Power Shift: Alvin Toffler

Scanning my bookshelf for a volume I recently read, I spied Powershift: Knowledge, Wealth, and Violence at the Edge of the 21st Century by Alvin Toffler. My eyes rested on the book and I recalled the foundational concepts I learned from reading it.

One key paradigm I adopted after reading this book I have used nearly everyday of my life, both consciously and sub-consciously. Buried deep in the buried deep in the middle of the book (p. 285, I still have a bookmark inserted here) in a chapter titled "Meta-Tactics," is a brief discussion on the use of data and statistics. Here, Toffler states these four points which have been pivotal for me:

1. Smart people demand to know more about the sources and reliability of the data upon which information, knowledge, and conclusions are built.

2. Smarter people take into account the channels through which the data and information flowed and who might have had a chance to "massage" them.

3. The smartest people do both of the above, and also question the assumptions and even the deeper assumptions upon which the superficial assumptions are based.

4. Finally, imaginative people, whom Toffler suggests may be the smallest group of all, question the entire frame of reference.

These four principles have provided me life changing insights into how and why I do things and how and why others act as they do.

Powershift: Knowledge, Wealth, and Violence at the Edge of the 21st Century was first published in 1990. I bought it at a used bookstore about five years later. It's still as applicable today as it was 20 years ago when it was first published.

The premise of the book is that power is shifting. In the early days of man, physical power was most important. You could control people and things using your physical strength.

Later, with advent of wealth, power could be purchased. Now the person with money could purchase and use the physical strength of others to control and rule over people and things.

Eventually, knowledge became power. The person with knowledge could manipulate situations to gain wealth. Think "insider trading."

Toffler desires to help us understand how the world operates today where knowledge is power. He claims knowledge can be used as a substitute for land, labor, and/or capital. In addition, knowledge saves time.

Most important is knowledge about knowledge (see the four points above).

Two-thirds of the book is devoted to understanding how to create, store, retrieve and manage "knowledge about knowledge" for competitive advantage.

Interestingly enough, at the end of the book Toffler provides the reader 25 foundational assumptions upon which the book is built. For example, "20. Knowledge is even more maldistributed than arms and wealth. Hence, a redistribution of knowledge (and especially knowledge about knowledge) is even more important than, and can lead to, a redistribution of the other main power resources."

The Bibliography contains 592 sources. In addition, the end of the book Notes section is over 40 pages long. Highlighting the quality of the research that is evident through out this book!

The Ideal Problem Solver

The Ideal Problem Solver: A Guide to Improving Thinking, Learning, and Creativity by John Bransford and Barry Stein is not a reflection on reaching perfection as a problem solver, but on applying a method of problem solving that corresponds to the acronym IDEAL

I = Identify problems and opportunities
D = Define goals
E = Explore possible strategies
A = Anticipate outcomes and Act
L = Look back and Learn

A fairly standard problem solving methodology with a slight change of names for each step in the methodology.

One strength of this book is the inclusion of problems and exercises. These inclusions make this book suitable for use in a classroom or workshop environment. They also provide the individual reader the opportunity to test his or her own creative problem solving abilities.

The authors state that the most important implication of problem solving is that "people who want to develop effective problem-solving skills must become effective at learning about relevant conceptual tools." (p. 33) Exploring possible strategies (E), requires learning relevant conceptual problem solving tools.

The Ideal Problem Solver: A Guide to Improving Thinking, Learning, and Creativity is divided into two parts.

PART 1: A Framework for Using Knowledge More Effectively
(This part explains and elaborates on the IDEAL methodology)
PART 2: A Model for Acquiring New Knowledge

Part 2 focuses on memorization skills, comprehension and problem-based learning.

I found the discussion of problem-based learning versus traditional applications problems to be especially helpful. The authors suggest that the current traditional applications problems style most often used in education:

1. Limits students to focusing on problem solving, rather than helping them find and define the problems to be solved.
2. Focuses on rote memorization and application of solutions out of habit.
3. Tends to ignore realistic situations and focuses on contrived word problems instead.

Possible formats that could be used to combat these limitations are:

1. Poor Scholar's Soliloquy
2. Case-Based Instruction
3. Project-Based Instruction
4. Debates
5. Simulations

Leading on the Creative Edge

By page 26 of Leading on the Creative Edge: Gaining Competitive Advantage Through the Power of Creative Problem Solving by Roger Firestien, I was confronted with 12 ways to nurture my creativity. I like lists like this. They give me an opportunity to evaluate myself.

"How many of these things am I already doing?"

"Which ones have I thought about trying in the past, but decided to wait on?"

"What new ideas have I never considered before and maybe need to ponder adopting?"

"How close does my list match the list of this 'expert'?"

So try it out for yourself. Here is Firestien's list:

1. Develop creative habits.
2. Ask questions.
3. Use passive ways to generate ideas.
4. Vary your routine.
5. Read and listen to a variety of material.
6. Network.
7. Develop personal support systems.
8. Stop the action.
9. Create an environment that encourages creativity.
10. Create a healthy lifestyle.
11. Reawaken your sense of humor.
12. Be passionate about your positive compelling future vision.

Chapters 3 through 7 review commonly presented creative problem solving principles, such as:

Phrase problems in a way they can be solved.
Don't solve the wrong problem.
Defer judgment while generating many ideas.
Evaluate ideas in a positive manner.

While the principles may be familiar, any new twist provided by a fresh way of looking at something is worth investigating. I find it improves my own application of the principle to solving problems or taking advantage of opportunities.

Chapter eight of Leading on the Creative Edge: Gaining Competitive Advantage Through the Power of Creative Problem Solving explains the PPC technique. The Pluses, Potential, and Concerns (PPC) technique helps groups make affirmative judgments of possible solutions, rather than negative judgments.

This technique could be worth many times the price of the book if it leads you to a better organizational culture in positive problem solving experiences.

Firestien concludes with an invitation to become creative. He has a free newsletter you can subscribe to with the latest ideas and research in the field of creativity and innovation.

My favorite quote:
"The way to succeed is to double your failure rate."
Thomas Watson, Jr., former President of IBM