There is nothing more practical than good thinking. No matter your circumstance or goals, no matter where you are or what problems you face, your thinking can leads you to better decisions, solutions, ideas and innovations. In every realm of your life – as an employee, employer, friend, spouse, parent or citizen – good thinking pays off. Poor thinking inevitably wastes time, energy and resources. Many people never realize the powerful role thinking plays in their lives and few gain significant understanding and control of their thinking.
What is good thinking and what causes it to happen? What does good thinking look like in practice? Wikipedia defines thinking as “using rational judgment” and “the process of using one’s mind to consider or reason about something.” Synonyms for thinking include reasoning, reflection and meditation. There are different types of specific thinking such as critical thinking, creative thinking, strategic thinking, lateral thinking and associational thinking. All these are highly applicable for leaders in both their personal and professional lives.
Our research began with the reading Thinking or a Change: 11 Ways Highly Success People Approach Life and Work by John Maxwell as a part of our school district’s administrative team discussions. Maxwell summarized one of his findings, “If you want to think like a millionaire, hang out with billionaires.” This struck a chord with us. We set out to pick the brains of who we considered billionaire thinkers with the hopes that their thinking could rub off on us.
We made a list of people we thought were great thinkers (at least better than us) and brainstormed questions we would want to ask them. Some questions were specifically about thinking. For example, “Do you have a specific routine or place for thinking?” Other questions were related to decision making, problem solving and leadership issues in general.
Our first interviews were generally with people that we were already acquainted with. To expand the network of our great thinkers, we asked each interviewee for the names of people he/she thought was a good thinker. Through this method, we have been able to vary the geographical location and career field of our interviewees.We are constantly looking for more billionaire thinkers to diversify our current pool and create a more comprehensive understanding of great thinking.
We made a list of people we thought were great thinkers (at least better than us) and brainstormed questions we would want to ask them. Some questions were specifically about thinking. For example, “Do you have a specific routine or place for thinking?” Other questions were related to decision making, problem solving and leadership issues in general.
Our first interviews were generally with people that we were already acquainted with. To expand the network of our great thinkers, we asked each interviewee for the names of people he/she thought was a good thinker. Through this method, we have been able to vary the geographical location and career field of our interviewees.We are constantly looking for more billionaire thinkers to diversify our current pool and create a more comprehensive understanding of great thinking.
This article summarizes the general findings of our interviews to-date and how anyone can become a better thinker. It shows the commonalities in thinking we have observed from successful people in a variety of industries and professions. Our methodology is not pure research. We have asked each person the same questions, but each interview has taken its own path as the conversation deepened. Most interviews were done in person and a couple over the phone. These findings are based on general themes we heard from the interviews as a whole. No one person epitomizes all of the findings nor is this an exclusive or exhaustive list. We hope that this piece of writing leads you to do more of your own reading, inquiry and thinking about thinking.
General Findings:
1. Reflection is critical – The best thinkers deliberately reflect on their decisions, rationale, etc. based on some sort of predetermined standard or guide. The best thinkers have a process. For most, it is an informal process but others have a formal routine for that includes a specific time, location and set of questions. Several people journal about new ideas and perspectives they want to ponder further on. The best reflection is usually based on a stated goal and specific outcome(s) that could be used to measure and judge the effectiveness of the decisions, solutions and strategies related to the goal or outcome(s). These thinkers reflect and learn from the past but put considerably more effort into the present and especially the future. The reflection process makes these leaders aware of their patterns of thought. They are more alert to what draws them away from critical information and what strategies help them focus their thinking.
2. Have a goal orientated, outcome based style – Grounding thinking in results can give much more accurate feedback as to the effectiveness of a person’s thinking. The best thinkers are more focused on long term goals than short term ones. This is not to say they don’t have short-term goals, but the short-term goals are not a means to an end but rather a check mark on the path to the long-term goal(s). The best thinkers adjust their course of action based upon the analysis of short term results. Reaching the long-term goal(s) is a matter of constant refinement of decisions and strategies. The best thinkers are flexible with their steps to reach the end goal but laser-focused on the final outcome(s).
3. Constantly learning – Thinkers are continuous learners. All people who love to learn are not leaders but all leaders love to learn. They constantly are searching for more knowledge, perspectives and information to improve themselves and the purpose of their organization. They use this knowledge to leverage their thinking to a higher level of leadership and action. They often look to learn from people outside their expertise or professional field and people who think "out of the box." Reading and personal network conversations were the two most frequent sources of knowledge. Effective thinkers do not only seek new information but are eager to see how it will work in the context of their organization and field.
4. Collaboration works best – Consistently these thinkers emphasized that the best decisions and thinking they have done was with others and the worst decisions and thinking they have experienced was done in isolation. You are not really collaborating unless you need the people you are collaborating with to solve a problem or complete a task. You have to need to seek others out and “co-labor” with them. Most of the best thinkers sought out people who had a different set of skills, different perspective and didn’t necessarily agree with their point of view. This increased their understanding of the situation and expanded the thinking necessary for the finding the best solution. Brainstorming was an important aspect of collaborating with others. This collaborative nature requires a degree of intellectual humility that allows for reflective thinking about the ideas of others.
