Our current world is filled with problems of greater and greater complexity. Many of our current problems cannot be solved by a strong dose of common sense because we need anything but “common” thinking.
As Albert Einstein once said “We can’t solve current problems with current thinking because current problems are the result of current thinking."
If Albert is right then any solution to the current ailments that prescribes more of what we already have is very likely to cause a bigger problem rather than fixing it. Take that theory to your particular problems and test it.
If Mr. Einstein is right we have to create a whole new way of thinking in order to solve current problems and we need to STOP doing what we have been doing for years. A healthy dose of humility is a great way to start re-examining our thinking and looking for flaws in our perspective. After all, our perspective is just that…. a perspective. If we don’t realize that reality is just too big for us to grasp we will always be too rigid and certain in our thinking and solutions. We are all working with incomplete information when we make decisions and being aware of this will make us far more ready to learn and adapt.
Developing really unique and new ways of thinking is NOT easy but is absolutely vital if current problems are going to be solved. New ways of thinking require an actual physical reshaping of our brain to form new neural pathways and connections. This takes time and energy and perseverance. Thinking habits are so strong and they won't die easily, especially if we hold on to the belief that we are right and only one answer. Anything that reminds us of the old ways of doing things will trigger a muscle memory and you are back to the old comfortable and common ways of thinking and solving. So, anything that you can do to create a sense of newness including your physical surroundings will help foster new thinking. Find new metaphors (Even a formula one race car needs to stop in order to win), reframe the questions (if you were a frog how would you solve it) or use reverse thinking (If we wanted to make the problem 100 times worse what would we do) and borrow ideas from anywhere and anyone.
As Albert Einstein once said “We can’t solve current problems with current thinking because current problems are the result of current thinking."
If Albert is right then any solution to the current ailments that prescribes more of what we already have is very likely to cause a bigger problem rather than fixing it. Take that theory to your particular problems and test it.
- For banking it means more liquidity and money printing will not solve a problem it will only make it bigger.
- For governments it means more laws to control and reduce freedoms will only exacerbate the problem.
- For governments and organizations and businesses and individuals who think that more of the current money is the answer….it isn’t.
- For managers with employee relation problems it means more command and control will just make a bigger problem.
- For employees who think it is all up to managements to fix things….it isn’t.
- For product designers who are having difficulty producing a market winner it might mean less time at designing one product and more cheaper tries.
- For businesses that are trying to control costs to gain profitability it means you can cut costs until you don’t have anything to cut and still not be profitable.
If Mr. Einstein is right we have to create a whole new way of thinking in order to solve current problems and we need to STOP doing what we have been doing for years. A healthy dose of humility is a great way to start re-examining our thinking and looking for flaws in our perspective. After all, our perspective is just that…. a perspective. If we don’t realize that reality is just too big for us to grasp we will always be too rigid and certain in our thinking and solutions. We are all working with incomplete information when we make decisions and being aware of this will make us far more ready to learn and adapt.
Developing really unique and new ways of thinking is NOT easy but is absolutely vital if current problems are going to be solved. New ways of thinking require an actual physical reshaping of our brain to form new neural pathways and connections. This takes time and energy and perseverance. Thinking habits are so strong and they won't die easily, especially if we hold on to the belief that we are right and only one answer. Anything that reminds us of the old ways of doing things will trigger a muscle memory and you are back to the old comfortable and common ways of thinking and solving. So, anything that you can do to create a sense of newness including your physical surroundings will help foster new thinking. Find new metaphors (Even a formula one race car needs to stop in order to win), reframe the questions (if you were a frog how would you solve it) or use reverse thinking (If we wanted to make the problem 100 times worse what would we do) and borrow ideas from anywhere and anyone.
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