The BIGG Successs Show
How to Form Better Opinions and Make Better Decisions
Learn how integrative thinking can work for you. Read our show summary at biggsuccess.com.
- Welcome to The Big Success Show. Today, we'll discuss how to form better opinions and make better decisions. - The Big Success Show with George and Mary Lynn. - Mary Lynn, I remember one particular class period in college, where I had this professor who decided to debate executive compensation, and specifically, R-C-E-O's overpaid. And I listened to him debate this subject with himself, 'cause we didn't have that much to say about it, but he talked to himself about it for about an hour and 20 minutes. And when the class was over, something amazing had happened. I had no idea where he stood on the issue, but I knew more about executive compensation than I ever imagined that I could. - Hey, maybe we could get him a job on the network news, so we could get both sides of the story more often, right? But seriously, it is so important to understand both sides of an issue fully, so you can form an educated opinion. - And along those lines, there's a relatively new concept put forth by Dean Roger Martin, or as I like to call him, Dean Martin. - Wow, hey! - 'Cause everybody loves somebody sometime, babe. But Dean Martin heads up the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and his concept is called Integrative Thinking. In fact, he's written an entire book on it called The Opposable Mind, How Successful Leaders Win Through Integrative Thinking. - And we have links to both the article and the book today on our blog at BigSuccess.com, so let's discuss this concept in layman's terms. - And then why don't you just say that you're gonna talk about it in terms even I could understand it. - Yeah, you catch on fast. The value of understanding this concept is that we are gonna be able to make better decisions. - You know, it's kind of funny that scientists go into an experiment with a hypothesis that they're trying to prove wrong, and I think a lot of people get it backwards. They form an opinion and then go out and look for evidence to prove they're right. - So to get it right, you've got to fully understand the issue at hand before making a decision or forming an opinion. - Yeah, and going back to my college professor who discussed executive compensation, you know you fully understand the issue at hand when you can argue all sides of the issue equally well. You could be on the debate team and win the contest no matter which side you were asked to be on. - But now you know that you fully understand the issue and you're ready to form that opinion or make a decision. - And there's three possible outcomes. You may stick with what you originally thought. Only now it's not an uninformed or slightly formed or narrowly formed opinion. You can have full confidence that you're doing the right thing. - You may decide that you had it wrong. The opposite side of what you originally thought actually turns out to be the best alternative. So now you're truly a scientist at decision making because you've disproved your original hypothesis. - But the most likely outcome is actually some combination or some alternative that you never would have thought of before. - And that's really what this book and integrative thinking is all about is having the ability to hold two diametrically opposed positions in your mind at the same time and then building upon those models to create a new better model. - All right, and coming up, we're gonna share a simple example to show you how this works. And let me tell you, it's sweet. - Today we're sharing a concept that helps you make better decisions and we promised you an example. So picture yourself out to dinner with a friend. - It's been a wonderful evening. Everything from the food to the service to the conversation has just been spectacular. Your server brings over the dessert tray and now you have that internal debate starting. Are you going to have dessert? We'll portray that debate going on in your mind. - Ooh, that looks delicious, mmm, I want it. - Oh, I can't have dessert tonight. - I really do have a sweet tooth tonight. - Man, that's gonna go right to my hips. I haven't treated myself for a long time. - Oh, it's so bad for me. - You know, I've been dieting and exercising, so it's okay. - I have dessert, I'll have to work out twice as hard tomorrow. - I am still a little hungry. - No, I don't need to spend the money. - Hey, I wonder if my friend would like to split a dessert with me. - And there it is, the third alternative. Now, this is an admittedly simple example with an admittedly simple conclusion, but hopefully you get the point. - Started out thinking I could have dessert or I should skip dessert. By fully thinking through the issue, you arrived in an option that wasn't considered when you started. - Man, I really thought it was funny how you were worried about dessert going to your hips, George. (laughs) But usually the best decision is the one we haven't previously thought of, and we usually come to that decision by building upon our prior thoughts. - And the result isn't a compromise, it's an improvement. - You can find the links to the article in the book that we mentioned earlier in the show on our blog today at Big Success, that's Big with 2G's Success.com. That's also where we have a written summary of today's show, and let's get our big quote for the day. - Our big quote today comes from Joseph's You Bear. I may not have said that right, but here it is. It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it. - Debate it now, so you won't question your decision later. - Next time, we give our twist on an old song, and our twist is, anything I can do, you can do better. - No I can't, wait a minute, yes I can. Until then, here's to your big success. - The Big Success Show at B-I-G-G Success.com. (crowd cheering) [BLANK_AUDIO]