The way humans gain the lion’s share of what we know is through a slow process of gathering informational knowledge – accumulated layers of additive information based on years of exposure and experience. For example, my knowledge of Spanish is informational knowledge. I learned it through years of listening to Spanish speakers and eventually formalized it by taking multiple semesters at university, building up bits of knowledge to get a fairly complete understanding of the language. And along this learning path, I had an anticipated outcome – fluency. I would eventually know enough verbs, conjugations, vocabulary, etc. to present myself as a Spanish speaker. But nowhere along that learning curve did I create something rather than just accumulate it. Spanish was already there; it was just a matter of me methodically crawling through it, adding to my increasingly large pile of information.

And this is how most of us approach problem-solving – by applying informational knowledge. We think of a problem (or perhaps create one!), get a sense of its magnitude, reference relevant information we know and then apply it as a solution. And there are many situations in which this is a perfectly appropriate plan of attack: you see someone choking in a restaurant, you hurriedly scan your knowledge from the past, you perform the Heimlich. Brilliant. But the shadow side to this type of problem solving is that it confines you to the boundaries of the smaller pieces of the pie chart above – the realm of what you know and the realm of what you know that you don’t know. So if you know the Heimlich (even half-assed), you try it. And if you know that you don’t know the Heimlich, you’re likely going to seek out someone who does and ask them to solve the problem. But it’s highly unlikely that you’re going to spontaneously invent a new move and liberate a choking gentleman from his hambone. That’s just not the way informational knowledge works. And if you impress yourself by actually inventing a new anti-choking technique, well, surprise. You’ve just entered the realm of transformational knowledge.

Transformational knowledge is knowledge that can seem to appear out of the ether. It emerges almost as a flash – a eureka moment – and appears most often when we’re either under duress or in a child-like state of learning.  But since most of us eschew being “child-like” – we do take ourselves rather seriously – rarely do we get access to the biggest piece of the pie chart. We spend almost all of our time vacillating between the two dinky realms of either ‘what we know’ or ‘what we know that we don’t know.’  So it’s not shocking that when we’re tackling problems – business or personal – we find our way to the same results. How innovative can we really be when we’re treading and retreading the same ground? But don’t misunderstand; we’re not at fault – we can hardly be held responsible for what we don’t know that we don’t know. But we can be responsible for actively trying to get access to that space. To that big, mysterious piece of the pie that’s hoarding almost all of the creative solutions.

Knowledge games, as set forth in our book, are powerful because they’re designed to help us move out of the familiar and predictable and into the uncertain and unknown – where creation actually lives. We’re including games and meeting processes in which the rules aren’t rigid, you can veer away from a directed outcome and you’ll often be surprised at how it all turns out. We’re giving you tools to create, not repackage. And this is important because, as Einstein understood, “Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.”

Eureka.

Nothing like seeing a prospective cover for your book makes you feel inclined to start churning chapters out! (I hope it’s having the same effect on my co-authors.) Ladies and gentleman, I’m thrilled to show you for the first time the cover for the magnum opus that Dave Gray, James Macanufo and I have been working on for what seems like the last eight years. Please click on the link to see the blog for the book. (O’Reilly may partner with us to create a more formal site, but in the meantime, all the action is happening at Knowledge Games.) The purpose of the book is to give people games to help them access solutions to business problems that–if they follow traditional problem-solving methods–they may not otherwise access. It’s going to be awesome if I do say so myself.

NAME OF PLAY: Value Tease

Another game I wrote for our upcoming book from O’Reilly, Inc. tentatively titled Knowledge Games.

NAME OF PLAY: Value Tease

OBJECT: To unearth employee perception of the deep values that underly an organization, an initiative, a system-wide change, or any other topic.

# OF PLAYERS: 5 – 10

DURATION: 30 – 45 minutes

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Before the meeting, decide the topic around which you want players to share stories. Set-up a flat surface area in which you can write and they can post their images. Write the name of the topic in this area.
2. Provide the players with tape and several magazines of all genres—enough magazines for each player to rifle through three or four.
3. Tell the players that the goal of the exercise is twofold: First, they’ll describe in pictures what they perceive to be the values underlying the topic. Second, they’ll share a work-related story that’s indicative of those values. (Example: an image of a turtle may represent patience and longevity, so the player may share an anecdote in which an attractive but high-risk project was not pursued.)
4. Give everyone 10 minutes to cut out one or more images that represent their perception of the underlying values.
5. Ask them to tape their image(s) in the designated area and then quietly reflect on a story associated with the value(s) they represented.
6. Ask for volunteers to take turns sharing both their images and their associated story.
7. Pay attention as the players describe the values they perceive and write them in the space beside the appropriate image.
8. Go over the values you captured and ask the players to look for overlaps and gaps in their perception. Ask follow-up questions about the content and stories to generate further conversation. Let the group absorb and discuss the perceptions they share as well as those they don’t.

