GS1140 ShortAnswer M4 Dillman

While there are many types of hindering perceptual blocks Adam’s breaks it down to easily understood issues. The first issue is stereotyping. While many people throw away mailing boxes as trash, others with imagination can turn those same boxes into trains, planes, houses, etc. Next issue is limiting a problem unnecessarily. An example of this would be when I was told I needed three routes on my bus due to how the routes had been established. I found a way to reroute so that it only took two trips. Finally, saturation and informed overload is the last perceptual problem. When I worked in pest control a company thought they had a rat problem. They even flew in an expert in order to deal with the pests. In the end, the problem was found to be bullfrogs.
Next Adam’s discussed emotional blocks. The fear of risk tops the list. We had to face this in our move to Alaska. We thought we had moved to Indiana for a sure thing. In a disastrous turn we needed a new solution and we took a risk on Alaska. We are doing well and slowly accomplishing our goals. Lack of appetite for chaos plays in as well. My wife’s student council is a great demonstration of both chaos, inability to incubate, and judging rather than generating. If you sit and listen to the meetings, kids are yelling out ideas while others are sitting shooting them down. Many of the students are not willing or don’t know how to break down ideas into manageable steps in order to succeed and want to jump from A to B and my wife consistently harnesses this chaos and somehow manages to pull off events and let the kids think they have done all of the work and thought process. They have, she just leads them through it. The emotional block of lack of challenge is a regular event in these meeting as well. The kids do not recognize the amount of work ideas take and so I hear a lot, “That has already been done and it was stupid.” Higgins breaks down why problems often to not get solved. People define the problem too narrowly, they attacking the symptoms, they assuming there is only one right answer. People are "hooked" on the first solution that comes to mind or on the first solution that “works,” they are mentally dazzled or get frustrated by a lack of success and being too anxious to finish. Finally, people define the problem ambiguously. Once again the student council is a case and point of all the above listed. Watching them plan the fall carnival was an exercise in frustration of my own because I wanted to jump in and solve it all for them. My wife had to hold me back as she allowed failures and taught them how to learn and readjust based on those failures. Goman’s five blockbusters were all applied. They faced negativity, fear of failure, following rules, over-reliance of logic, and belief that they were not creative enough. When I am negative I RTI the issue and this flips the issue and gives me a new way to look at it. When I have a fear of failure I way out all of the risks and I am comfortable with the worst outcome I take the risk. When rules get in the way I decide how important that rule really and if it can be broken. I would never break a safety rule for instance. Over-reliance of logic I go with my gut which has no logic at all. And finally, when I think I am not creative enough I challenge myself to think of multiple possibilities even if some will not work.