THINK INSIDE THE BOX · YOUR OWN PROBLEM · B1/B2 · 50 min

Start With Your Own Problem

Bring a real situation — a decision, a stuck team, an impossible week — and leave with a tool, the language to use it, and a plan you have said out loud.

All the tools  ·  The Toolbox

Every tool in this collection was invented because somebody had a problem they could not hold in their head. Today the problem is yours.

Work through the three steps. You do the talking; the page just keeps the questions coming.

Step 1 · Say the situation out loud

Before you choose a tool, describe what is actually happening. Take two minutes and answer these.

Answer these out loud:
  • What is the situation, in one sentence? Say it as a fact, not as a complaint.
  • Who else is involved, and what do they want?
  • What have you already tried?
  • How will you know when it is better? What exactly will be different?
If your sentence contains a person's name and the word “always”, try again. Describe what happens, not who is to blame.

Step 2 · Choose your tool

Read the descriptions and click the one that sounds most like your situation. You will get the tool, the questions it asks, and the language you need.

The Eisenhower Matrix

For: too much to do, never enough time

It asks you

  • How urgent is it?
  • How important is it?

Useful language

It feels urgent, but it isn't important.I have to … , but I don't have to …I need to make time for …

Do this

  1. Write down everything on your mind — work, home, people, promises.
  2. Ask the importance question first, then the urgency question.
  3. Put each one in a box: do now, schedule, delegate, drop.
  4. Give the “important, not urgent” box a real day and time in your calendar.

Open the full lesson →  easier version →

The Pareto Principle

For: many problems, and I can only fix one or two

It asks you

  • Which few causes produce most of the trouble?
  • What does the evidence say, not the loudest voice?

Useful language

Most of the problem comes from …Only a handful of …That's a small minority, so it can wait.

Do this

  1. Count something real: complaints, faults, hours, money, interruptions.
  2. Put the causes in order, biggest first.
  3. Add them up until you reach about 80% — those are your vital few.
  4. Fix them first, then count again.

Open the full lesson →  easier version →

The Fishbone Diagram and the Five Whys

For: the same thing keeps going wrong

It asks you

  • What are all the possible causes?
  • And why did each of those happen?

Useful language

One possible cause is …Could you tell me why …?The real root cause might be …

Do this

  1. Write the problem as a fact at the head of the fish — never as a person.
  2. Fill the big bones: people, methods, machines, materials, measurement, environment.
  3. Choose the most likely bone and ask “why?” about five times, until you reach a system you can change.
  4. Fix that, then watch whether the problem comes back.

Open the full lesson →  and this one →

The Risk Matrix

For: something might go wrong and I don't know how much to worry

It asks you

  • How likely is it?
  • How serious would it be?

Useful language

That's likely, but not serious.It's unlikely — however, if it happened, …We're bound to …

Do this

  1. List what could go wrong, plainly, and to whom.
  2. Score each one for likelihood — using what has actually happened before.
  3. Score each one for consequence — the realistic worst case.
  4. Act on the red corner, and on anything that could hurt somebody, whatever its score.

Open the full lesson →

Tuckman's Team Stages

For: a team, class or family group that isn't working

It asks you

  • Which stage is this group in?
  • What does that stage need?

Useful language

We've been together for …I think we're stuck in …Since … arrived, …

Do this

  1. Name the stage out loud: forming, storming, norming, performing or ending.
  2. If it is polite and slow, bring the real disagreement into the open.
  3. If it is stormy, argue about the work and not the person — then agree how you will operate.
  4. Write down what you agreed, and protect it when somebody new arrives.

Open the full lesson →

The 9-Box Grid

For: a decision about somebody's future at work

It asks you

  • How well are they performing now?
  • How far could they grow?

Useful language

Her results are far stronger than …He's not quite as … as …The more responsibility she gets, the more …

Do this

  1. Decide what performance means in this job — using evidence, not feelings.
  2. Decide what potential would look like, and what would prove it.
  3. Place the person, then argue the placement with somebody who sees them differently.
  4. Agree one action: a bigger project, support, honest feedback — and a date to look again.

Open the full lesson →

The Johari Window

For: i don't know how other people see me

It asks you

  • What do I know about myself?
  • What do other people know?

Useful language

People often think I seem … , but actually …I probably come across as …That's my blind spot.

