increases in goal approach compared with the problem-focused group. Problem-focused questions reduce negative affect and increase self-efficacy but do not increase understanding of the nature of the problem or enhance positive affect. The solution-focused approach increases positive affect, decreases negative affect, increases self-efficacy as well as increasing participants’ insight and understanding of the nature of the problem.</span></p>
<p>And from the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Summary:</span></p>
<p><span style="font-style: italic;">Problem-focused questions reduced negative affect and increased self-efficacy. However, the solution-focused questions were overall more effective, providing the same benefits as the problem-focused condition while also increasing positive affect and participants’ understanding of the nature of the problem</span><span style="font-style: italic;">. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Overall it seems that while both problem-focused and solution-focused questions are effective, generally, solution-focused coaching questions are more effective than problem-focused questions</span>. <span style="font-style: normal;">[my emphasis]</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Thank you Anthony and Shean!!</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-style: italic;"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1846488">The differential effects of solution-focused and problem-focused coaching questions: a pilot study with implications for practice</a> </span>by Anthony M. Grant and Sean A. O’Connor, in: "Industrial and Commercial Training", vol. 42, No.2, 2010, pp.102-111.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font-size-3"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/solution-focused-vs-problem-focused-coaching-questions/">*** originally posted at www.briefcoachingsolutions.com***</a></span></p>“Visitor”, “Complainant”, “Customer” revisited by Phillip B. Ziegler – reviewtag:solworld.ning.com,2010-12-15:2102269:BlogPost:323292010-12-15T16:30:00.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
<p><em>People are hard if not impossible to change. Relationships are almost as hard to change. Conversations, on the other hand, are relatively easy to change, especially if one is aware of the roles each participant is taking and is skillful at inviting changes in those roles”</em> – Phillip B. Ziegler</p>
<p>In a short paper which appears in…</p>
<p><em>People are hard if not impossible to change. Relationships are almost as hard to change. Conversations, on the other hand, are relatively easy to change, especially if one is aware of the roles each participant is taking and is skillful at inviting changes in those roles”</em> – Phillip B. Ziegler</p>
<p>In a short paper which appears in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Doing-Something-Different-Solution-Focused-Practices/dp/0415879612/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1291922175&sr=8-5" target="_blank">Doing Something Different: Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Practices</a> (Thorana S. Nelson, ed), <strong>Phillip B. Ziegler</strong> contributes a simple yet <strong>key distinction</strong> that might be very useful to Solution-Focused practitioners.</p>
<p>Read more here: <a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/visitor-complainant-customer/">http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/visitor-complainant-customer/</a></p>
<p><em><br/></em></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>Coaching Plain & Simple - a book reviewtag:solworld.ning.com,2010-12-07:2102269:BlogPost:320812010-12-07T17:14:15.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><em>Antoine de Saint-Exupery</em>, the author of “The Little Prince”, once wrote: <strong>Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.…</strong></span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><em>Antoine de Saint-Exupery</em>, the author of “The Little Prince”, once wrote: <strong>Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.</strong></span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">According to that definition, this little book is perfection.</span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">In 100-pages <a href="http://www.solutionsurfers.com/start.php?id=people" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 160, 255); text-decoration: none;">Peter Szabó, Daniel Meier</a> and <a href="http://www.wunderwunder.de/?page=training" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 160, 255); text-decoration: none;">Kirsten Dierolf</a> manage to distill the essence of <strong>Solution-Focused Brief Coaching.</strong></span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">The <strong>beginner coach</strong> will find in the book a useful framework for leading a successful coaching conversation:</span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">- Reaching a Coaching Agreement</span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">- Discovering a Preferred Future</span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">- Finding Resources and Precursors of Solutions</span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">- Defining Progress Clues</span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">- Coming to a Session Conclusion</span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">- Follow-up Sessions</span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">The <strong>experienced coach</strong> will discover in the book the fascinating simplicity of the Solution-Focused approach, with a clear illustration of its key assumptions, jargon-free:</span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">- Solution-Building is a Fast Track to Problem Solving</span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">- Clients Already have Experience with the Solution</span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">- When in Doubt, Trust the Client</span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">- Not Knowing is Useful</span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">together with some case studies that bring home the essence of Solution-Focused Coaching.</span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Do not be led astray by the simplicity of the book – it is built on years of coaching experience by the authors.