Dialogue Mapping: Building Shared Understanding of Wicked Problems

by Jeff Conklin

Dialogue Mapping presents a powerful new approach to meetings and collaboration, in which collective intelligence is achieved through framing powerful questions and conducting a comprehensive and creative exploration of their possible answers.
In the first part of Dialogue Mapping, Jeff Conklin introduces the key concepts:
•Wicked problems: you must come up with solutions in order to understand what the problem really is . . . what the real issues are . . . and the problem definition depends on whom you ask!
•Social complexity: the number and diversity of stakeholders whose participation is essential.
•Opportunity-driven problem solving: empirical evidence says creative thinking does not follow a linear process!
•Shared understanding: overcoming fragmentation requires forging shared understanding about all aspects of the problem-solution space.
The remaining sections provide a hands-on tutorial for practitioners.

Genres: Communication, Business, Management, Technical

265 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 18, 2005

Reviews

[TK Keanini · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are in a role within an organization that requires you provide leadership or facilitate a group process, this book is a must read. The technique in it is just one of many that does not try to reduce the complex social aspects of multi-departmental work of the enterprise. There is a free software package that is recommended that I am using to help think through problems.

A book that I would recommend reading in parallel to this is "Wisdom of Crowds" because what is required for a wise crowd is supported in this book. This book is almost a Wisdom of Crowds in Practice.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: A book about a problem (collaboration and sensemaking around 'wicked problems' in organisations) with a solution/technique (dialogue mapping). Also, somewhat unusually, the author provides some instructure material on how to apply/test their suggestions.

Things I liked:

Refreshing look at decision making and inforatmion sharing in organisations. The breadth and depth of the author's
experience and technique are good for someone, like me, who is working in on particular subset of the problem solving space.

Not to dogmatic. The author offered suggestions ofor different ways to apply techniques and explained why they were important
(along with how they could be substituted for other approaches). The author acknowledged that some groups just wouldn't go
for this approach and that it was one (fairly good one he thought) approach amongst many.

Things that could have been improved:

I would have liked some more baby steps towards implementation. The 'Shared Display' seemed like quite a bit step to me, so
maybe some recommended auxilliary reading with regards to introducing a technique like this to a new group would have been
good.

Highlight:

I think the section at the start where he debunked the ways in which everyone pretends things are fine in an organisation was
a good call to arms (I think I'll read it again soon). It definately set the mood for the book well and I think got me on
board.

"To function in such a hierarchy often means to collude in systematic denial of the complex and ill-structured dynamics of wicked problems,
a phenomenon dubbed 'skilled incompetence' - Argyris and Schon, 1996.

[Robert Bogue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Years ago I met Paul Culmsee. He and I were speaking at a SharePoint best practices conference and we became fast friends – even though he lives halfway across the planet in Perth, Australia. Over the years we’ve had numerous early morning/late night conversations – depending upon whose side of the conversation you were on since we’re literally 12 time zones apart. Paul and I talk about quite a few topics including technology and sense making topics. However, the thing that Paul has a passion for is Dialogue Mapping. So when he suggested Dialogue Mapping: Building a Shared Understanding of Wicked Problems – I knew I had to read it. Paul describes the author, Jeff Conklin, as his mentor. To explain the book, I have to explain the struggle with wicked problems, what they are, and how my thinking works.

Click here to read the full review

[Raul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ótimo livro! Este livro traz uma visão interessante sobre a estruturação e uso dos argumentos. Ele consegue dar uma solução prática ao difícil "wicked problem". O livro trabalha com a ideia do padrão IBIS de argumentação e, também, sugere uma ótima ferramenta para geração destes mapas de diálogo.

Great book! This book brings an interesting view on the structuring and use of arguments. He manages to give a practical solution to difficult "wicked problem". The book works with the idea of IBIS standard of argument and also suggests a great tool to generate these maps.

[Tommy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hey, if you can get the hang of this practice, you can understand the way your organization operates and how it is supposed to operate, its needs and dependencies. Jeff is one smart dude.

[Perry Mowbray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good read.. but now I'm going have to go back and read it again sitting in front of the computer.

This is not ground breaking stuff: but it is extremely useful.

[Brad Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brilliant book! Amazing skill to have.

[Yates Buckley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Application of dialogue mapping to wicked problems in organisations. An incomplete but convincing first effort.