The Hindu Business Line : Thinking in pictures

MOST of us are prisoners of our mental conditioning. We think, by and large, as we have been brought up to think. Even when we believe that we enjoy freedom of thought, we may choose what we think but seldom how we think. How we think is a great mystery because much of it is done semiconsciously, if not unconsciously. It is influenced by training, almost pre-determined by the circumstances of our birth, and by the subtle brainwashing of what we call education and social norms of the class we belong to. No wonder that all appeals to reason, to argument based on facts seem to fail so consistently, whenever any policy issues are discussed, be they macro-economic or corporate or departmental.

Policy issues are seldom clear-cut, where even facts are easily conceded. This is one of the major stumbling blocks to their resolution. Facts seldom appear exactly the same to two different people, especially when the facts don't deal with inanimate things but with society and human relationships.

A lawyer's view of, say, a company's legal case will differ from that of the chairman of the company. The former might look at it strictly from his brief and what needs to be proved or disproved, and marshal his arguments depending entirely on whose side he is (paid to be) on. That is his view of the world, his mental picture. The chairman might think more about the consequences to his company's and his reputation, including personal liability if any, besides the impact on people dealing with the company who hear of the court proceedings. A more striking example would be an average Indian's and a typical Pakistani's version of dramatic developments in the peace initiatives or at cricket between the two countries.

A genre of problem-solving and thinking tools useful in these circumstances is called diagramming or systems maps. There are essentially two types of these: Those dealing with straightforward linear relationships among factors; and those dealing with a complex web of interconnected issues.

The technique of mind-mapping, developed first by Tony Buzan, blossoms into its full potential as a way of generating alternative ways of looking at and solving knotty problems. It allows free rein to associative and divergent thinking, which is critical to search as widely as possible for diagnosis and possible solutions. Any method that frees you from the constraints of inherited thinking is a welcome step. Diagramming has the great advantage of putting things on paper simply and concisely, open to all to contribute and above all it provides a focus for the discussion. Otherwise, discussion becomes mere trading of prejudices.

The power of thinking afresh, in-depth, and around a subject are fully revealed when thinking with pencils on paper. That way, you discover new connections in your own brain, triggered by the use of more than one sense in thinking. A good deal of scientific research supports the method which brings about richer, fuller, more different thinking around a subject in a comprehensive manner than any conventional technique.

Curiously enough, Nobel laureate Richard Feynman, an outstanding physicist of our time, was one who was happier drawing his ideas on the behaviour of sub-atomic particles on paper rather than condense them, as other scientists did, into high-powered mathematical equations. Let us suppose your problem has to do with possible re-structuring of the distribution system, or re-organisation of the field force function in marketing.

The difficulty, you will find, is not so much getting colleagues to understand the issues at an intellectual level but to shed old habits of thought. Most senior colleagues would find it difficult to open their minds to admit totally new, at times zany ideas. They could well trivialise or make fun of the mapping method as a fad, which it is not. However, if you get over this phase you will find many people becoming addicted to thinking on paper. Managers must attempt to be different, at least on paper. After all, it costs them nothing!

(Feedback can be sent to srchander23@netscape.net)