Step One: Employ a Situational Perspective by considering individual perspectives, the event cycle and friction.
Individual Perspective Resources
- Fortune’s article on the shrinking middle class is filled with fascinating details, including that almost all Americans identify as middle class. The basis for this perception is complex and engrossing.
- “The Shrinking Middle Class,” Fortune Staff. Fortune, December 20, 2018 (Click Here).
- Considering individual’s perspectives means that each individual’s unique viewpoint is considered. In the 19th paragraph of the book excerpt, Sayers addresses his unique field vision.
- “The Brothers Sayers: Big legend Gale Sayers and little legend Roger Sayers (from my Omaha Black Sports Legends series, Out to Win: The Roots of Greatness),” Leo Adam Biga. Omaha Black Sports Legends excerpt, August 15, 2010 (Click Here).
- Individual perspectives, beliefs and filters all contribute to errors in processing information–or “logical fallacies.” Bo Bennett, PhD, literally wrote the book on logical fallacies and maintains a great website.
- Logically Fallacious, Bo Bennett, PhD (Click Here).
Event Cycle Resources
- Evernote is an interesting example of a company that didn’t change fast enough. It was too successful to fail, yet successful enough to go public. It has been, in essence, “stuck” in the maintaining stage.
- “A Unicorn Lost in the Valley, Evernote Blows Up the ‘Fail Fast’ Gospel,” Erin Griffith. The New York Times, June 28, 2019 (Click Here).
- One of the common issues with evaluating event stages is reviewing the starting and maintaining stages based on information from a later changing stage. “The Stupidest Business Decisions in History” identifies many “mistakes” that suffer from this error. I am sure that Decca Records regretted signing The Beatles, but they made their decision based on the information available.
- The Stupidest Business Decisions in History, Neatorama.com, April 15, 2008 (Click Here).
Friction Resources
- A village in Wales lost their internet every morning. The cause was a wicked problem.
- “An entire village lost its broadband at the same time every day for 18 months. Now we know why,” Jack Guy. CNN, September 22, 2020, (Click Here).