December 2003 - Fletcher Peacock is the Canadian author of the best-selling book, "WATER THE FLOWERS Not the Weeds". Fletcher, who holds a bachelor's degree in science, mathematics and physics, and a bachelor and master's degree in social work, specializes in solution focused communication. As a trainer and consultant he helps clients with team building, conflict resolution, managing change, achieving better working relationships, and stress management. We wanted to learn more about his activities and ideas and asked him some questions. 

Question 1: Could you tell us how you found out about the solution focus? 

I was in Graduate School (McGill University , Canada ) and Steve de Shazer gave a talk on Solution Focused Therapy which impressed me immensely as brilliantly simple and immediately applicable. I was doing a mediation session between two partners that evening. I asked the Miracle Question ("If things were going better, how would you know? What would be different?) and suddenly what had been slow and grueling work became simple, easy and flowing.

What attracted you in it? 

What attracted me to Solution Focused Communication (SFC) was, and still is, the Simplicity, the Accessibility and the Efficacy (immediate, concrete, measurable, positive results). 

How did it change the way you work?

I am much more Present and Future Focused. I am also much more Resource Oriented. I am now always looking for strength and abilities of individual team members, teams and organizations. My questions (hypnotic inductions i.e., where I focus the Client's attention), are very different. My sequencing is usually: Miracle Question, Exception Question, Scaling Question. Also my questions now begin with What? and How? rather than Why? Also I am much more interested in Explanations of Exceptions (Strengths and Resources, potential solutions) than in Explanations of problems. 

Question 2: We like the title of your book. How did you come up with it?

I love metaphors (right brain access - "a picture is worth a thousand words"). My original title was Water the Seeds, Not the Weeds. I am auditory and I liked the rhyme. Also my name is Fletcher Peacock, I am an English person from Toronto, English Canada, but I work almost entirely in French in Quebec, French Canada. Thus I wrote the book in French.

My first language is English and sometimes, when working in French, I miss certain nuances. Apparently the French translation of Water the Seeds, Not the Weeds has a very risque sexual connotation. My French Publisher insisted that I change the title so I switched to Water the Flowers, Not the Weeds. This, incidentally, I now consider to be a Superior title (more visual). 

3. How do you work with SF now? 

I work mainly with teams of employees and managers of all levels. I have 4 clienteles: Health, Education, Government, and Business (perhaps (?) see website: www.FletcherPeacockCommunicationSolutions), also community groups. Generally I present the basic theory of Solution Focused Communication (SFC) (as outlined in my book). I consider styles of cooperation (Visitor, Complainant, Customer) (Ch.6) to be quite helpful and powerful. I then focus on questioning techniques (Miracle, Exceptions, Scaling). We look at Videos of Solution Focused Conversations (ex.: a Manager with her employee) and then we practice role-play of real-life cases from the participant's life. 

Which changes/steps have you taken in applying the sf principles over the years?

Which changes? Over the years I have become increasingly sensitive to language patterns and choice of words, so... I talk about hypnotic patterns and also psychosomatic medicine, e.g., the idea that each word we speak triggers biochemical, molecular, and physiological reactions in the speaker and the listener's body. Some words trigger endorphins (positive hypnosis) and other words trigger toxins (negative hypnosis). Also I give more and more importance to my key phrase "I don't have the truth" (Ch. 1), i.e., What is true and useful for me (Positive Hypnosis) may not be true and useful for my employee/colleague/or client, hence the importance of eliciting solutions that are respectful of, and coherent with, the client's "current reality."  

Question 4. What do you see as the main advantages applying SF?

Main advantages of SFC? 

A) Simplicity - my perception is that we, as human beings (and I certainly include myself), are absolute geniuses at complicating our lives. SFC arrives like a breath of fresh air as an Invitation to Simplify our life. It suggests that even though problems may appear quite complex, perhaps solutions can be quite simple.

B) Accessibility - SFC is not a complex approach. It can be learned and applied quite easily and quickly. I have many stories of people reading my book, having "insights" and beginning to apply Solution Focused techniques and questions without ever having taken a seminar. 

C) Concrete Results - In SFC, we are always looking for small changes in a positive direction which we can focus on, amplify and celebrate (Water the Flowers). 

D) Enjoyment (Pleasure/Fun) - SFC focuses on the positive in individuals and in organizations. It is inherently hypnotic, tending to trigger positive hypnotic states ("endorphins") in the bodies of communicators and clients. In the words of a friend and colleague (John Walter, Chicago) Solution Focused Communication (SFC) is "relentlessly optimistic"!!  

Question 5: Do you see limitations/boudaries in applying SF? If so, where do you think SF finds its limits?

Limits and boundaries? I have a Myers-Briggs, Enneagram and Spiritual critique of SFC. 

First, I want to say that I Love SFC. I see it as a philosophy, an attitude, a way of life that is equally applicable and effective in both one's professional and personal life. At the same time it is ONE TOOL (a major one!) among several in my Communicator/Consultant's Tool Kit. I see SFC as benefiting in some situations from the addition of other tools and/or other awarenesses.

