We're All Doomed!

We're All Doomed!

One of a series of articles about applying business theory to the Energy Sector.

In this article I will apply a problem-solving theory known as Reversals to real-life experience in the Energy Sector. I invite your comments and ideas on how to apply the theory in your own situations.

Isn’t it interesting how bad news fills the TV, radio and internet? Have you ever wondered why? 

Personally, I think it is driven by our fundamental survival instinct. We are programmed to survive so we tend to focus on bad news outcomes to situations which are to be avoided for ourselves.  Good news outcomes do not trigger our survival instincts which means we are less focused on them. 

Whether you agree with my folk psychology theory of why bad news is more gripping than good, it concludes with an outcome that has been noted so often by researchers that it has led to the development of a creativity theory known as Reversals (Osborn, 1957).   

In short, the outcome is that people find it easier to imagine bad outcomes than good ones for a given situation.  Although it may seem a mundane observation, it is not. It can actually help you and this is where the application of theory comes in.  

Let’s say for instance you are thinking about a problem. There are enough examples of these that I’m sure you can come up with some but for fun how about “How can I get a better job?” 

This is popular problem but usually people will start thinking about the difficulties involved: What else to choose, the chore of making a CV, the stress of job interviews, the rejection(s), loss of self-confidence and so on. In the end most people give up before they start and just moan. 

What would Osborn’s Reversals theory suggest? Well, based on the observation that it is easier for humans to imagine negative outcomes to a situation, the right way to approach the problem is to use a different question, one that allows our survival instincts to play in our favour. Do not ask ‘How can I get a better job?”, instead ask the opposite: “How can I get a worse job?’. 

That’s right. Imagine how you can make the problem you want to solve actually worse…

It is a contrarian approach and definitely not common-sense, but this turns the question on its head in favour of your latent cognitive abilities. It is easy to think of negative outcome solutions that make things worse: don’t apply for alternate jobs, do poor quality work, turn up late, be disruptive on projects and to co-workers, be rude to your boss, avoid training, work to rule, avoid career-building opportunities and so on. It’s easy!

Now here is the trick. Take all your negative solutions and imagine doing the reverse.

Imagining doing the reverse immediately gives you plans towards a solution; sometimes unexpected ones. Now since I am a fan of practical applications for theories, I used Reversals myself the last time I was facing a change of job (a situation familiar to far too many in this sometimes chaotic industry). 

By aiming to make the situation worse (it is always possible). I imagined giving up working in the oil industry completely, cutting myself off from my friends, colleagues and a contact network built up over 20+ years, moving away and starting a new life by opening a café. After dreaming up these negative solutions, it was easy to reverse them. By doing so, I gave myself a new plan: stay in the Energy industry I knew so well, expand my network of industry friends, colleagues and contacts actively, stay put and start my own oil and gas consulting business instead.

It was a radical idea and I wondered whether I should consider it. Finding another job would be easier but after sense-checking the idea with some trusted friends, I was humbled by the response. So many offers of help, collaboration and new ideas in support of the endeavour flowed in. It was an entirely liberating experience and soon the mission became clear. To reboot, re-examine industry assumptions and redesign the way a consultancy could operate from the ground up.  

Syntillica was born.  

Conclusion

Reversals is a very powerful problem-solving technique with numerous applications in different types of situation due to our powerful survival instincts. Next time you are faced with a problem I recommend you try it. 

I do hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I enjoyed writing it and found it interesting. I would love to hear from you and am very interested to know what you think and/or how you might apply Reversals theory in practice.

This article has described the theory in brief and I used Syntillica as an example.

If you would like to do some more in-depth problem-solving analysis that produces practical plans for your business but don't have the time then let me know. Being a consultant, either I, or one of my Syntillican colleagues are always available for hire :-)

Best Wishes,

Max Harper MSc MBA MA

https://www.syntillica.com/

References

OSBORNE, A. F. (1957): Applied Imagination. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.