By Mike Loughrin, CEO for Transformance Advisors
Too Many Ideas
Have you ever been working with an energized team and find you have too many great ideas to wrap your arms around? Maybe you need to trim down a long list of options and quickly prioritize the most viable and valuable options to the top.
This could happen a number of different ways:
- After a round of brainstorming
- During a SWOT analysis
- Recording observations from a focus group
- Collecting ideas for a cause and effect diagram
- Assessing issues noted from customer complaints
- Reviewing action items from a monthly business review
- Ranking recommendations from an organizational assessment
And there are dozens of other examples.
During any team-oriented activity, there is usually a point where you get a list of “things” which needs to be put under control.
Many Tools
There are many tools claiming to be the answer:
- Decision Matrix Analysis
- Action Priority Matrix
- Urgent and Important Principle
- Paired Comparison Analysis
- Circle of Concern vs. Control
- Pareto Analysis
These tools, and many others, can work. Unfortunately, many tools seem to slow the team down when you need to make a quick decision about classification or priority.
Setting Priorities
Setting the classification or priority becomes a team decision and can easily open up endless debate.
For example:
- Is this item a priority 2 or 3 – and what is priority 3 again?
- Is this important for a few or for everyone – what do we do about that?
- We need another department to do something – let’s just say their problem is in our circle of control!
- Give it a high chance of success – that process has been failing for years, but the times are a changin’
- Call it a quick fix – it only affects the procedures for 8,000 people in 57 locations
- Can we talk some more about this “blockchain” thing – everyone says it can solve all issues
You know the drill. It is frustrating for everyone.
There has to be a better way!
Gaining Control
Gaining control requires success at three challenges:
- Sorting your list from most important to least important
- Getting everyone to agree on this prioritized list
- Doing this fast, and on the spot, when creativity is high
For me, one tool has become my favorite for solving these three challenges.
It’s called RightPage and has consistently delivered a sense of accomplishment for teams I have worked with.
You can use a flipchart, whiteboard, or excel.
But first, let’s walk through a simple, but very representative, example.
Your Team Must Decide
Think about working on the summer picnic and your team needs to decide something that could turn into a barroom brawl if not managed well.
You must decide on the flavors of ice cream to serve!
Like everything, you have a constraint. The budget allows for the purchase of 4, and only 4, buckets of ice cream.
At this point, a wise executive would tell the team to decide whatever they want. Then, the executive would leave the room and the mayhem would begin.
You need the team to make a decision and you need everyone to support the decision.
An overused word called consensus comes to mind. But forcing consensus is not something you want to do when an important issue like ice cream is involved.
I propose you need everyone on the same page or the RightPage. The page which lists the 4 flavors in the order of importance.
Step 1 – Brainstorm
Let’s get a list of possible flavors.
An effective approach to brainstorming:
- List the problem statement – “we need to identify 4 flavors of ice cream to serve at the summer picnic”
- Go around the room with each person tossing out 1 flavor they would like considered
- Keep going round and round until people run out of ideas – say “pass” if you don’t have a new flavor to add
- As the well runs dry, announce you will close the collection of ideas
- Going once, going twice, done
- Discuss the ideas for clarification; combine items everyone agrees are essentially the same thing
Agree on Options
Let’s look at the flavors you collected:
- Butter Pecan
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
- Vanilla
- Strawberry
- Mint Chocolate Chip
- Rocky Road
- Jalapeno Mustard
- Peanut Butter
- Cookies and Cream
- Pistachio
The great news for the team and for the facilitator – this was a fast brainstorming session. It did not require discussion and debate. Even a somewhat ridiculous flavor, from one person, does not slow down the process.
Step 2 – Create RightPage Exercise
The next step is to transfer your list into a RightPage format. You can create this on a flipchart, whiteboard, or in excel.
The table below shows what is required:
| Option | Points – Lale | Points – Mara | Points – Mike | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butter Pecan | – | – | – | – |
| Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough | – | – | – | – |
| Vanilla | – | – | – | – |
| Strawberry | – | – | – | – |
| Mint Chocolate Chip | – | – | – | – |
| Rocky Road | – | – | – | – |
| Jalapeno Mustard | – | – | – | – |
| Peanut Butter | – | – | – | – |
| Cookies and Cream | – | – | – | – |
| Pistachio | – | – | – | – |
| Total | – | – | – | – |
Step 3 – Everyone Votes
It’s now time to vote. Everyone gets 100 points they can spread around as they choose. The more points you put on a flavor, the more value you place on that flavor being chosen for the summer picnic.
The table below shows how everyone allocated their 100 points:
| Option | Points – Lale | Points – Mara | Points – Mike | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butter Pecan | 25 | 20 | 30 | 75 |
| Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough | – | 30 | 40 | 70 |
| Vanilla | 20 | – | – | 20 |
| Strawberry | 15 | 5 | – | 20 |
| Mint Chocolate Chip | 15 | 5 | 15 | 35 |
| Rocky Road | – | – | 10 | 10 |
| Jalapeno Mustard | – | – | – | 0 |
| Peanut Butter | – | 20 | – | 20 |
| Cookies and Cream | 10 | 5 | – | 15 |
| Pistachio | 15 | 15 | 5 | 35 |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 100 | 300 |
Step 4 – Discuss Results
We see Butter Pecan, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Mint Chocolate Chip, and Pistachio are the top 4 choices.
Plus, we see that Jalapeno Mustard did not fare well.
The results do not have to be final. The team should discuss the results and ask questions about why people voted a certain way.
A few scenarios often happen:
- Two very similar items split the vote. The team might decide to eliminate one and allow people to allocate their points to the remaining item
- A deeper explanation on something, only one person was passionate about, could change the minds of others
- Anyone not voting for the top items may take a second look and see wisdom in how the others placed value on those choices
Optional Step 5 – Vote Again
Run another round of voting if discussion has given people a new perspective.
You can quickly set up a second round which may, or may not, include changes in your categories.
I have often found this second round of voting produces similar results, but does include improvements which make everyone feel better with the results.
You will sense a level of confidence in the room. Everyone sees what the selections or priorities need to be.
Consensus Achieved
I mentioned earlier about “consensus” being an overused word.
The RightPage tool supports a remarkable approach which creates the environment for a team to actually reach consensus. A few powerful aspects:
- No wasted time in meaningless debate – you have probably been in meetings with endless discussion on something nobody cares about!
- Everyone participates as an equal – each person gets their 100 points at the beginning and becomes engaged in shaping the discussion
- Differences of opinion are easier to explore – the discussion shifts to learning why someone gave their points to a specific option
Summary
Use RightPage to gain control while meeting the common challenges:
- Sorting your list from most important to least important
- Getting everyone to agree on this prioritized list
- Doing this fast, and on the spot, when creativity is high
This is one problem solving tool you will use over and over.
Mike Loughrin
Mike Loughrin is the CEO and Founder of Transformance Advisors. He also teaches for Louisiana State University Shreveport and is on the board of directors for the Association for Supply Chain Management Northern Colorado.
Mike brings exceptional experience in industry, consulting services, and education. He has directed several Lean Transformation programs and has helped organizations such as Levi Strauss, Warner Bros., Cabela’s, Constellation Brands, Lexmark, and Sweetheart Cup.
Keeping a commitment to a balanced life, Mike loves downhill skiing, bicycle rides, and hiking in the mountains. See one of his trails of the month at: Little Switzerland.
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References
RightPage a no-charge application from Six Disciplines