Reaching the same viewpoint

Last night I had one of those crazy conversations where two seemingly normal rational people on the same side of an argument can't agree on anything.  In fact I think we were in violent agreement with each other.  That's when it struck me - we have very different mental frameworks about the issue we were discussing.

I wrote recently about mental frameworks and how I use a wedding cake as an analogy for businesses.  As I thought more about this, and especially after the discussion I had last night, I realized that often people discuss a situation and think everyone is "on the same page" with the same understanding and the same mental model of a problem and how to fix it.  I guess I realized that I may have some models of the problem, but those models are necessarily shared models.

So, as any good business writer does, I'm going to suggest a synthesis of two previous ideas I've tossed out will help you communicate better, reach more informed decisions, and create cleaner, clearer communication.  First, have a mental model of the problem you are trying to solve.  Putting the problem into some context where it can be broken down and examined in a framework helps you have a logical, thoughtful approach to dissecting the problem and coming up with good answers.  Second, don't assume that others share the same mental model about the problem that you do.  In fact, unless your team has been to training together and has worked in a consistent corporate culture, you can assume that the team has several mental models about the problem and they may be different than yours.

So, to be really efficient, you need to reach agreement with the folks you are working with about which model is agreeable to use to approach the problem, and if that model is used how the team will create alternatives and select a path to a successful answer.  Once everyone is on the same "page" using the same approach, then you'll find communication and teamwork improves dramatically.

The goal here is not to thrust your model of the problem on others.  It is to find and use the best, consistent model and approach within the team and ensure everyone uses that model.  Otherwise you'll work in circles for hours, in violent agreement about most topics but not really getting anywhere.