Benefit from Shared Thinking
“None of us is as smart as all of us.”
—K
EN
B
LANCHARD
Good thinkers, especially those who are also good leaders, understand the power
of shared thinking. They know that when they value
the thoughts and ideas of
others, they receive the compounding results of shared thinking and accomplish
more than they ever could on their own.
Those who participate in shared thinking understand the following:
1. Shared Thinking Is Faster than Solo Thinking
We live in a truly fast-paced world. To function at its current rate of speed, we
can’t go it alone. I think the generation of young men and women just entering
the workforce sense that very strongly. Perhaps that is why they value
community so highly and are more likely to work for a company they like than
one that pays them well. Working with others is like giving yourself a shortcut.
If you want to learn a new skill quickly, how do you do it? Do you go off by
yourself
and figure it out, or do you get someone to show you how? You can
always learn more quickly from someone with experience—whether you’re
trying to learn how to use a new software package, develop your golf swing, or
cook a new dish.
2. Shared Thinking Is More Innovative than Solo Thinking
We tend to think of great thinkers and innovators as soloists, but the truth is
that the greatest innovative thinking doesn’t occur in a vacuum.
Innovation
results from collaboration. Albert Einstein once remarked, “Many times a day I
realize how much my own outer and inner life is
built upon the labors of my
fellow men, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order
to give in return as much as I have received.”
Shared thinking leads to greater innovation, whether you look at the work of
researchers Marie and Pierre Curie, surrealists Luis Brunel and Salvador Dali, or
songwriters John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
If you combine your thoughts
with the thoughts of others, you will come up with thoughts you’ve never had!
