By Michael Cardus
Psychological inertia, or a lack of disposition for change, echoes in
phrases like these:
·
"That is how we have always done it."
·
"We tried that 10 years ago and it didn’t work."
·
"I am not paid to improve things, just to push this button."
·
"That will never work here."
When it comes to defeating psychological inertia, one of my favorite
thought exercises comes from Genrich Altshuller, the creator of TRIZ, the
theory of inventive problem solving. Describing a scenario in which a frying
pan is attached to a dog’s tail, causing noise when the dog runs, he asks,
"At what speed must the dog run to not hear the noise from the frying
pan?" (1)
The more experience you have with being stuck in a mindset, the more you
reinforce your own psychological inertia. You start to believe that solutions
can’t be found and improvements can’t be made. Once your thinking freezes in
place, the productive friction that can spark innovation and improvement
ceases.
Often used in TRIZ, the nine windows tool can help you explore solutions
to a problem in a context of past, present, and future. Exploring the solution
as a system with time-space dimensions is vital in breaking psychological
inertia.
How Nine Windows Breaks Inertia and Drives Solutions
In a 1998 article for The Triz Journal, James Kowalick
offers a formal definition of psychological inertia:
The psychological meaning of the word
"inertia" implies an indisposition to change — a certain
"stuckness" due to human programming. It represents the inevitability
of behaving in a certain way — the way that has been indelibly inscribed
somewhere in the brain. It also represents the impossibility — as long as a
person is guided by his habits — of ever behaving in a better way. (2)
Gordon Cameron identifies eight
”routine causes of psychological inertia”:
1.
Having a fixed vision (model) of the solution or the root cause.
2.
False assumptions (trusting the data).
3.
Specific terminology in a language that is a strong carrier of
psychological inertia.
4.
Experience, expertise, and reliance upon previous results.
5.
Limited knowledge, hidden resources or mechanisms.
6.
Inflexibility (model worship), trying to prove a specific theory,
stubbornness.
7. Reusing the same strategy.
8. Rushing to a solution, incomplete thinking. (3)
Each of the above causes can be ameliorated using the nine windows. This
tool prompts you to explore a problem in the past and possible future at both
the super-system and sub-system levels, instead of thinking about the problem
only in terms of the present and at the system level. As you extend your
thinking about the problem to view it in new and different contexts that are
systemic and time-oriented, your capability to break free of psychological
inertia and find solutions increases.
To use nine windows, write the problem and the current system for
solutions in the center of a 3 x 3 matrix, as shown in figure 1.
Figure 1 – Nine windows matrix
Next, explore the problem at each of the three levels:
·
Super-system: External environment and components that the problem or system
interacts or may interact with.
·
System: The
problem or system that was created.
·
Sub-system: A component or parts of the problem or system.
Once you have explored the problem and the system in the present, move
on to the past and the future. Explore all nine windows by
asking:
·
Can we do something at the sub-system, system, or super-system
level in advance to fix or avoid the problem or improve the
system?
·
Can we do something at the sub-system, system, or super-system
level in the future to fix or avoid the problem or improve the
system?
·
Can we do something at the sub-system, system, or super-system
level in the present to fix or avoid the problem or improve
the system?
Example
Nine windows can be a valuable planning tool for human systems issues
like team building, personal development, and leadership. The example in Figure
2 demonstrates the use of nine windows in planning for safety improvement.
The item or activity being planned goes in the center box (system
level). The past and the future are planning goals. Review each window on
timescales best for achieving future solutions and ideal outcomes to make sure
that the system, super-system, and sub-system will develop to achieve the
expected results.
Figure 2 – Plan for safety improvement
|
|
Past
|
Present
|
Future
|
|
Super-System
|
Corporation where safety not a priority
|
Corporation where message that safety is a
priority has not gotten through
|
Corporation where safety is a priority
|
|
System
|
Employees take occasional risks to get the
job done
|
Ladder slipped and employee was injured in
fall
|
Injury rate will be unacceptable
|
|
Sub-System
|
Management has criticized workers who stop
production in the face of danger
|
Workers remember the incidents, in spite of
management’s assertion that safety is paramount
|
Management has provided positive
recognition for stopping production in the face of danger
|
This example uses multiple time lines, but you can choose the time line
you want, selecting a specific date or leaving the dates open in the past and
future. Once the nine windows plan is developed, the team can then plan and
explore solutions to improve safety performance.
For example, the team should consider how to develop a culture where
safety is a priority in action and language so employees know that it is a
fundamental component of their work. One possibility is to create systems and
real-time procedures to catch safety problems before they occur on the plant
floor or at the work site. Another idea might be to develop training so that
management includes safety in the evaluation of effectiveness and to develop
the proper metrics for positive recognition for stopping unsafe production
activities.
If safety problems continue, the team can begin to implement future
solutions within the sub-system, system, and super-system to change or
influence how the past, present, and future processes are utilized.
·
Can we do something at the sub-system, system, or super-system
level in advance to fix the problem or improve the system?
·
Can we do something at the sub-system, system, or super-system
level in the future to fix the problem or improve the system?
·
Can we do something at the sub-system, system, or super-system
level in the present to fix the problem or improve the system?
Try nine windows. It takes a little practice, but you will find it
valuable in exploring solutions for your organization, your team, and yourself.
References
1.
Altshuller, Genrich. Innovation Algorithm: TRIZ, systematic
innovation and technical creativity.Worcester, MA:Technical Innovation
Center, Inc., 1999, 122.
2.
Kowalick, James. "Psychological Inertia.” The TRIZ
Journal, August 1998, http://www.triz-journal.com/archives/1998/08/c/index.htm.
3.
Cameron, Gordon. TRIZICS. N.p.: CreateSpace, 2010, 86.
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