Welcome to the 2009 Editions

Mark McKergow , Kirsten Dierolf , Anton Stellamans & Carey Glass

Volume 1.1 - May 2009

Welcome to the first issue of InterAction, the journal of SF in organisations.

This journal will cover recent developments and research by publishing peer reviewed articles. Members of the editorial team or the editorial advisory board will ensure a high standard and comment on submitted articles in a process that is a learning experience for all involved. Links to other interactional, emergent and post-structural approaches will be explored.

Each edition will feature a case study on the application of SF in organisations.InterAction is published by SFCT, the Association for the Quality Development of Solution Focused Consulting and Training (www.asfct.org). It will be published bi annually in May and November and is distributed to the members of SFCT and subscribing libraries. In her editorial, Kirsten Dierolf argues for the need for such an association at this time and outlines its tasks and benefits for potential members.

In this issue you will find three peer reviewed articles, an exciting case study, a classic paper by Steve de Shazer, an interview with Gale Miller and three book reviews.The three papers and the case study were originally written for the SOL conference in Bruges in 2007 and were updated for this publi-cation. Thanks to the permission of the authors and the kind support of the Bruges conference team, especially Louis Cauffman and Anton Stellamans, these articles can now be enjoyed by a wider public.

In her article Carey Glass links SF work in organisations to the most recent findings in positive psychology, namely the broaden-and-build theory of Barbara Frederickson. She examines the idea that SF provides interactions that alter what goes on inside our heads to, in turn, catalyse more useful interactions between us. SF, seen in light of Fredrickson’s research might operate as a methodology for bringing positive emotions and broadened thinking into the workplace.

Fredrike Bannink gives an overview of SF mediation in“SF Conflict Management in Organisations”. She provides a short history of SF and other approaches to mediation anddescribes the concrete steps to be taken in an SF mediation process. She argues that SF conversations to resolve conflict are positive and shorter, thereby ensuring that solution focused conflict management is also cost-effective.

“The Grammar of Neuroscience” by Mark McKergow and Kirsten Dierolf provides a philosophical reflection on what the recent findings of neuroscience which support SF practice can be taken to say. They urge caution on interpreting these findings as direct ‘neurological proof’ for the efficacy of SF work. Linking back to the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgen-stein, Dierolf and McKergow explore what can be said about mind, brain and language in an unmuddled form.

In the “Classic Paper” from 1997 “Some Thoughts on Language Use in Therapy”, Steve de Shazer describes some of the muddles and mazes language can lead therapists (and presumably consultants) into. The same language is used forvery different relations. For example, “he is a male” looks very similar to “he is a schizophrenic” and while the steady state of “being male” (in almost all cases) can be assumed safely, this is not the case for the second sentence and actually reduces hope and prospect of a “cure”.

Paul Z Jackson and Colin Coombs describe a very inter-esting case of SF work in organisations in “Making It Happen With Your Team”. The design and delivery of a team building event for the Art Handling Team at the Tate Gallery inLondon can be followed in descriptions, quotes and even pictures from the event.

Mark McKergow interviewed Gale Miller about his time “behind the mirror behind the mirror at BFTC”. Gale talks about the formative years of BFTC and the history of SF inthe early years. He vividly describes his experience and talks about the people involved – not only Insoo Kim Berg and Steve de Shazer, but also many others. Gale also observed changes in SF therapy over time and gives his opinion onwhere SF is now and to what extent it is fulfilling its potential.

There are also three book reviews; “Positivity” by Barbara Fredrickson, reviewed by Mark McKergow, “The Art ofPossibility” by Rosamund and Benjamin Zander, reviewed by Tricia Lustig and “Intelligence and How to Get It: Why Schools and Cultures Count” by Richard Nisbitt, reviewed by Coert Visser.

The reviews give a concise summary of the books in question and link them to SF thought and practice.The editorial team sincerely hopes that this journal will be enjoyable to its readers and that it will inspire interesting discussions and contributions to further issues.

Volume 1.2 - November 2009

A warm welcome to all our members and interested friends to the second edition of InterAction, the journal of solution focus in organisations!

A lot of work has gone into the evolution of the Associa- tion for the quality development of solution focused consulting and training (SFCT) over the last 6 months. There are already more than 50 members from all over the world (listed on the website www.asfct.org), some of whom joined the SFCT board in Friedrichsdorf near Frankfurt in August to discuss next steps together. The board was very grateful for the level of interest and support shown by members there. As you might know from our newsletters, put together by SFCT founding member Alan Kay, it became apparent that there is a high demand for the SFCT to promote local activities; we are currently working on the governance that will allow for these activities. The Clues have evolved and you can see Version 1.1 in the Appendix to this edition of the Journal.

We have also slightly changed the review process in the light of experience, so that too is in Version 1.1. The Lead Reviewer will now act as a coach to help the candidate assemble relevant material for the review. There are currently 5 new reviews in progress and more members have said that they will be applying for a review in the near future. We will announce the publication of their reviews on the website in newsletters.

The next Annual General Meeting of SFCT will take place on August 27, 2010 in Friedrichsdorf. It will follow an open format (we are thinking of open space / world café etc.) and we hope that many members will be able to join us.

