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174 Power Up Your Mind

amount of tax on fuel. A few saw it as an expression of greed by the
oil companies.
Reframe this problem in more abstract terms and it becomes
a very different issue of sustainable development. The real problem
suddenly becomes much clearer: How might a government per-
suade people that paying more for fuel is the right thing to be doing
if a commitment to the environment means that we all need to
drive our cars less? The problem then becomes one of culture
change. Creative energies can be focused on changing our percep-
tion of the role of the car in our lives. By finding the real problem,
you can create the real solution.
Sadly, the politicians did not reframe the problem in this light
on this occasion, but did win the media round to stopping their
support of a small minority of protesters.

Think of a serious business problem you are facing, See if you can find the real problem by
reframing your apparent issue in more abstract terms.

The double loop

The ideas so far in this section are capable of standing on their own.
However, the most powerful creative tool I know operates at a more
strategic level and is able to revolutionize the creativity of an orga-
nization. It is the idea of “double-loop thinking,” as invented by
Harvard professor Chris Argyris.
Single-loop thinking is problem solving by another name. If
the photocopier breaks down, for example, someone fixes it.
Double-loop thinking seeks to step back from a single
instance of failure and learn from it. It looks at underlying systems
and behaviors and seeks to fix these. In the case of the broken
photocopier, it would involve asking questions about whether the
specification of the machine is appropriate, why photocopying is
being done in-house, and whether a paper-less approach might be
better. Double-loop thinking requires you to reflect on what you
have learned and do things differently as a result.