Thinking Process Workshop · Lesson 3 of 9
Four types of cloud
A dilemma, a disagreement, a fire and a performance gap each need a different kind of cloud, built in a different order. Learn to recognise each, follow four worked examples, and test yourself on a full case.
Choose the cloud from how the problem shows up
You have a problem whenever you find yourself in one situation while you would like to be in another. How it shows up tells you which cloud to build.
| What you notice | Type of cloud |
|---|---|
| “On one hand I want this; on the other hand I feel forced to do that.” | Inner dilemma |
| “I want this; they want that.” Between people or departments. | Day-to-day conflict (or organisational interest conflict) |
| “I had to interrupt what I was doing to put out a fire.” | Firefighting |
| “Our performance is below where it should be.” A recurring gap. | UDE cloud (several of them consolidate into a core conflict) |
The first two are easy to record: the conflict is on the surface. The last two need more work, because the conflict is hidden behind a fire or a performance gap.
1. Inner dilemma: the star salesperson
You are torn. The order of building: D (the action you feel forced to take), D′ (the one you prefer), then the need behind each, C and B, and finally A.
| Box | Entity |
|---|---|
| D (forced) | Fire the star salesperson |
| D′ (preferred) | Do not fire the star salesperson |
| C | Retain key accounts |
| B | Prevent discipline deteriorating in the sales department |
| A | Ensure smooth functioning of the company |
The focus is on the conflict itself: the forced action is clear, and we don’t like it.
The assumptions on both sides, and under the conflict:
| Arrow | Because… |
|---|---|
| B–D: to prevent discipline deteriorating, she must fire him | Others copy what the star gets away with. If the rules don’t apply to the best performer, they stop applying to anyone. |
| C–D′: to retain the key accounts, she must not fire him | The key accounts are loyal to him, not to the company. If he leaves, he takes them to a competitor. |
| D–D′: she can’t do both | There is no way to enforce the rules on him without risking that he leaves. |
2. Day-to-day conflict: the weekend
You aren’t torn; you want to defend your position against someone else’s. The hardest part is the common objective. Order: D (what I want), D′ (what they want), B (my need), C (their need), A.
| Box | Entity |
|---|---|
| D (mine) | Spend a quiet family weekend at home |
| D′ (my spouse’s) | Go away for the weekend to a distant relative’s anniversary celebration |
| B | Rest before the next working week |
| C | Keep promises |
| A | Feel good |
Ask: why do we both care about finding an acceptable resolution? That answer is A, and it is what makes a win-win possible.
Then write the reasons on both sides, mine and my spouse’s. Writing only my own is the surest way to keep the argument going.
| Arrow | Because… |
|---|---|
| B–D: to rest, I must stay at home | A long journey is tiring. At a big family celebration I’m on duty, not resting. |
| C–D′: to keep promises, we must go to the celebration | We promised to be there. The relatives will be hurt if we don’t come. |
| D–D′: we can’t do both | The celebration is far away and takes the whole weekend. |
3. Firefighting: the shipping call
I’m a customer service manager. Yesterday the person responsible for shipping, who reports to me, asked for help. A shipment was due out, but the delivery location wasn’t clear, and the customer’s account manager, who also reports to me, had been unavailable for three days. I called the customer several times, got the information and passed it to shipping. Then I went back to my own work.
A fire is caused by the existence, or lack, of a procedure, or by a procedure that was broken with nothing to prevent it. The focus is on the need the fire endangered and what caused it.
| Box | Entity | Question |
|---|---|---|
| B | Ensure on-time shipment to the customer | What need of the system did the fire endanger? |
| D | Allow the shipping person to call the customer | Allow subordinates to set aside the rule that blocks putting out the fire |
| D′ | Demand that only the customer account manager calls the customer | Demand that subordinates strictly follow the rule |
| C | Maintain good customer relationships | What need does the rule protect? |
| A | Have a high level of customer service | What is the lowest common objective of the two needs? |
The assumptions on both sides:
| Arrow | Because… |
|---|---|
| B–D: to ship on time, allow shipping to call the customer | The shipment is due now and the account manager is unavailable. Shipping knows exactly which information is missing. |
| C–D′: to keep good customer relationships, only the account manager calls | Customers get irritated and confused when contacted by different people. Only the account manager knows what the customer expects him to handle. |
| D–D′: we can’t do both | There is no procedure for who contacts the customer when the account manager is away. |
Lesson 5 challenges these assumptions and finds the injection.
4. UDE cloud
The UDE cloud is for system analysis: it starts from a UDE, a gap between current and desired performance. Most of the effort goes into naming which important need of the system the UDE endangers. Build it with five questions, in order:
- B: Why is this UDE undesirable? What important need of the system does it endanger?