</span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">There is a difference between 100 pages that are all the authors can say on a topic, and 100 pages that are the essence of the 1,000 pages the authors could write on a subject. Clearly “Coaching Plain & Simple” belongs to the latter category. <strong>A small little gem.</strong></span></p>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><b>Book review posted here:</b></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><b><a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/coaching-plain-simple/">http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/coaching-plain-simple/</a></b></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><b>and here:</b></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Coaching-Plain-Simple-Solution-focused-Professional/dp/0393705935/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1291741990&sr=1-1">http://www.amazon.com/Coaching-Plain-Simple-Solution-focused-Professional/dp/0393705935/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1291741990&sr=1-1</a></b></span></div>My notes on SFBTA 2010tag:solworld.ning.com,2010-11-27:2102269:BlogPost:317872010-11-27T19:09:10.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; line-height: 19.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia">This year the <a href="http://www.sfbta.org/"><span style="text-decoration: underline ; color: #1e37ee">SFBTA</span></a> (<b>Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Association</b>) conference was held in <a href="http://www.banff.com/"><span style="text-decoration: underline ; color: #1e37ee">Banff, Alberta</span></a> - in the heart of the …<a href="http://www.canadianrockies.net/"></a></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; line-height: 19.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia">This year the <a href="http://www.sfbta.org/"><span style="text-decoration: underline ; color: #1e37ee">SFBTA</span></a> (<b>Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Association</b>) conference was held in <a href="http://www.banff.com/"><span style="text-decoration: underline ; color: #1e37ee">Banff, Alberta</span></a> - in the heart of the <a href="http://www.canadianrockies.net/"><span style="text-decoration: underline ; color: #1e37ee">Canadian Rockies</span></a>, in one of the most amazing Natural Parks that North America has to offer.</p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; line-height: 19.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia">Unfortunately, <a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:UmBZmpg2E5AJ:rockymountainholidays.com/banff-weather-canada.php+weather+in+Banff+23+november&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=safari"><span style="text-decoration: underline ; color: #1e37ee">the weather did not cooperate</span></a>: it was snowing and overcast most of the time, with temperatures well below zero (C and F). On the other hand, this might have been <b>a blessing in disguise</b>: less tempted to roam around, participants all pretty much stayed in the warm and cozy <a href="http://www.banffcentre.ca/"><span style="text-decoration: underline ; color: #1e37ee">Banff Centre</span></a>, a fact that favored workshop attendance and the forming of new great professional connections.</p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; line-height: 19.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia">What follows is a <b>very personal account of the highlights of the SFBTA 2010</b> <b>Conference</b> based on my own experiences and interests - the good, the excellent and the just OK.</p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; line-height: 19.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia"><b>Read more here:</b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/sfbta-2010-banff-canada/">http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/sfbta-2010-banff-canada/</a></span></p>Solutionsurfers' PURE Brief-Coach Training now available in Californiatag:solworld.ning.com,2010-11-04:2102269:BlogPost:311902010-11-04T14:54:49.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Dear all,</span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I am proud to announce that <a href="http://www.solutionsurfers.com/">Solutionsurfers</a>' <b>PURE</b> Brief-Coach Training is now available in <u>San Francisco, California</u>.…</span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Dear all,</span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I am proud to announce that <a href="http://www.solutionsurfers.com/">Solutionsurfers</a>' <b>PURE</b> Brief-Coach Training is now available in <u>San Francisco, California</u>.</span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">For more details: <a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/solutionsurfers-california/">http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/solutionsurfers-california/</a></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">FYI.</span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Thank you!</span></div>Review of the book "Your Brain at Work" where SF is mentionedtag:solworld.ning.com,2010-10-26:2102269:BlogPost:309902010-10-26T18:28:07.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Your <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Your-Brain-Work-Strategies-Distraction/dp/0061771295" style="color: rgb(0, 160, 255); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Brain at Work</a> is a <strong>pop psych book</strong>.…</span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Your <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Your-Brain-Work-Strategies-Distraction/dp/0061771295" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 160, 255); text-decoration: none;">Brain at Work</a> is a <strong>pop psych book</strong>.</span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Unfortunately, the category “pop psych” book has been misused and abused in the past, so that classification does not do the book justice.</span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><em><strong>Your Brain at Work</strong></em> <strong>is how a pop psych book should be</strong>: well-grounded in research, very well written and offering useful behavioral tips which follow directly from understanding how the brain works. As the cover of the book states: <strong>know your brain, transform your performance</strong>.