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January 8, 2007
CIO Dilemmas: Kobayashi Maru
Hyperion has just launched the CIO Dilemmas, am sure you will hear and see lots of it. The idea behind the CIO Dilemmas for me is that in decision making processes (our core market and expertise) we jump to conclusions way too fast. Current business culture asks for Solutions, not Problems. In fact, we cant even use the word problem, we need to talk about challenges. I am sure youve all heard people say If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem (challenge) or Dont give me problems, give me solutions!.
But if we look for solutions from the outset, can we be sure we understood the problem? At the bottom of most real problem lies a dilemma. A dilemma is a difficult choice of some sort, where every choice has severe negative side effects. In the current business culture, dilemmas make executives grumpy, how can you win?! Most people tend to ignore dilemmas, delay decisions until they are being taken by the situation, find a bland compromise, or simply live with the negative effects of a choice.
I would suggest that understanding a dilemma should make you happy, you have reaced the bottom of a problem. And there is nothing wrong about dilemmas, there are ways of solving them. A lot of my research is currently focused on how to deal with dilemmas.
One example (more to follow) of how to deal with dilemmas. As a Star Trek fan it made me think of the Kobayashi Maru. You can find more on this on Wikipedia, heres an abstract of it...
In Star Trek, the Kobayashi Maru is a starship that serves as the subject of a graded simulator training exercise at Starfleet Academy, in which command division cadets are presented with a no-win scenario as a test of character. In the simulation, the cadet receives a distress signal, stating that the Kobayashi has struck a gravitic mine in the Klingon Neutral Zone and is rapidly losing power, hull integrity and life support. There are no other vessels nearby. The cadet is faced with a decision:
• Attempt to rescue the Kobayashis crew and passengers, which involves violating the Neutral Zone and potentially provoking the Klingons into hostile action or an all-out war; or
• Abandon the Kobayashi, preventing war but leaving the crew and passengers to die.
James T. Kirk takes the test three times while at Starfleet Academy. Prior to his third attempt, Kirk surreptitiously reprograms the simulator so that it is possible to win. He justifies it by arguing that putting cadets in a no-win situation was cheating, and so he had to cheat in return.
If you cant solve the problem, change it. In later weblogs, I will explore different ways of how to do that.
frank
Posted by Frank Buytenkijk at January 8, 2007 9:06 AM
