Thought Process Blueprinting

In this world, many people teach you what to think, but very few teach you how to think. Unfortunately, "what to think" often changes, whereas "how to think" endures.

To this end, "thought process blueprinting" entails the derivation of a thought rubric that can be applied across disciplines to facilitate optimal analysis of problems and the development of ideal solutions.

The thought constructs provided below provide the reader with a blueprint that can be followed to establish a personalized thought rubric.

1) Controlled iteration by controlling the variables. In everything we do, whether it's business, medicine, etc., it's important to try and control the variables. The way to do this is by trying to change one variable at a time, rather than making wholesale changes when confronted with a problem. If possible, make one change and then assess, rather than numerous changes at once.

2) Know when "controlled iteration" is warranted and when a "scorched earth" method is required. This can be hard to discern, and often requires intimate familiarity with the problem at hand. Regardless, it's critical that one knows when to gently press the accelerator, and when to "gun it". Make sure you can delineate between the two.

3) Trends, not snapshots. One of the most common mistakes I see in medicine, aside from physicians failing to control the variables, is when they are too reflexive. Acting on a single data point can be catastrophic and lead to an inappropriate diagnosis and treatment. The same holds true in business, life, etc. Strive to think in terms of trends, not snapshots.

4) Resist tunnel vision. Some of the biggest mistakes made in business, medicine, etc., happen when we have tunnel vision. We fixate on a putative answer and fail to assess all possibilities. We become so myopic we fail to properly assimilate information contradictory to our initial thought. To avoid this, medical school students are taught to generate a differential diagnosis, including all possible diagnoses, for every patient they meet. We consider all possible diagnoses when we meet a patient and then rank order them. This allows us to very quickly "come off" our primary diagnosis if acquired results are inconsistent with it. Accordingly, the best physicians often have the best differentials. They are also the best at "backing up" and reassessing their differential diagnosis when evidence contradicts it. A LOT OF PHYSICIANS GET SUED BECAUSE OF TUNNEL VISION AND NOT "BACKING UP" TO REVISIT ALL THE POSSIBLE ANSWERS. Indeed, you must generate your own differential diagnosis in WHATEVER YOU DO, and be ready to "back up". When you are faced with a problem consider ALL possible solutions, no matter how trivial. Rank order them and then act. Be sure to be quick to reassess your possible solutions if data arises that nullifies them. Back up and reassess the situation. If that doesn't yield a better answer, back up again and reassess. Aggressively fight confirmation bias as you try to identify what you might be missing.

5) Always hope for the best and plan for the worst. When assessing the quality of a plan judge it by how well it accounts for the worst-case scenario. As long as you have the worst-case scenario covered you will likely be fine.

6) See past the extraneous details. It's very easy to get caught up in superfluous details when we're looking for answers. You must recognize them and not be misled by them.

7) If you can, use a structured thought process EVERY TIME. Create a step-wise approach to a problem and ADHERE TO IT. DON'T SKIP STEPS, even when you feel certain. Failure to do so can be catastrophic.

8)?Constantly assess the juice/squeeze ratio.?Many people ask me why I say juice/squeeze and not benefit/risk when I talk about this.?The reason is that risk doesn’t sufficiently encompass the pain, suffering, time, etc., inherent to a given decision.?When you’re making any decision in your life, even if you don’t know you’re doing it, you are making a decision based on juice/squeeze ratios.?Become an expert at assessing this, and in every significant decision consciously consider the juice/squeeze ratio.

9)?Build your thought foundation through fundamentals.?Nowadays, I see a lot of people trying to “short-cut” knowledge, as they seek metaphorical “Cliff’s Notes” on everything.?Doing this may enable you to stay afloat, but it’s extremely unlikely you will be at the upper echelon with this approach.?The amount of knowledge in the world doubles every 12 hours.?In order to keep up with all the information thrown at you, you need to have a foundation predicated on fundamentals.?Developing this requires work.?It requires experience.?It requires structured assimilation of knowledge based as much as possible on concepts, as opposed to rote memorization.?The fundamentals you acquire now will stay with you for a lifetime. They are truly foundational.?

10)?Build an internal relational database. When you learn something new, assimilate that information as it relates to the other knowledge you have.?It will help you retain, understand, and ideate based on it.?For example, when I learn about a new drug in a given tumor, I consider the:

a)?mechanism of action

b)?other drugs with that mechanism of action

c)?other tumors where that mechanism of action is important

d)?other mechanisms of action used in that tumor and other tumors

e)?sequencing of the new drug in the context of already approved drugs

f)?studies involving that drug and that mechanism of action

The acquisition of new knowledge is best retained and acted on when incorporated into an internal relational database. Accordingly, incorporating new information into your internal relational database is critical to everything you do in business, medicine, etc.

11)?Ask yourself if what you’re considering/questioning will actually change your approach/management.?It’s very easy to become overly pedantic in life.?It’s essential when you’re considering funding a marketing study, new survey, diagnostic test, etc., that you delineate if the results will actually change your approach/management.?If it will not, pass on the study, survey, test, etc.

12)?See the forest through the trees. We have gone to an extreme when it comes to subspecialization.?People are missing the interconnectedness intrinsic to medicine, science, business, etc. because they can only see their trees and not the forest.?We live in a world where AI/ML, precision medicine, etc., have transformed business, medicine, etc.?The ability to cross disciplines and see the forest through the trees allows for differential ideation and actually allows one to be a true expert.?Indeed, the “expert” that only sees the tree, and can’t see how the tree relates to the forest, is not an “expert”. Always be mindful of the forest.

13)?Know your end game. ?All too often we make decisions based on immediacy.?We don’t consider the end game when we’re considering the short game.?Often times the answer to the short game resides in being able to see the end game. Always know your end game.

14) Know when less is more.?Sometimes the best action is no action.?Time often will allow for problems and answers to declare themselves. Constantly changing your approach can have you chasing your tail. Accordingly, less is oftentimes more as time becomes your ally, and not your enemy.

15)?Assume you’re always missing something. Constantly challenge your assumptions.?Assume you're missing something, or could do better, until it's definitely proven that you can't.

16)?Think big.?People like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, etc., think big.?They don’t think in terms of incremental change.?They allow their minds to consider the impossible. They reach the confines of the boundaries of their mind and break through them. They go beyond what's comfortable or conventional. They don't listen to the naysayers. You must do the same as you push beyond your "thought limits', and think bigger.

17)?Always assess if you are adding value.?There are a lot of copycats in the world.?There are numerous people stealing other people's ideas. There is no value in that. If you're doing something everyone else is, do something else to differentiate yourself. Try not to become a metaphorical cliche.

18)?Learn from everything. You are a conglomeration of your experiences and a constant work in progress. Learn from every encounter, experience, etc. You must always iterate and assimilate new information acquired from your experiences into your thought paradigm. Consider yourself a machine learning algorithm that is constantly iterating, and act accordingly.

The aforementioned thought constructs are simply the tip of the iceberg when it comes to building a personalized thought blueprint. Indeed, I'm not the proverbial expert in this arena. Nonetheless, I sincerely hope this "thought guidance" provides the reader with a useful starting point to develop their own thought rubric.