</span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://www.davidrock.net/about/index.shtml" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 160, 255); text-decoration: none;">David Rock</a> is really good at making <strong>neuroscience’s findings relevant</strong> to everyday’s life: each chapter opens with a snapshot of work life (e.g. a person having to make a decision, or dealing with pressure) and how it usually goes (wrong); then the author follows up by explaining why, according to current understanding of the brain, the person in the story behaves as he or she does; the chapter ends with a take 2, i.e. how the story could end differently if the person had understood how his or her brain worked (happy ending). Moreover, at the end of the chapter one can find two paragraphs: one with the title “Surprises about the brain” which summarizes the main points of the chapter and the other one, “things to try”, with some tips to make use of this understanding of how the brain works.</span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">The book is centered around <strong>three main insights</strong>:</span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">---read more on my blog: <a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/your-brain-at-work/">http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/your-brain-at-work/</a> ---</span></p>Visualization, the "preferred future" & Solution-Focused practicetag:solworld.ning.com,2010-01-19:2102269:BlogPost:189112010-01-19T17:14:11.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
In Solution-Focused practice we ask clients to visualize their perfect future, usually by asking the “Miracle Question”. Research has demonstrated that visualization does not work to help people change. Doesn’t this result invalidate a very important tool of SF practitioners?<br />
<br />
This is the question that we are going to answer in this post.<br />
<i>Read more <a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/visualization-solution-focused-practice/" target="_blank">here</a></i>
In Solution-Focused practice we ask clients to visualize their perfect future, usually by asking the “Miracle Question”. Research has demonstrated that visualization does not work to help people change. Doesn’t this result invalidate a very important tool of SF practitioners?<br />
<br />
This is the question that we are going to answer in this post.<br />
<i>Read more <a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/visualization-solution-focused-practice/" target="_blank">here</a></i>Solution - Focus practices as an open processtag:solworld.ning.com,2009-07-28:2102269:BlogPost:178872009-07-28T00:37:58.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
I strongly believe that the effectiveness of Solution-Focused practice is linked to its <a href="http://www.sfwork.com/jsp/index.jsp?lnk=6d8" target="_blank">radical simplicity</a>.<br />
<br />
That is what makes Solution-Focused practices <a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/solution-focus-simplicity-is-thy-name/" target="_blank">beautiful</a> and <b>elegant</b>.<br />
<br />
I also believe that what we are doing today is the seed of what we will be doing tomorrow.<br />
<br />
In other words, Solution-Focused…
I strongly believe that the effectiveness of Solution-Focused practice is linked to its <a href="http://www.sfwork.com/jsp/index.jsp?lnk=6d8" target="_blank">radical simplicity</a>.<br />
<br />
That is what makes Solution-Focused practices <a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/solution-focus-simplicity-is-thy-name/" target="_blank">beautiful</a> and <b>elegant</b>.<br />
<br />
I also believe that what we are doing today is the seed of what we will be doing tomorrow.<br />
<br />
In other words, Solution-Focused practice will one day be remembered as <b>a stepping stone</b> that led to a more comprehensive, even simpler, <b>evidence-based and scientifically sound protocol for brief coaching and brief therapy.</b><br />
<br />
Through careful observations of what works and taking cues from <a href="http://solutionfocusedchange.blogspot.com/2009/05/positive-expectation-creators.html" target="_blank">recent scientific discoveries</a> so we can elaborate hypothesis, we have our work cut out for us.<br />
<br />
I am not the only one thinking that we should move forward.<br />
<br />
Here is what <b>Michael Hjerth</b> wrote recently, as a <a href="http://interactionjournal.wordpress.com/2009/05/27/gale-miller-the-man-behind-the-mirror-behind-the-mirror-at-bftc-interview-by-mark-mckergow/#comments" target="_blank">comment</a> to an interview of Gale Miller:<br />
<br />
<i>In 2000 or something I asked Steve de Shazer if the work, discipline and research that led up to the model should be seen as a nescessary part of SF, or if SF could stand on it’s own, as described in his books. He clearly indicated that the process was part of it. <b>So, going back to basics in SF is not going back to Steve’s or Insoo’s books. It means going back to hard (but probably delightful) work: disciplined observation, research, challenging yourself, practice.</b> The name Solution focus isn’t to be taken to seriously. Steve always, at least when I asked him, really saw him self as a Brief Therapist first, and Solution focused second. So Therapy (help clients) done Briefly (using as little resources as possible) is key.</i><br />
<br />
And here is what <b>Coert Visser</b> says in his blog, in a recent <a href="https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3736206030583291586&postID=5960510724990126004" target="_blank">comment</a>:<br />
<br />
“<i>Insoo Kim Berg once answered the following question: “Do you see the solution-focused approach as a finished approach or do you think it will keep on developing and changing?” She started laughing and answered right away in a don’t-be-silly kind of way: “Oh no, it’s not finished. For any model to stay alive it will need to constantly keep developing and renewing itself.” She smiled brightly and continued: “So, we need bright young people who will do that.”<br />
</i><br />
Are we up to the task?Distinction: SF coaching vs. "being positive"tag:solworld.ning.com,2009-06-19:2102269:BlogPost:169412009-06-19T10:58:49.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
Inspired by the latest posting by <a href="http://solutionsacademy.net/2009/06/13/is-sf-about-always-looking-at-the-bright-side/">Kirsten Dierolf</a>,<br />
I wrote something about SF vs. "being positive":<br />
<br />
<i><b>Solution-Focused coaching is not about “being positive”.</b><br />
Solution-Focused is not about denying the reality of tough situations.<br />
<br />
<b>Solution-Focused coaching</b> is about noticing what works - in a <b>fact-finding manner</b>.<br />
It is about helping clients observe what they are doing: what…</i>
