Is Your Whole Brain Working for You or Against You? (part 1)

If you’re like most of us, your brain is full right now. Everyone I talk to says they’re trying to do more with less while getting more productive and more innovative at the same time. We know we have to do it, but are we using our thinking to our advantage, or is it actually standing in the way of where we want to go? Over the next several posts, I’ll address some of the ways you can take control in tough times with better thinking.

Tip 1: Get Out of Your Own Way!: Watch for the dangers of your own experience. The Curse of Knowledge (Make it Stick, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath) will cloud your thinking, trapping you in past patterns and keeping you from seeing new ideas and fresh opportunities.

How can you get out of your own way?

• Disarm your brain by looking for situations that are novel and outside of your experience, talking to others who have different backgrounds.
• Watch how your personal style filters can get in your way.
• Define and reverse your “truths” (from “our customers will scream if we change that” to “our customers will love it if we change that”).
• Use metaphors to shift your mindset. Ask yourself, “how is this situation like…” and see where the possibilities can take you.
• Remove self-imposed limits, even just for a moment, to discover what new options might be out there.

Try these exercises in your next brainstorming meeting or the next time you revert back to your default responses. You might find that your thinking styles and preferences are filtering out the very ideas you need right now.