17 Jun 2011

The quirky cartoon introducing this article shows two characters. One says, “Question everything!” The other asks, “Why?”  If you placed each character at two ends of a continuum, you would have a good way to see the vastly different ways that people in your business think (and maybe in your family too).

We often define diversity in terms of what we ‘see’. There is another aspect of diversity – cognitive diversity – in terms of how we think.  People solve problems in different and often predictable ways.  We clash over these differences in problem-solving style rather than understanding and using them. Here is a very brief overview:

Some people solve problems by questioning everything. They prefer ideas that are new and ‘different’ to the current solution. Often they seem like outsiders and may sound negative or cynical as they question things. Yet the result of questioning everything is often a new way of doing something. It may seem odd or risky until you understand how they conceived the idea. One more issue about these people; they are often better at conceiving ideas then acting on them.

Others see little need to question every possible assumption and seek ideas to improve the current solution with something ‘better’.  These types of thinkers are often quite structured in the way they do things. Guidelines, rules and procedures are important to them. They are often good team builders.

Your business will face a diversity of problems which will require a diversity of problem solvers to solve them.  Do not suppress these differences. Harness them.  Some problems need a new and original solution. Others may need a structured idea that worked in the past.  One type of idea is no better than the other. The big issues are;

• What type of solution best solves the problem?
• What type of problem solver is best suited to that problem?

Do people think alike? No. The real question is this – does your business manage people ‘as if’ they think alike? Recognizing the value of these differences can help you innovate in ways that you have yet to discover.

Written by Ed Bernacki, creator of the Idea Factory -  to help organizations innovate. info@wowgreatidea.com