The Center for Creative Community

WHAT IF……

UPSIDE DOWN AND INSIDE OUT

@ -- permission for use-with-acknowledgment

WHAT IF……
by Ivan Scheier

Paranoiac suspicion of "the obvious" is virtually a precondition of creativity, practiced here in an exercise very similar to "The Evolution of a Question." The purpose: identify the key underlying assumption, then "rotate" to an alternative assumption, and consider what different consequences might then occur. The difference is that here we start with statements or assertions, rather than questions, and mix examples from volunteerism with examples from the world-at- large.

Examples for Orientation:
Assumption: For increasing understanding and friendship with another nation or culture, there's nothing better than personal people-to-people visits back and forth, becoming acquainted with one another as individuals.

What if... propinquity does not necessarily lead to friendship? The worst wars of the l9th century were between the French and English who, at that time, knew each other on an individual basis, better than any other two countries in Europe. Could be, they just didn't like each other, and being together made that worse.

Assumption: The population is aging, so we'd better get ready with more older/aging programs, more services for the frail elderly, more nursing homes, etc.

What if ... tomorrow's older/elderly do not act like today's? And what if medical science develops in a way to preserve health and vigor at a nearly 100% level until just before death, rather than today's typical slow decline? Some medical futurists believe this possible.

Assumption: It's important for us to show how nice volunteers are, through our recognition ceremonies, posters, publicity material, etc.

What if ... however well-intended or even "true" this message might be. it gives certain decision-makers permission to take volunteers for granted-- "They're too nice to make a fuss. " To the extent this is so, having volunteers take a day off, en masse, during national volunteer week. would be much more effective advocacy for the respect due volunteers and their leaders.

EXERCISES (Allow about 30-45 minutes)
In pairs or small groups, pick any of the statements below and work it through on a "what if..." basis. If you finish one statement. go on to another as time permits. Be prepared to share with the group-at-large, but in case there are any specimen "answers" in your packet, please don't peek ahead at this point.

SOME ASSUMPTIONS

1. Assumption of the mid-1970's: The OPEC oil boycott seemed to mean that oil and gasoline prices would skyrocket, or at least continue to increase substantially. But a certain "What if..." actually happened. What was it?

2. In the "litigious society, " people sue each other more and more over less and less. This will continue to be a deterrent to many kinds of volunteer service, especially on policy boards. But WHAT IF ...

3. About half the people in the field of volunteer leadership (administration) leave the field every two or three years, a tremendous subtraction of skill and spirit. One likely reason is lack of career options within the field. but WHAT IF ...

4. We need better ways to justify our volunteer programs I administrative sponsors, and the public at large. But WHAT IF...

5. If the major military powers succeed in negotiating progressively deeper mutual reductions in missiles and nuclear bombs., the world will become a considerably safer place. But WHAT IF ...

6. What this country needs is more volunteer programs. But WHAT IF...

7. We need to gear up to learn even more from fields like personnel. business administration, communications, etc. But WHAT IF ...

8. It's a good bet that one of the top eight baseball teams this year in the major leagues will be the world's champion next year. But WHAT IF ...

9. You read that book in three hours? It must be a short book! But WHAT IF...

10. We need to know more about the profile of the typical volunteer. But WHAT IF ...

11. At worst. TV commercials are harmless or boring, and sometimes they're quite amusing, too. But WHAT IF ...

12. Our professional association needs to raise membership dues again this year in order to gain more revenue. But WHAT IF ...

13. Since Volunteer Administration is largely a women's profession, a solid raise in salaries across the board will be good news for women, But WHAT IF ...

14. There are more consultants in volunteerism entering the field today than there is work or clientele for them to serve. Many of these consultants, therefore, will have to have another means of financial support besides their consulting. But WHAT IF ...

15. Offenders sentenced to community service, students obliged to do community service as part of their schoolwork, and other "prescribed participants," are best mixed in with regular community volunteers in a program, and treated in the same way. But WHAT IF ...

(Possible "answers" follow. Don't peek--until you're ready!)

SOME POSSIBLE "WHAT IF'S..." KEYED TO ORIGINAL NUMBERS
(These are just samples; possibilities are infinite)

1 ... higher prices led to more oil exploration, emphasis on conservation of energy, cars with higher gas mileage, all of which drove prices back down. (The rubber-band effect.)