When you ask about "limits" of SFC, I would rather reframe what I am going to talk about as "Opportunities for Growth/expansion and Increased Effectiveness". Also perhaps (?) what I have to say may be more easily applicable in the personal rather than the organizational realm. However, my intuition is, that ultimately, there is no difference.

A) First, SFC seems to me to have a strong Myers-Briggs (popular Business Personality Profile - see web) - Thinking (T) bias, i.e., rational, logical, analytical and somewhat divorced or Dissociated from Emotions/Feeling. There does not seem to be a lot of space for Emotional Expression, except where the emotion expressed is what we've historically labeled positive emotions, i.e., happiness, joy, etc.

B) From an Enneagram perspective, my guess/intuition is that SFC has a strong "7"-ish flavour/bias/orientation (Positive, Optimistic, Future-Oriented). The Enneagram is a 5,000 year old Personality, Typology with 9 Styles (now used to teach leadership at Stanford MBA (1,000's of pages on the web). It suggests that we all have strengths, and also, that we all have a "shadow side" - some part of ourselves that we are unconsciously avoiding/denying/repressing/fleeing. Carl Jung, the great Swiss psychologist, suggests that our "shadow" - that part of our personality that we've spent our life avoiding and repressing - is the key to our personal (and I suspect organizational) development. Hence, we can benefit from Welcoming/Embracing that part of ourself that was previously denied. The Strength of SFC is its Positive, Optimistic Future Orientation: 

1) There are no Problems, only Opportunities, 2) There are no failures, only learnings, 3) There is not just one solution, there are thousands, and 4) There is no such thing as a Resistant, Uncooperative, Unmotivated client; there are just people with their unique way of cooperating. What the Enneagram (as a tool for personal and professional development) invites us to explore is the question: Are there moments when we are being compulsively optimistic? Are these moments when our positive, future orientation is an unconscious strategy for avoiding difficult emotions in the present?

C) From a Spiritual perspective - Who are we? What are we doing here on this Planet? In organizations Productivity, Profitability and Efficiency are all honored values, and Solution Focused Communication (SFC) is especially effective and useful in promoting these values. My intuition is that we are moving in the direction of more explicit spirituality (not religion) in organizations, i.e., How can we create organizations that Inspire the Soul? There are more and more books and conferences in North America on Business and Spirituality. SFC is a welcome and valuable piece of the puzzle AND I suggest that SFC can benefit from other complementary Awarenesses, ex., Myers-Briggs, Enneagram, Spirituality, and especially Non-Violent Communication (NVC), which encourages us to focus on Feelings and NEEDS.

Question 6: Suppose it is 2005 and you are happy with how SF is applied in the world of organisations; what would you see happening?

SF in Organization - Year 2005. Executive Committees, Boards of Directors, Managers and Employees would share a common Solution Focused philosophy, attitude and language. People would work together cooperatively to find mutually beneficial, win-win solutions wherein everyone's NEEDS (Management, Workers and Consumers) are nurtured and satisfied. All members of the organization would have integrated the fundamental principles: "I don't have the Truth...I have my "current truth"; and there would be a focus on asking mutually empowering questions (Miracle, Exception, Scaling). Also, there will be increasing openness toward Valueing and Expressing Emotional Intelligence (What are your Feelings and NEEDS?) as presented by Marshall Rosenberg (Non-Violent Communication 1999).  

Question 7: Would you like to share an interesting case or excercise with us?

A Brief Story perhaps (?): I like metaphors. My book is titled Water the Flowers, Not the Weeds and, in my seminars I talk more and more about Gardening, both inner and outer. One of my principal clients is ALCAN (the Aluminum Company of Canada). A few years ago I delivered a three-Day Seminar to eight groups of about thirty managers working in a Northern Quebec plant. At the end of the series of eight seminars, the factory Director purchased 250 watering cans and gave one to each of his managers to remind them that a key part of their job was to be gardeners Watering the Flowers - looking for, amplifying and energizing strengths, resources, abilities, successes in all team members. I see this as a good example of developing a common Solution Focused (SFC) orientation and language.

Coert Visser (coert.visser@planet.nl) is a consultant, coach and trainer using the solution-focused approach to change. This approach is focused on simply helping individuals, teams and organizations to make progress in the direction of their own choice. Coert has written many articles and a few books. His latest book (Doen wat werkt) was awarded a prize for best (HR)management book by a professional jury and also by a public jury. He has also interviewed thought leaders like Insoo Kim Berg, David Maister, and Jeffrey Pfeffer. More information: www.m-cc.nl / www.m-cc.nl/solutionfocusedchange.htm / Dutch network / Dutch blog

Gwenda Schlundt Bodien is founder of Positron, Personnel management & Coaching. She does individual coaching, team coaching, organizational consultancy and training. Gwenda has published a lot about HRM and solution-focused practise.