Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

Framing Courses of Action

Framing Courses of Action

Earlier I defined the Courses of Action BP needed to consider in solving their problem.

Problem: Determine the best way to deal with the Oil Spill.

Courses of Action. (Laundry List)

1. Cap the well.
2. Siphoned off the discharge.
3. Drill a relief well.
4. Contain the spread through the use of booms and barriers.
5. Pay the damages.
6. Put someone in charge who knows something about oil wells.


Note that these are not exclusive of one another. It is possible to do all of them. In a sense they are more like a laundry list, a sequence of actions that will lead to a single final solution. This is often the direction our thinking takes. Now look at the courses shown below These are courses that are distinctively different. For example.

Courses of Acton: (Discreet)

1. Try and fix the problem
2. Walk away
3. Declare Bankruptcy
4. Refuse to acknowledge responsibility.
5. Drag feet.

Courses of Action: (Yes or no)

1. Fix the problem.
2. Don’t fix the problem

This shows that the solution window can be constrained not only by the facts and assumptions but by the solutions you are willing to consider. Often in problem solving one considers but a single course and the decision is like a light switch…a simple yes or no. The point is that a problem solver should consider a full range of discreet, and not just a light switch or a laundry list of alternatives.