HOW TO FIGURE ALMOST ANYTHING OUT!  - WITH A + UCDI – by Bob Wiele Imagine if you had a simple mental compass that you could go to, over and over, whenever you are lost and need to figure things out? A+ UCDI is a very simple, carefully designed 5 step process that you can rely on to arrive at a smarter solution, whenever you or your group have a tough problem. The photos in this post are of the 14-16 year old girls that represented Canada at the world Girl Guides Centenary Camp in England in August 2010. The girls used UCDI as their go-to system to solve problems and even develop their group’s presentation on Canada to the 45 nations in attendance. Tough problems come at us all the time. These days, there seem to be more of them. They are more complex and to make things worse, they keep coming at us faster than ever. The trick is what do you - how do you respond and figure things out well and not react, over-react or retreat. In the movie Ghandi, there is a powerful moment when a man who is haunted by the violence he has committed comes to Ghandi, and asks him what to do next. Ghandi turns to him and says “ I know a way out of hell.” The A+ UCDI process is based on the 4 building blocks of our total intelligence system. You can use them in any sequence you want. This particular 5 step process is great for dealing with conflicts, confusion, and most personal or work challenges. The A+ UCDI gives you a personal edge and a consistent, sustainable method to find successful solutions. INSERT THE PROCESS VISUAL HERE Make sure you budget time for each of the steps so you get to a decision and an action plan. Step 1. A – Appreciate: Start first with framing the challenge in a positive way. Look for ways of appreciating the situation. Every problem contains hidden potential, opportunities for learning and personal growth, no matter how difficult or painful it is. In this first step, simply ask yourself 3 questions: Ø     What’s good about this situation- or- person? Ø     What are the opportunities here? Ø     What can I learn about my self that I could use in the future? Do this first step well and you put yourself in a positive frame of mind as you go forward. Step 2. U – Understand: In this step, take time to shift into the yellow frame of mind to really understand what is going on. Learn as much as you can, as quickly as possible, about the issue, task, challenge or person involved. Don’t judge. Just seek to understand. Don’t rush to conclusions. Stay in the moment and look, listen and learn. Ask: Ø     What is happening – what is actually going on? Ø     What information do I need to understand the situation, task or the person? Ø     How can I organize the issue or situation into chinks or categories? Once you think you have enough information about the situation, now it time to switch gears and explore your options. Step 3. C - Create The more complex the problem, the more difficult it is to find the best solution. Budget time to go green. Shift your thinking into an open-minded, proactive creative mode, to generate options and alternatives, to deal with the issue. Ask: Ø     What options can we generate? Ø     What could success look like – what different pictures of success can we envision? Ø     What are the possibilities and opportunities? Make sure you have at least 10 or more options to choose from before going to the next step. Step 4. D – Decide – Shift into the red zone to argue, debate and select the best option(s) to use. Ask: Ø     What conclusions should we come to? Ø     What are the pros and cons of the best options? Ø     What are we going to decide? If you are working in a group, make sure that everyone’s needs and concerns are worked through so you get the buys in you need to proceed. Step 5. I - Initiate – The fifth step is all about taking action. Now that you have made a decision, what actions will you take to make things happen. Now you are in control and ready to go forward. Ask Ø     Who is ready to take initiative? Ø     What’s the plan going forward? Ø     Who is going to coordinate the implementation? So, there you have it – A+ UCDI – your simple, repeatable way to use a step by step process to help you and your team figure things out. For more information on our thinking and meeting tools, check us out at www.smartermeetings.com or send me an e-mail – bwiele@onesmartworld.com. 

HOW TO FIGURE ALMOST ANYTHING OUT!  - WITH A + UCDI

– by Bob Wiele

Imagine if you had a simple mental compass that you could go to, over and over, whenever you are lost and need to figure things out?

A+ UCDI is a very simple, carefully designed 5 step process that you can rely on to arrive at a smarter solution, whenever you or your group have a tough problem. The photos in this post are of the 14-16 year old girls that represented Canada at the world Girl Guides Centenary Camp in England in August 2010. The girls used UCDI as their go-to system to solve problems and even develop their group’s presentation on Canada to the 45 nations in attendance.

Tough problems come at us all the time. These days, there seem to be more of them. They are more complex and to make things worse, they keep coming at us faster than ever. The trick is what do you - how do you respond and figure things out well and not react, over-react or retreat.

In the movie Ghandi, there is a powerful moment when a man who is haunted by the violence he has committed comes to Ghandi, and asks him what to do next. Ghandi turns to him and says “ I know a way out of hell.”

The A+ UCDI process is based on the 4 building blocks of our total intelligence system. You can use them in any sequence you want. This particular 5 step process is great for dealing with conflicts, confusion, and most personal or work challenges. The A+ UCDI gives you a personal edge and a consistent, sustainable method to find successful solutions.

INSERT THE PROCESS VISUAL HERE

Make sure you budget time for each of the steps so you get to a decision and an action plan.

Step 1. A – Appreciate: Start first with framing the challenge in a positive way. Look for ways of appreciating the situation. Every problem contains hidden potential, opportunities for learning and personal growth, no matter how difficult or painful it is. In this first step, simply ask yourself 3 questions:

Ø     What’s good about this situation- or- person?

Ø     What are the opportunities here?

Ø     What can I learn about my self that I could use in the future?

Do this first step well and you put yourself in a positive frame of mind as you go forward.

Step 2. U – Understand: In this step, take time to shift into the yellow frame of mind to really understand what is going on. Learn as much as you can, as quickly as possible, about the issue, task, challenge or person involved. Don’t judge. Just seek to understand. Don’t rush to conclusions. Stay in the moment and look, listen and learn. Ask:

Ø     What is happening – what is actually going on?

Ø     What information do I need to understand the situation, task or the person?

Ø     How can I organize the issue or situation into chinks or categories?

Once you think you have enough information about the situation, now it time to switch gears and explore your options.

Step 3. C - Create The more complex the problem, the more difficult it is to find the best solution. Budget time to go green. Shift your thinking into an open-minded, proactive creative mode, to generate options and alternatives, to deal with the issue. Ask:

Ø     What options can we generate?

Ø     What could success look like – what different pictures of success can we envision?

Ø     What are the possibilities and opportunities?

Make sure you have at least 10 or more options to choose from before going to the next step.

Step 4. D – Decide – Shift into the red zone to argue, debate and select the best option(s) to use. Ask:

Ø     What conclusions should we come to?

Ø     What are the pros and cons of the best options?

Ø     What are we going to decide?

If you are working in a group, make sure that everyone’s needs and concerns are worked through so you get the buys in you need to proceed.

Step 5. I - Initiate – The fifth step is all about taking action. Now that you have made a decision, what actions will you take to make things happen. Now you are in control and ready to go forward. Ask

Ø     Who is ready to take initiative?

Ø     What’s the plan going forward?

Ø     Who is going to coordinate the implementation?

So, there you have it – A+ UCDI – your simple, repeatable way to use a step by step process to help you and your team figure things out. For more information on our thinking and meeting tools, check us out at www.smartermeetings.com or send me an e-mail – bwiele@onesmartworld.com.