2 ... the problem is already beginning to provoke a corrective response in legislation to protect volunteers. As in #1, this factor provokes its own counter-reaction.

3 ..we began to imagine fresh and new career options within the field or in closely allied settings. (I can think of four, even now.) And do we necessarily "lose" people who "leave the field" if we keep in better touch with them via DOVIA alumnae associations, etc.?

4 ... we at least began to act as if they had to justify themselves to us.

5 ... as the current military powers disarm, another vacuum" by drastically

6 ... both in terms of overall quality of life, and even career opportunities for volunteer coordinators, the most promising growth opportunities for volunteerism were in the encouragement and understanding of relatively informal, entrepreneurial volunteering outside of programs, e.g. networking, freelancing, etc.

7 ... we began to see ourselves more as their teachers or at least their peers and less as their students. In fact, most of "the latest" in personnel practices is little more than a recap of the way volunteer coordinators have always had to treat their volunteers. But our collective inferiority complex is such that we can't believe it until we see it in "In Search of Excellence." 9 ... you're just a-fast reader...or just skimmed the book.

10. . . this simply preserves a narrow elitist approach to recruiting. What if we took the broadest and most meaningful definition of volunteer--"doing more than you have to because you want to, in a cause you consider good"--and begin by assuming that in f act virtually everybody does volunteer. Our challenge then would become not getting people to volunteer in the first place, but rather increasing the quality and impact of their volunteering, in more formal settings.

11. ...all these years they have been powerfully reinforcing the message that, in fact, the sober truth doesn't matter all that much, anywhere, e.g. in politics, relationships with other people, etc. A U.S. Senate Committee recently excused a probably lying witness by observing that he was telling at least "the approximate truth."

12. . . this leads to such a decline in membership that we end up with less total revenue.

13... this encourages more men to compete for jobs as Volunteer Administrators with the possible result that fewer such jobs would be available to women.

14. . . we deliberately began to imagine and then develop new clients, f (--r - the services of consultants in volunteerism, e.g. , all-volunteer groups, 'the "volunteerizing" of paid employment, etc.

15. . . the motivations of these and traditional community volunteers tend to be so different that it is difficult to treat them all the same way. And what if volunteers began to be discouraged and even resent blurring of their special voluntary heritage/identity, through inter-mingling with "involuntary" workers who are also called "volunteers."

From here on, the discussion can go just about anywhere, and we hope it does.

Epilogue: The Anatomy of the Process

Most participants seem to favor the free-flowing nature of the "WHAT IF..." exercises; freedom from rules is a major plus. However, some people work better with more structure, and, for them, a more detailed layout of the WHAT IF process may be useful.

Step 1) Identify and state clearly the underlying assumptions, as it actually is, which is not necessarily the-way most people might state it. Indeed, many or most people may not even be conscious of a particular assumption, when it is so completely taken for granted.

Example: We should focus on professional leadership of volunteers which is as close to full-time as possible and (usually) paid.

Step 2) What are the consequences or results of this assumption, in what volunteerism does?

Example: Our basic constituency is limited to an estimated 100,000 individuals in North America. Publications and workshops focus on them, tending to neglect the part-time and/or unpaid leadership person. This concentration tends to ensure a coherent, defined body of knowledge. But our fee structure for national events, at least, and membership in professional associations, tends to assume the person is paid or of substantial independent means and this excludes a lot of unpaid people.

Step 3) What are some other, alternative assumptions which might be made in the subject area?

Example: what if we began to broaden our focus to include people who lead volunteers on a more part-time, informal and usually unpaid basis, e.g. service club leaders, religious group leadership, self-help group leaders, officers of recreational, political, and cultural groups, etc.

Step 4) What are the consequences of making these assumptions and how do these consequences differ from those which result from the current assumption (Step2)?

Example: Our potential constituency would number in the millions; our current knowledge base would probably have to be "stretched, " adapted, or at least reworded. Our time and money demands on people for involvement and support via workshops, association membership, etc. would have to be lowered, but we would have many more potential participants.

PART C.
Extension of- Part B ("What If"),

With Particular Attention to the Nature of Assumptions in the First Place, and Concentrating On Assumptions in Volunteerism

The dictionary defines an ", assumption" as "something taken for granted, a supposition. The assumptions we make, powerfully affect what we see, how we behave, and the kind of impact we have on the world around us. This is so, whether we are fully conscious of assumptions, or not; indeed, some people really dislike to be reminded of their assumptions, or even that they are making them at all.