Do this

  1. Write six words that describe you. Ask two people you trust to write six about you.
  2. Words you both chose are open. Words only they chose are your blind spot.
  3. Choose one thing to tell people, to make the hidden part smaller.
  4. Ask one specific question for feedback — “what do I do in meetings that annoys you?” beats “any feedback?”

Open the full lesson →  easier version →

The Prisoner's Dilemma

For: two sides could work together — but neither will move first

It asks you

  • What does each side get for cooperating or not?
  • Will we meet again?

Useful language

I'll cooperate as long as …Unless there's trust, …Otherwise we both lose.

Do this

  1. Draw the grid: their two choices across, yours down, and what each of you gets in every box.
  2. Ask whether the best box for both of you is different from the safest box for you alone.
  3. If you will meet again, use the winning strategy: be nice first, answer betrayal once, forgive quickly, be predictable.
  4. Look for something that changes the payoffs: a rule, a contract, a witness, a habit.

Open the full lesson →

SWOT Analysis

For: a big decision about my work, my studies or an organisation

It asks you

  • What is inside my control — strengths and weaknesses?
  • What is outside it — opportunities and threats?

Useful language

One of my biggest strengths is …An external threat I can't control is …So that means I should …

Do this

  1. Write the goal first. A strength for one goal is a weakness for another.
  2. Fill the internal boxes honestly, including the weaknesses you would rather not write.
  3. Fill the external boxes: what is changing around you?
  4. Then ask “so what?” — pair each strength with an opportunity or a threat, and choose two actions.

Open the full lesson →

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

For: something is wrong and I can't say what

It asks you

  • Which needs are met?
  • Which is the lowest one with a real gap?

Useful language

At the moment I need …I want to … , but first …For me, belonging comes before …

Do this

  1. Go up the levels for yourself or the person you're thinking of: body, safety, belonging, respect, growth.
  2. Be honest about the lowest level with a gap — sleep and money are not embarrassing answers.
  3. Do one concrete thing for that level this week.
  4. Remember the levels overlap: friendship helps even when the bottom is shaky.

Open the full lesson →  easier version →

The Diffusion of Innovations

For: i need other people to accept something new

It asks you

  • Who adopts new things early here?
  • What would the cautious majority need to see?

Useful language

People used to … , but now …What finally persuaded me was …Once a few colleagues had tried it, …

Do this

  1. Find the innovators — they'll try it because it is new.
  2. Win the early adopters: the people others watch. Give them something to show.
  3. For the majority, supply proof and stories from people like them, and make it simple.
  4. For the last group, remove the obstacles — or accept that some never will.

Open the full lesson →

Berry's Acculturation Model

For: i'm living between two countries or cultures

It asks you

  • Am I keeping my own culture?
  • Am I taking part in the wider society?

Useful language

In my first year I was probably …At work I … , but at home I …The place where I feel most myself is …

Do this

  1. Answer the two questions separately — and notice that the answers differ at work and at home.
  2. Ask what has changed since your first year here.
  3. Ask the second half of the question: what does this place allow or block?
  4. Choose one practical step towards “yes and yes”: a club, a class, a conversation, a tradition kept alive.

Open the full lesson →

The OODA Loop

For: everything is changing faster than I can react

It asks you

  • What is actually happening now?
  • Which of my assumptions is out of date?

Useful language

As soon as I noticed … , I …Once I'd understood … , I decided to …By the time I reacted, …

Do this

  1. Observe: gather what has changed, not what you expected.
  2. Orient: this is the step that matters. Name the assumption you may be wrong about.
  3. Decide one action — not five.
  4. Act, then go straight back to observing: what has changed because of what you did?

Open the full lesson →

Step 3 · Use it, out loud

Now run the tool on your own situation, speaking the whole way through. Use the timer if you want a target.

Time remaining: 4:00
  1. Name it: “The situation is …”
  2. Sort it: talk through the tool's questions, one at a time, putting your own details into each box, stage or level.
  3. Argue with yourself: “Somebody might say … , but I'd answer …”
  4. Decide: “So the first thing I'm going to do is … , by … .”
  5. Check: “I'll know it worked if … .”

To finish

  1. Which part of the tool was hardest to answer honestly? Why?
  2. What did the tool miss about your situation?
  3. Would the people involved agree with the way you filled it in?
  4. If nothing changes for six months, what will you do then?