The switch to prospering BY forging a better world can be complicated. Toward that end we approach our work with the spirit of low cost, safe, and rapid experimentation. Engaging in regular structured reflection with our client partners, we jointly adapt and quickly improve our work together, and build internal capability for future work of this kind. Revolutionary goals, evolutionary steps.
The big plan, big design, big change project—these strategies, though seductive, are seldom effective in the real world. Because all innovation decisions are simply best bets about what will work in a given environment, learning your way into the future through iteration is better than jumping off a cliff with a “grand plan”. Iteration involves a series of relatively simple, low risk, and quick cycles of trying things out (acting), followed by reflecting on results (learning) and creating the next version (adapting) to deepen the understanding of what is working (or not) and evolve the best solution. This approach of “learning our way into the future,” combined with openness to surprise and a sense of spontaneity in responding, are key to designing business and operating models that co-create mutual value in your ecosystem
Most businesses are good at “acting” and even “adapting”, but often key step of “learning” is skipped. And if we do remember to spend time in reflection, we minimize it by excluding external ecosystem members who could offer different perspectives. It is these other viewpoints which, if valued, often provide the insights leading to breakthrough innovation.
What can you do to build capability in “learning” this way?
We have found one tool particularly useful in learning to do so, the Ladder of Inference developed by Chris Argyris, a professor at Harvard University.
At its essence, the Ladder is a simple model of how we think; how we process our experiences, create inferences about them, and take action; all at lightning speed without noticing we are doing so.
How can we use the ladder to improve “learning?” First, we become aware that we are always “jumping up our ladder” (and know that others are as well). Second, with that awareness comes a choice to be genuinely curious about the other person’s conclusions, meaning and data—to explore their story and walk down their ladder with them. Most often we will discover that we have two very different, and equally valid data sets that have led up to two very different, and equally valid conclusions. By using the ladder we can now jointly develop new meaning and new conclusions and thus arrive at a new action based on our expanded data set. Thus, creating the possibility for innovative solutions.
At the CCMV Collaborative, we apply this same approach with our organizational learning partners, as we continue to evolve the practice of Co-Creating Mutual Value. Throughout every phase of the CCMV journey, we engage members of the ecosystem in dialogues about their experiences with our overall approach, our tools, and our support. Using our process of generative evaluation, we understand what worked well (and why) and what would make it even better in the future.
One added benefit of such an approach to learning is how it facilitates building capability within the business ecosystem for self-guiding the future work of Co-Creating Mutual Value.