This presentation is a guide about how to run the most successful & effective collaborative organization wide projects.Get your projects done and dusted, quickly & effectively!

1. Effective Collaborative Problem
Solving In Organizations
@Sandiso Ncube
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By Sandiso Ncube

2. Effective problem solving at any level, for any
size and any type of problem, is never
UNORGANIZED!
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@Sandiso Ncube
IndieConsultant

3. Plan for it!
• Clearly define your limitations: Laws, rules, infrastructure, budget
• Define these limitations before the problem solving exercise & take
them into the problem solving session
• Contextualize the session & outcomes for your team as in-depthily as
possible; people give more when they feel included
• Record Everything
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@Sandiso Ncube
IndieConsultant

4. The Rules!
• Get organized early and stay organized
• Provide clear participation guidelines, goals and instructions.
• Visually represent the problem & the solution
• Have one clear leader: Instructions & Direction
• Have one clear vision
• Have one clearly defined objective: Single sentence
• Have clear tasks and deliverables for everyone
• Have clearly defined time frames
• Have clearly defined check points
• Have clearly defined quick wins to keep people motivated
• Define all these things upfront & take them into the session.
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@Sandiso Ncube
IndieConsultant

5. The Rules!
• Divide the session into segments with end goals for each
• Keep the segments back to back to keep momentum
– If not, start each new segment as if you were starting a new problem solving
exercise: Top of mind, In-mind prioritization
• Provide all session inputs ahead of time, preferably two weeks & at
worst, the afternoon before
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@Sandiso Ncube
IndieConsultant

6. The Rules!
• Start the session with an hour long question and answer session
• Plan your session in such a way that the questions are only about the problem and
the solution development only!
• Communicate, communicate, communicate
– Link the tasks, all the work and results produced, to the original goal or problem
– At each touch point, answer the question; do all these tasks, work streams & their outcomes
add up to a solution that is the best for the problem we are trying to solve?
– Produce documentation only at the END of the entire problem solving exercise
– Use technology effectively, take pictures, use sound recorder apps, scan hand drawings & use a
cloud drive for sharing
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@Sandiso Ncube
IndieConsultant

7. People Management
• Leave your profession at home, take your skills with you
• Organize groups according skills first & Interest second
• Have people work In clusters with one clear leader (optional)
– Define the goal, vision, timelines, checks points & quick wins for each team clearly.
– Take time out to have one on one conversations with these leaders before the sessions; face to face is number
one
– Talk to the session leaders about their interests & their priorities, the goal is to get your project to 1st
priority
• Set very high standards
• Throw away the rule book & focus on the problem
• Build the rules/law compliance into every aspect of the solution (Included in session
preparation material)
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8. People Management
• Take corrective action, never punitive!
• Allow room for individual personality & self expression
• Decent is vital, but control it
• IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU! IT’S ABOUT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE SOLUTION
• Be restrictive, don’t just include people simply because they are interested in the problem,
That is what reports are for!
• Keep it simple and straight forward
• Limit the number of technologies used, to only one or two of the most commonly used and
most widely known
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@Sandiso Ncube
IndieConsultant

9. Reports
At the end of the session, always produce detailed reports with the following information
•The problem
•The Budget (if applicable)
•Authorizing individuals with their titles
•The solution; fully or partially solved
•The approach you took
•The mistakes you made (Most Important)
•The corrective measures you took
– The effectiveness of these measure
•What solving the problem means for your organization
•Detail the resources used: people, money, time, technologies, stationary, premises & Inputs-especially legal documents,
include links to websites
•Next steps
Lastly, use an existing & approved report template
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@Sandiso Ncube
IndieConsultant

10. READY FOR TAKE OFF?
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Now you are ready for take off!!!
@Sandiso Ncube
IndieConsultant