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Managers are often promoted to higher positions because of their ability to resolve problems. But as business leaders, they should stay focused less on solving problems and more on defining what problems the organization should address.
It means being willing and patient to step back and ask, “What problem are we trying to solve?” They are stuck in problem-solving mode. But it is not enough to only put in the effort; you should work on Normal thing. One hour solving the right problem is higher than ten hours solving the unsuitable one. This means rigorously identifying and articulating the problem, need, or challenge.
Let’s say you have an idea to enhance customer support – a recent chatbot feature on your organization website. But what facets Customer service needs improvement?
What need will a chatbot meet? Is customer support an issue at all, or is the lack of it a results of other failures in the company’s broader operations, equivalent to product defects or outdated technology? You can easily spend hundreds of dollars and a whole bunch of hours on a chatbot that does nothing to enhance customer support because it is unrelated to the real problem.
Instead of considering interdependencies and broader patterns and examining their consequences, this approach views the problem as a one-off situation. So we’d like to maneuver from this narrow thinking to broad thinking.
Big thinking starts with three behaviors. Firsttake the time to follow your thoughts in an exploratory way, reasonably than simply trying to search out an answer or idea and move on. SecondBefore you are taking motion, look at all the pieces from different angles and rigorously consider a big selection of options. ThirdConsistently consider the larger picture and don’t get caught up in the smaller details.
Sure, that is it sounds easy. But in practice it is much tougher. People naturally prefer to act reasonably than be passive. It is an almost automatic response – an uncontrolled and often unacknowledged impulse. Following the first concept that involves mind and acting on it.
YesThis is not the typical case, but if the larger picture had been taken into account at the moment of conception, changes could have been made in advance to avert disaster.
Just think that is it unbelievable hypothetical? Well, in the Nineteen Eighties, American Airlines created the AAirpass, an unlimited first-class membership that might be purchased for a flat rate of $250,000. The idea seemed great, and it was amazing popular. In fact, the sheer variety of flights operated by AAirpass holders caused the company to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars almost immediately. When the company tried to cancel memberships, it was sued by outraged customers. It went down in history as one of the costliest promotional failures in history.
Of course, broad thinking cannot predict all possible outcomes of an idea. But that is not the intention. It’s about considering different perspectives and gaining a broader understanding of an idea in context – in short, seeing the larger picture.
If campaign planners took into account the impact of promotions on other departments, they may, for example, develop an approach of accelerating or decreasing the variety of activities, higher controlling the flow of responses.
This is illustrated by an interesting parable in which six blind men describe an elephant. You feel your leg and say it’s like a tree; different tail and believes it is like a rope. Still one other feels the body and thinks it is like a wall, still one other touches the ears and believes it is like a fan. Number 5 feels the tusk and says it resembles a spear, while number 6, feeling the trunk, thinks it resembles a snake. Thread have the whole picture, but All are partially correct.
Broad thinking considers parts as entities inseparable from the whole. The parts of an elephant are inextricably linked to the whole animal, just as a promotional campaign was inextricably linked to other facets of the organization it influenced.
As you broaden your perspective, you furthermore mght develop into more sensitive to the subtleties of differentiation: how seemingly insignificant, alien or opposing elements can come together.
For example, Liquid Death – mainly canned water company – used big-picture thinking to develop a recent option to position and promote its products.
It’s hard to inform the difference between water. Water is water. AND everyone one other bottled water company – Dasani, SmartWater, Evian, Fiji – focused on emphasizing things like mountain springs and electrolytes.
Liquid Death used broad thinking to create a completely recent approach to their message – rebellious, brave, heavy metal. Their goal was a different market segment – not moms practicing yoga, but young men who could only drink water at the gym. Thanks to this, they have develop into a cult brand and a legend. Its value in 2024 can be $1.4 billion. Yesnot bad.
Therefore, broad thinking is essential for problem solving, leadership and intelligent organizational strategy. A great strategy must be each evolving and consistent. To remain relevant and competitive over time, it must adapt to changing market conditions, consumer preferences and social trends Also Stay consistent with your organization’s core behavioral principles and unique positioning.
Thinking broadly permits you to consider these two conflicting ideas concurrently and create the tools for others to do the same.