Have a problem? How about solving it by simply asking “So what?”

What is “Appreciation” technique?

The British army has developed this technique to help commanders understand any problem or situation they encounter. However, you can apply this method in business.

Conceptualizing the “Appreciation technique”:

The concept of Appreciation is based on all problems having hidden information and uncharted possibilities. It helps understanding complex situations simply by asking “so what?”

Define your problem:

The appreciation technique starts with addressing the problem. A clear definition of the problem helps to find a fundamental solution. Then you ask the question “so what?” in other words “what led to this fact?”, then you keep asking “so what?” until you have drawn all possible conclusions from it.

It is important to explore all factors that could influence the outcome of the problem or aim to determine whether it has an impact or not.

Determine the possible causal factors:

Those factors can be physical, human, or organizational such as (time, cost, resources, materials, motivation, and morale). You need to explore every factor and find the relation between it and the arising problem.

So what?

For a comprehensive view of the problem and its causes, you may follow these steps:

• Choose at least three possible causes of action.
• Follow the sequence of actions or events that led to the determined causes.
• Compare between options and decide which one you should try or discard and why?
• Ask more questions until there are no more possible answers.

Example:

A company is laying off 10% of the workforce due to the application of a new system. Rumors have spread among the staff and affecting their morale and therefore their performance. You want to make sure that you have uncovered all the implications before you start to brainstorm possible solutions. Therefore, use the Appreciation Process, as follows:

Statement: The workforce has to be reduced by 10% according to the application of the new system.

So what?

So, if we have to cut staff, the morale is probably going to drop which will press on the work process dramatically.

So what?

So we have to regain the staff’s morale and enhance their motivation, especially if we have to lay off members of our team.

So what?

So we will need to come up with plenty of creative and effective ways to enhance morale and motivation.

So what?

So, we need to start thinking about this, since the new system will take effect in 3 months, and we want to be able to manage the consequences before making a decision.

Beware that appreciation can restrict your thinking to one direction after answering the first “so what?” to avoid this, you need to apply Appreciation several times to make sure you covered all aspects.