Quote Originally Posted by wm View Post
To focus on what works today is to be stagnant, to put ourselves in the position of fighting the last war when the next war comes along. At least that, I submit, is what makes things like the ACC and the CCJO have the "predicting the future" flavor that they have. Gen Dempsey had the right focus in the point about ideas mattering, particularly when they are new ideas. What he didn't identify was how to get folks to generate new ideas, produce the "AHA!" moment of discovery.
A focus on what works today isn't to be stagnant. It's to ground the future propositions in examples of what has worked. The future propositions should innovate. The process involves envisioning what might be, and writing affirmative statements that describe the idealized future, applying "what if."

I've been studying Appreciative Inquiry, which is different from problem-solving, and I like the approach much better. It's challenging on a personal level to avoid using words like "problems" and trying to focus on positive examples of what is working, instead of what is not working. Imagine getting an entire organization like the Army to move away from a traditional deficit-base, problem-solution framework and move towards Appreciative Inquiry. The capstone would have been a nice place to start since it is about generating ideas for the future.

Here is an example of a leadership summit from the Navy, when an Appreciative Inquiry approach was used.

"During the Leadership Summit, participants used Appreciative Inquiry questions to tap into their own past high-point experiences in the Navy. The diverse group present discovered many commonalties and hopes for the future. The participants then learned how to leverage these past strengths and shared visions to create action plans for positive change. Specific outcomes included over 30 pilot projects."

http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/practice/ppNavy.cfm
Thanks for letting me participate in your discussion, since I'm "new" to the SWJ! I can tell you're being very thoughtful and patient in your responses to my postings. Appreciative Inquiry, compared to problem-solving, isn't that easy to grasp. I've spent a lot of time in the last year reading about it, and participating in and faciliting workshops using this approach.