The Evaporating Cloud

The Evaporating Cloud — also called the Conflict Resolution Diagram — is one of Goldratt's Thinking Processes tools, designed to dissolve dilemmas that appear irreconcilable. The technique rests on a premise most people find uncomfortable: genuine conflicts are rare, and most apparent conflicts are artifacts of false assumptions that, once identified, cause the conflict to evaporate like morning fog. The structure is precise: two opposing actions appear in conflict because each is necessary to achieve a different requirement, and both requirements are necessary to achieve the same objective. The conflict seems real because it seems impossible to take both actions simultaneously. But the conflict is sustained by at least one hidden assumption — an unstated belief that makes the actions appear incompatible. Identify the assumption. Challenge it. If the assumption is false, the conflict evaporates.