Assumptions can be made by individuals, organizations, committees, cultures, or professions. We will focus here on some assumptions made by individuals in the profession of volunteer administration (leadership of volunteers). But first, there are a few more general points about assumptions.

Their power doesn't necessarily depend on their being "true". If teacher is sure Johnny is a bad boy that assumption--right or wrong-will probably influence Johnny's behavior as well as the teacher's, probably in a negative way. Some assumptions tend to limit the scope of thought and action; others expand it.

... When we took for granted that the world was flat, the result was that most sailors didn't venture far from land for fear of falling off (probably a good idea, anyhow, given the kind of ships they had then). Once the round-world assumption overturned the flatworlders (though there is still a flatworld association in England!) a massive exploratory energy was released, with Columbus onward.

... Prior to 1960, going to the moon was generally considered a fairly crazy idea. Allen President Kennedy told us we were going to the moon, the resulting assumption was a huge first step on the road there.

... Once upon a time, it was scarcely ever questioned that, of course, a woman's place was in the home, and only there. The more modern expectation of a far wider range of work choices for women, including the home, has -fundamentally changed the lives of women, and the men who relate to them.

Assumptions help determine how we interact with the world around us; for ex- ample, the way in which teacher works with Johnny once she's made up her mind he is a bad boy. Certainly, too, those who basically consider the environment as an adversary to be conquered, deal with it differently than those who hold it to be a friend to be cherished and/or ourselves as part of it.

Our basic values--what we see as more or less important in life--are essentially assumptions, hard to "prove" one way or another. But what a difference they make in the way we live, and what we do! Only consider the difference between the behavior of those who believe:

...money and material things are most important vs. the spirit, the spiritual ...the "me first" theory of caring vs. the primary value of taking care for others.

Assumptions also change over time. Thus, when I was a boy it was a slightly shameful thing to be an debt, even if you had no choice; today, it is practically a patriotic duty to be in debt. Keeps the economy rolling, right?

Now, let's look at assumptions underlying volunteerism, and the -possibility of alternatives.

 A SAMPLER OF ASSUMPTIONS UNDERLYING MODERN VOLUNTEERISM –
AND SOME OPENINGS TO ALTERNATIVES

…Staff owns the problem, where there is one, in staff-volunteer relations. They have to be more appreciative, supportive; they need to be trained, exhorted, etc. But WHAI IF volunteers had a large share of the problem; what would we do differently, under that assumptions?

…the low status of agency volunteer programs is best "cured by" upgrading the competency of individual volunteer leaders (administrators) via workshops, certification, etc. But WHAT IF we assumed the real problem was likely to be relatively competent coordinators hamstrung by incompetent, e.g., ignorant/unreceptive organizations? How would that impact the directors for approach to upgrading the respect accorded volunteer programs?

…Assumptions (thought hardly ever stated quite this way): Workshop training is the solution to (most) every problem; workshops are the snake medicine of the late twentieth century. But WHAT IF we really focussed on other possible avenues – not as "easy" or quick perhaps – but deeper, more permanent, such as changes in policy, longer term education, better selection…?

…Assumption: Agency-organized volunteer programs are the core of organized volunteerism. WHAT IF we assumed instead, that all-vol8nteer groups and freelance volunteers, and other non-agency settings were at least as important? What would we do differently?

…Assumption: We must focus on professional leadership of volunteers which is (preferably) full-time and paid, and goes under one of a set of prescribed job titles such as "volunteer administrator" or "Director of Volunteer Services." WHAT IF we began to focus more on the millions of people who in fact lead volunteers on a much more part-time unpaid basis?

…Assumption: Volunteerism is best defended and advances as a separate field defined by its target group: volunteers. But WHAT IF we assumed instead that volunteerism would gain more respect and status as part of a larger package of "community-based support systems" for organizations, and/or "human resource development?" What would we do differently?

…Assumption: Volunteers are a special breed of people with a distinct (unique?) motivation, personality, values. They are (sort of) the elite of unpaid helping. But WHAT IF, we stared instead with the assumption that everyone is a volunteer in some basic sense, though not everyone does it in our preferred way? How would that impact our approach to, say "recruiting?"

