HERE’S OUR PLAN TO HELP YOU LEARN HOW TO GRASP THE SITUATION.
Let us know if you want to track with us.
So far we have been giving you a few stories about change and the Scientific Process. Now we want to transition into learning how to apply the Scientific Process using a diagnostic approach to life and organizational situations.
First, we will discuss with you how we changed the Scientific Process to fit your organizational and personal life. You can go to p. 145 in our book (Grasp The Situation) to read how we applied the following steps to change organizations and solve real issues.
Steps in the Scientific Process: (Grasp The Situation)
Let’s see how this applies to everyday life situations. The following is a true story about a young man, Robert, who graduated from high school about two years ago with a grade point average of 3.0. He decided to go to college because, “All of my buddies are heading off to college”, and because his parents were paying the tuition. He picked a large, nearby state university and was asked to specify his major when he began to register for classes. He thought about it for a day or two and discussed options with his friends. Because they were talking about environmental conditions, such as the algae problem on the great lakes, he decided he would go into Marine Biology. NOTE: He had not thought about the difficulties in front of him or the symptoms of the problems he would face in the future. He didn’t even research the employment options in his chosen field. In short, he went from step 1 to step 5 in the Scientific Process without even considering the steps in between.
Unfortunately, this behavior is common in organizations—leaders jump from recognizing a problem, step 1, to implementing an intervention. Robert had no idea what he was getting himself into and simply made a decision based on an interesting conversation with friends. You can probably guess the rest of the story—Robert managed to get through two semesters with passing grades, but as he transitioned into higher level courses in Marine Biology, he failed several courses in his third semester. Feeling discouraged, he dropped out of school, moved back into his parents’ house, and moped around unproductively for almost a year. His parents suffered much pain and unhappiness watching their son wander around aimlessly in life. Robert finally decided he would go back to school with a new major. Seeking the support of his friends once again, they suggested a major in radio and television. Guess what? Robert went from step 1 to step 5 of the Scientific Process all over again! It doesn’t take a genius to predict how this story will end.
Robert’s failure to Grasp The Situation cost his parents thousand of dollars and much unhappiness, and it is not over yet. All of this could have been avoided if only Robert and his parents had gone through the five steps of the Scientific Process.
Now here is our plan: First, we want to talk to you, via Twitter, to see if you have had personal situations like the story about Robert. What we would like to do is help you see the value of grasping the situation in your own life. Read the Robert story again, and using the hashtag #graspthesituation, send us a tweet that briefly states a time where you did not Grasp the Situation, resulting in a big mistake. After sharing our various stories, we’ll personally message you to learn more about your situation. We’ll teach you how to apply the five steps to make sure you Grasp the situation before you leap in and make changes that may not work out for you.
P.S. As we will be referring back to the book, we suggest owning a copy. Use the electronic version of Grasp the Situation if you do not want to buy the book.
The Real Person!