Recapitulation

Before going any further, it will be as well to pick out some of the salient points from what I have written so far. You don’t have to be convinced of their truth—some of them are pure fancy—nor is the order particularly significant. (We don’t want to introduce a hard and fast system, not after all that has been said about them!) Just let these potter about in your mind without examining them too closely.

1. The brain uses imprecise symbols to build thoughts.
2. You have two brains, conscious and subconscious.
3. Both brains use the same store of symbols.
4. Your conscious brain is logical.
5. Your subconscious is illogical.
6. New ideas are illogical and antisocial.
7. Innovators are eccentric, responsible people are orthodox.
8. New ideas come from the subconscious, in garbled form.
9. New ideas are never accidental.
10. An open mind is not just helpful, it’s essential.

Consider for a moment what happens in your own situation when a new idea or new type of solution is needed. Something like this, perhaps. A problem is mentioned, in passing, by the boss. Later it is put more formally to a small group in what is virtually a committee. Suggestions are asked for. Any that are made are immediately subjected to critical analysis and rejected—or else the problem is sidestepped and a safe compromise is agreed. Sometimes the meeting breaks up and the members are asked to think about the problem individually. And sometimes a good idea does occur later on. But, by then, it’s too late.

Perhaps you have organised brain-storming sessions. In an atmosphere bristling with tension and determination all the lads foregather to bring group intelligence to bear. The leader will be a bouncy, cheerful and aggressive man, bright of eye and blunt of speech who is already regarded benignly by the top brass (represented at the session by a quiet, reliable, pipe-smoking introvert who says little but sees all). There are the old hands, who suspect that the whole performance is rigged with some quite different objective in mind but who nevertheless try to inject some realistic background information. Then there are the ‘other ranks’ who are dragooned in order to create the impression of democracy. Some of these will disappear into the woodwork while some will grab at the chance of pirouetting for the boss. And there will be, as a rule, a ‘new fellow’ who has just joined the firm and who, because he is an unknown quantity, constitutes a threat to most of the others.

We have now a situation in which a great deal can happen—except innovation. Everyone is in a defensive posture, including the look-at-me-I’m-dancing individuals. There is a tacit obligation to contribute wit, analysis or new lines of thought. But no one is going to risk a carefully cultivated image by saying something silly in front of the others. The objective of this meeting is to produce the brilliant idea and gain kudos. No one wants to see that prize go to someone else. So, the already present reactivity is heightened. You can see that all the requirements for innovation that have been touched on so far are effectively blocked in this type of meeting.

Negative thinking and selfish spoiling tactics are the bane of such occasions. The abominable no-man has innumerable subtle devices for shooting down ideas while entrenching his own position as a wise, reliable thinker. He even gives the impression that he is contributing when he is actually sabotaging the thing.

You might say, ‘Ho-ho but sometimes good ideas do come out of brain-storming sessions’. Yes sometimes they do. But if you think back you will recall that they happen in a strange way. Someone gets a ‘phone call, or a call of nature and leaves the room for a while. He comes back saying, ‘I’ve got it!’ And he probably has.

Or someone who has metaphorically left the room, gazing out of the window at the birds or trying to make out some mathematical pattern in the curtain design will suddenly speak—almost to himself—and the problem is solved.

The point is that in both instances the thinker stopped concentrating on the problem, thereby leaving the necessary hiatus.

When it comes to solitary problem solving, the usual practice is to collect all the facts and concentrate like mad. Unfortunately, you usually have to race against time, so you concentrate more and more fiercely when you should be doing the opposite. If you have a big, urgent problem, the best place to go is a golf course, but how would you ever convince the boss of this? (You could always buy him a copy of the book with this page marked. That would do us both a bit of good.)

However, enough of this chit-chat. Let’s see how you can actually make the system work for you, in nice, simple, practical terms.

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