- D: What action do you take to meet that need?
- C: What other important need stops you from always taking that action?
- D′: What action do you take to meet this other need?
- A: What common objective do B and C both serve?
The UDE itself is the result of doing D′ instead of D: it sits beside D′, endangering B.
Exercise: which cloud would you build?
- “I had to approve a purchase myself because the buyer was on leave and production would have stopped.”
- “Only 65% of our orders ship on time, month after month.”
- “Sales wants every new order squeezed in this week; production wants the plan frozen.”
- “Should I take the promotion abroad or stay near my parents?”
Test yourself: the engineering firm
A company supplies transmission products to manufacturers in the automotive and industrial segments. Technology and customer requirements change fast. The company has no trained application engineers, and this hurts its conversion of new business. It has no training programme. Without formal training in new technology, its engineers can’t compete for new projects. The parent group wants to limit fixed manpower costs, so it won’t approve hiring new application engineers. To cope, the company sends its top two salespeople, who are application experts, to every customer, but new business is limited by the capacity of those two people, so sales grow slowly. On one hand, the company wants trained engineers but can’t recruit them; on the other, it can’t increase sales while customer requirements change and it wins a lower share of new business.
1. The best objective (A) of this cloud is…
- The company increases revenues
- The company increases sales profitably
- The managers control manpower costs
- The managers set up a formal training programme
“Profitably” covers both sides: growth in sales, and control of cost. Revenue alone leaves out the cost side; the other two are a need and an action.
2. The best pair of needs (B and C) is…
- B: control manpower costs; C: fund a formal training programme
- B: control manpower costs; C: don’t fund a formal training programme
- B: effectively increase sales of new projects; C: control manpower costs
- B: fund formal technical training; C: effectively increase sales of projects
Needs are what the actions are for. Funding or not funding training are actions, not needs.
3. The best pair of actions (D and D′) is…
- D: fund formal technical training; D′: recruit new application engineers
- D: set up a formal training programme; D′: don’t set up a formal training programme
- D: hire new application engineers; D′: work with the current manpower
- D: don’t fund training; D′: increase new project sales
Hiring engineers protects new project sales; working with current manpower protects manpower cost. They can’t both be done, and each endangers the other need.
4. A good assumption under B–D (to increase new project sales, we must hire application engineers, because…) is…
- Management is short-sighted
- Formal training is a prerequisite for a good sales team in any engineering company
- Application engineers shorten the time to match products to needs
- Sales of new projects make clients happy
It explains the link between both ends of the arrow and brings in a third element, the time to match products to requirements. The others are blame, a different link, or a consequence.
The other side needs its assumptions too. Here is the whole cloud, both sides written out:
| Arrow | Because… |
|---|---|
| B–D: to increase new project sales, we must hire application engineers | Application engineers shorten the time to identify and pitch the right products for a customer’s requirements. New business is capped by what the two experts can cover. |
| C–D′: to control manpower costs, we must work with the current manpower | The parent group judges the company on fixed manpower cost. New engineers are a fixed cost long before they bring in sales. |
| D–D′: we can’t do both | Every new engineer adds fixed manpower cost. The company knows no way to add application capacity without adding headcount. |
5. What type of cloud is this?
- Inner dilemma
- Organisational interest conflict
- UDE cloud
- Firefighting
Two parties, the business and the parent group, each insist on a position that protects a different need of the organisation.
Workbook
Go back to your cloud from the last lesson. Is it the right type? Change the type in the template, and the step numbers and questions will change with it. Rebuild the boxes in that order if needed.
Check your understanding
Answer all five. Get four right to complete the lesson.
1. “I want this, they want that” calls for…
- An inner dilemma cloud
- A firefighting cloud
- A UDE cloud
- A day-to-day conflict cloud
Two positions held by two parties.
2. In a day-to-day conflict, the hardest box is usually…
- A, the common objective
- D, what I want
- D′, what they want
- None
Each side knows its position; finding what both share takes thought.
3. In a UDE cloud, the first box to build is…
- A
- D′
- B: the need the UDE endangers
- C
Why is the UDE undesirable? What need does it endanger?
4. A fire is typically caused by…
- A lazy or careless employee who ignored the rules that were in place
- A procedure that exists, is missing, or was broken unchecked
- Bad luck
- A customer
The cloud looks at the rule and the need it protects.
5. In an inner dilemma, D is…
- The action someone else wants
- The common objective
- The action you feel forced to take
- The UDE
And D′ is the one you would prefer.