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Lateral thinking
Are you a lateral thinker? Read this story and you will find out.
A man was touring a senior’s home looking for a loving place for his
aging mother. He was impressed by the cleanliness of the facility and
the friendliness of the staff. That is until they got to the dementia wing
where his demeanor immediately changed. The tour guide, trained to
detect displeased guests, kept noticing rolled eyes, sneers, and a general
attitude of disgust.
Her customer service training prohibited her from allowing the
disgruntled tour taker from leaving without finding out what his so
vehemently objected to.
“Everyone in this wing seems to have gone mad,” he remarked. “Have they all gone mad under your care?”
“Oh, no,” exclaimed the tour guide. “When people are admitted we give them a test. If they pass, they go into the other wing. If
they fail, they come into this one.”
Intrigued, the man asked what the test was.
“We show them a bathtub full of water,” she explained. “Next to it is a bucket, a jug, and an 8-ounce glass. We ask them what
is the quickest way to empty the tub.”
“Oh, so those with all their faculties will know it is the bucket, right?”
“Absolutely not,” she replied, “The bucket is not the right answer.”
Solution
The man was a lateral thinker. He was provided with potential solutions and selected one of them. However none were the
correct solution to the issue at hand - emptying the tub the fastest way possible.
Breaking one's self of lateral thinking would lead them to the real solution: the fast way tp empty a tub is to simply pull out the
plug.
About MaxImpact
MaxImpact is a training and development organization based in Rochester Hills. Their products and services connect teams to a
shared vision. For information on MaxImpact, visit www.getmaximpact.com, call 248-802-6138, or write rick@getmaximpact.
com.
©2008 Max Impact Corporation
Are you a lateral thinker? Read this story and you will find out.
A man was touring a senior’s home looking for a loving place for his
aging mother. He was impressed by the cleanliness of the facility and
the friendliness of the staff. That is until they got to the dementia wing
where his demeanor immediately changed. The tour guide, trained to
detect displeased guests, kept noticing rolled eyes, sneers, and a general
attitude of disgust.
Her customer service training prohibited her from allowing the
disgruntled tour taker from leaving without finding out what his so
vehemently objected to.
“Everyone in this wing seems to have gone mad,” he remarked. “Have they all gone mad under your care?”
“Oh, no,” exclaimed the tour guide. “When people are admitted we give them a test. If they pass, they go into the other wing. If
they fail, they come into this one.”
Intrigued, the man asked what the test was.
“We show them a bathtub full of water,” she explained. “Next to it is a bucket, a jug, and an 8-ounce glass. We ask them what
is the quickest way to empty the tub.”
“Oh, so those with all their faculties will know it is the bucket, right?”
“Absolutely not,” she replied, “The bucket is not the right answer.”
Solution
The man was a lateral thinker. He was provided with potential solutions and selected one of them. However none were the
correct solution to the issue at hand - emptying the tub the fastest way possible.
Breaking one's self of lateral thinking would lead them to the real solution: the fast way tp empty a tub is to simply pull out the
plug.
About MaxImpact
MaxImpact is a training and development organization based in Rochester Hills. Their products and services connect teams to a
shared vision. For information on MaxImpact, visit www.getmaximpact.com, call 248-802-6138, or write rick@getmaximpact.
com.
©2008 Max Impact Corporation
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| April 21 2008 |