Improvement Science is a collaborative community activity.
And word about what is possible spreads through The Grape Vine.
And it spreads in a particular way – through stories – personal accounts of “ah ha” moments.
Those “ah ha” moments are generated by a process – a process designed to generate them.
And that process is called the Nerve Curve. It is rather like an emotional roller-coaster ride.
The Nerve Curve starts comfortably enough with a few gentle ups, downs, twists and turns – just to settle everyone in their seats.
Then it picks up pace and you have to hold on a bit tighter.
Then comes the Challenge – an interactive group-led improvement activity. Something like the “Save the NHS Game“.
Then comes the Shock! When the “intuitively obvious” and “collectively agreed” decisions and actions make the problem worse rather than better. The shock is magnified by learning that there is a solution – and that it was hidden from us. We did not know what we did not know. We were blissfully ignorant.
Now we are not. We are painfully aware of what we did not know.
Then we head for Denial like a scared rabbit – but the cars are moving fast now and the is no stopping or going back. We cannot get off – we cannot go back – so we cover our eyes and ears to block out the New Reality.
It does not work very well. We quickly realize that it is safer to be able to see where we are heading so we can prepare for what is coming. An emotional brick wall looms up in front of us – and written on it are the words “Impossibility Hypothesis”. And we are heading right at it. A new emotion bubbles to the surface.
Anger.
“Who’s ****** idea was it to get on this infernal contraption? Why weren’t we warned? Who is in charge? Who is to blame?“
That does not work very well either. So we try a different strategy.
Bargaining.
We desperately want to limit the damage to comfort zone and confidence so we try negotiating a compromise, finding an exit option, and looking for the emergency stop cord. There isn’t one. Reality is relentless and ruthless. Uncompromising.
Now we are really scared and with no viable options for staying where we were and no credible options for avoiding a catastrophe we are emotionally stuck – and we start to sink into Depression which is the path to Hopelessness, Apathy and Despair (HAD). We have run out of options. And we cannot stay in the past.
But the seed of innovation has been sown. A hidden problem has been uncovered and an unknown option has been demonstrated. The “Way Over The Impossible-for-Me barrier” is clearly signposted. The light at the end of the tunnel has been switched on. We have a choice.
And at the last second we sweep over the Can’t Do Barrier and when we look back it has disappeared – it was a mirage – a perceptual trick our Intuition was playing on us. It only existed in our minds.
That is the “Ah ha”.
And now we can see a way forward – and how with support, guidance, encouragement and effort we can climb up Acceptance Mountain to Resolution Peak. It is will not be quick. It will not be comfortable. We have some unlearning to do. A few old assumptions and habits that need to be challenged, dismantled and re-designed.
It is hard work but it is surprisingly invigorating as a previously unrecognized inner well of hope, enthusiasm and confidence is tapped. We surprise ourselves with what we can do already. We realize that the only thing that was actually blocking us before was our belief it was too difficult. And the lack of a guide.
And then we share our “ah ha” with others through The Grape Vine.
Here is a shared “ah ha” from this week:
The Post It® Note exercise was my biggest “Aha” moment on a combination of levels. The aspect that particularly resonated was the range of behaviours and responses from the different pairings, an aspect that would have been hidden had I done the exercise on my own. I’m still smiling at the simple elegance of this particular exercise and the depth of learning I am getting from it. [PD, Consultant Paediatrician. 15th July 2013].
The Post It® Note exercise is part of the FISH course … you can try it yourself here
This blog is part of The Grape Vine.
The Nerve Curve is ready and waiting to take you on an exciting ride through Improvement Science!