Inspired by the latest posting by <a href="http://solutionsacademy.net/2009/06/13/is-sf-about-always-looking-at-the-bright-side/">Kirsten Dierolf</a>,<br />
I wrote something about SF vs. "being positive":<br />
<br />
<i><b>Solution-Focused coaching is not about “being positive”.</b><br />
Solution-Focused is not about denying the reality of tough situations.<br />
<br />
<b>Solution-Focused coaching</b> is about noticing what works - in a <b>fact-finding manner</b>.<br />
It is about helping clients observe what they are doing: what does not work (and the client is very aware of that), and what does work (here the client might need a little help: due to the <b>Negativity Bias</b> we are built to pay more attention to the negative - but the point is that <b>we, as SF practitioners, do not add anything!</b>)<br />
<br />
It is about exploring the resources clients bring to the coaching session - without any judgement, positive or negative. We are just “resource detectives” - and because we are professional “r<b>esource detectives</b>”, we are not planting any evidence!</i><br />
<br />
Read it all <a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/distinction-solution-focused-coaching-vs-being-positive/">here</a>.Distinction: SF & Positive Psychologytag:solworld.ning.com,2009-06-15:2102269:BlogPost:168212009-06-15T20:48:52.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
New posting on my blog. Here is an excerpt:<br />
<br />
Therefore:<br />
<br />
<b>IF therapy</b> is about treatment and about helping people function in society (Using a sports metaphor, a therapist makes sure that an injured athlete recovers to compete again, via an effective rehab program)<br />
<br />
<b>AND<br />
<br />
IF coaching</b> is about helping people function well in society, if it is about living better and about performing better (Using a sports metaphor, a coach makes sure that the athlete performs at his or her best, via…
New posting on my blog. Here is an excerpt:<br />
<br />
Therefore:<br />
<br />
<b>IF therapy</b> is about treatment and about helping people function in society (Using a sports metaphor, a therapist makes sure that an injured athlete recovers to compete again, via an effective rehab program)<br />
<br />
<b>AND<br />
<br />
IF coaching</b> is about helping people function well in society, if it is about living better and about performing better (Using a sports metaphor, a coach makes sure that the athlete performs at his or her best, via an effective training program or effective motivational strategies)<br />
<br />
<b>THEN</b> it stands to reason that:<br />
<br />
- <b>therapy</b>, SF or otherwise, does NOT need to find connections with Positive Psychology. It might, but it does not have to. Therapy is about treating mental illness. Therapy is rooted in traditional Psychology. Therapy, how to treat mental illness, was the engine that drove traditional Psychology.<br />
<br />
- <b>coaching</b>, however, SF or otherwise, does need to find common ground with Positive Psychology: the work done in the field of Positive Psychology should inform coaching practices, and empirically tested coaching protocols should inform the research in Positive Psychology.<br />
<br />
Read it all <a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/distinctions-sf-and-positive-psychology/">here</a>.Who knows better?tag:solworld.ning.com,2009-04-05:2102269:BlogPost:134242009-04-05T10:30:00.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
For a specific work assignment, I am brushing up on my NLP skills; more specifically, I'm reviewing my teaching materials on conversational hypnosis and persuasion strategies, as per a specific request by the client who hired me.<br />
<br />
I am struck yet again by how traditional approaches differ from Solution-Focused ones.<br />
<br />
Let's take negotiation skills: a topic that I teach in workshops and in which many clients want to be coached.<br />
The <i>NLP skills used in negotiation</i> are designed to get the…
For a specific work assignment, I am brushing up on my NLP skills; more specifically, I'm reviewing my teaching materials on conversational hypnosis and persuasion strategies, as per a specific request by the client who hired me.<br />
<br />
I am struck yet again by how traditional approaches differ from Solution-Focused ones.<br />
<br />
Let's take negotiation skills: a topic that I teach in workshops and in which many clients want to be coached.<br />
The <i>NLP skills used in negotiation</i> are designed to get the other side <i>to say yes</i> to your pre-packaged proposal, as quickly as possible. The other side's ideas are not treated as an input that could add value to the proposal; they are just a source of information that is used to reframe your message in more persuasive terms.<br />
I teach a <i>Solution-Focused-derived negotiation</i> system. The main goal in the approach I teach is to co-create a shared vision with the other side, giving him or her as many opportunities as possible to think it through and <i>to say no</i>.<br />
<br />
Let's take a look at the helping professions (therapy, counseling, coaching).<br />
Most of the traditional approaches are based on the concept of "<i>overcoming</i>": overcoming resistance, overcoming the conscious (or the unconscious), overcoming past conditioning, solving the problem. There is always an obstacle, an "enemy". Traditional approaches differ in their theories of who or what the enemy is.<br />
Solution-Focused approaches, on the other hand, are based on the concept of "<i>exploring</i>": exploring past successes, finding out what works and what does not work, exploring which options are available. There is no enemy to fight, there simply is a territory to be explored in more detail from different angles - what the client knows is being re-arranged as the solution-focused conversation develops.<br />
<br />
It all boils down to a single question: <b>Who knows better?</b><br />
<br />
If the answer is: the <b>practitioner</b>, then we are operating within a traditional framework. The client needs to be educated using psychological techniques and complex communication strategies to overcome his or her resistance. The client needs to learn a new game and new rules, as Wittgenstein would say. Game and rules that are going to be taught by the practitioner.<br />
<br />
If the answer is: the <b>client</b>, then we are in operating within an empowering / Solution-Focused framework. The client is not in need of enlightenment or education. The client is the expert. Clients do not need to learn a new game or new rules; they simply got entangled in their own rules. Clients need only to play with their own rules, within their own game, to disentangle themselves.<br />
