Applied Undiluted With Werner Schledt. Look At It From A Distance

"There is no greater distance in the world than that between yesterday and today!" This quote from an anonymizer at the beginning, in a phase where we can see what happened between yesterday and today at a distance and maybe learn from it.

From a different perspective

"Necessity is a great school," says another saying. Recently there were apt examples of this. That of an older lady, who lets her puppy go for a walk on the long floor of a house on a long leash and then gently pulls it up afterwards, is by far the funniest. Speaking of distance: Taking a distance also means seeing things from a different perspective, e.g. B. that of potential customers, but also that of our employees - and react to their current needs. Recently there was more than just virtual conferences.

Instead of the bratwurst in the fan curve, you can also have fine dishes from top restaurants served free when watching the ghost games and still add your mustard to the course of the game: with an app into which you enter applause and whistles, which are then added and then added to the background noise Stadium can be broadcast. Yes, distance against infection is also an opportunity to think about distance for suggestions.

Reacts quickly

The small change tailoring shop, which quickly sewed fashionable masks, did just as much as the large heating manufacturer, which quickly converted a production line to the production of ventilators. A distillery reacted quickly and temporarily put disinfectants on the market instead of digestifs. And the restaurateur, who took the word "park restaurant" literally, was very enthusiastic: he attached menus to all the benches, from which visitors could order by mobile phone. Delivered from the castle restaurant directly to the park bench by e-serving trolley.

Relocation as a method

I heard about it for the first time at a seminar where the speaker recommended that we briefly drive to a parking space on the way home, switch from the driver's seat to the back seat and briefly reconsider what we heard there and look through the notes again undisturbed. Was a good suggestion for a change of location as a method for idea generation and problem solving. Of course, many come up with the best ideas when jogging or spontaneously taking a shower, others need to distance themselves, vacation and long-distance travel. But you can also go home with your head and still be far from the problems. There are special methods for this, some of which I got to know at REFA, applied and also taught in seminars. One of them, the "morphological box", is particularly suitable for solving problems,whose structure is known. In doing so, one looks at possible solutions without prejudice and distantly - i.e. at a distance. There are indications that this method can be traced back to Michelangelo, who invented it on the go to rationally note down parts of the face and who is therefore considered the actual inventor of the phantom images, the best-known teaching example of it. Incidentally, this was also the principle behind the “construction kit” for successful performance wage systems in our craft.the most famous teaching example of this. Incidentally, this was also the principle behind the “construction kit” for successful performance wage systems in our craft.the most famous teaching example of this. Incidentally, this was also the principle behind the “construction kit” for successful performance wage systems in our craft.

If, on the other hand, you are completely in the dark when solving a problem and see no approach at all, the "synectic method" can help you more quickly. With this creativity technique one moves away from the initial problem in a given way, the further the better.

The problem is initially formulated in a multidisciplinary manner, globally and as briefly as possible. My teaching example - in times of the pandemic as a small excursion into the realm of fantasy: If you were looking for a new method to remove wallpaper, "removing layers" would be an umbrella term. To do this, you then look for analogies from a wide variety of areas, e.g. B. also from the animal or plant world. In this case, one might come from peeling potatoes, shearing sheep, skinning snakes, and would have gradually moved away from the initial problem. Then you analyze the analogies to one that you think has least to do with the initial problem. We would be too close to that with the snake. There are already wallpapers that can be easily removed. So new analogies are needed. The golden pheasant z. B. strips off his magnificent dress and a new one comes out from underneath. So you could come up with the idea of developing a wall covering that, after a predetermined period of time, not only almost comes off by itself, but also hides the next or the next but one wall covering with a different design. You will not be able to say at this point that the solution goes far beyond the goal. Dandelion cake, just analyze another analogy, for example the dandelion: after it has fully blossomed, it mutates to the dandelion after a predetermined period of time and removes itself - as if blown away. Maybe that's a new approach? "Keep your distance by alienating familiar things and familiarizing yourself with strangers" is the recipe for success of this method. It leads only supposedly far away from the initial problem and, by looking at and analyzing the analogies, often leads to nearby solutions that would hardly have been possible without the methodologically induced distance.

Prevention instead of care

Another proverb, the pursuit of which would have helped some people in the end: "Save time, then you have to do it in an emergency!" Isn't it alarming to read that so many ordinary earners already suffer from short-term income reductions, e.g. B. in short-time work, in "a deep hole", according to politicians, social organizations and unions? In difficult times it comes as a vengeance that every second generation of the middle generation thinks that “doing something with life” and consuming is more important than saving. 40 percent of this group have an inheritance for their old age, but more than half also say that worries about financing their retirement sometimes rob them of their sleep. Perhaps on the subject of “nest egg” during the crisis, “the penny fell here and there”.

Right to work from home?

Sounds progressive. The SPD has now requested this. Working from home is environmentally friendly and can reduce costs. But was it considered that only those who have the necessary space and peace at home can avoid the criticized “present competition” at work? We craftsmen could not exercise such a right to build anyway.

And of the employees, quite a few will prefer proximity to colleagues to that of the home workplace. The home office will undoubtedly open up many other interesting opportunities - for companies and employees. That's right. But a one-sided right? That would be bad.

Expand constantly

This could also endure: Progressive chambers of crafts have long been making digital offers for the preparation for the master's examination, others only in the crisis. Such learning units could stay and accompany the direct lessons, not only in the commercial part. This is all the more so since the preparatory courses for the craftsmen often have to be completed after full working days and sometimes also involve longer journeys. With digital learning after work, alone or in a conference with colleagues, you can put your feet up relaxed.

PraxisPlus

Author Werner Schledt was for decades a business consultant and association manager in the Hessian painting and varnishing trade.

Werner Schledt

Gangstrasse 35 c

60388 Frankfurt / Main