Archiv der Kategorie: Meaning design

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The views at the state of affairs

Fruitful negotiations need an approach that is focused on the issue rather than on the relationships and the personalities involved. Dealing with expectations and the search for common ground are more than the superficial wrangling for individual advantages. It is easier to agree, if there is a Win-Win situation for everyone. In order to make a result possible, objective, jointly determined reference points are needed. The state of affairs derived from the existing standpoints is crucial. If you find a common view of the initial situation and the conditions associated, some contradictions do not arise. The dominoes allow to experience this. Look at the following image! What is it all about? What do you notice? Which thoughts jump to your mind?

When looking at one situation, all participants have their own ideas, as they approach the situation from different viewpoints, focuses and subtleties. For this reason, all should start by describing the situation that is the basis for the negotiations – the issues, relationships, sequences, dependencies, and preconditions. The following perspectives help additionally.

  • The look at the beginning
    Especially when a snapshot of the situation is taken, nothing moves, which makes it necessary to find the entry point that obviously triggers the situation. Depending on this, the explanations, justifications, and negotiation points differ. That is why we ask ourselves: where does it start?
  • The look to the end
    On the downside, the situation is determined by its end point. The last stone completes the process. Some imagine that it tips over – or maybe not. The boundaries of a negotiation determine where the need is for discussion and where not. You agree upon the following questions: Is this the end? And what happens then? To what point does a negotiation make sense?
  • The look for saliences
    Our attention is particularly attracted to individual stones because something is different – the toppling stones, the two T-forming ones, or the stone close to the edge. However, these peculiarities do not mean that they are important for the negotiation. Therefore, the saliences should be jointly questioned: What do they mean for the reconciliation?
  • The look beyond
    So far, we have been looking at the obvious – the stones and the abyss. The abyss is only implied. We do not know how deep it is or what can be found below. The meaning of the scenery is also left to the imagination of the viewer. The mental cinema that begins should be articulated so that the participants can understand what the thoughts of the others are. The following questions bring these hidden agendas to light: What happens in the end? What is the point behind it? Why does this situation exist? Like this?
  • The holistic look
    As soon as we have a clear view beyond that, we can combine all the previous findings into one explanation. This provides extended perspective – the holistic view. Only the connections between the views lead to a conclusive starting point. Now we get a common answer to the question: What is happening here?

These are by far not all perspectives, but essential ones. There are infinitely many more. In serious negotiations at eye level, the parties involved should share their point of view. This will result in an appropriate interpretation of what is happening, leading to a mutually satisfactory outcome.

Bottom line: In most cases, the participants discuss the “wrong” issues – personal attitudes of the counterparts, the various negotiation positions and the arguments that allow the winner to take all. It is more effective to jointly describe the starting point so that everyone talks about the same thing. That way many misunderstandings are avoided from the outset. These include: where it all starts and ends, what you notice about the matter, what is the point behind everything and how everything is related. By jointly developing the state of affairs, unproductive negotiations are avoided at an early stage. On this basis fruitful negotiations can start.

The matter as such

The description of actions, behaviors, interactions, processes, systems and the like seems at first glance simple – select, observe, describe, interpret, communicate.

  • The objective should be clearly described so that the observations monitor the same thing.
  • The elements of the observation should be entirely collected so that comparability is guaranteed.
  • All observations should be described in a common language to avoid ambiguities from the outset.
  • Interpretation should be based on all observations, i.e. after all data is available.
  • Results should be published in the language of the target group, i.e. free of technical jargon.

This sequence and the common understanding of the matter as such must be communicated to all parties involved – especially the observers need beforehand appropriate training.

Individuals, groups, roles, processes, temporal, geographical and virtual spaces, media, and all other interesting objects are watched. In any case, the following aspects have to be considered.

  • The components of the matter as such
    On the one hand the set of target objects should be clearly described – who, how many, from where, etc. In addition, the components have some descriptive elements that should be described consistently to ensure comparability. It is this combination of elements that allows a useful observation.
    For example, persons have a name, a place of residence, certain interests; groups are named and need a list of group members and other characteristics to distinguish them; processes consist of individual steps that together provide a service.
  • The relationships of the matter as such
    The components are in unidirectional or mutual relations with each other – human, social, economic, technical, legal, religious, or other connections. They decisively expand the findings of observation.
    The components relate by communicating, doing business or pursuing other joint interests. Processes deliver results which, when interacting, sum up to the overall performance of the whole. The parts of a machine enable them to achieve a certain performance.
  • The changes of the matter as such
    Through the relationships of the components the conditions are in constant flux (Panta rhei). These changes are an essential characteristic of the matter as such. Thereby the components and relationships change more or less.
    People continue to develop, change the center of their lives, form new groups over time and work in various jobs. A machine mainly retains its structure, apart from the consumables and wear. From these changes, statements about the viability of the whole can be deduced. If no changes take place, the system is most likely dead.
  • The triggers of the changes
    To better understand the changes, the causes should be understood. What causes the changes? Where do the triggers come from? Through which relationships do the triggers reach the different components?
    The many causes that influence human development, or affect processes or put a strain on machines, offer starting points for creating desired outcomes or avoiding undesired consequences. The triggers are entry points for influencing the whole.
  • The occurrences of the matter as such
    The individual changes and triggers are difficult to oversee. For this reason, we bundle them into incidents that consist of a collection of components, relationships, changes and triggers. A general classification is for example the always existing life cycle – becoming, maturing, exploiting, vanishing.
    Occurrences not only comprise the documented contents, but also generate further insights in the observers’ minds, which result from their experiences – education, the founding of a family, the annual financial statement of the company, the maintenance of a machine. Eventually they become a matter as such.
  • The meaning of the matter as such
    The many aspects of the matter as such result in meaning for us and for others – What influences are sent from here? What is the overall purpose? What is the importance of the matter as such for different persons and groups?
    The totality of all matters as such result in the reality that surrounds us – the society, the economy, the culture and their interactions. Depending on the task at hand, we look at them at different levels in order to find leverage points.

Bottom line: The matter as such is the central element in the task fulfilment. This can be a matter of individual persons, groups or abstract systems that require a specific solution. In any case, it is better to consider the above aspects: the components, relationships, changes, triggers, occurrences, and above all the resulting meaning. The observation that cannot answer the above questions should always be examined critically, as the insights result from the interaction of many aspects – especially the above points of the matter as such.