The first issue of InterAction was very well received and there are impressive additions to the editorial advisory board (for a full list please see page 3): philosopher Prof. Rom Harré, complexity and postmodernism author Prof. Paul Cilliers, Department of Philosophy, Stellenbosch University, South Africa; Prof. Peter Vermeersch, Institute for International and European Policy, Leuven, Belgium, who appeared at the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford; SF pioneer Ben Furman (read more about him in the interview in this edition); Chris Iveson from BRIEF in London; and Steve Smith from Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland. We are particularly pleased to welcome Prof Danièle Moyal-Sharrock, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Hertfordshire, UK and President of the British Wittgenstein Society. She invited the editorial board of InterAction to become members of the British Wittgenstein Society – an invitation that was enthusiastically accepted. InterAction has also been included in Cabell’s Direc- tory of Publishing Opportunities in Management, a listing of journals of interest to researchers in management science.

Number 2, volume 1 of InterAction offers a wonderful breadth of articles about SF work in organisations. SFCT is very interested in making InterAction accessible – please encourage everyone who you know is interested in SF in organ- isations to join SFCT and receive the new edition. There is also a new facility to discuss the content of the articles with the authors and each other on the website: www.asfct.org. This time there are 4 peer reviewed papers: “Supporting Clients’ Solution Building Process by Subtly Eliciting Positive Behaviour Descriptions and Expectations of Beneficial Change” by Coert Visser and Gwenda Schlundt Bodien, “Coaching Reloaded” by Peter Szabó, “SF Interviewing Proto- cols as Evolutionary Algorithms” by Paolo Terni, and “Networking with an SF outlook” by Lina Skantze and Loraine Kennedy. You can also read a very interesting case by Yasuteru Aoki, another classic Steve de Shazer paper introduced by Gale Miller (appearing in English for the first time), and an inter- view with Ben Furman by Carey Glass, Kirsten Dierolf and Anton Stellamans. There are also 3 book reviews and a new feature: the research digest by Coert Visser.

In an impressive overview of current scientific findings in a wide array of sciences from neuroscience to memory research, Coert Visser and Gwenda Schlundt Bodien provide evidence for Steve de Shazer’s assertion that helping clients create positive expectations of beneficial change by getting a description of what they would do differently once the problem is solved. In his paper on Brief Coaching, Peter Szabó provides a description of a coaching process that lasted only one session and examines the basic assumptions that contribute to this helpful brevity. The piece has all the trappings of a “classic- to-be” – whenever you want to explain to someone what SF Brief coaching is, this paper will do the job for you.

Paolo Terni argues that SF interviews are evolutionary algorithms deployed in conversation. The SF not knowing stance seems similar to the notion of “no designer” in evolu- tion theory, the gradual development in evolution similar to the small steps we take in SF. Both build on what is already there and both explore the “solution space” to achieve a good fit to the environment. Paolo Terni provides a great wealth of knowledge and links to further reading. He opens up a new perspective on where SF might fit in the broader scien- tific realm.

In “Networking with an SF Outlook” Lina Skantze and Loraine Kennedy take a look at the international SF networks in therapy and organisational work and analyse what makes these networks useful and special for their participants. The authors base their findings on a survey taken on both SF mailing lists. They describe how the non-expert approach makes SF especially suitable for diverse, intercultural networks and helps them to thrive. The SF networks appear to be supportive, resource oriented and focusing on what works. Apart from many interesting resources in intercul- tural and network research, this article offers wonderful personal insights into what works in our communities.

Gale Miller introduces a classic paper “Beyond Complaints” by Gale Miller and Steve de Shazer. Written in 1991, the paper describes some of the philosophical ways of understanding SF therapy. It contrasts the different language games in traditional therapy and SF therapy and stresses that “complaint oriented” therapy and “goal oriented” therapy result in very different construction activities between thera- pist and client. The paper argues that because the SF therapist does not need to find out about the client’s complaint, SF therapy can be more efficient than other forms of therapy.

Yasuteru Aoki describes how he helped Canon FineTech Inc. in Japan “Create a Workplace Where We All Wanna Go Every Morning!” Canon FineTech wanted to increase communication and innovation. After a previous problem- focused approach had not achieved the desired results, Solu- tion Focus Consulting Inc. designed a process that resulted in 60% of the workforce noticing positive changes in their communication. Aoki-san gives a detailed description of the whole process – a very useful case study for anyone launch- ing a similar endeavour. Carey Glass offers a very helpful commentary on the case.

Ben Furman was interviewed by Carey Glass and Kirsten Dierolf. In a real editorial team effort, Anton Stellamans introduces Ben Furman. In his inimitable way, Ben then answers Carey Glass’ and Kirsten Dierolf’s questions about his pioneer work introducing SF to the therapy world and organisations in Finland and around the globe. We learn about the NIH phenomenon (in case you are wondering: “not invented here”), SF in television and radio and many inter- esting facts around how to be successful with SF.

The editorial team sincerely hopes that you will enjoy this edition as much as the last one and is looking forward to your comments and discussions on the website.

Mark McKergow, Kirsten Dierolf, Anton Stellamans and Carey Glass