Mastering the Inversion Technique: How Thinking Backward Can Boost Productivity and Objectivity

The line "I was inverted," spoken by Tom Cruise's character 'Maverick' in the 1986 film Top Gun, is more than just a flamboyant and flirtatious remark. It holds an important lesson that can benefit us all: looking at things from a different angle can provide clarity. Sometimes, reversing our perspective is the only way to gain the objectivity we need to understand things better, remove assumptions, and deliver results.

For instance, instead of simply searching for productivity tips and ways to increase productivity, we can invert our approach and ask ourselves, "How am I wasting my time and effort?" While we may know the answer, looking at it in reverse can provide greater clarity. Trying new life hacks and habit stacks can be helpful, but often, reversing our perspective provides the clearest solution to our productivity challenges.

Having a problem-first mentality

Charlie Munger, the renowned investor and one-half of Berkshire Hathaway, subscribes to this principle in his business activities. He explains that thinking backward forces objectivity, as it requires us to take our initial assumption and try to disprove it.

"The mental habit of thinking backward forces objectivity – because one of the ways you think a thing through backward is to take your initial assumption and say, 'Let's try and disprove it.'

He continues: "For example, if you were hired by the World Bank to help India, it would be very helpful to determine the three best ways to increase man-years of misery in India, and, then, turn around and avoid those ways. So think it backward as well as forward. It's a trick that works in algebra and it's a trick that works in life. If you don't do it, you'll never be a really good thinker."

As someone who has worked in communications on numerous occasions in their career, it is probably unsurprising that I have this mentality.

This approach can be particularly helpful in situations involving external audiences, such as media, investors, customers, or partners. By sitting in opposition to the positivity and objectively considering how other groups and individuals may pull apart a piece of news, we can better prepare for high-profile interviews or other communications activities.

When I had my first exposure to major C-suite executive communications, I had some brilliant PR people around me, who helped 'beat' this exercise into me, and I am eternally grateful (cc Alison Stokes , Nigel Glennie , Annie Shea Weckesser ).

Make up the breakdown

At a recent team offsite, the meeting facilitator, Tyson Matheson used a pre-mortem to identify all possible problems that could impact the successful delivery of a project.

This approach involves holding a meeting at the start of a project to identify potential issues. While not a net new idea, it provides an effective way to think through potential challenges and develop mitigation strategies. Narrowing our focus, identifying triggers, and developing mitigation strategies can simplify monitoring of risks and better prepare us for potential problems.

But it is not enough to just identify what might go wrong on a project; you have to keep an eye on the future to see if any of these problems actually occur and be prepared to iterate and review as new information becomes available.

Final thoughts

To truly benefit from inversion thinking, we must balance out our natural tendencies. Positive people may find this approach useful to balance out and find a mean, while negative individuals must consider the benefits and upside. By disproving our natural thoughts and biases, we can gain clarity and objectivity in a situation. Inverting our questions and thinking can limit our risk exposure and provide significant advantages when embarking on new initiatives or projects.

Tapping into our inner Maverick and inverting our thinking can provide a powerful tool for gaining objectivity and delivering results. Whether working on productivity challenges, communication activities, or working out the dynamic capabilities of a MIG 28 in a negative dive, taking a reverse perspective can provide valuable insights and improve outcomes.

Tap into your inner Maverick today and invert your thinking.