This is an excerpt from an essay I wrote about Roger Martin’s “Integrative Thinking” for a UW class that focused on project management.
Martin quotes F. Scott Fitzgerald and how he saw “the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function” as being a sign of intelligence. Martin writes that his interviews with business leaders led him to the conclusion that the most successful leaders use a technique he describes as “integrative thinking”. Oftentimes in the interest of simplicity, people seek out straightforward choices. When a bunch of opposing ideas are presented, they attempt to decide which of those ideas are “right” and which are “wrong”.
Integrative thinking describes the method of reconciling seemingly opposing viewpoints rather than viewing them as either-or options. The author cites the example of the founder of Red Hat. Software models existed for open source and for proprietary software. There was seemingly no way to monetize open source software and form a successful business around it. Yet the founder used additional information – the fact that businesses who were interested in Linux were wary of its service and upkeep – to form a business model around installing free software and charging them for doing server maintenance on it.
Martin notes that integrative thinkers tend to consider a wide variety of factors whereas conventional thinkers discard as many as possible. In the world of project management, considering a wide variety of risks means that you’re more likely to adequately prepare for them. Integrative thinkers tend to examine relationships between variables that aren’t linear, so they are able to predict other types of patterns. They’re holistic thinkers who see how different problems interact with each other rather than looking at each issue individually. When achieving resolution, Martin says that integrative thinkers tend to “creatively resolve tension between opposing ideas”.
The implications wheel is a tool that can be used to consider the interrelatedness of various options and implications rather than assuming that everything has a direct linear relationship. This can aid in brainstorming.
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