Finding Synthesis in Dealing with Dilemmas

Finding synthesis and creating options are the two "pillars" of dealing with dilemmas. Finding synthesis means going beyond analytics and thinking outside the box to form new solutions and perspectives, rather than making straightforward choices.

Let's take a look at German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's dialectic of thesis-antithesis-synthesis. Thesis refers to the prevailing view or common wisdom.

But it typically carries disadvantages that cause others to develop an opposing viewpoint, or antithesis. While this may solve the original disadvantages, it typically brings new ones, creating a dilemma between thesis and antithesis.

At this point, however, there is not an either or choice. A synthesis can be arrived at, generating a new thesis.

Consider again the top down or bottom up dilemma between the financial and business process perspectives. There is the traditional "thesis" that upper management should set strategic objectives and that the rest of the organization should become aligned with them.

This centralization allows for more uniformity, economies of scale, and greater control but has the disadvantages of reduced flexibility, a reduced focus on changes in the market, and a lack of empowerment for middle management to find alternative solutions to opportunities or problems. Out of this comes the "antithesis" of decentralization, a bottom up approach that brings the decision making power closer to market opportunities and allows for more agility and growth.

But this may bring the disadvantages of fragmentation and higher costs from inefficiency. The two approaches appear to be mutually exclusive; the advantages of the thesis are the disadvantages of the antithesis.

But perhaps synthesis can be achieved with standardization. A standard is a "a uniform approach for people to apply in different situations."

Standards can help maintain some uniformity while still empowering people to tailor solutions to specific situations. Standardization becomes the new thesis which will eventually be challenged by a new antithesis.

For instance, how should a company deal with exceptions in a standardized environment? Will standardization stifle innovation?

A new synthesis will have to be developed.

Resolving the dilemma of value or profit requires the same kind of thinking. If business is thought of as a zero-sum game in which the customer's gain in value is the company's loss in profit, the dilemma will never go away.

What needs to be found is a synthesis of how profit can be made while also giving value to customers and others in the value chain. For example, Apple's iPod is a synthesis of the you-and-me dilemma between the customer's value of free downloadable music and the industry's need for profitability.

On one hand, Apple considered that embracing the trend of free downloadable music might create customer value and might allow it first-mover advantage in the market, but it was not clear how to compete with free. On the other hand, trying to maintain the industry's existing model would keep profitability and control of the end product, but it risked creating greater numbers of unsatisfied customers and becoming a market casualty.

Again, the choices appear to be mutually exclusive, but Apple challenged the assumptions to find the "and." How could the trend be maintained and be used to generate profit? The company noticed that free mp3 files were not always high quality and were often difficult to put onto mp3 players.

Apple found synthesis by 1) integrating hardware and software with its iPod and iTunes store to meet the needs of the demand chain and 2) by making music highly available through distribution contracts on the supply chain. By uniting integration and distribution, they were able to charge a modest price for each track and make a profit.

Value and profit were both achieved. Finally, the inside out or outside in dilemma (the tension between the back office and front office) must also utilize some kind of synthesis.

Organizations cannot really choose one or the other; they must be both efficient and effective, focused on streamlined business processes and meeting customer needs. One strategy companies have used to synthesize these competing demands is through mass customization principles, where each transaction is customizable and customers have greater self-service abilities.

This article is based on the book "Dealing with Dilemmas." The book summary is available online at Business Book Summaries.