Thought Tools
Sometimes you hear someone pitch an idea and it instantly sounds really good. Or maybe it sounds totally bananas. Use these mental tools to move beyond that knee-jerk reaction and truly find out whether the idea might hold water… or not.
- Size a concept up or down: Think about stretching or compressing an idea’s scale. If you are evaluating a $15 minimum wage, imagine implementing a $100 minimum wage, what would the impact be? As another example, every year our government spends far more than it takes in. What would happen if your family did that? See if a dramatic shift in scale one way or another offers a fresh perspective and new insights.
- Assume your opponent is neither stupid nor evil: I know… so hard, right!? But here’s the rub, when you begin your thinking or conversation by writing off the person you’re debating, that’s pretty much where it ends. Try this instead: can you genuinely articulate the best version of your opponent’s case? Almost every idea has a legitimate kernel to it. Find it and address it.
- Ask, “And then What?”: A lot of problems seem easy to fix. People are sick? Prescribe antibiotics! But then what? The widespread use of antibiotics has created more and more drug-resistant bacteria and the risk of an unfightable epidemic. Oops. Always think of the second and third-order effects of your plan. Your intended results may be outweighed by the results of your results.
- Look for facts first: Let’s all just agree to stop fighting over questions with definitive answers. I recently watched a group of people argue over whether Uber’s background checks were up to the level of cab companies. It actually got pretty heated! I suggested they look it up. Apparently they were having too much fun fighting to end it with facts. I looked. Google had an answer. Some things are empirically true and aren’t subject to our opinions.
- Travel though time or space: So, you’re considering implementing an idea, but it’s never been tried! Or has it? Look to the past to see if someone took a run at a similar idea before. How’d it go? Still want to try it? Maybe with some changes? Alternatively, is anyone currently implementing your idea in another city, state or country? This approach can put you in a much better position to evaluate an idea.
- Ask, “Compared to What?”: AKA… Never leave a number lonely. Frequently you’ll be presented with some impressive-sounding statistic, often with the intent to convince you of one idea or another. Finding something relevant to compare it to will give you a much better understanding. Violent crime was up 15% last year? That’s awful! But wait, it’s still near 50-year lows? That’s not so bad.
Enjoy your newly clear and incisive thought processes!