Dragons Considered Harmful

Freeing the dragons from our own mind

Kevin and Buster,

I’m a designer and facilitator by training, and one technique that I often lean on in brainstorms is called “lateral thinking.” When a discussion seems to be getting a head of steam in one direction, there is sometimes value in tossing in a left field idea. Sometimes these ideas send the conversation in an entirely new direction, and sometimes the disproving of them actually bolsters the original thought. So I’m going to try that technique on your thoughts today.

I’ll start by saying I’ve enjoyed reading your correspondence so far and I’ve learned a lot. I agree with all of it. I agree that the hero’s journey is built into our culture, I agree that the framing isn’t always helpful, and I agree with everything that’s been discussed about the system of issues that all interconnect in devilishly complex ways. Wicked problems exist, and we need a new playbook to think about them in a more productive way.

But what if the whole concept of a dragon is part of the problem we need to try to evolve beyond? On one hand, it’s just a figure of speech. No one is talking about literally slaying a winged beast. Yet the framing of it as a dragon does use a shorthand that implies certain properties. It implies that it’s hard, and it’s scary, but that it’s possible to beat. But it’s not possible to solve wicked problems. You only address them.