In the chapter 10 of Block’s masterpiece “Flawless Consulting”, that I think is the essence of his book, Peter gives us a great model. His model of discovery should be memorized and followed as well as a verse of the scripture, if we are going to become real futurist consultants.

He starts with presenting the problem. Secondly, he redefines the problem or the cause of the problem. Then he gives a simple picture of what is causing and maintaining the problem. After that, he concentrates simultaneously on two areas: 1) The technical or business problem the client has asked for help on; and 2) How that problem is being managed—the attitudes of people, the manager’s style, and the politics of the situation that affect the technical/business problem. Recommendations on the technical solution and on the managerial solution are offered at the final stage of this process.

Block discusses the “whole-system discovery” in chapter 12. He mentions a set of conditions to make this approach work, including: “There is an emphasis on the future and what the group wants to create together”. This can be explained in terms of our pre-foresight preparation.

Reference:

Block, P. (2002) Flawless Consulting, CA: Pfeiffer. Chap.10, 12