15% Solutions

Discover and focus on what each person has the freedom and resources to do now

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

“Think about a big challenge. Let’s imagine 85% of the solution is out of our control, but the other 15% we can act on without permission or additional resources. Where do you have discretion and freedom to act? What can you do to take action right now without more resources or authority?”

2. Space and Materials

• Chairs for groups of two to three, with no tables [breakouts of three].
• Paper for each participant.

3. Participation Is Distribution

• Roles include host [tech host] and participants.
• Everyone is invited and has an equal opportunity to contribute.
  

4. How Groups Are Configured

• First alone
• Then in pairs or small groups

5. Steps and Time Allocation

Intro: Share the structuring invitation. (1 min.)

List Ideas: Participants write down what they can do to take action right now. (5 min.)

Pair Up and Share Ideas: Participants form groups of two to three [breakouts of three] to share their ideas. (6–9 min.)

Group Coaching: Participants coach each other on their solutions, asking clarifying questions, offering advice, and making sure the speaker has the power to enact their 15% Solutions. They can ask for permission to share inspiring solutions with the whole group. (11 min.)

All-Together Sharing: Everyone returns to plenary. A few people share a solution that inspired them. (2 min.) Taking It Online

This structure works online with no major adjustments.

WHY? Purposes

• Move away from blockage, negativism, and powerlessness
• Have people discover their individual and collective power
• Reveal bottom-up solutions
• Share actionable ideas and help one another
• Build trust
• Remember unused capacity and resources (15 percent is always there for the taking)
• Reduce waste
• Close the knowing-doing gap

Tips and Traps

• As part of the structuring invitation, tell a story about a small change that sparked a big result.
• Look for ways to link multiple solutions to work together toward a common purpose.
• Check each item to assure that it is within the discretion of the individual
• Be ready for BIG things to emerge via the butterfly effect
• Reinventing the wheel is OK
• Each 15% Solution adds to understanding of what is possible
• Clear, common purpose and boundaries will generate coherence among many 15% Solutions
• Make it a routine to ask for 15% Solutions in meetings (15% Solutions are otherwise commonly unnoticed and overlooked)
  
• Learn more from professor Gareth Morgan, who has popularized the concept through journal articles like Morgan, G. and Zohar, A. (1998) , "The 15% approach: quantum change incrementally!" Holland Management Review, 53, pp. 14-25. and his old site.

• Invite consultants to explore a wider array of options by asking, “Where might you have indirect influence on people or groups?”
• In a group that has done 15% Solutions before, ask people what they have done with their 15% lately.
• Returning to a group, you can ask, “What have you done with your 15 percent lately?

Examples

• For any problem-solving or planning activity in which you want individuals to take initiative
• For inclusion in the conveners report in Open Space sessions
• For any challenge that requires many people to change for success to emerge
• For generating small “chunks” of success that can be combined into a simple prototype that is easy and cheap to test (low-fidelity prototype)

Expand the variety of solutions with Troika Consulting or Wise Crowds. Or Helping Heuristics and Integrated~Autonomy

Tips for running this activity online

• Use a video conferencing tool where you can assign the pair of participants into breakout rooms (e.g. Zoom).
• When briefing the exercise and assigning the pairs or groups to work together, keep all participants in the main video conference room and explain best practices.
• After this step is completed, turn on breakout rooms so each group can work on their tasks.
• After the group breakout groups are completed and participants return to the main room, debrief the exercise.
• When facilitating full group discussion, we’d recommend that participants use non-verbal means to indicate they’d like to speak. You can use tools like Zoom’s nonverbal feedback tools, a reaction emoji, or just have people put their hands up.The facilitator can then invite that person to talk.
• If you do not have breakout sessions, keep everyone in the main room, though invite pairs and groups to communicate in private messages or small groups in Slack. 

Attribution: Liberating Structure developed by Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless. Inspired by professor Gareth Morgan.

Source: Liberating Structures