10 Steps to Improve Your Eventuality Thinking Skills

Michael R. Wood is a Business Process Improvement & IT Strategist Independent Consultant. He is creator of the business process-improvement methodology called HELIX and founder of The Natural Intelligence Group, a strategy, process improvement and technology consulting company. He is also a CPA, has served as an Adjunct Professor in Pepperdine's Management MBA program, an Associate Professor at California Lutheran University, and on the boards of numerous professional organizations. Mr. Wood is a sought after presenter of HELIX workshops and seminars in both the U.S. and Europe.

  Career Development   Strategy  

I recently explored eventuality thinking in Why Eventuality Thinking is Essential for Your Career. Now I continue to look at ways project managers can become more strategic by improving their ET skills.

When it comes to identifying and analyzing less probable but plausible events in a project using eventuality thinking, you want to go beyond the obvious and dig deep into the “what ifs” that could really shake things up. Here are some powerful techniques to make that happen:

1. Scenario planning: Create multiple detailed scenarios that include low-probability, high-impact events. Highlighting this technique can help your stakeholders feel better equipped to manage surprises and uncertainties in their projects.
2. Premortem analysis: Before a project kickoff, gather your team and assume the project has failed spectacularly. Then work backward to identify all the unlikely but plausible reasons why it could have gone south. This technique uncovers hidden risks that might otherwise be ignored.
3. Red teaming: Bring in a “devil’s advocate” group whose job is to challenge assumptions and deliberately think about unlikely adverse events or obstacles. This helps expose blind spots and forces your team to consider alternative realities.
4. Cross-impact analysis: Map out how different events might influence one another, especially those with low …

Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.