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The Opposable Mind

How Successful Leaders Win Through Integrative Thinking
iLibrarian
Aug 04, 2009iLibrarian rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Do you face problems or decisions that seem like a series of potential tradeoffs? Is there no choice but to just settle for the least worst? The opposable mind by Roger Martin challenges us to learn and practice integrative thinking to generate spectacular outcomes and avoid settling for a simple trade-off. In the first few chapters Martin shares insights and stories about integrative thinkers from six years of interviews with over 50 highly successful leaders that thought differently from most. His research revealed a theme: these leaders held opposing ideas in their mind and eventually created superior solutions without settling for a simple trade-off or least worst scenario. They produced amazing outcomes and refused to settle for simplification or specialization. The second half of the book focuses on developing an opposable mind and building thinking capacity. Martin draws on the previous interviews and examples from the first half, and combines them with techniques used to teach MBA students and executives. He goes into depth about a model for your own personal knowledge system that includes what he calls your stance, tools, and experiences. Admittedly it’s not light reading, but Martin teaches you how to exploit the potential of integrative thinking. He gracefully uses examples and case studies to demonstrate the concepts and encourage practice. One idea that stood out to me was the notion that we must embrace complexity and willingly wade into it, however uncomfortable it may feel. Simplicity is a popular theme these days and intuitively, we know that we can’t cling to it when faced with a difficult business problem that demands a solution far from average. Martin is convinced that we can train ourselves to generate innovative solutions that are otherwise overlooked or never conceived. So, why settle? The opposable Mind can help you get beyond the obvious trade-offs and catch-22 decisions.