Clients' statements are to be taken at face value. And that is what we work with.<br />
<br />
Cross-posted at: www.briefcoachingsolutions.comSolution-Focused approaches & the Positive Deviance Processtag:solworld.ning.com,2009-03-07:2102269:BlogPost:127232009-03-07T13:04:18.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
In a recent <a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/case-study-a-solution-focused-approach-to-reducing-hospital-infections/">posting</a> I talked about an <b>intervention for reducing hospital infections</b>.<br />
I noted how that intervention had all the ingredients of a Solution-Focused approach, and that the authors called that approach "Positive Deviance".<br />
Some of my friends, in the comments, mentioned that "Positive Deviance" is a school of thought of its own.<br />
That is undoubtedly…
In a recent <a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/case-study-a-solution-focused-approach-to-reducing-hospital-infections/">posting</a> I talked about an <b>intervention for reducing hospital infections</b>.<br />
I noted how that intervention had all the ingredients of a Solution-Focused approach, and that the authors called that approach "Positive Deviance".<br />
Some of my friends, in the comments, mentioned that "Positive Deviance" is a school of thought of its own.<br />
That is undoubtedly correct.<br />
However, I still think that <b>Positive Deviance and Solution-Focused approaches share the same foundations</b>, allowing for different focus and goals.<br />
<br />
For example, in a presentation that describes the Positive Deviance Process and that can be found online <a href="http://www.positivedeviance.org/ppt/Web_PD_Intro_2005.ppt">here</a>, <b>Positive Deviance is contrasted to traditional Problem Solving approaches</b> in the following way:<br />
- internally fueled (by "people like us", same culture and resources) vs. externally fueled (by "experts" or internal authority)<br />
- down-up (sic), inside out vs. top-down, outside in<br />
- asset based "what's right here?" vs. deficit based "what's wrong here?"<br />
- begins with analyses of demonstrably successful SOLUTIONS vs. begins with analyses of underlying causes of PROBLEM<br />
- bypasses Immune System (solution shares same "DNA" as host) vs. triggers Immune System "defense response"<br />
(slide number 17).<br />
I think most, if not all, Solution-Focused practitioners could use this very same list to explain how their approach is different from a more traditional problem solving approach.<br />
<br />
There are, though, <b>differences</b> between the Positive Deviance Process and Solution-Focused approaches, given the different focus:<br />
- the <b>Positive Deviance Process</b> is used for finding outliers (single individuals who do things differently) <b>in a population or in a community</b>. From the <a href="http://www.positivedeviance.org/">Positive Deviance Initiative website</a>, "Positive Deviance (PD) is a development approach that is based on the premise that solutions to community problems already exist within the community."<br />
- the <b>Solution-Focused approach</b> is mainly used for finding outliers (single behaviors which lead to different outcomes) in a <b>single individual or team</b>. From the <a href="http://www.sfbta.org/aboutsfbt.html">Solution Focused Brief Therapy Association website</a>, "because these solutions appear occasionally and already within the person, repeating these successful behaviors is easier than learning a whole new set of solutions that may have worked for someone else".<br />
In other words, <b>the focus of the Positive Deviance Process is a set of individuals; the focus of Solution-Focused approaches is a set of behaviors within a specific individual or team.</b><br />
<br />
Given the different focus, the skills required are different:<br />
- <b>skills for conducting fact-finding interviews</b>: members of the community are interviewed to establish what the norm is and <b>to identify who the "positive deviants" are</b> (i.e. the outliers, individuals who manage to have different outcomes if compared to the norm) for the Positive Deviance Process; once they are identified by other members of the community, they are interviewed to find out what they are doing differently that leads them to different, positive outcomes.<br />
- "<b>skills for not knowing</b>" (De Jong, Berg; 2002) and <b>conversational skills</b> specifically aimed at <b>eliciting exceptions from single individuals</b> regarding the situation viewed as problematic (i.e., times when the person expected the problem but the problem did not occur) for the Solution-Focused practitioners; once exceptions are identified, the person is interviewed to find out what they did differently, or what was different in that specific situation at that specific time, which led to a more desirable outcome.<br />
<br />
Notice that the <b>framework</b> of a Solution-Focused conversation and of a Positive Deviance Process are different.<br />
In the <b>Positive Deviance Process the goal is set beforehand</b> and the Process is a tool to meet that goal.<br />
In a <b>Solution-Focused Intervention the goal is to be negotiated with the individual or the team</b>, within the conversation itself.<br />
<br />
<b>The key tenet is the same: focusing on solutions rather than problems</b>.<br />
However, while <b>Solution-Focused protocols</b> are born by inductively finding out what works in a <b>conversation</b> with a therapeutic goal, the Positive Deviance Process is born to identify what the outliers do differently within a community of similar individuals tackling problems like the spread of infectious disease, malnutrition, sanitation.<br />
<br />
Positive Deviance Process, in focusing on populations, deals with outliers differently from the Solution-Focused approach.<br />
In <b>Positive Deviance Process, a procedure is designed</b> to help other people of the community <b>model</b> the successful behaviors of the outliers (see the "Palmer Method" video <a href="http://www.positivedeviance.org/">here</a>); in Solution-Focused approaches, exceptions are unique to each individuals: there is no "modeling", no "designing", just an invitation to do more of what works, more of what leads to even slightly better outcomes - incremental change is the name of the game.<br />
