DSRP was revealed and investigated by Dr. Derek Cabrera and it provides the universal structure of thoughts and ideas. It can be surprisingly powerful in problem solving, resolving conflict, constructing mental models, information sharing, and connection. If used intentionally to guide a discovery, it creates a "picture" of how we perceive things are connected and associated with other things. Using DSRP in a discussion will increase employee engagement, by default, as each person adds their own distinctions, systems, relationships, and perspective.
The benefits of employee engagement are well documented. Engaged employees are less likely to leave, provide better customer service, more likely to take initiative, and have greater job satisfaction, better work relationships, higher levels of safety, and be more productive.
Learning and applying DSRP to your discussions is a relatively easy way to increase engagement. DSRP was revealed, documented, and continues to be investigated by Dr. Derek Cabrera of Cornell University and The Cabrera Research Lab. He is an internationally known systems scientist who in 2021 was inducted as a Member of the International Academy for Systems and Cybernetic Sciences (IASCYS) for outstanding contributions to the field. Cybernetics isn't just computer language; it is concerned with communication in living things also. Cybernetics is concerned with employee engagement, as this is feedback into the performance of a system. So, what is DSRP?
Distinctions Rule: Any idea or thing can be distinguished from the other ideas or things it is with;
Systems Rule: Any idea or thing can be split into parts or lumped into a whole;
Relationships Rule: Any idea or thing can relate to other things or ideas; and
Perspectives Rule: Any idea or thing can be the point or the view of a perspective.
Think of DSRP like the ATGC nucleotides of DNA, which can combine in infinite combinations to create life. Similarly, DSRP are building blocks for thought construction. By intentionally and dynamically applying these aspects to a subject matter, you will gain deeper insight into the subject itself, people's attitudes toward it, and its relationship to other important matters. DSRP has a puzzle-like nature that makes it appealing to people (just as it is instinctive to pick up a jig-saw puzzle piece and put it in place). Since the intention of DSRP in a discussion is to understand what is impacting the subject system, it has a way of making everyone an observer, and putting space between the agent/actors and the process/subject. This can diffuse a lot of conflict as you gain expertise in DSRP application. Over time, this creates a safe space for sharing beliefs and observations, and further encourages participation, engagement, and collaboration.
Let's say you are a project manager, and you need an operator to gather pareto data on quality defects. They aren’t embracing this requirement and it is impacting the frequency and quality of the data collection. How do you resolve this? For brevity's sake, just going through the "D" of DSRP you would answer the following questions:
What data are we collecting? (distinction)
What data are we not collecting? (other)
By answering these two questions you will generate answers that might indicate there are issues with the specificity of the data collection. For example, are there variables not being considered? Set-up defect data that is not being collected, or being collected? What is important from a product perspective? What is important from a process perspective? What other data is the operator collecting in support of other processes? Also, what different distinctions can be made? (e.g., what data do we want/not want to collect? What data do we need/not need to collect?)
Once you move from the distinction (what data are we collecting?) to "the other" (what data are we not collecting?), you will identify nuances to the distinction, that will flush out the other aspects of DSRP, that being the perspectives, systems, and relationships. Through the DSRP guided discovery you might identify the operator feels the data is irrelevant because you are/aren't including set-up defects, or you aren't monitoring tooling age and wear. You may realize they have constraints to data collection. You may even discover the VP of Operations is knowingly/unknowingly sabotaging the communication of the importance of the data! Understanding of the process will evolve as you map the mental models of the process and its differences from reality and intended design. As you go back and forth through D-S-R-P you will expand your view, while also focusing on behavior nuances. This isn't problem-solving; it is framing the situation. Then you can use the DSRP discovery to elevate the process and generate step-ahead outcomes.
Through this discovery, and the successes, the group will gain a better understanding of the subject matter and the relationships impacting its integrity. As understanding of the subject matter is formed, understanding of the agents/actors will also be revealed. This will create connection and feelings of "being heard" and will prompt further engagement, as expectations of the process of thinking and learning changes.
Lori G. Fisher, PMP
PLS Management Consulting
Purpose | Leap | Surge
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