I love a simple framework.
The best ones can help put structure around anything that feels overwhelming or scattered - a way to get everything out, group and organise what’s there, and find a way to see the wood for the trees.
They can be especially useful for the content of our heads, when it feels like we have so much we want to say, but don’t know how to say it.
One of my favourites is this one - the SCQuARE process.
It’s a simple and effective communication model learned somewhere in my GSK days and it’s stuck with me all these years later.
Back then it helped me write annual plan and strategy presentation decks, and for many years I only used it in the world of PowerPoint, but more recently I’ve appreciated just how much of an all-rounder it is.
At heart it’s a way of structuring a story so it makes sense to others, so we don’t need to save it for formal presentations.
In coaching sessions over the last few weeks, we’ve used it to structure conversations of all shapes and sizes.
The topics have varied, but the objective in each situation has been the same - to find a way to get 2 or more people on the same page - to agree on the problem that needs to be solved, and how to solve it.
So often we have all the thoughts about a situation but not a way to make sense of them.
Having a structure - this or any other one that works for you - can help you organise and share the situation and your perspective more clearly.
And once you’re on the same page, you can find a way forward.
Wishing you a week of organising your thinking clearly,