Strategy:

A notable benefit of using pictures to elicit values statements and stories is that imagery is simultaneously one step removed from a straight, verbal declaration yet one step deeper than what you may get when you ask players to share their “intellectual” thoughts. And using pictures gives the players a sort of comfort zone to express themselves, since they can choose pictures that represent the whole spectrum of comedy and tragedy around a topic. So if someone prefers truth through humor, they can find images that allow them to use it. And if someone else prefers truth through hyperbole, well, they have that option too.

As the group lead, realize that some players will think immediately of a value representing a topic and go hunting through the magazines until they find a suitable representation. Others will surf the images, looking for something that resonates with a vague notion they have in their minds. Either approach is suitable and you can discuss these approaches when you set up the play.

Most importantly when you introduce the game, encourage people to share the values they perceive as honestly as they can. Tell them that it’s okay to believe that an underlying organizational value is territoriality and to represent that with an image of a lion. Not only is this behavior appropriate, but it’s also desirable—since beliefs that drive behavior often go unstated in public but are repeated and spread through huddles within the organization. And as people share stories, if someone is having trouble thinking of a story to match their image, give them more time (or let them bow out completely) and let someone else offer a story. Often people will have stories triggered based on anecdotes that others share.

Finally, let people be creative with the storytelling section of the play. If two or more participants want to share a story together, encourage them to do so. They can even go so far as to role play an event that unfolded. Your job is to create a space in which people can say something that may be taboo but that everyone is thinking.

Fun, optional activity: Ask the players to cut out images that represent what the values are NOT. So if a player believes expediency is NOT one of the values around a project,  she may choose the aforementioned turtle as a representative image.

Dave Gray, James Macanufo and I are working on a book with O’Reilly, Inc. and I’ve decided to blog about some of the content as I create it. So what you see above is a graphic archive from a visual-thinking version of Show and Tell. Most people think Show and Tell is for kids but that shows how little they know. The game below is S&T for grown-ups.

OBJECT: To get a deeper understanding of stakeholders’ perspectives on anything—a project, restructuring, shift in the company’s vision, team dynamic, etc.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. A few days in advance of a meeting, ask employees to bring an artifact for Show and Tell. The instructions are to bring something that from their perspective represents the topic at hand. If possible, tell them to keep the item hidden until it’s their turn to show it at the meeting.
2. In a white space visible to everyone, write the topic for the game and draw a picture of it.
3. When everyone is assembled with their show piece, ask for volunteers to stand up and show first.
4. Pay close attention to each employee’s story of why she thought an item represented or reminded her of the topic. Listen for similarities, dif­ferences, and emotional descriptions of the item. Write each of these contributions in the white space and draw a simple visual of the item the person brought next to her comments.
5. Summarize what you’ve captured in the white space and let the group absorb any shared themes of excitement, doubt or concern. Ask follow-up questions about the content to generate further conversation.

WINNING STRATEGY: Show and Tell taps into the power of metaphors to reveal players’ underlying assumptions and associations around a topic. If you hear a string of items that are described in concerned or fearful terms, that’s likely a signal that the employees’ needs aren’t being met in some way. As the team lead, encourage and ap­plaud honesty during the stories and write down every point an employee makes that seems important to him or her. Keep the rest of the group quiet while someone is showing and telling.

If you feel intimidated by drawing a representation of a show item in the white space, get over it: attempt to draw it anyway and let the group tease you about your efforts. Show and Tell can be a vulnerable activity for employees—particularly the introverted type—so show some team spirit by being vulner­able yourself.

So I’m co-authoring a book with Dave Gray and James Macanufo (its personality and purpose are under wraps right now). But I’ve been working on the aesthetics of the visuals all day, trying to establish a look that’s accessible, and so far all I’ve accomplished is a temporary loss of mojo. This is largely due to the fact that I have too many options available for drawing. I could:

1. Draw my visuals on flip-chart sized paper with markers, shoot it and process the images.
2. Draw my visuals on wall-sized paper with markers, shoot it and process the images. (I know what you’re thinking: why on earth would I do that? But I work large-scale as a matter of course, so that feels natural.)
3. Draw my visuals on letter-size paper with a uni-ball VISION, scan it, and process in Photoshop.
4. Draw my visuals on my Wacom tablet, export and edit at will.

The trouble is that each of these methods has its blessings and its curses. So now everything feels like one big f-bomb. Which suggests to me that it’s time for a milkshake.