The Affinity Principal - Common Behavior in Real-world Problem Solving

I have observed a common behavior in problem solving which has impacted the efforts of most of my colleagues over the years. I call it the “affinity principal” which, in general, asserts that most people, even academics, develop solutions to new problems they encounter by incrementally redefining problems, the solution to which they are already familiar.

This doesn't sound so bad. Afterall, it resonnates well with the adage, "Learn from Experience." But, let's look a little more closely at the affect such behavior has on real-world problem solving in for-profit endeavors.

Often, when facing a new challenge, people pull from experience a known solution even before undertaking comparative analysis of the similarities and differences in the current problem and the previous problem they are drawing upon. While they expect some difficulty, it seems always a source of considerable frustration and surprise when the solution they first attempt proves grossly inadequate. Nevertheless, they proceed on only modifying their approach to incorporate the incongruent and novel aspects of the problem that persist but, only to the extent that they may be force-fit into their previous understanding. Put another way, still ignoring the non-operative, they proceed to extend their original solution, even though, more often then not, the solution derived is neither particularly new, nor particularly effective.

Now the amazing part: oddly, whatever solution is put forth is accepted and deemed sufficient based on some appraisal of cost/benefit, considering how much effort was expended to make the once square, now rectangular peg fit the once round, now oval hole. I’m sure you get my point.

To be certain, this lack of innovation is as much an organizational dilemma as it is an individual dilemma. The affinity principal scales nicely from the work of a sole individual to the work of even very large organizations (even as large as Microsoft :c))

I deduce that this very principal is the chief cause of management and organizational dysfunction that plagues so many endeavors. We are accustomed to calling out and blaming it on the “bureaucracy”; but, that is little more than convenient stalemate between originality and stability. Or perhaps it is sufficient to note only that dignity is often confused with status quo ignoring that dignity once equated with courage and conviction.

In my overall conjecture, I examine only the economic underpinnings of profit.

I conclude that while counter-intuitive, profit seeking as a primary objective de-stabilizes performance. I say de-stabilizes to drive home the idea that except in cases of proprietary advantage, as the availability of any given product or service increases, profit is realizable in only two cases; arbitrage or value in excess of cost in the form of reliability of supply.

It appears that overall, arbitrage is the resulting strategy in business today. Why is it so hard to "get" that reliability is the fundamental path to real cost reduction that ultimately secures the battle for market share and growth? The answer is relatively simple. Businesses are being built to be sold. Publicly traded companies are made profitable in the short-term to line the pockets of executive management. The statistics for longevity of Executives in Fortune 500 companies is telling. Short-term arbitrage is quick, and dirty.

We are committed to bringing a customer focused, team oriented, process driven perspective to your business. We are certain these basic values will increase not only your bottom line but secure any investment you make in the future of your enterprise. It doesn’t matter if you are a small business, an up-and-comer, privately held or a Fortune 500 enterprise. To utilize technology to gather, secure, and apply information to better understand your customer's ever changing needs, to keep your staff focused on continuously improving the products and services you provide, and to do so in ways that improve the reliability of your performance are the fundamental survival skills necessary in any market, local or global. We can help.

Charles L Johnson —Managing Member

We must make a commitment to a simple set of values which, when properly understood and internalized by each and every member of the organization, will serve as a compass to guide us toward a realization of our highest potential.

Virtually all of us are taught values by our parents, our religious leaders, our teachers, and our friends.  Values are basic understandings of such things that give our lives meaning and purpose.  We bring our personal values to our professional endeavors.  They drive our intensity and desire to work hard and be rewarded with not only a livelihood, but also with the respect and loyalty and friendship of our colleagues.

At some point, each and every business that succeeds and grows will assume an organizational identity that transcends the identity of any one individual.

It is at this point that we may speak of the character or personality of the organization to which so many people devote so many of their life’s precious minutes.  It is then that the business must find a purpose, or meaning, beyond simple profit and loss.

Much research has been undertaken and published about what makes a business great.  Always it is the merit of the values and the consistency with which those values are applied that determines true success.

Our simple set of values are presented in order of importance.  Ideally, all activity and decisions made at every level will be consistent with all three values simultaneously.  Yet, where any decision must be made at once, we must not violate a higher value to satisfy a lower value.

The first value is that we always remain Customer Focused.

Customer focus can mean many things.  Fundamentally, it means that we as an organization genuinely care about our customer organizations.  It means our primary purpose it to solve their problems, for if we did not, then we have no right to their payment.

The second value is that we always remain Team Oriented.

Team orientation means that we will always strive to act according to our common welfare, and eliminate divisive behavior.  It means that we will treat each other with respect and have tolerance and compassion.  It means we will seek to share our knowledge and our time with one another, and actively seek to promote consensus in our decisions.  While leadership is vital, leaders shall be the trusted servants of the organization, and shall be equally accountable to the organization for preservation of these values.

The third value is that we always remain Process Driven.

To be process driven is to recognize that we must strive to always provide a higher value than our competitors.  This translates directly into the efficiency we achieve as an organization.  While our capabilities may emanate from our collective talents, skills, and experience, our ability to deliver this worth reliably at the lowest possible cost will depend on the innovation with which we eliminate unnecessary confusion and perform tasks quickly.  Clearly, the highest processes will not yield easily to automation.  Nevertheless, we must rely on sound business rules and methods and standards to deliver maximum value to our clients.

The business landscape changes too quickly for a map to be of any value.  If values represent our purpose, then just as compass, they give us direction. 

A simple way to visualize this compass is to see each of these values as a separate line segment hovering one above the other, in the same general vicinity.  Where our intent is sound, where every decision is based on all three values simultaneously, these segments will align, one directly over the other.  When this occurs, our compass has materialized and will always point the way to success.

 When this compass is the vital device guiding our every decision, the typical preoccupation of business with the bottom line is unnecessary – it will take care of itself!