S:DISS-X Practical 2
After Action Review Study Guide (AAR)
A practical demonstration showing how selective inquiry protects problem-finding, resists premature assumptions, and uses “openings” to explore leverage, readiness, and RightACTION.
Session Summary
This second S:DISS-X practical session expanded the idea of beginning without forcing clarity by demonstrating how helpers can selectively work with “openings” rather than rushing into interpretation or advice. Mike emphasized that the “S” in S:DISS-X stands for selection, meaning the helper must choose carefully what to respond to from the many possible directions available in a conversation.
The practical explored how inquiry can function as a form of developmental helping rather than simple information gathering. Mike worked with ChatGPT as the “person being helped” and repeatedly resisted taking over the process, even when responses became abstract, cryptic, or tempting to interpret prematurely. Instead of forcing conclusions, he used small inquiry moves such as mirroring, pings, and selective probing to reveal more about the entity’s problem-solving system and pCc (potential, CAPACITY, capability).
The session also introduced several advanced concepts including friction, developmental fit, nodal states, systemic complexity, and the difference between transactional versus transformational helping. Throughout the exchange, students were shown how IMULL can guide helping conversations by testing importance, leverage, readiness, and actionable movement without collapsing into interrogatory problem-solving.
Overall, the practical demonstrated disciplined restraint, contextual fit, and the importance of helping people reveal where they are before deciding how to help.
Full Demo Exchange
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What Happened
The practical began with Mike introducing the importance of selective inquiry and the idea that helpers should look for “openings” rather than trying to control conversations prematurely. He emphasized that most conversational material does not create leverage, and that developmental helping depends on identifying moments where inquiry can deepen awareness, readiness, or actionable movement.
Using ChatGPT as the “person being helped,” Mike demonstrated how to work with ambiguous or abstract responses without collapsing into interpretation. Rather than assuming he understood the meaning behind responses such as “the first step is real,” he mirrored phrases back, used pings, and avoided introducing unnecessary new material. This protected the helping process from becoming overly helper-centered.
The session repeatedly contrasted transactional helping with developmental helping. Transactional helping focuses on solving immediate concrete problems, while developmental helping attempts to understand the person’s problem-solving system, readiness, pCc, and relationship to complexity.
Several teachable points of view emerged around friction, leverage, actual versus idealized action, developmental fit, and the role of interrogatory inquiry. Mike also demonstrated how helpers can “seed the close” to end conversations naturally without forcing overdevelopment.
The session closed by reinforcing that S:DISS-X inquiry forms operate dynamically and selectively rather than mechanically.
S:DISS-X Forms Observed
| Form of Inquiry | Where It Appeared | Why It Mattered |
|---|---|---|
| PING | “Can you explain?” | Sent a small inquiry signal without prematurely choosing context. |
| PROBE | “First step is real?” | Stayed close to the exact language already introduced. |
| PAUSE | Restraining interpretation and slowing the process | Protected problem-finding from premature closure. |
| PACE | Discussion of urgency, friction, and readiness | Helped regulate developmental timing. |
| PROMPT | “Is this a good starting point for next time?” | Invited continuation without forcing overdevelopment. |
| PERMIT | Allowing ambiguity and abstract responses to remain partially unresolved | Reduced pressure for premature clarity. |
| PERTURB | Challenging interrogatory defaults and transactional assumptions | Interrupted automatic problem-solving behavior. |
IMULL Score
| IMULL Element | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Importance | High | The entire exchange revolved around identifying meaningful leverage points. |
| Motivation | Medium-High | The “person being helped” showed willingness to continue clarifying abstract ideas. |
| Urgency | Low-Medium | The process intentionally resisted rushing toward immediate action. |
| Leverage | High | Small inquiry moves repeatedly produced deeper developmental information. |
| Low-hanging Fruit | Medium | The conversation identified possible next steps but did not force implementation. |
Overall IMULL Read
4.2 out of 5
Importance and leverage were strongly present. The exchange intentionally moderated urgency in order to preserve developmental fit and better problem-finding.
RightACTION Note
The RightACTION in this session was disciplined restraint combined with selective inquiry. Rather than solving a concrete problem immediately, Mike focused on helping the “person being helped” reveal more about their problem-solving system, readiness, and relationship to reality versus idealization.
