Thinking about...Thinking?

Our world can seem like it moves at light-speed sometimes. And often it does, with emails fired off at all times of the day and night, smartphones creating the ability to access anyone anywhere - and the ability to access information and answers anywhere anytime - and notifications popping up in various feeds or even on your wrist within moments of a major event. With all things moving at such a rapid pace, there can be quite a lot of pressure to make snap decisions, both in business and in your personal life. Limited time opportunities, flash sales, and other things all conspire to place you under a clock that seems to be ticking away. Sometimes intentionally and sometimes not, all of these factors undermine your ability to think through a decision.

I would posit though that time to think is exactly what you need to take more of, as things move faster and faster around you - and to think in a constructive manner. The same fast movements, instant access and constant change that create the pressure to make quick decisions also magnify the impact of poor decision-making and can make it difficult to course correct once down a particular path. While it’s true that sometimes a deal or an opportunity can pass if you take too much time to decide, most decisions do not pass by in a moment and taking the time to reflect can be beneficial. But how can you tell when you need to take time to think and when you need to act? And, when you do think about something, what’s the best way to go about it to make the best decision possible?

You may have heard of the phrase “necessity is the mother of invention” - while most decisions that you may face in your day to day life are not “inventions” so to speak, this same proverb can be used as a guide for when a snap decision is needed. Is the decision you’re facing an off the moment necessity? Is there likely to be a serious and immediate consequence of putting off a decision even a moment? If yes, then you need to be decisive and act accordingly. An extreme example might be when you’re driving down the road and a pedestrian runs out in front of you - you don’t have time to think very long about if you should brake or turn or not, you just decide - you make up your mind and act to avoid a tragedy. On the flip side of that, think about a “limited time” offer or flash sale - while taking time to decide may cause you to miss a discount, the items on offer are rarely a necessity of life and so perhaps time to decide is worth taking. In the best case, you can rationally decide if you do need the item and buy it at the lower price/avoid a waste of money if you don’t need it - in the worst case, if you do need it and miss the sale, you may pay some additional money for it. Taking time to decide removes the “passion” of the heat of the moment from the purchase (in this case) and lets logic make the decision. Too often, situation that are really more like a flash sale are portrayed today as if a car accident is about to happen. That email from your leader at 8pm surely requires a reply - but almost certainly not at 8:01pm, though the instant world-wide access of a smartphone can make it feel that way. It’s something you can take (some) time to think about and make the right reply - it’s more like a purchase than an imminent car accident, even though sometimes it feels like the latter.

Now that you’ve decided you need to take time to think through a decision, how do you go about that? One approach that is well proven is to put other things aside and focus on the choice in front of you. This is an approach often favored by Bill Gates in his “Think Week” breaks (as depicted and written about often, including in the recent “Inside Bill’s Brain: Decoding Bill Gates” limited series) where he would seclude himself away from the hustle and bustle of running first Microsoft then one of the world’s largest charitable foundations to think about the future, issues facing his organizations and how to tackle them both. While you don’t need to take a week at a cabin in the woods, you can take some of this approach by setting out time to think about the issue, free from distractions, even if it’s just 15-20 minutes. Ideally, you might change your setting - go to a library, coffee shop or someplace apart from your normal. While not necessary, it’s often helpful as part of this approach to apply a framework to your thinking process. It can be as simple as a written list of the pros and cons of a various approach or more complex - a cost-benefit analysis, a position paper, a presentation, or anything else your mind can come up with! Perhaps even a multi-faceted approach combining multiple frameworks can give you the best insight and lead you to the best decision.

Another option is to put the decision at hand itself aside. While this may seem counter-intuitive, there’s a reason why people often have bolts of inspiration while relaxing in bed, in the shower or driving in their cars - because they generally are not thinking through their problems at these times. While you are ostensibly doing something else, particularly things that use a different portion of your brain than that used for higher order thinking, your brain can use that extra capacity to chew on the challenging problems facing you, and it might even come up with something you never would have actively considered. Think about this background thinking as the equivalent of a computer processing a task in the background while you’re actively doing something else. Alternatively, it’s similar to the idea that a “watched pot never boils” - the problem seems intractable and never ending when actively chewed on, but you’re able to innovate a solution while doing other things. Note that while this can be effective, it is not the most efficient method as it can take some time for these background thoughts to come to fruition.

In summary, there are three ways to “think” about a decision you’re facing. First, you can make an immediate snap decision in the heat of the moment. Alternatively, and preferably if it’s not an immediate necessity, you can choose to sit and ponder the decision by building a framework - or - you can set the decision to the side for a bit (an hour, a day, a week) and let your brain chew on it in the background, perhaps coming to it with fresh eyes and maybe a more innovative approach. Each of these three options has their time and place in all of our lives, the key is using the right method at the right time - and doing it effectively - to make effective decisions that you can be proud of, regardless of the outcome.

#thinkingaboutthinking #innovation #leadership #leading #management #personaldevelopment