The Enterprise Approach to Education

Messes

1In real life we don’t start with clear prob­lems. Like tan­gled knots we have to choose a prob­lem to attack. One lit­tle knot at a time. For exam­ple, how exactly does this sit­u­a­tion dif­fer from what we’d like it to be? Find some­thing rea­son­ably distinct.

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Solu­tions

2When we’re clear on our end tar­get we can start to design pos­si­ble solu­tions. Be as free with this part as you can be. Break some rules. The more we travel off the nor­mal paths of your think­ing the more likely we are to find new insights.

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Imple­men­ta­tion

3Only in math does solv­ing a prob­lem end with solv­ing the prob­lem. Mak­ing change hap­pen (and stick) is a skill we only learn with prac­tice. What will it take to con­vince peo­ple we’re right? And who do we need to con­vince? This, like all the other steps, is an art.

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Re-iteration

4Fail­ure is part of it too. Even when we suc­ceed we fail. Or at least we come to real­ize the next prob­lem stand­ing there. Reflect. What did we learn? What would we do dif­fer­ently next time? What should be our new pri­or­ity? Begin the process again.

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