The Danger of 'I Get It' Thinking

Let's perhaps start by defining terms. 'I Get It' thinking, often synonymous with 'I Know It', occurs

when we immediately decide that we already know about or understand a concept or situation that someone is describing. I'm sure there is no one reading this that has not experienced this thinking at some point. The danger in doing so is proportional to both the frequency with which we employ this thought and also the importance of the situation in which we apply it.

Each time we believe we already 'get' a particular concept or situation, we are telling ourselves we already know what there is to know. We shut ourselves off from listening to or picking up any new information on the subject.  We therefore end up ignoring or overlooking deeper insights or even new opportunities or perspectives. As soon as we believe that we 'get it', we don't explore the subject any further, which may seriously restrict the quality of the decisions that we make.

I see this often in training sessions, where participants have pre-determined that they already 'get' the subject we're discussing, that they know all that they need. They have closed off their minds before entering the room and therefore leave the session with no further insights or advancement in their thoughts on the subject. Their parting comment that the past hours were a waste of their time is accurate.  Indeed, they learned nothing, but not because there was nothing for them to learn. Had they not believed they already 'got it', they would have been able to pick up a few more insights, gained a little more depth to their current understanding, or even come to understand where they might support other team members with their advanced understanding.

The 'I Get It' syndrome is insidious and can creep in at any level.  Corporations that believe they 'get' the market, future trends, the continual demand for their products or services will make decisions based on those thoughts but may fail to continue to check their understanding and miss shifts and nuances that cost them opportunities.  Companies that get locked into the belief that they 'get' their business either come to learn that it is a constantly evolving understanding or they become defunct.

Individuals aren't any different. When we believe that we 'Get It' we close ourselves off from learning more or from being open to accepting alternative views. We then make decisions based on inaccurate or limited data which clearly will have an impact on the quality of the decisions we make, whether personally or professionally. For unimportant issues this is likely fine. It's the important decisions that will suffer and that will cost us.

The easiest way to combat the 'I Get It' Syndrome is to question everything. Question your preconceived notions about how things work and about why they work. Question what you know about your business, about the market, customers needs, about what's not working and why. Some of the most successful business leaders of all time used this technique to great advantage. Challenging assumptions and beliefs opened them to exploring 'new' possibilities.

Ask... 'If this weren't true, then what?

The more important your decision, the more important the need to suspend your 'I get it' thinking. Listen, Question, Learn. The more open you can remain, the broader your insights and the better the decision. Better quality decisions lead to greater success and opportunities. A nice price to pay for not 'getting it' quite as often.

Increase your Creativity - Sit Outside the Box

We have all experienced times when we want to be more creative with our solutions, perhaps even need to be more creative, but we just can't seem to come up with anything creative.  We push ourselves to focus but seem to continue to draw a blank on a new solution or approach.  As it turns out, new research is indicating that the solution to thinking more creatively may have less to do with focus than it does with location.

In one study, researchers at the University of Michigan and NYU had 102 undergrads complete a task designed to measure innovative thinking.  Some of the participants were randomly assigned to complete the task while sitting in a box (constructed of plastic pipe and cardboard) while the other group of participants worked on the task while sitting outside of (but next to) the box.  The result?  Those sitting outside of the box were significantly more creative in their thinking, arriving at 20% more creative solutions, than those sitting within the box.  

We know from other studies that there is a strong mind-body correlation, a link between what our body feels and what we think.  Problems we face seem larger if we are holding something heavy in our hands than they do when we hold something light.  We feel more positively disposed toward someone when we hold a warm drink in our hand than when holding a cold one.  It seems to make an almost intuitive sense then that our minds would feel less restricted if our bodies were seated in a less restrictive space.  

Even the outline of a box has an influence on our thinking.  In another study, students were given problems to solve and asked to walk while doing so.  One group were asked to walk along the lines on the floor, outlining a large square, while the other group was allowed to walk freely.  As is now to be expected, the group allowed to wander at will while problem solving did significantly better.  

When you look at the popularity of coffee shops around town being used as make-shift office space, perhaps we begin to understand why.  Maybe the patrons are not looking for the perfect latte so much as they are looking for a more open environment, conducive to creating the innovative solution they are searching for.  A study in the Journal of Consumer Research indicates that working in coffee shops, and other moderately noisy places, also boosts creativity. In this UBC study, over 300 participants were asked to work on creative tasks in one of three environments:  nearly silent, moderately loud (about coffee shop loud), and very loud.  The participants in the moderately loud environment did better on the creativity tests. Too much noise proved to create a distraction, while a moderate amount served to create a level of processing difficulty (absent from the silent room) that spurred creativity, by enhancing abstract thinking.

The implications of these studies are quite significant and should be considered when you are looking to tackle your to-do list for the day.  If you are merely processing information and need to think along linear lines, then perhaps sitting at your desk, in your office or cubicle, is sufficient.  When you reach that item on the list that requires more abstract thinking though, you may do well to switch up your environment.  Go for a walk, head out to a coffee shop, wander around the cafeteria, sit outside at a picnic table and work.  Change your environment to suit the work that you are attempting.  

My first book was written primarily at the cottage, on a laptop by the beach.  My second book was written largely in coffee shops, wherever I happened to be, before and between client meetings and sessions.  Each location suited the type of book I was working on, the way I needed to think, and both were written largely out of the office and away from my desk.

What changes might you need to make to the way you expect to get work done?  You may not have control over the office design but you have control over where and how you do your thinking.  Suit the environment to the process and the desired result to improve the quality of your thoughts and solutions.  As it turns out...

Thinking outside of the box is best accomplished by sitting outside of the box