Project Management Perspective

Project Management Perspective

This could be the case if the content of an online post by Dare Dairo actually occurred. He wrote that a wedding ceremony was organized in full swing somewhere in South Western Nigeria despite the lockdown for the COVID-19 pandemic. While the program was already ongoing, the Police came around to enforce lockdown. Rather than violently disperse them, they simply took away food to be served and the sound system, after leaving stern warnings too.

My initial reaction was to laugh at our wonderful[i] “Men in black”[/i], but then a thought struck me. Hilarious as it seems, there could also be some interesting lessons here.

So many video clips have been flying around about how lockdown enforcement agencies have been brutalizing erring members of the populace. While the criticality of lockdown and contagious nature of COVID-16 virus might require harsh enforcement styles, this might not always be the only way. Sometimes, traditional means of solving problems need to be adjusted.

Essentially, Creative Problem Solving (CPS) involves approaching a problem in an imaginative, innovative, and unconventional way. The process encourages you to find new, creative ways of thinking that can help you overcome the issue at hand more quickly.

As a prominent blogger puts it, “we all have the potential to be creative, but what most people do not realize however is that our ability to solve problems creatively, whether applied to product development, business models, brand strategy, positioning platforms or creative executions, is significantly limited by a series of natural mental biases. The way we think and the mental patterns we use to select, process and analyze information can act as barriers and hold back our creative potential.”

A simple Google search for[i] “mental biases” [/i]would bring tons of articles explaining some innate weaknesses we have, as humans.
Several experts have written extensively about Mentals Models & Techniques for Enhanced Creative Problem Solving.

I find the following to be particularly interesting, as it relates to aspects of my PMP coaching sessions:

Synectics: This technique helps to inspire thoughts that you might not be aware of. It is a way to approach creativity in a logical, rational manner.

TRIZ methodology (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving): [/b]This problem solving methodology is based on logic, data, and research — not intuition. It involves adapting existing solutions to your particular problem.

[b]Brainstorming: Using this technique allows you to collect a number of ideas that can be a potential solution to a problem and can be used in either a group or individual setting.

Mind mapping: Mind mapping helps keeps your ideas organized by representing them in a graphical manner.
Reversal of problem: Trying to solve a problem using traditional problem solving methods can sometimes end in roadblocks.This technique forces you to think about a problem from a new perspective.

Looking beyond something’s function: [/b]Thinking about how you can use something beyond its typical function is a common CPS technique.

[b]SCAMPER:
This acronym can help you come up with new ideas. Each letter stands for a way you can manipulate an original idea to come up with something new:

- S ubstitute
- C ombine
- A [/b]dapt
[b]- M agnify
- P ut to other uses
- E [/b]liminate
[b]- R earrange
Lets go back to our wonderful “Men in black”.

Do you share my thinking that they simply seized the food and the organizers should just go to their station to claim it?
Are there legal or ethical perspectives to their approach?
Share your thoughts!

Oladeji Seyi Kaizen MBA,M.Inf.Sci,PMP,CISA,COBIT5
https:///2349099576339

i would love to see the face of the people at the party, who came SOLELY for the free food...

some people had to make a life decision today: go hungry for another day at home OR break the law and go to wedding in order to get something in your belly this weekend.