The other day, I read the following quote from Nobel Prize winner, Albert Szent-Györgyi:
“Discovery is seeing what everybody else has seen, and thinking what nobody else has thought.”
Discoveries Bring Value
People place huge value on the outcomes of discoveries:
- scientific communities celebrate then build on intellectual discoveries,
- business communities convert intellectual discoveries into new products and services, and
- many people use their insights to generate innovative solutions to annoying problems.
Sometimes, the simplicity of people’s solution-insights causes us, in hindsight, to think “that’s just common sense”. And often that is true. Sometimes the simplest of things escape our attention and as a result they do not receive our attention or our best thought. As the saying goes, “common sense isn’t so common”.
Many great solutions happen when an intense desire to discover a solution partners with persistence.
In business, many great solutions happen when people first have an intense desire to discover problems then have intense desire to solve those problems…with persistence. And yes, many other factors are required, with intelligence and experience high on the list.
Solution Orientation is a state of mind that expands our ability to discover good solutions.
As part of our solution-orientation state of mind, we embrace seeing things and thinking about them in different ways. We learned a lot from Ray Dalio, who built this way of thinking – radical open-mindedness – into his company, Bridgewater. He wrote about this in his book, ‘PRINICIPLES’.
Here are three examples to explain the value generated When You Open Your Mind to Discovery:
- People are similar but different,
- Software plays a major role in our lives, and
- Cybersecurity demands a level of attention.
People are similar but different
Some people think, deep down, all people are very similar. Some people think, deep down, all people are unique and different. The fact is both viewpoints are true, and the challenge is knowing when to apply each viewpoint. Situations influence people’s behaviour and that often leads to false interpretations of individual’s intentions. We need to see this as a potential problem. We need to think in new ways to avoid the problems that occur, as Mark Weber says, when situations trump people. We need to discover better ways to communicate. As examples, all of us do better when we choose to promote open-mindedness and ask questions rather than choose to jump to solutions.
Software – anything is possible when it’s digital
Our CTO says, “Anything’s possible when it’s digital.” That saying leads us forward, with open-mindedness, solution orientation, and possibility thinking. When we encounter sticky problems, our clients’ sticky problems, we think in ways that are different than the ways our clients think. We know solutions are always possible and we focus on digging to the root causes of the problem(s), generating possible solutions, and thinking about how to choose the best solution. Of course, the cost of the solution is always a consideration.
Cybersecurity demands a level of attention
While we all would prefer to not have cyber-risks, we all see the problem expanding. Many people need to think in different ways and take new actions to address their cybersecurity problems. Leaders in business need to understand the importance of setting the tone at the top. All businesspeople need to play a role in their companies’ cybersecurity. Basic defensive actions are affordable and budgets, even if modest budgets, must be in place to cover the cost of cybersecurity measures.
When You Open Your Mind to Discovery … Discovery Brings Value to You and Others.
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