Thinking Clearly · Lesson 6 of 6
The Thinking Process toolkit
A first look at the tools TOC uses to answer what to change, what to change to and how to cause the change, how they connect, and how they deal with the six layers of resistance to any change. Then try one yourself.
Three questions
Every improvement has to answer three questions, in this order:
- What to change? Find the core problem behind the symptoms.
- What to change to? Design a solution that removes it, and check that it works.
- How to cause the change? Get from here to there, with the people who have to do it.
The Thinking Process gives each question its tools.
| Question | Tools |
|---|---|
| What to change? | Undesirable effects (UDEs), conflict clouds, the core conflict cloud and the current reality tree |
| What to change to? | Injections, desired effects, negative branches and the future reality tree |
| How to cause the change? | The prerequisite tree (obstacles and intermediate objectives) and the transition tree |
All of them are checked with the same categories of legitimate reservation.
The tools in one paragraph each
Undesirable effects. Start with the recurring problems people see, worded precisely: a complete, objective statement of an ongoing problem, with no blame, no hidden solution, no cause and effect inside. “Too often the orders are late”, not “Sales promise dates without asking production”.
Conflict cloud. Behind every chronic problem is a conflict: two actions, each needed to protect an important need, with a shared objective. The cloud draws it in five boxes and asks for the assumptions behind each arrow. Break one assumption with an injection, and the conflict disappears instead of being compromised.
Core conflict and current reality tree. Build clouds for three different UDEs, consolidate them, and you usually find one core conflict behind them all. The current reality tree then shows, with if-then logic, how that core conflict causes the UDEs.
Injections, negative branches and the future reality tree. An injection is a new condition that breaks the core conflict. A negative branch asks what could go wrong if we implement it, and trims it with a supporting injection. The future reality tree shows that the full solution produces the desired effects.
Prerequisite and transition trees. Every good solution meets obstacles. The prerequisite tree turns each into an intermediate objective; the transition tree sequences the actions.
Six layers of resistance
People rarely reject a change outright. They resist it in layers, and each layer needs a different tool:
| Layer of resistance | Tool that addresses it |
|---|---|
| 1. Disagreement about the problem | Current reality tree, built from UDEs |
| 2. Disagreement about the direction of the solution | Conflict cloud and injection |
| 3. “The solution won’t solve the problem” | Future reality tree |
| 4. “Yes, but it will cause negative consequences” | Negative branch, trimmed by supporting injections |
| 5. “Yes, but there are obstacles to implementing it” | Prerequisite tree |
| 6. Unspoken fears | Transition tree, and patient listening |
Pause and think: a sales head has seen the case for offering distributors an inventory-turns deal instead of a higher margin, and still says, “Distributors only care about margin.” Which layer is he in?
- Disagreement about the problem
- Disagreement about the solution
- Yes, but there are obstacles
- Yes, but there are negative consequences
He doesn’t yet accept the problem: that low turns, not margin, limit the distributor’s return. Arguing about the offer won’t help until the problem is agreed. Go back to the UDEs and the current reality tree.
Try one: build a cloud
Here is the most-used tool. A sales director has a star salesperson who brings in the biggest accounts, but who ignores every rule and sets a bad example. Should she fire him?
The workshop course teaches each tool step by step, with templates that check your work as you go.
Where to go next
- Thinking Process Workshop: nine hands-on lessons, from UDEs to the current reality tree, each with a workbook exercise on a problem of your own.
- Thinking Process templates: all the templates on one page, with instant feedback.
Check your understanding
Answer all five. Get four right to complete the course.
1. Which tools answer “what to change?”
- Prerequisite and transition trees
- Injections and the future reality tree, with negative branches
- UDEs, conflict clouds and the current reality tree
- Negative branches only
They find the core problem behind the symptoms.
2. An injection is…
- A new condition that breaks an assumption and dissolves the conflict
- A compromise between D and D′ that both sides accept
- A symptom
- An obstacle
Not split the difference, but change reality.
3. Which is a well-worded UDE?
- Sales promise dates without asking production
- We need a new ERP system
- Communication
- Too often the orders are late
Complete, objective, no blame, no hidden solution.
4. “Yes, but there are obstacles to implementing it” is answered with…
- The current reality tree
- The prerequisite tree
- A conflict cloud
- A UDE list
Each obstacle becomes an intermediate objective.
5. Which question is NOT one of TOC’s three questions of change?
- What to change?
- What to change to?
- Why change?
- How to cause the change?
The three are what to change, what to change to, and how to cause the change.