This mattered because developmental helping often fails when the helper moves too quickly into interpretation, advice, or solution-making. The session demonstrated that effective helping sometimes requires slowing down, reducing assumptions, and letting the person reveal their own pCc through inquiry.
The practical also showed that RightACTION may involve preserving ambiguity temporarily. By not collapsing the conversation into premature clarity, the process remained open enough for deeper developmental information to emerge.
TPOVs Surfaced
Reinforced TPOVs
| TPOV | Short Definition |
|---|---|
| Selectivity | Helpers must carefully choose which openings to pursue. |
| Forms, Not Skills | S:DISS-X consists of seven forms of inquiry from which many skills may emerge. |
| Inquiry Before Advice | Developmental inquiry may be more useful than immediate solutions. |
| Meeting People Where They Are | Helping depends on developmental fit and pCc awareness. |
| IMULL | Importance, Motivation, Urgency, Leverage, and Low-hanging fruit guide inquiry. |
| Friction Has Value | Delays and resistance sometimes create developmental space for reflection. |
| Developmental Helping | The goal is often strengthening problem-finding, not merely solving problems. |
New or Candidate TPOVs
| Candidate TPOV | Short Definition |
|---|---|
| Openings Create Leverage | Small conversational openings may reveal deeper developmental opportunities. |
| Restraining Interpretation | Helpers should avoid premature meaning-making when context remains unclear. |
| Seed the Close | Conversations can be ended in ways that preserve future developmental movement. |
| Reality Over Idealization | Action should fit actual conditions rather than imagined perfection. |
| The Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Ping | “What’s important?” can return tension and direction back to the person being helped. |
Advanced TPOVs Mentioned
| TPOV | Note |
|---|---|
| pCc | Potential, CAPACITY, capability were used to evaluate developmental fit. |
| Nodal States | Entering, current, and exiting developmental states were referenced. |
| Hierarchical Complexity | The conversation explored abstract, formal, systematic, and metasystematic reasoning. |
| Friction Dynamics | Friction was described as both developmental delay and reflective processing space. |
| BDIKS | Behaviors, Design, KSEs, and Systems were referenced as conditions for actionable help. |
| Transactional vs Transformational Helping | The session contrasted concrete service interactions with developmental inquiry. |
| Dynamic Inquiry | Inquiry forms were treated as adaptive and contextual rather than scripted. |
Suggestions for Improvement
- Label each form of inquiry in real time during demonstrations.
- Separate beginner concepts from advanced developmental theory more clearly.
- Reduce terminology density during live explanation segments.
- Provide a short visual overview of IMULL before beginning the practical exchange.
- Add clearer summaries after complex theoretical sidebars.
- Use shorter inquiry examples before introducing metasystematic concepts.
- Include a brief recap defining “opening,” “leverage,” and “friction.”
- Provide more beginner-friendly examples of PING versus PROBE distinctions.
- Clarify when ambiguity is developmentally useful versus avoidant.
APC Source Candidate Notes
Candidate Source Title
Openings, Leverage, and Developmental Inquiry
Source Type
S:DISS-X Practice Vignette / Developmental Inquiry Source
Canonical Definition
Developmental inquiry is a helping process in which the helper selectively works with openings, leverage points, and emerging context in order to better understand the person’s pCc, readiness, and problem-solving system before attempting premature intervention or solution-making.
Why It Matters
This approach protects helping from collapsing into interrogatory transaction, over-interpretation, or helper-centered problem-solving. It allows the person being helped to reveal where they are developmentally while preserving ambiguity long enough for more fitting RightACTION to emerge.
The approach also strengthens selective inquiry by emphasizing pacing, restraint, contextual fit, and developmental leverage rather than immediate closure.
Do Not Collapse With
Do not collapse this with passive listening, endless abstraction, or avoidance of action. Developmental inquiry still aims toward RightACTION, but it resists premature certainty, forced clarity, and mechanical solution-making.
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Mike R Jay & Gary Gile
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Mike R. Jay is a developmentalist utilizing consulting, coaching, advising and helping… emergent from dynamic inquiry as a means to cue, scaffold, support, lift, and protect; offering inspiration to aspiring leaders who are interested in humaning where being, doing, having, becoming, contributing, relating, guiding to produce resilience and wellth help people lead generative lives.
