I’ve been reading an interesting book.
‘The Opposable Mind’ by Roger Martin. It’s a great title. Opposable thumbs gave us the evolutionary leap from primates, and an opposable mind takes us another step forward.
Roger is talking about Integrative Thinking and the ability to hold two mutually opposing ideas in our heads and finding an integrated combination of both. It’s avoiding the ‘tyranny of the or’ and looking for the ‘and’ and ‘both’.
Anyway he proposes a 3-part model for integrative thinking. I like threes.
- Stance – how do I see the world, myself in it and what am I trying to achieve. (eg. “there’s always a better way” is a stance, and humility is a stance)
- Tools – the tools and models that organise my thinking about the world. (eg. prototyping is a tool, assertive inquiry is a tool, and brainstorming is a tool)
- Experiences – what experience build my repetoire of sensitivites and skills.
Stance guides tools which guide experiences. And, experiences informs tools which informs stance.
It’s an interesting book. One thing that struck me was the importance of stance – not just for thinking. Stance is critical in martial arts and when I’m coaching people to present, presence starts with the presenters feet – his/her stance.
It would be interesting to explore our own mental stance for thinking and communication. Is it the most effective stance? And if not, how does one change one’s stance?
