Resources

There are many ways to be introduced to the power and simplicity of Solutions Focus.
We offer these resources to support the theories and learning in our programmes:

Articles

The Case of the Missing Containers - DP World Case Study

Brian Thompson, Systems Manager of DP World Southampton speaks about how the SF approach to change helped solve the complex task of creating a more accurate container tracking system.

Kill the Coach - The future of coaching is not with coaches, it's with conversations

This article proposes ‘conversation as the fundamental unit of change - if you change the conversation you change everything that surrounds it’.

Resilience - Developing a more resourceful workforce

Resilience is all about getting yourselves ready to meet the world in a resourceful state. It’s about bouncing back or being equipped so that you don’t go down in the first place.

A SIMPLE approach to OD

If we consider organisations as collections of their actions – especially their conversations – we gain a powerful lever of change. In this article for the AMED journal, eO+P, Paul Z Jackson outlines how a Solutions Focus approach can help you make practical progress in changing your organisation.

Creating a coaching culture one conversation at a time

This article looks at how John Laing Integrated Services (JLIS) used the solutions-focused approach to raise management performance and support the business through a time of significant growth. Janine Waldman describes how a solutions-focused coaching programme was cascaded through the organisation and became embedded in the business, leading to long-term, sustainable change.

Solutions 4 Reading

When Reading Borough Council wanted to increase well-being for staff, children and neighbourhood groups, they worked with us for three years to train and embed a group of SF Champions. This article describes the process and the outstanding results.

Books

Resilience Pocketbook
Co-authored by Janine Waldman and Paul Z Jackson

Resilience is about an individual's readiness to meet the world in a resourceful state. It means being equipped to deal calmly and confidently with challenging circumstances while being able to bounce back or recover quickly from setbacks.

With resilience comes less stress, less stress-related illness and, ultimately, better performance. And that's good news, not just for the person concerned but for the organisation as a whole.

The Resilience Pocketbook is packed with coping strategies, tools and tips to show people how to draw out, strengthen and put into practice their inbuilt resources. A questionnaire is included which will identify strengths and weaknesses, and there is a section too on building resilience within teams - invaluable advice for team leaders, HR/OD practitioners and trainers.

The Solutions Focus Resilience Pocketbook Management

Resilience Open Course

The Solutions Focus: making coaching and change SIMPLE
Co-authored by Paul Z Jackson and Mark McKergow

The Solutions Focus is a revolutionary yet practical alternative to conventional wisdom. This book offers you a bespoke method of finding ways forward with people and organisations. Whether you are already tackling a major problem or are merely vaguely aware that things could be better, you can start to make progress. Its guiding principle is simple - find what works and do more of it. The unique SIMPLE way of working sidesteps the search for the causes of trouble and heads directly for the solution.

"All good coaches focus on potential, affirmation and solutions. This book is a must. It is simple, easy to read and filled with illustrative examples." - Sir John Whitmore

"If we can learn to adopt this solutions-focused way of approaching everyday situations we will transform our work and our lives in elegant and powerful ways." - Sue Knight

"Great value from a small book. Every time I picked up The Solutions Focus it caused me to momentarily stop and think about how I operate and, in particular, how I could take a more solution-focused approach in my work." - Mick Cope

Positively Speaking, The Art of Constructive Conversations with a Solutions Focus
Co-authored by Paul Z Jackson and Janine Waldman

Take a tour of successful, constructive conversations, from preparation through opening remarks to agreeing the right actions. Illustrated throughout with tips, examples and exercises, Positively Speaking will develop your skills in creating dialogue that works well for you at work, in social settings and at home.

“With Positively Speaking Jackson and Waldman have created my dream Solutions Focus book: they make the concepts absurdly easy to understand and - more importantly - they make the material relevant to my work and relationships!” - Dr. Robert Biswas-Diener, Programme Director, Center of Applied Positive Psychology

“For me, there’s nothing like going on a course and gaining new skills – unless it’s a book like ‘Positively Speaking’, which gives me background, theory, case studies, models and, most importantly real concrete ways to put all of that into practice in my day-to day work of coaching, facilitation and working through conflict. This book is a real asset to any practitioner who needs to ‘just do it’ – just great.” - Ann Lukens, Director, Groupworks

Free Book Preview

Solutions at Work: an introduction to solutions focused coaching, consulting and facilitation
Exclusively available as an audio download

In this professionally produced 60 minute download, Solutions Focus practitioners Paul Z Jackson and Mark McKergow discuss the organisational and business applications of solution focused thinking and action.

"Our coaching trainees just love this audio - especially the way the two Poms crack on at each other. It's easy to listen and packed with great ideas" - Tony Grant, Director: Coaching Psychology Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Sydney and co-author of Solution Focused Coaching

Engagement, Resilience and Performance: An executive guide to getting results for you and your organisation
Co-authored by Paul Z Jackson and Janine Waldman

This executive guide is packed full of tools and techniques used by practitioners around the world to improve results through better direction-setting, more productive resource allocation, and a savvier choice of actions. Whether those conversations are inspired by leaders, managers or coaches, this positive and pragmatic approach will make a significant difference to your results.

This inspiring guide will enable you to make the most of every conversation - however tricky or difficult they may be - by discovering what really works.

"Solutions-oriented thinking and actions are amongst the most powerful tools a modern executive can have. Weaving positive delivery into my business has enabled me to find ways forward with changes that seemed unattainable due to resource restraint, political circumstance and cultural negativity. Having a positive conversation based on what works well and what's possible is the right thing to do." - Andrew Fowlie, General Manager, NHS Grampian, Scotland

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Engagement, Resilience and Performance: An Executive Guide The Solutions Focus

Coaching Cards

Our coaching cards will soon be available in our webshop.

The SF Community

Solutions Focus is a positive revolution that is spreading throughout the world, making a difference in the lives of people and the organisations in which they work.

There are many ways to become a member of this global network – by getting involved in online discussions, honing your expertise in a developmental group setting, reading some of the many resources available on the subject, or sharing knowledge with fellow solutions focus practitioners at our global or regional conferences and seminars.

Sites providing information on business and organisational applications of Solutions Focus:

SOLWorld

This group was formed in 2002 and has held international conferences every year since, attracting participants from over 20 countries.

SOLUTIONS-L

This is a free forum for those applying Solution Focused methods - based on the work of Steve de Shazer, Insoo Kim Berg and other 'brief therapy' practitioners - to organisational work, including change, facilitation, coaching and OD.

The list now has more than 500 subscribers around the world. Come and join in discussions and share news by email, or just eavesdrop and learn more about using solutions focused ideas in organisations.

To join send a blank email to: solutions-l-subscribe-request@home.ease.lsoft.com

You should receive a confirmation email. Follow the instructions, and you will be subscribed. The SOLUTIONS-L list is hosted by Lsoft and features a searchable archive for list members.