January 2024 Updates from JD Solomon Solutions

Contact us for more information on our practical approaches.

Hot Topics

Insights inspired by the interesting projects and people we encounter.

Asset Management

Will Developing Your Strategic Asset Management Plan Fail? Here Are 10 Ways

Facilitation

Question Type or Technique? How to Produce Better Collaboration

Featured Project

JD Solomon Inc. continues to support Kansas City Water with improvements to its asset management for its 240-million-gallon-per-day water treatment plant. The area of focus in recent months has been on improvements to the preventative maintenance (PM} program. JD Solomon and Dion Trost provide primary support for the project.

Outreach

JD Solomon and Greg Christensen sat down to discuss all things reliability and maintenance on CMMSradio. Christensen’s popular podcast features expert guests sharing their journey, experiences, and perspectives around maintenance management, maintenance and reliability, facilities management, asset management, and the like. Use this link to see the episode on YouTube.

Upcoming Free Webinars

January 25, 2024

Developing and Facilitating Strategic Asset Management Plans

The quality of work is a function of how well it is facilitated. This session will provide tips, tricks, and pitfalls to avoid when facilitating Strategic Asset Management Plans. Join us for the interactive event!

Key learning objectives include:

• Understand challenges associated with SAMP development.

• Apply best practices for SAMP development.

• Identify facilitation practices that are unique to SAMPs.

• Improve collaboration between participants.

• Apply five techniques that move SAMP facilitation from good to great.

This free webinar is provided by Communicating with FINESSE in Zoom format.

Feb: Communicating Asset Management to Sr. Management with JD Solomon

March: Communicating Reliability with Bob Latino

Improving Technical Communication and Facilitation

JD Solomon Solutions continues its support of the not-for-profit Communicating with FINESSE in 2024. The community of seasoned practitioners who support the CWF mission is impressive. A summary of the 18 guest contributors can accessed at The Guest Insights of 2023 from Communicating with FINESSE, along with links to their insights.

 

Celebrating Four Years in Business

We took a look at our most requested services over the past four years. These are not necessarily the largest assignments or the most complex. It is probably not surprising that Criticality Analysis, Asset Management Assessments, Facilitation, and Root Cause Analysis topped the list.

It is probably also not too surprising that the most requested services did not necessarily produce the most revenues, at least on a per-project basis. More on that next month.

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JD Solomon Inc. provides solutions for program development, asset management, and facilitation at the nexus of facilities, infrastructure, and the environment. Subscribe for monthly updates related to our firm.

Question Type or Technique? How to Produce Better Collaboration

Understanding question types and using different techniques is essential for better team collaboration.

Powerful questions are at the core of Facilitating with FINESSE. A facilitated session is a structured meeting in which the meeting leader (the facilitator) guides the participants through a series of predefined steps to arrive at a result that is created, understood, and accepted by all participants. Great facilitation and meaningful collaboration can be achieved through understanding the question types and some key techniques under each type.

Basic Questions Used in Surveys

I normally talk about basic questions from the perspective of what we find on Google Forms, Microsoft Forms, and SurveyMonkey.

1. Closed-ended questions

These can be answered with a simple yes/no, true/false, or specific information.

 

2. Open-ended questions

These encourage a detailed response, usually in short form or long form.

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3. Multiple-choice questions

These provide a set of options or scales.

A Broader Base of Question Types

The three question types you will use in a basic participant survey are part of a broader list of question types. We use this broader list on everything from root cause analysis to facilitating strategic plans.

1. Closed-ended questions

These can be answered with a simple yes/no, true/false, or specific information.

2. Open-ended questions

These encourage a detailed response, usually in short form or long form.

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3. Multiple-choice questions

These provide a set of options or scales.

 

4. Leading (or Funnel) Questions

Leading questions try to lead the respondent to some way of thinking. In practice, leading questions are often seen as negative because you lead someone to your way of thinking. Funnel questions are often seen as more positively leading someone to an area of focus or examination. Either way, we are "leading" someone to someplace with our questions.

5. Clarifying (or Probing) Questions

Clarifying questions are used to seek further details. Probing questions are usually seen as more aggressive. Either way, these questions seek more detail.

6. Imagination Questions/Techniques

Facilitators use imagination questions to increase participation, collaboration and understanding. These questions are intended to expand our mental frame.

