“KNOWLEDGE economy” is one of the most overused terms since the turn of the millennium, but what does it actually take to stand out in such an environment, both as an individual and an organisation?
The answer: Think better.
Easier said than done? Not with Mr Hurson’s fascinating insights and well-researched offering. The brain’s working has never failed to intrigue, but the author goes beyond medical jargon and actually teaches readers how to unlock the brain’s creative powers at will.
That means discarding the conventional problem-solving approach: Perceive a problem, pick a solution, do something.
One of mankind’s most important survival mechanisms is the brain’s ability to recognise danger and react instinctively, and conserve energy by cutting out the thinking process for repetitive tasks – such as dressing up for work – through recognising and matching patterns.
While these mechanisms might help us avert life-threatening situations or save us time, they are a massive hindrance to creative thought.
Much like how gushing water is forced through the crevices of rocks, “the thousands of repeated stimulus-response sequences create almost unbreakable thought patterns in our heads”, says Mr Hurson.
Through a six-step model, he shows how we can embark on productive thinking, which Jewish psychologist Max Wertheimer explains as “insightful thinking rather than historical thinking”. One of the pivotal steps is to ask the right questions, as we often ask the wrong questions in our haste to fit the current problem to tried-and-tested solutions.
Generate a long list of problem questions before arriving at the “catalytic question” or the question “that sends a chill down your spine”.
The key is to set your mind free and come up with as many questions and answers as possible, and having the wisdom to decide which ones would do the trick. And when you are exhausted, take a break. Often, our minds work best in the background.
As Mr Hurson put it, a basic productive thinking principle “is to steep yourself in your issue and then forget about it for a while”.
--Loh Chee Kong |