Positive Deviance Process's aim is to spread best practices found locally to a whole community of similar individuals.<br />
Solution-Focused approaches' aim is to increase the frequency of useful behaviors exhibited by an individual to a whole set of similar situations.<br />
<br />
Note: for a health-care perspective on these very topics, go to <a href="http://hopping.ning.com/">HOP</a> (Health-care Organizing People)<br />
<br />
Cross-posted on my <a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/solution-focused-approaches-the-positive-deviance-process/"></a><a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/">website</a>.Change We Can Believe In - a case study of a brief coaching sessiontag:solworld.ning.com,2009-03-01:2102269:BlogPost:125812009-03-01T14:58:43.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
I learn a lot from my clients.<br />
After a session, I review my notes; I think of the path taken and of the many paths not taken; I think about what I said, and I think about what the client said; and new insights, new perspectives emerge.<br />
These reflections are very useful to improve my game.<br />
Sometimes, they offer very interesting insights into how the mind works, how change happens, how people think.<br />
<br />
A recent coaching session with a new client led me to musings about language and change.<br />
<br />
After…
I learn a lot from my clients.<br />
After a session, I review my notes; I think of the path taken and of the many paths not taken; I think about what I said, and I think about what the client said; and new insights, new perspectives emerge.<br />
These reflections are very useful to improve my game.<br />
Sometimes, they offer very interesting insights into how the mind works, how change happens, how people think.<br />
<br />
A recent coaching session with a new client led me to musings about language and change.<br />
<br />
After getting his authorization and changing a few details to protect my client’s privacy, here it goes:<br />
<br />
<i>“Philosophy [and coaching] is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of our language” - Wittgenstein, #109, Philosophical Investigations<br />
</i><br />
1 - After the initial banter, I ask the client what he would like to work on. He states that “his problem is that he is not able to say no”.<br />
According to protocol, I inquired about what he wants instead and what would be different then for him if he learns to say no to people.<br />
As a reply, the client starts telling his own story: a self-made man, an entrepreneur and a local politician. He tells his story with pride. It seems clear that he has no problem being assertive or saying no. His narrative has epic tones.<br />
So here is the first lesson I was reminded of: the <b>“problem”</b> is often a <b>belief</b> that has been formed by a process of <b>generalization, deletion and distortion</b>.<br />
What fascinates me, again and again, is the richness of the world that is hidden behind such blanket statements offered by clients.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.briefcoachingsolutions.com/change-we-can-believe-in/">Read the whole case study here, on my website</a>.A case study: a solution-focused approach to reducing hospital infectionstag:solworld.ning.com,2008-12-07:2102269:BlogPost:99022008-12-07T12:00:00.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
It seems to me solution-focused strategies are blossoming everywhere. Or maybe I see them everywhere. Whatever the case might be, I was not expecting to find anything regarding Solution-Focused approaches in a book whose subtitle is: "a surgeon's note on performance" (the book is<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Better-Surgeons-Performance-Atul-Gawande/dp/0312427654/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228651595&sr=1-1">BETTER</a>, the author is Atul Gawande). Yet, there it was: a perfect…
It seems to me solution-focused strategies are blossoming everywhere. Or maybe I see them everywhere. Whatever the case might be, I was not expecting to find anything regarding Solution-Focused approaches in a book whose subtitle is: "a surgeon's note on performance" (the book is <br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Better-Surgeons-Performance-Atul-Gawande/dp/0312427654/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228651595&sr=1-1">BETTER</a>, the author is Atul Gawande). Yet, there it was: a perfect case study in Solution-Focused strategy, right there in Chapter 1("on washing hands"), even though nowhere in the book the words "solution-focused" are mentioned. I thought it could be worthwhile to share this case study, because it is an excellent example of Solution-Focused processes at work. In the first pages of chapter 1, Doctor Gawande sets out to introduce readers to the problem: how to increase compliance in washing hands for doctors and medical staff members. He tells readers why that is a very important goal - because washing hands is "the one thing that consistently halts the spread of infections". To have an idea of the dimension of the problem, the author quotes some statistics: "each year, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control, 2 million Americans acquire an infection while they are in the hospital. Ninety thousand die of that infection". Yet, despite the fact that a whole bunch of different solutions have been tried out in hospitals (posting signs, repositioning sinks, increasing the number of sinks, automating sinks, issuing hygiene report cards, etc.), still doctors and nurses wash their hands on average one-third to one-half as often at they are supposed to. After talking more about his personal experience with the problem and about why it is a difficult problem, the author tells the story of an intervention in Pittsburgh, Pa. We can think of this case story as: bringing in a traditional (non solution-focused) consultant. It so happens that Paul O'Neill, former secretary of the Treasury and CEO of Alcoa, took over as head of a regional health care initiative in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Experienced in solving performance issues in factories, Mr. O'Neill sent a young industrial engineer on a single 40-bed surgical unit at Pittsburgh veteran hospital. The young engineer was sent in with the task of solving the problem of how to increase hands washing behavior in the medical staff. As the author tells the story, the young engineer did not ask, "why don't you wash your hands?" He asked "why can't you?". I imagine this well-intentioned consultant to be an expert in the Toyota system and in Lean