The
Only Certainty: Uncertainty
Your father sold shoes in Shanghai, now you’re selling silverware in Singapore . . . and
Spain . . . and Saudi Arabia. Different cultures; different mentalities; different languages. Guess what? The old truisms and skills your father used, don’t apply any more. The whole game has changed. Your good ol’ Guanxi is worth zero. The new guys want quality and a good price and don’t care where your uncle works. It’s emails and container ships, not China Post and trucks. The ways to cut costs depend on creative thinking and imaginative solutions. Things your new customers considers important never entered your consideration. You need to alter your perspective to understand them. You need to think openly and on your feet; sometimes on the run. Often the answer lies in the area of the possible but not the probable. Guess what, again? The world will continue to change. You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!
Perceptions
Basically, we must understand that our traditions and beliefs and preconceived notions lead us to conclusions that are not always correct. They may not apply in this particular situation or they simply may no longer be relevant at any future time because the circumstances have changed.
Normally, if a boat is moving down the river and there is a low bridge, the bridge is raised so the boat can continue downstream. In some instances, it may be wiser to look at the problem differently. Then the solution may be to lower the river and leave the bridge alone. This may seem extreme, or even silly to you. But wait; let’s take the Panama Canal. The boats move between the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean through a series of locks that raise and lower the water levels. Also, lets take the problem of a truck that is 5 centimeters too high to go under the bridge. Rather than finding another route, one can let sufficient enough air out of the truck’s tires to reduce the height of the truck by 5 centimeters. So, please, keep an open mind when dealing with solutions to problems.
Thinking
Differently
The challenges facing modern young managers require creative, imaginative solutions. Just to stay the same, you need to be different. Often, this takes a different viewpoint; a different perspective; a different way of thinking. Enter, Nontraditional, Contrarian and Lateral Thinking. They may provide the answers for forthcoming dilemmas.
Focus
on the End
First, you must accept the fact that the end is the end, and break loose of the common presumption that the means is the end. Drop the sentence “We always do it this way”, from your vocabulary. The end goal is the end. In new circumstances you score a goal by breaking out of the old framework of knowledge and experience . . . and beliefs. These are constraints that can hold you back.
In the countryside, you learned to play soccer. You scored a goal, and consequently won the game, by a quick and accurate kick at the right place and time. You didn’t use your hands. Next, you attend university and are introduced for the first time to a game called basketball.
To score points and win the game, you do not kick the ball, but you do use your hands to throw the ball up into a hoop. After university, you are introduced to golf. You use a club, not your hands or feet, to hit the ball into a distant hole in the ground. In golf, the winner is the one who uses the fewest strokes. In each of these sports the goal is to win. Each of these sports requires a different set of presumptions and skills. The skills, or means of winning, differ from sport to sport. Do not let the presumptions and constraints of one sport, limit you in another sport. The end is the goal. The means are not the goal. Learn the difference.
Build
upon principals and goals
The three definitions below are provided to provide clarity, hopefully. In fact, the three ways of thinking are interrelated and entwined. Do not concern yourself with separating them based on their finite distinctions. Rather, consider the three as complimentary to each other. Accept their intercorrelation and realize they all enhance and broaden the sphere of each other. Remember, it’s the goal not the means that we seek.
Nontraditional
Thinking requires you to think differently or in a new way. Going outside your old frame of reference; your old process; your old beliefs to find an answer. Let loose of your old limits and constraints and go forward. Accept the fact that the old rules do not apply.
Contrarian
Thinking
implies taking a perspective or position that is totally opposite to generally
accepted tenets. You go against the popular beliefs. If everything is
wonderful and cannot get better, then, sell your stock, don’t buy
any more. Why? Things can only get worse in the future. If everyone is
getting on a bus or train for a Spring Festival vacation, stay where you
are. It’ll be very quiet, peaceful and restful with no body there.
Pretend you are the enemy. Take the belief that he is right and you are wrong. Understand and accept his motivations, beliefs and principles. Do this and you can either join him; or reach an agreement with him at the bargaining table; or beat him in the battlefield.
Lateral
Thinking
has much to do with perception. Basically, you need to look at a problem
from a different perspective. Often, what you consider to be normal is
incorrect or does not apply. You must remove the incorrect or false perception
and look at the situation from a different viewpoint. Normally, lateral
thinking requires you to combine your creative skills and your logical
ability. The key to successful Lateral Thinking is realizes that you need
to step back; adjust your thinking; and look at the circumstance from
a different point of view. Realize your original conclusion may be based
upon normal presumptions that do not apply in this unique circumstance.Update
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