The functional alternative to (dysfunctional) discussions

One of the most salient, unique and powerful aspects of he agile canvas process is how things get done and move forward because the quality of our conversations is more about work than discussion. Discussion is classically the process of bantering opinions about a topic, sometimes punctuated with questions that might or might not be taken seriously and that might or might not be good questions.

The work we do in the canvas process is clearly not discussion. It is co-creation. Together we create the future we want to see possible, questions that will lead us there and the momentum and progress that engages our gifts. Everything is written and shared, everything builds together and everything decided is based on reality and not assumption based or predictive opinions.

The more groups get used to the process the more intolerant they become of circular and useless discussions. They become accustomed rather to the engagement and productivity of a process that is by design a process of co-creation.

The alternative to debate and discussion

When groups are trying to plan and make decisions together there is a tendency sometimes,and this is especially true for slow groups, to try to make progress from rotten questions. Rotten questions, as we covered in a previous blog post, are those that are old questions have no power to move us into new perspectives and possibilities.

Groups working from rotten questions get bogged down and implode in debate and discussion rather than data. Debating and discussing is the rehashing of knowns that gets us nowhere new.

We bypass the whole debate and discussion implosion by working instead from ripe questions that lead us into action. Action means leaving the room. It means leaving the room of discussion and debate and going out with our right questions to new ways of discovery, research, reflection, learning, exploring and assumption testing with our world as it is. Real data makes decision-making faster and better. It keeps us all on the same page rather than a page divided by debate and discussion which is assumption based. We are divided by assumptions and united by our data.