Production processes (this is my own attribution) - because since the answer he got was "time", he set about fixing things that took time: a "just in time" supply system, a re-arrangement of stethoscopes, and other similar changes. After these changes were made, infection rates fell almost 90%. A success story! Well, if you are a Solution-Focused practitioner you know there is a nag in these kinds of interventions. As you might expect, these changes, despite a lot of exhortation, after 2 years had spread to only one other unit; and the moment the young engineer left for other assignments, performances began to slide. Enter hopelessness? No! Enter a Solution-Focused approach!! A surgeon who helped the young engineer happened to read an article about a Save the Children anti-starvation program in Vietnam, run by Tufts University nutritionist J. Sternin and his wife. In their experience, over and over bringing outside solutions to the villagers had failed. Instead "the Sternins focused on finding solutions from insiders. They asked small groups of poor villagers to identify who among them had the best nourished children... The villagers then visited those mothers at home to see exactly what they were doing... The villagers discovered that there were well-nourished children among them, despite the poverty, and that those children's mothers were breaking with the locally accepted wisdom in all sorts of ways - feeding their children even when they had diarrhea, for example;..." The Sternins called their approach "positive deviance". The surgeon, Jon Lloyd, impressed by this idea, set out to try it, again in Pittsburgh veteran hospital. He held a series of "thirty minute, small group discussions with health care workers at every level... The team began each meeting saying, in essence, "we are here because of the hospital infection problem, and we want to know what <br />
<i>you</i> know about how to solve it". No charts, no presentation, just that simple question. Is this Solution-Focused in its essence, or what? Not surprisingly, "ideas came pouring out. People told of places where hand-gel dispensers were missing, ways to keep gowns and gloves from running out of supply..." Everything changed: nurses would speak up if doctors were not wearing gloves; non-compliers were pressured by peers to conform; when new hand-gel dispensers arrived, staff members decided where to put them; and so on. Of course they made sure to publicize the ideas that worked and the small victories on the hospital website and newsletter. To cut a long story short: "one year into the experiment - and after years without widespread progress - the entire hospital saw its MRSA wound infection rates drop to zero." Yeah! In these stories we can find all the ingredients of solution-focused interventions: - treating people involved as experts - finding resources and exceptions within the system (organization, village) - finding out what these "exceptions" are doing differently - focusing on what is working - amplifying the small successes et voilà, we have sustainable solutions because they come from inside the system itself, from the people involved!! <br />
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/398817725?profile=original" alt="" width="240" height="240"></p>Brain as anticipation machine... and SF for creating memories of the futuretag:solworld.ning.com,2008-07-17:2102269:BlogPost:53842008-07-17T23:23:11.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
Jeff Hawkins, the guy behind the Palm Pilot, wrote a book published in 2005: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0805078533/ref=s9sips_c1_at1-rfc_g1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=084N84YT49MXGBKPDSMN&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=265623401&pf_rd_i=507846">On Intelligence</a>.<br />
The title says it all.<br />
I found the book very interesting, because Hawkins’ point of view is very different from that of many brain researchers.<br />
For example, basing his argument on a paper…
Jeff Hawkins, the guy behind the Palm Pilot, wrote a book published in 2005: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0805078533/ref=s9sips_c1_at1-rfc_g1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=084N84YT49MXGBKPDSMN&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=265623401&pf_rd_i=507846">On Intelligence</a>.<br />
The title says it all.<br />
I found the book very interesting, because Hawkins’ point of view is very different from that of many brain researchers.<br />
For example, basing his argument on a paper by Vernon Mountcastle, he argues strongly in favor of the view that neocortex cells carry out the same basic algorithm, regardless of their specific function (e.g. regardless of what input neocortex cells are elaborating: tactile or visual or auditory…), given the fact that the neocortex is remarkably similar in appearance and structure.<br />
I am not sure I agree with him, but it is refreshing to have new perspectives on how the brain works.<br />
<br />
Hawkin’s central claim is that the <b>brain is not a computation machine but a memory machine</b>: it does not compute a solution but makes constant predictions about the future by analogy to the past.<br />
Attention, and thinking, is activated when our predictions are violated.<br />
For example, I can walk in my living room to go to the kitchen without thinking about it.<br />
But if a new object has been placed somewhere, say a new ornament on the table, my prediction is violated and my attention is drawn to the error, i.e. the new object.<br />
This makes more sense than the AI computation model, that would require that we list all the properties of all the objects in the room and then that we compute it all… it would take us minutes for us to do what we do in a split second, i.e. noticing something different.<br />
<br />
I thought this point of view could be useful to help us think about solution-focused approaches.<br />
According to Hawkins’ model, our thinking gets activated when there is a violation of our expectations based on past memories: basically, when there is a problem.<br />
However, if we help clients think about a “preferred future”, we can <b>engage the same mechanism without falling into the problem solving trap</b>: clients can form memories of the future (as W.R. Bion would have said) and activate their thinking when the present situation is a mismatch with their preferred future, without necessarily there being a problem in the current situation the client is experiencing!<br />
<br />
