This is Andrew Benedict-Nelson, social change strategist and innovation educator. Each week, I share a question that you and your organization can use to find a new perspective on the toughest problems you face. Reply to the e-mail or comment on the site and we can talk about them together!
NOW FOR THIS WEEK’S QUESTION…
Pretend that the social problem you are trying to solve is a contestant on a dating show. Pick three other problems who will compete for your problem’s affection. What are the problems’ various assets and deficits as they try to woo your problem’s heart? What kind of case would each problem make to win the game?
This has got to be in the top ten weirdest exercises I have ever come up with to help people think differently about social problems. I get that people may find the premise silly or even offensive — if so, I won’t be hurt if you quietly delete the e-mail.
Still with me? Okay, here's why this works. Anyone who works on social problems eventually develops the same bias: you view your problem as the center of the universe. What's more, even when you can zoom back a bit, you acquire prejudices about where your problem should fit into the greater whole.
This exercise asks how you might challenge those assumptions by changing your problem's relationship with other problems. Just like dating after a tough breakup, it can be hard to imagine relationships going a different way. Many people date folks they never would have imagined just to see if their preferences have changed.
If you approach your problem with the same sense of adventure, new possibilities can emerge. Here’s how to go about it.
HOW TO DO IT
Set the stage. This is one of those exercises that is more rewarding the more you get into it. If you grew up watching TV shows like this (mine was MTV’s Singled Out) then import the rules that stuck with you the most. If you are unfamiliar with the genre, check out the rules of the original “Dating Game" or switch it out with any dating ritual you are familiar with, from speed dating to Tinder.
Pick and choose. Now you’ll need to decide on the potential “dates” for your problem. You can probably already think of at least one other problem with which your problem is closely linked. If you’d like, you can make this problem the “safe" choice for your dating show contestant. But pick at least two other problems that might challenge your problem's typical associations.
Central casting. To make this exercise work, you're going to have to give your problems some metaphorical attributes. What do they look like? What are their interests and hobbies? How do they dress? What do they like to do for fun? To keep this from getting completely silly, jot down a brief rationale for each choice you make. For example, a problem might wear glasses because it is seen as more sophisticated and intellectual than the other problems.
Will you be mine? Now it’s time to imagine how the actual show would unfold. What are some of the questions your problem might ask of the various contestants? You need some drama, so think of some truly compelling reasons why your contestant might fall in love with each problem (or tell them it’s time to go). In particular, think about the “pitch” each problem might offer if winning the game meant getting your problem’s attention.
And yes, if you are doing this exercise in a group, I totally recommend staging an unscripted version of this exercise with costumes.Change the channel. But back to reality. The big question this exercise answers is “How could my problem’s relationship to other problems change?” In real life, your work on your problem could benefit from links to several different other problems. You might also realize that your problem's relationship to a certain issue will remain stagnant without some kind of external jolt. The point is that insights gained from each of the potential “dates” could be useful in many different contexts.
Finally, since this exercise draws on emotion and humor, some of the insights that emerge may not rationally relate to what happened in the “dating game." Don’t worry about that — just keep asking questions based on whatever idea stuck with you the most.
CAN YOU GIVE ME AN EXAMPLE?
Yes, though it didn't literally use this exercise. I was once working with an organization in Chicago that employs a large number of homeless individuals. We were imagining how they might win new allies in the community. One idea we explored was that their group might appeal in unexpected ways to conservative religious groups whose ideologies emphasized hard work, individual responsibility, and "lifting yourself up by your bootstraps.” After all, every single beneficiary of the organization was employed — no one could tell them to “get a job.”
The founders of the group, having spent their lives studying the structures that create poverty and homelessness, were definitely not used to thinking this way. They never would have thought of themselves as a “love match” with conservative churches. However, asking how they might appeal to new allies helped them see a side of their organization they hadn’t appreciated before.
COOL, SO WHAT MAKES THIS WORK?
This question is an example of how to see your problem in new ways using the parthood dynamic. It’s one of six innovation dynamics I help people master to improve their critical thinking and build strategies for social change. Reply to this e-mail with your answer to the question and I’ll let you know what I think! Or learn more by visiting http://www.teachingsocialchange.com.
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