5. It’s okay to change your mind – The great thinkers are aware of many situations in which they changed their minds about something. They are not afraid to change their thinking at any time based on new knowledge, understanding and or point of view. They keep their greater thinking focused on the ultimate goal but make the necessary changes in their day-to-day attitude and plan to realize that goal. They are open to new ideas and information and believe it is necessary to change your mind when new data and perspectives present a hitch in the old plan or a new solution. Great thinkers are not stubborn about sticking to a plan for its own sake. They are open-minded and always looking for ways to improve and change their original thought.
6. Experience matters – All thinkers appreciate the fact that they have gotten better at thinking as they have grown older and gained more experiences in work and life. Every experience has improved their ability to reflect and fail forward. Most know they have learned from their mistakes and when finding themselves in the same situation later they have been able to make better decisions. As one interviewee put it, “I have made some good decisions recently partially because I made plenty of bad ones along the way.” Richer thinking is born from analyzing previous experiences, especially when experiences are applied to new and different situations. Experiential knowledge makes thinkers adept in anticipating and predicting the possible outcomes in new and unique situations they encounter.
7. Power of “and” not “or” – The best thinkers do not see decisions as simply a choice between seemingly conflicting options, i.e. A or B. In problem solving, they are often determined to achieve both options, i.e. A and B. This type of thinking comes from viewing challenges as opportunities not as obstacles. Doing both A and B isn’t simply a compromise of splitting effort 50/50 to get both options in a water-downed state. It is about being creative, positive and focused to accomplish both A and B with the same integrity as accomplishing each individually.
The other aspect of “and not or” was evident in the hiring process. The best thinkers are not satisfied in selecting a candidate who has some of the skills, attributes and knowledge they need but have (or can acquire) all the skills, attributes and knowledge necessary for the position. They see new hires and their unique viewpoints as resources that will enhance their own ideas instead of people who need to converted to their own solution. Both their own perspective and the new perspectives are valuable to reaching the end goals.
The other aspect of “and not or” was evident in the hiring process. The best thinkers are not satisfied in selecting a candidate who has some of the skills, attributes and knowledge they need but have (or can acquire) all the skills, attributes and knowledge necessary for the position. They see new hires and their unique viewpoints as resources that will enhance their own ideas instead of people who need to converted to their own solution. Both their own perspective and the new perspectives are valuable to reaching the end goals.
8. Bad decisions come from bad thinking – All thinkers know of a times when they made a bad decision and can identify the elements of their thinking that led to the bad decision, whether it is poor thinking from an individual or a group. The best thinkers learn from poor thinking and how to change the conditions that led to it. Common issues of poor thinking are: making decisions alone with a lack of collaboration, focus was on the wrong goal or outcome, short-sided view of a decision's affects that result in unintended consequences (especially toward people in the organization) and a lack of situational understanding (i.e. lack of data or the historical, political or cultural landscape).
9. Productive thinking is about action – There is no good thinking without action. Consistently we have heard how exceptional thinkers put ideas, strategies and innovations into practice. Thinking which does not lead to action is not thinking at all, just wasted time and energy. Not only is action taken, but deliberate and focused steps connected to a specific outcome and plan. Think of it as a mathematical formula: a disciplined person x disciplined thinking = disciplined action. The key to the formula is that it is multiplication not addition. If any of the components of the formula are 0 then the action is 0. Even improving a component by one digit exponentially improves the action.
The best thinkers believe that the actions of an organization need to be completed by many people and therefore as a leader it is part of their responsibility to have thought through how a decision will impact others as it unfolds. This includes who will be involved in the implementation and how the feedback loop would be developed to determine the effectiveness of the actions.
The best thinkers believe that the actions of an organization need to be completed by many people and therefore as a leader it is part of their responsibility to have thought through how a decision will impact others as it unfolds. This includes who will be involved in the implementation and how the feedback loop would be developed to determine the effectiveness of the actions.
10. Think differently to think better - These people strive to better themselves and their organization so they can be better than the competition in their field and reach a higher purpose for their cause. As leaders they want to think differently than their counterparts so their organization can be better. Billionaire thinkers connect the unconnected. They can see how their actions impact other parts and people of the organization, especially how innovation of a method, processes, product, etc. effects initiatives, ideas and solutions to problems. Exceptional leaders are always thinking in cause and effect. They see the interconnectedness of all factors and recognize how different causes and parts effect the outcome when tweaked in any way. For instance, average thinkers play checkers--there is a limited way of moving and each part is the same. Exceptional thinking is playing chess because there is an understanding that every piece to the solution is different and each possible maneuver will greatly effect the short and long-term outcome.
