Liberating the Structures: TRIZ

?? Nederlandse versie op: https://DeWorkshopper.nl/liberating-structures/triz/

Facilitator difficulty: easy
Participant difficulty: medium
Time required: 40 minutes        

TRIZ (a Russian acronym for Theory of inventive problem solving) is designed to help groups identify and eliminate patterns that stand in the way of their success. It is about STOPPING things, instead of what we as humans usually tend to do, which is to add new things and making things more complex by doing so.

The thing I love about TRIZ is that it turns traditional problem-solving upside down with a reversed-psychology-structure that messes with the minds of the participants. This allows them to break free from conventional thinking and generate creative ideas. A smile appears on my face every time I witness this process.

How to facilitate TRIZ

This structure consists of 3 iterations of another Liberating Structure, called 1-2-4-All . Before facilitating TRIZ, please take note of how 1-2-4-All is structured. And don’t worry, it is really simple.

Step 1: Identify an unwanted result (5 minutes)

Introduce a topic that embodies a very unwanted result. Examples are collaboration that fails, a campaign that doesn’t work or an important result or goal that is not achieved. Validate your proposal with the group.

Step 2: Brainstorm on ways to actually reach the unwanted result (12 minutes)

By following the Liberating Structure 1-2-4-All , the group creates a list of all things that can be done to achieve the worst possible results with regards to the topic at hand. This step starts with silent individual writing and ends with smaller groups sharing the destructive or counterproductive behaviors.

Example questions:

• What are the actions we can take to make it a certainty that this project will be an utter failure?
• What things can we do to make absolutely sure that this will be the worst conference ever?
• What should we do to completely fail our implementation of framework X?
• How do we make 100% sure that we will not land this client? Make a list of your wildest ideas.

Step 3: Identify current unwanted behaviors (12 minutes)

By following the same 1-2-4-All routine, the group now creates a new list of all things that they are currently doing, that somehow resemble the items of the first list. This could be in a different or more moderate form. Common themes and patterns emerge, revealing shared challenges and deepening the understanding of what needs to stop.

Step 4: Brainstorm ways to stop these behaviors (12 minutes)

Using 1-2-4-All again, participants brainstorm specific first actions they can take to stop the unwanted behaviors. Here the focus shifts from problems to solutions, encouraging practical and actionable ideas that the group can implement. This step ends with smaller groups sharing their most valuable ideas to stop the most critical behaviors that impede their success. This fosters collective learning and ensures that everyone is aligned on the next steps.

The benefits of TRIZ

• All benefits of 1-2-4-All: As TRIZ incapsulates the 1-2-4-All structure, it automatically inherits the same benefits like inclusivity, increased participation and engagement, diversity of perspectives, creativity boost, etcetera.
• Reveals hidden issues: By focusing on what NOT to do, TRIZ brings hidden problems to the surface, allowing groups to address issues they might otherwise overlook.
• Encourages creative thinking: The process encourages participants to think outside the box, challenging conventional approaches and fostering innovative solutions.
• Promotes honest discussions: TRIZ creates a safe space for candid conversations about what’s not working, leading to more open and honest discussions.
• Empowers collective action: By involving everyone in the problem-solving process, TRIZ ensures that solutions are collaborative and have collective buy-in.
• Enhances problem-solving efficiency: The structured approach of TRIZ helps groups quickly identify the root causes of problems and develop targeted solutions.
• Reduces resistance to change: By identifying and addressing counterproductive behaviors, TRIZ helps reduce resistance to change and fosters a culture of continuous improvement.
• Improves team dynamics: The collaborative nature of TRIZ strengthens team cohesion and builds trust, as participants work together to solve common challenges.
• Increases accountability: The process encourages participants to take ownership of the actions needed to stop harmful behaviors, leading to greater accountability.
• Facilitates long-term success: TRIZ helps organizations focus on sustainable solutions by addressing the underlying causes of problems, rather than just treating symptoms.

