Conducting Experiments with the Solution Focus Approach
Enabling organisational change through SF experiments
Dec 28, 2024
Introduced by John Brooker
Rod Sherwin may be familiar to InterAction readers. His pieces on:
- Visualising SF (https://www.sfio.org/interaction/2023-1/sf-visualisation/) and
- Using the SF Strategy Canvas (https://www.sfio.org/interaction/2021-1/sf-strategy-canvas/)
display an elegant use of SF and are valuable contributions. In this talk on conducting “rigorous experiments”, with SF tools, this elegance and valuie shines through again.
Watch or listen to the video, and you will discover a fresh perspective on how to test ideas, navigate complex systems, and foster positive change - whether operating in a corporate setting or focusing on personal development. Drawing upon a varied background that includes computer science, software engineering, team leadership, and executive coaching, Rod offers a wealth of experience that illuminates the “experimental mindset.”
Early on, you will hear a fascinating contrast between roles akin to “Mr Spock” and “Carl Jung,” highlighting how experimentation spans both technical and human-centred spheres. Indeed, Rod has spent over twenty years in health and wellbeing work, merging these holistic practices with his engineering and business analysis background. This fusion reveals that experimentation is hardly confined to scientific labs. Rather, it is present in everything - from discovering the proper code fix in software development to exploring a new team dynamic in organisational change.
Framing a change initiative as an “experiment” can lend a more formal, purposeful air, empowering teams to innovate without fearing failure, particularly in contexts where the phrase “trial and error” might discourage risk-taking or open-minded exploration. With the audience, Rod links these ideas to Solution Focus (SF) concepts - emphasising the importance of noticing what already works and doing more of it and knowing when to try something different entirely.
In addition, you are introduced to crucial elements of designing a successful experiment: forming a hypothesis, identifying benefits, pinpointing both leading and lagging indicators and setting an appropriate duration for testing and review. Rod also includes the SF notions of “amplifiers and dampeners” - ideas for increasing desired outcomes while mitigating unwanted side effects. He brings these ideas together in a practical framework for shaping constructive, low-risk experiments at work or in life.
Throughout the discussion, participants underscored the importance of ensuring teams or individuals have the capacity for change, noting that overburdened employees or overlapping initiatives may undermine any experiment. By using SF questions—such as scaling confidence or willingness—leaders can gauge a group’s readiness and adapt accordingly. Smaller, incremental steps (“nudges”) often prove more manageable and less risky than sweeping organisational overhauls.
Finally, the video features interactive components, including a breakout exercise you might like to try, and participant reflections that further enrich the presentation. The slides are provided below. Rod has kindly updated these to reflect feedback from participants and they make an excellent review of the talk.
By the end, you will have a clear pathway for conducting experiments in your own context, armed with SF-inspired questions and a mindset open to learning, adjusting, and succeeding in a complex world. Enjoy the session!
The presentation slides
Listen on Soundcloud
Soundcloud photo from Unsplash+
Rod Sherwin
InterAction Contributor, SFiO Contributor
Rod Sherwin is a solutioneer, executive coach, team catalyst, facilitator and professional speaker who uses solution-focused approaches as a direct route to create Business Agility and respectful lasting change for individuals, teams and organisations.
John Brooker
Co-President
SFiO Reviewed Practitioner
Editor of Interaction
Chapter Head
SFiO Contributor
John has over thirty years experience of leading people to collaborate effectively. He gained his leadership experience as a Senior Vice President in Visa International, working on international projects. Since 2004 he has used his leadership and Solution Focus expertise to enable people in multinational and national organisations to collaborate effectively. He is Co-President of Solution Focus in Organisations, an SFiO Reviewed Practitioner and has an MBA from The Open University in the UK.