Any thoughts on that?SF & cognitive "biases"tag:solworld.ning.com,2008-06-27:2102269:BlogPost:46912008-06-27T15:39:04.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
Sometimes I think SF practice means skillfully navigating and using human biases and quirks.<br />
Take, for example, the "anchoring bias".<br />
if, in a questionnaire, I use the questions "how happy are you?" and "how often do you date?" in that order, the correlation of the answers to those questions is very small (0.1 or something like that).<br />
But if I reverse the order of the questions, i.e. if I ask first "how often do you date?" and then "how happy are you?" the answers to the two questions turn out…
Sometimes I think SF practice means skillfully navigating and using human biases and quirks.<br />
Take, for example, the "anchoring bias".<br />
if, in a questionnaire, I use the questions "how happy are you?" and "how often do you date?" in that order, the correlation of the answers to those questions is very small (0.1 or something like that).<br />
But if I reverse the order of the questions, i.e. if I ask first "how often do you date?" and then "how happy are you?" the answers to the two questions turn out to be more strongly correlated (0.6 something), i.e. if you say you date a lot you then tend to think of yourself as happy, while if you say you do not date a lot you then tend to think of yourself as not as happy.<br />
Dating has been evoked, it has been made salient in your mind, and it has become your criteria for happiness.<br />
<br />
Now, isn't that what we do with our questions?<br />
First, we elicit "exceptions".<br />
Then, we might ask the client to rate his confidence, or how useful the session was...<br />
et voila'!<br />
The anchoring "bias" pressed into SF service!!The infantilization of Italian (European?) culturetag:solworld.ning.com,2008-05-31:2102269:BlogPost:31442008-05-31T20:22:16.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
Multi-culturalism is a word I do not like, and it rates just above "plague" in my own dictionary.<br />
That is because I do not believe in the relativistic nature of that approach, which caused more harm than good: it left us in Europe with increasing levels of anomie, and that is bad according to positive psychology and to my own experience.<br />
Not having a theoretical framework, though, that means i am more curious about cultural differences!<br />
<br />
One thing I noticed just by reading the news is the…
Multi-culturalism is a word I do not like, and it rates just above "plague" in my own dictionary.<br />
That is because I do not believe in the relativistic nature of that approach, which caused more harm than good: it left us in Europe with increasing levels of anomie, and that is bad according to positive psychology and to my own experience.<br />
Not having a theoretical framework, though, that means i am more curious about cultural differences!<br />
<br />
One thing I noticed just by reading the news is the different age labels.<br />
It might happen that in England a 21-year-old <b>man</b> kills an 18 year old <b>youth</b>.<br />
But in Italy a 33 - year - old <b>youth</b> runs over and kills two <b>kids</b> aged 22 and 23.<br />
<br />
As a general rule, in England and in the USA:<br />
"boy" : 10 - 15 year old dude<br />
"youth": 15 -18 year old dude<br />
"man": 18 year old or older<br />
<br />
In Italy:<br />
"boy": up to the age of 30<br />
"youth": up to the age of 40<br />
"man": 40 year old or older<br />
<br />
<br />
Well, let's put it this way: I am very happy to become a "man" in 2009 in a Country full of boys, girls and youth! :-)Rolling with the punchestag:solworld.ning.com,2008-05-17:2102269:BlogPost:8052008-05-17T11:30:26.000ZPaolo Ternihttps://solworld.ning.com/profile/PaoloTerni
My client was another coach / consultant, familiar with the SF process.<br />
Very strong and interesting personality.<br />
A tough cookie.<br />
I decided to co-create the process with her, so I engaged her expertise.<br />
We started off alright...<br />
until all of a sudden she gave me this feedback: "leave me more space; you are not leaving me enough space to think about the answers to your questions".<br />
I was taken aback by the directness of the feedback.<br />
I took it in good stride, though; I learned long ago to separate…
My client was another coach / consultant, familiar with the SF process.<br />
Very strong and interesting personality.<br />
A tough cookie.<br />
I decided to co-create the process with her, so I engaged her expertise.<br />
We started off alright...<br />
until all of a sudden she gave me this feedback: "leave me more space; you are not leaving me enough space to think about the answers to your questions".<br />
I was taken aback by the directness of the feedback.<br />
I took it in good stride, though; I learned long ago to separate myself from the outcome, and to separate my identity from the process I happen to be engaged in.<br />
So I accepted her "suggestion" and we had a very interesting coaching conversation, rated very highly by the coachee at the end of our brief coaching session.<br />
<br />
It turns out that piece of blunt feedback she gave me was one of the most useful feedbacks I ever received.<br />
Having been trained in other coaching approaches, I realized I had a strong tendency to butt in, to reach the solution as soon as possible using <u>my</u> frame of reference, not the coachee's.<br />
Now, I know that is not kosher... I did read books about <i>the art of not-knowing</i>...<br />
easier said than done, though...<br />
My coachee made me aware I still had the tendency to "lead" the client: either by summarizing to much, or talking when I should be keeping my trap shut.<br />
I applied that insight right away in my coaching practice.<br />
Amazing!<br />
My first coachee after that session, an executive in a biotech company, came to the session with a "hard problem" and two other "issues" for future discussion.<br />
In one hour and a half, he figured out a way to an effective solution for the "hard problem", and solutions for the other issues, too!!<br />
I used the protocol that I learned from Peter Szabo (Solutionsurfers), but this time I consciously made an effort to take the backseat and to leave plenty of room to the client to just think...<br />
Again: amazing!!<br />
<br />
Paradox: the most useful feedback I received was not a compliment.<br />
It was a critique based on a clear understanding of what was needed then.<br />
Not what was missing; what was needed.<br />
But still a critique.<br />
<br />
Thanks, coachee! :-)