7. Rhetorical Questions

Rhetorical questions aren't really questions because they don't expect an answer. They're just statements in question form: "Isn't Sally's work insightful?" Most sources consider rhetorical questions a type of question. Some consider them a technique under leading questions.

8. Repetitive Questions/Techniques

Interrogators commonly use this type of question by repeating certain questions to look for inconsistencies and confidence levels. Some experts consider this to be a technique for clarifying questions.

9. Confrontational Questions/Techniques

These questions involve challenging the person with conflicting information or evidence or aiming to elicit a reaction or admission. Some experts consider this to be a technique for clarifying questions.

10. Silence

Does a question require words? Most definitions say no. If silence is a question type, this also means that there are different techniques for asking silent questions. Some experts say silence is a technique for clarifying questions.

Political Applications

The same basic three survey questions (open, closed, and multiple choice) are commonly used in political applications. Leading questions (like in the form of “push” surveys) and clarifying questions (internal polls and focus groups) are also common.

Interrogation Applications

Whether it is failure analysis, after-action reports, or criminal investigations, the same basic three survey questions (open, closed, and multiple choice) are commonly used. Leading (or funnel) questions, clarifying questions, repetitive questions, confrontational questions, and silence are all in play.

Collaboration Applications

The same basic three survey questions (open, closed, and multiple choice) are used by facilitators in collaborative efforts. Imagination and clarifying questions are essential. Leading and confrontational questions are de-emphasized but may still be selectively needed.

Questions Are Essential for Facilitating with FINESSE

Powerful questions are at the core of Facilitating with FINESSE. A facilitated session is a structured meeting in which the meeting leader (the facilitator) guides the participants through a series of predefined steps to arrive at a result that is created, understood, and accepted by all participants. Great facilitation and meaningful collaboration can be achieved through understanding the question types and some key techniques under each type. We’ll explore more in an upcoming series at Communicating with FINESSE.

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JD Solomon Inc. provides solutions for program development, asset management, and facilitation at the nexus of facilities, infrastructure, and the environment. Subscribe for monthly updates related to our firm.

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Founded by JD Solomon, Communicating with FINESSE is a not-for-profit community of technical professionals dedicated to being highly effective communicators and facilitators. Learn more about our publications, webinars, and workshops. Join the community for free.

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JD Solomon is the author of Communicating Reliability, Risk & Resiliency to Decision Makers: How to Get Your Boss’s Boss to Understand and Facilitating with FINESSE: A Guide to Successful Business Solutions.

Our 4 Most Popular Solutions from the Last Four Years

Not necessarily the largest or the most complex, these are the solutions our clients wanted most frequently.

We looked at our top four solutions over the past four years. These are not necessarily the largest assignments or the most complex. However, they are the ones that our clients seem to want the most frequently.

Criticality Analysis

The Solomon-Oldach Asset Prioritization (SOAP) method is used to conduct criticality rankings for facility assets and public infrastructure. SOAP can result in staff time savings of up to 70% versus traditional methods. Use SOAP when you need a fresh perspective, when there is a leadership change, or when you need to verify your priorities in a timely manner.

Using SOAP Will Save Your Criticality Analysis Time and Money

Asset Management Assessments

Many organizations are drowning in the depth and breadth of their asset management programs. Limited value is being shown for the amount of investment. Our ASAP approach uses a quick assessment to produce short-term value, provide key insights, and verify program direction.

Simplify Asset Management for Better Results

Facilitation

Organizations are often frustrated by ineffective facilitators who cannot get to implementable solutions. The outcome is that participants walk away feeling like they have wasted their time. Our SAFE approach has the opposite effect – participants leave with implementable solutions through a time-effective process.

Ask the Experts Re-Visited: The Lost Art of Facilitation

Root Cause Analysis

An obvious meaning of fast is moving or capable of moving at high speed. Fast also means firmly fixed or immovable (“the ship was held fast by the anchor chain”) or not fading or changing (“fast colors”). The FAST approach as a process can be applied efficiently while its solutions are non-fading and solid.

Three Things To Avoid When Performing An Environmental Root Cause Analysis

Our Solutions

We have collectively pushed these into a highly valued (popular) solution category. Please find more information on a website on the larger suite of solutions we provide related to Program Development, Asset Management, Facilitation, and Environmental. And remember to check out our Insights, where we regularly post helpful content on topics in each category.

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JD Solomon Inc. provides solutions for program development, asset management, and facilitation at the nexus of facilities, infrastructure, and the environment. Subscribe for monthly updates related to our firm.