We see things differently pdf

These techniques can help us see our way to the new and the revolutionary, whether in the arts or in business. The distinction is clear. As she notes, Holmes used Watson in this way to talk through his observations when investigating a case, and, often, it was through this exercise that key points in the case would become evident.

This is another technique for aspiring artists and entrepreneurs — and consulting detectives — to try. Our brains are designed to stop us paying too much attention. This is well demonstrated by the optical illusion called Troxler fading named after the nineteenth-century Swiss physician who discovered the effect.

If presented with a steady image in the area of our peripheral vision, we actually stop seeing it after a while. This phenomenon — the general neuroscientific term is habituation — probably points to an efficient way in which the brain operates. Neurons stop firing once they have sufficient information about an unchanging stimulus. But this does not mean that habituating is always our friend. We can think of the effort not just to think differently, but also to see differently, as a way of countering our built-in tendency to habituate, to sink in to the familiar way of seeing and experiencing.

One way in which great artists, entrepreneurs, and creators of all kinds come up with the insights that enable them to change the world is that, very literally, they do not see the way most of us do. Their methods teach us that by seeing differently, we can end up seeing what no one else has yet seen.

This is how the future is built. You have 1 free article s left this month. You are reading your last free article for this month. Subscribe for unlimited access. Perception Checking. Perception Checking Procedure. Perception Checking Exercises.

Attributions and Contributions. Classroom Activities on Perspective Taking. Learning Activities The following activities from the CRE Curriculum materials developed by the Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management can provide you and your students with fun and interactive ways to look at perception and perspective taking.

Seeing Different Things in the Same Image Understanding that we all may view things differently at one point or another is a part of life. By using our site, you agree to our collection of information through the use of cookies. To learn more, view our Privacy Policy. To browse Academia. Log in with Facebook Log in with Google. Remember me on this computer. Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link. Need an account?

Click here to sign up. Download Free PDF. Thinking Differently to Think Different. John Pisapia. A short summary of this paper. In the first part, a case of a lost opportunity is presented and the thinking that led to two companies missing the future is dissected. The notions of the sigmoid curve, exploitation and exploration, and think different and thinking differently are discussed. In the second part, the type of mind needed to think different is described. In the final section, three cognitive skills — systems thinking — reframing — reflection - that enable leaders to think differently are introduced and described, and research from 15 studies are used to discuss the proposition that in times of complexity, high cognitive complex leaders are more effective than low cognitive complex leaders.

Key Words — strategic mind, cognitive complexity, systems thinking, reframing, reflection The Lost Opportunity On June 28, , Nokia was the top selling mobile-phone company in the world, people stopped working when they left their computers, Android phones didn't exist, and executives of all echelons were thumbing on their BlackBerrys.

The next day, Apple's first iPhone went on sale. His book, The Strategic Leader was cited by the Washington Post as one of the top business books in This chapter will appear Shive, G. Leadership and social change in America. Beijing: Peking University Press. How would you explain these facts? Albert Einstein said it this way.

They did not anticipate the frame breaking change potential represented by the introduction of the IPhone. They simply continued exploiting their products by making incremental changes to make them better. It worked for a few years. As Einstein implied, people who created the problem have difficulty solving the problem they created because they continue to think in the same way. There is an incredible clarity about what they do and how they do it. Apple believes s in the integrated approach — simplicity and unity.

Products not the profits are the motivation. Nokia and Blackberry did not understand the Power of the Curve — that inflection point on the growth curve where a competing curve appears and gains support. Rather than jump to the new curve Nokia and Blackberry continued on the path of the old curve which led to their demise. In an era of continuous white water, the ability to jump the curve, when appropriate, separates the most successful organizations from the least successful ones.

The successful ones are ambidextrous. They balance the strategy of exploitation with the strategy of exploration. As seen in the example, Nokia and Blackberry waited too long to explore new options to move to the android framework. As a result their business model capsized in the churn of water and rocks that cause the white water, and they are desperately trying to bail out the boat as they row to a new shore.

The Components of the Strategic Mind Nokia and Blackberry are not the only organizations caught in white water. The future is catching all of us. Important signals are being sent by CEOs worldwide as to the skills necessary to navigate the churning water. A IBM study of more than 1, CEOs from 64 countries and 18 industries worldwide reported that openness, transparency, and employee empowerment to foster innovation and collaboration is changing the nature of the workplace.

Traditional command and control ethos are changing to command and collaborate in most organizations, and coordinate and collaborate in some. To manage and lead in a world described by the IBM CEOs leaders need to think different; and to think different, they need to think differently.

Thinking differently implies a change in the way we think; the way that thoughts get into our mind, and what we do with them once they are in. If we see things differently, it is almost impossible to do things the same way. Marcel Proust, the French novelist, essayist, and critic said it this way, "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes.

Leaders need to possess absorptive and adaptive capacities, and wisdom. These capacities are the new eyes that enable strategic leaders to learn, change, sense variation in the environment, and enhance their ability to use a wider array of leader influence actions. Curiosity is the driver of innovators, entrepreneurs, and geniuses. As Aristotle once noted, we are the creatures who, above all else, desire to know.

This desire makes us curious. Curious people ask questions, mull it over, and ask more questions until they understand what they are observing. Being curious provides new information, opens up the world of new possibilities, and provides an understanding of how things work.

It leads to the ability to spot and seize game-changing opportunities that can be used to shape the organizations competitive advantage. The curious mind is the mind of a learner, and strategic leaders must be learners first. On June 29, , curiosity about the new Apple product was not evident at Nokia and Blackberry. The future passed right before their eyes, but they saw it with old eyes and fixed mindsets, and missed it.

Curiosity enables leaders to learn. Adaptability and flexibility enables us to change by remaining open to new ideas; seeing the organization as a whole and understanding how various parts of the organization relate to and affect each other. Obviously, some people to adapt better than others. Although the answer is fairly complex Calarco and Gurvis say it involves three components: cognitive, emotional, and dispositional flexibility. Leaders who have cognitive flexibility are able to incorporate different thinking strategies and mental frameworks into their planning, decision-making and managing day-to-day work.

They can simultaneously hold multiple scenarios in mind and can see when to shift and inject a change.