Solutionism ("Yin" & "Yang")
Our Approach
The Solutionist Group ("TSG") delivers professional problem solving services to individuals, businesses and organisations of all types and sizes.
We use Solutionism to develop optimal outcomes for most types of conflict and other complex situations.
Solutionism improves the nature and quality of outcomes whenever individuals, businesses or organisations can't work things out for themselves - whether they're tackling (or avoiding) their own problems, or working with conventional professional advisers such as lawyers, accountants and management consultants.
Solutionism is a complete system of principles, methodologies and practical problem solving processes. It delivers whole of problem responses that recognise and address the reality that most problems have both significant people and problem dimensions.
In each unique problem or conflict situation, Solutionism responds to the key needs and drivers at work in both the people and the problem dimensions - working with them either separately or jointly, depending on the stage reached in the process.
Solutionism has one ultimate goal for every problem solving process: to bring it all together at the end into the best possible outcome that could realistically be achieved under all the circumstances - and to do this in the shortest possible time, for a realistic price.
Solutionism substantially improves the outcomes achievable from conventional dispute resolution processes, such as arbitration and expert determination. It is even more effective when applied to flexible, creative processes such as: facilitation, mediation, negotiation, business visioning, strategy planning and succession planning.
Because Solutionism recognises and tries to satisfy all parties' legitimate needs and interests, it is more likely to produce true "win-win" outcomes than most other "single shot" processes.
Solutionism relies on our proprietary CONSEPS Methodology (CONscious SEParate Stages) to analyse problems and synthesise solutions in profoundly creative and strategic ways.
Our Skills - "Solutionists" and "Solutioneering"
Solutionism is the name of our approach and our process. Solutionists are the people who practise and deliver Solutionism. At time of writing, because Solutionism is both a new and highly skilled discipline, the only approved Solutionists in the world are based in Melbourne - and they work for TSG. Over time, with training, proof of performance and with great care, we will expand our network of approved Solutionists.
Solutionists combine conventional financial, commercial, legal, accounting, business planning and management skills with innovative problem solving, lateral thinking, negotiation, facilitation, mediation and dispute resolution skills. We call their work Solutioneering.
Solutioneering is what lifts and separates our Solutionists above and beyond the "silo-limitations" of ordinary professional disciplines, such as law, accountancy and conventional management consultancy.
Instead of adopting pre-defined, institutionalised professional procedures, Solutionists approach every problem (both its people and its problem dimensions) from the perspective of knowing that it has its own unique requirements.
Solutionists start by de-constructing a problem's key elements to work out exactly what it is they have to work with and work out. Solutionism prescribes specific processes that prevent the type of limited thinking that often occurs on the way into a problem when ordinary advisers adopt personal or professional pre-conceptions, make early judgements or, even worse, jump to solutions, well before they're in a sensible position to do anything of the sort.
Solutionists often (read "usually") find that after a proper de-construction process of problem analysis the real problems are actually quite different to those originally presented for resolution by the parties. This should be expected, since each party's understanding must be limited, in some way, by what they can see from their own (partisan) perspective, and how they are influenced (overtly or subconsciously) by their own needs, interests and values.
Solutionists are engaged by all the stakeholders of a problem to solve their problem. They don't represent or advocate the interests of any party over another - effectively they are engaged by the problem itself.
Solutionists work as independent expert facilitators (and as dispute resolvers when necessary), using powerful problem analysis and solution synthesis process frameworks, creative option generation techniques and strategic solution development tools. They establish a collaborative approach that gets parties and their advisers working constructively - to ensure that: (a) all available skills and knowledge are utilised to solve the problem and, (b) the parties own and commit to the solutions they have helped develop.
Our Capabilities
Our Solutionists resolve almost every conceivable type of business or personal problem, challenge, dispute, conflict or disagreement. Our processes are highly flexible and fully scalable, so there are few issues that are too large, too small, or too difficult that they would fail to benefit from our attention.