Generating Potential Solutions

Good Morning,

Thank you for visiting my page. This morning, I’ll introduce step four of the reflective-thinking process for solving a problem. With the Coronavirus reaching record numbers, many families, groups, and boards will be deciding on questions of policy. Remember a question of policy determines what steps a family, city, county, state, school, or country should take to deal with a problem.

The fourth step of the reflective-thinking process is to generate potential solutions. During this phase, the ideal is to come up with the broadest possible range of solutions. This is the brainstorming phase. Participants generate ideas. The most desirable approach is to have each member of the group list all the possible solutions he or she can. Encourage free association of words and thoughts. 

After all members of the group or task force have listed all the possible solutions they can generate, one member of the group should consolidate the individual lists into one list. The group should discuss the combined list to make sure no potential solution has been ignored or disregarded. Members should use the existing solutions to support and generate more solutions.

A quick note. Creating the individual lists encourages creativity and produces more high-quality solutions. It also encourages equal participation and makes it less likely one member will dominate the process, resulting in other members withholding the best solution or being jeered.

Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope it will help you solve your problems.