…Assumption: The best way to advance volunteering is to pick a few truly outstanding volunteers and lavish formal recognition on them. But WHAT IF…?

…Assumption: Given that an increasing proportion of people we work with do so less out of actual free choice, and more by prescription (community service, therapist program, etc., etc.), these somewhat involuntary volunteers should be worked with in exactly the same way as more traditional volunteers? But WHAT IF that were not so…?

…Unspoken Assumption: Volunteerism is a totally derivative field, both intellectually and spiritually. We have nothing authentic to call our own. But WHAT IF we saw ourselves as having much to teach as well as learn…?

 UPSIDE DOWN AND INSIDE OUT
Ivan Scheier

Background

Reversing or inverting a sentence won't always make obvious sense. But sometimes it's enough of a jolt to free us from well-grooved preconceptions and thereby encourage significant new exploration of issues or problems.

One form of reversal interchanges the subject and object of a sentence, thus:
"Staff should appreciate volunteers morel? becomes

"Volunteers should appreciate staff more" and

"Volunteers should be accountable to the organization they work for" becomes

"The host organization should be accountable to its volunteers"

Finally, "Volunteers save money" becomes "Money saves volunteers."

EXERCISE I (about 30-45 minutes)
Ask people to get in pairs or small groups to practice reversal on the statements below and - see what kinds of discussion this leads to: Creative or just plain crazy? Useful fresh perspectives or just absurdity?

1. Staff needs better training on how to work with volunteers.

2. Economic conditions in a community greatly impact volunteerism.

3. In 1-to-I programs, volunteers should be able to choose the clients they work with.

4. Volunteers need a lot of recognition and support from the organization they work for.

5. The aging of the population will affect our volunteer programs.

6. We need to get better at recruiting volunteers

7. The board is the policy-making body for (the staff of) an organization.

8. You can fire volunteers.

9. Our new FAX machine really improves our program.

10. More media exposure will result in a better volunteer program.

Exercise I Possible Responses:
These seem to be straightforward enough in most cases not to need a "key"; thus: "Staff needs better training on how to work with volunteers" becomes "Volunteers need better training on how to work with staff." A few statements, however, are a bit tricky and even problematic, thus:

4. "Organizations need a lot of recognition and-support from their volunteers." 5. "Volunteer programs will affect the process of aging."

6. "Volunteers need to do a better job recruiting us (organizations to work for?)."

7. "Organizations make policy (control?) for their boards." (?)

9."An improved program will (improve the use of) our new FAX machine, make it more useful."

EXERCISE 2 (30-45 minutes)
Working in pairs or small groups, have each participant identify a commonly accepted statement about volunteerism, other than the examples given thus far. Then, work together on the nature and meaning of any inversions. Report out and discuss as in Exercise 1. Here, however, we are likely to encounter more statements that cannot easily be reversed, and that point is itself worthy of discussion.

EXERCISE 3 (30 minutes)
Given that there are many un-reversible statements, we may wish to explore the possibilities in single words. Thus:

"Overly busy people tend to burn out" might become

"Underly busy (idle) people tend to burn out" which might lead us to wonder whether sheer busyness has anything to do with it.

Another example:

"Most volunteer programs need more money" could become either

"Most volunteer programs need more imagination"

or, if we went back to the reversal mode, something like "Money needs more volunteer programs" (?).

EXERCISE 4
You can end with a general discussion of the impact and value of sentence or word reversal. Just how and why might it be helpful or unhelpful for creative thinking?

Have fun with these exercises but don't let them have fun with you.

The Center for Creative Community
P.O. Box 2427
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504

Notes: 1999—Like just about every other creative thinking exercise in this packet, "Upside Down and Inside Out" is designed to "get at" fixed assumptions preconceptions and try to "flip" them, e.g. see what it would be like if, different assumptions were made. It is most like the WHAT IF" exercise in this respect, with the special feature of a certain shock value in at least some of the reversals. Thus, ibis is "the crack on the side of the head" others have believed helpful in unlocking creative energies...

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Ivan Scheier
Stillpoint
607 Marr
Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, 87901
Tel (505) 894-1340
Email: ivan@zianet.com

For comments and editing suggestions please contact Mary Lou McNatt mlmcnatt@indra.com