Use cases and tweaks for TRIZ

• Start with another Liberating Structure: Use for example 1-2-4-All or Impromptu networking, to identify and choose the unwanted outcome with the group in Step 1.
• Make it personal: Instead of asking for behaviors that “we” (the group) should stop, ask the participants to reflect on their own individual behavior and to choose one or few behaviors that they will stop immediately. This enables you to spark individual but meaningful improvements in the group, while saving 10 minutes by skipping the 2-4-All in Step 4.
• Employee assessment: Use TRIZ-like questions to identify improvement areas in the form of behaviors that impede the advancement of the employee’s career.
• Leadership development: Use TRIZ as part of leadership development programs to help leaders identify and stop counterproductive behaviors, improving their effectiveness.
• Conflict resolution: Employ TRIZ in conflict resolution sessions to identify and address the root causes of conflict, fostering healthier relationships.
• Team building: Use TRIZ as a team-building exercise to foster collaboration and trust, especially in teams that struggle with communication or conflict. A fun question to ask: “How do we make absolutely certain that this team does not exist in one month from now. Go wild with extreme ideas!”
• Customer feedback analysis: Use TRIZ to analyze customer feedback and identify patterns of dissatisfaction, helping to improve customer experiences.
• Retrospectives and evaluations: Apply TRIZ in sprint retrospectives or project evaluations to identify and stop behaviors that hindered success, ensuring better outcomes in the future.
• Process improvement: Incorporate TRIZ into process improvement initiatives to identify and eliminate inefficiencies, leading to more streamlined operations. Perfect for government bodies to simplify overcomplicated laws and regulation.
• Innovation workshops: Integrate TRIZ into innovation workshops to inspire creative thinking and generate breakthrough ideas.
• Strategic planning: Apply TRIZ during strategic planning sessions to identify potential pitfalls and develop robust strategies that avoid common traps.
• Risk management: Use TRIZ to proactively identify risks and develop strategies to mitigate them, enhancing your organization’s resilience.
• Complex problem solving: Ideal for tackling complex, persistent problems where traditional methods have failed. TRIZ helps teams break through barriers and discover new approaches.
• Reflect on the Scrum framework: See this post by The Liberators.

Tips for facilitating TRIZ

• Clarify the focus: Clearly explain the purpose of TRIZ at the start of the session, emphasizing that the goal is to identify and stop behaviors that lead to failure.
• Promote open dialogue: Foster an open and non-judgmental environment where participants feel comfortable sharing their thoughts, even if they involve difficult truths.
• Encourage fun: Ask participants to make it a fun exercise where exaggeration and laughter are allowed. This helps create a safe environment that invites participants to reveal more of themselves.
• Ask for brutal honesty: When asking to identify current unwanted behaviors in Step 3, ask participants to take an honest look at themselves before looking at the group. This creates engagement and ownership of the challenge at hand.
• Don’t spoil the twist: Do not give away that participants will reflect on their own behaviors in Step3, as people might then already start to think about their current situation, limiting creativity and the brutal honesty that makes TRIZ work.
• Don't accept ideas for doing something extra: Make sure all suggestions are about stopping behaviors, not starting new things.
• Include a confession round: Kick off the sharing of current undesirable behaviors at the end of Step 3 with a round of finishing the sentence "I confess that...". Make the first confession yourself to break the ice.
• Encourage deep reflection: Give participants enough time to deeply reflect on the behaviors they want to stop. This step is crucial for generating meaningful insights.
• Guide prioritization: Help groups prioritize the most critical behaviors to stop, ensuring that they focus on the issues with the greatest impact.
• Look for patterns: Help participants discover patterns in their results. Allow extra time for this if needed.
• Ask about stakeholders: When addressing behavior or actions to stop, consider the people who need to be involved. This helps in creating feasible action plans.
• Keep the energy up: Maintain a positive and energetic atmosphere, even when discussing negative behaviors. This will keep participants engaged and motivated to find solutions.
• Use visual aids: Encourage groups to use sticky notes or whiteboards to visually map out their ideas. This helps in organizing thoughts and making connections between concepts.
• Provide a board per step: Create visual columns for the results of steps 2, 3, and 4. Reveal each board at the beginning of the step. Any sticky notes can be moved to the next board by participants if they are still relevant to them in the next step. This saves a lot of writing.
• Allow for flexibility: Be prepared to adjust the process based on the group’s needs. For example, if a group is struggling, give them more time to brainstorm solutions. If a group seems lost or is laughing hard, check whether they need additional guidance.
• Encourage action planning: Ensure that the session ends with concrete action plans that participants can commit to. This increases the likelihood of follow-through. For more depth, use another Liberating Structure, such as Troika Consulting, Wise Crowds or Open Space.
• Write down decisions: Number action items and formulate them as a decision, for example “I will stop…” and “We will stop…”. This increases the commitment to actually do it.
• Follow up on action plans: Schedule a follow-up session with participants to discuss progress on the action plans and determine possible follow-up actions. This reinforces accountability and helps maintain momentum.

?? Also take note of facilitation tips for 1-2-4-All .

Learn more about TRIZ and Liberating Structures

As this Liberating Structure is a bit more difficult to facilitate than 1-2-4-All , it is wise to gain some experience in facilitating 1-2-4-All first. For both Liberating Structures it is a matter of learning by doing. If you need help to incorporate it into a larger meeting structure, I’m happy to help prepare and set it up!

If you are curious about Liberating Structures in general and would like to experience the structures firsthand, check out our Training page for learning possibilities. A simple workshop is quickly organized.

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This structure is one of many available in the Liberating Structures family.

Liberating structures was developed by Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless.