Integrative Thinking
a different approach leads to innovative ideas
Miro Madness! Click the image or link below to view the full board.
Driven by process, but unattached to outcomes
Integrative thinking is like that friend that is always asking tough questions, pushing you to think deeply and is still going to be your buddy regardless of the answer. Friends like that are great. Having this kind of guidance in your business is invaluable when faced with big decisions that will inevitably arise. Approaching business decisions with an integrative thinking mindset can be what takes your business from feeling obligitory to revolutionary.
Enter Jennifer Riel and Roger L. Maritn who literally wrote the book on integrative thinking (as well as teach classes, speak, and strategize with total ballers on the subject). "Creating Great Choices" is a great mix of case studies, how-to, and a peek behind the scenes showing how they arrived to this fully flushed out process.
Wait, is this a book report?
Yes. No? Maybe! The image above and Miro link below will walk you through a rough sketch of the integrative thinking process. You can read reviews of their book on many a business blog and find it cited anywhere integrative thinking is mentioned. Why add to the noise?
You know that feeling you get when you're trying to pick between two opposing options? It's horrible right? It brings up the very things we try so hard to squash as business owners: indecision, self-doubt, fear of how others will react, and the resignation of yet another compromise. It doesn't have to be this way. Instead of picking between two stress-inducing solutions, you can create one that is far superior to either. This process allows you to create surprising options instead of picking from the obvious. Yes!
It's been a long time since a book has rung the resonation bells so loudly. The integrative thinking skills mentioned in the book are so aligned with the tools already in my kit: creativity, empathy, and metacognition. I'm excited to expand on this practice by helping others create better choices in their business. Gone are the days of picking between "sorta ok" and "not that great".
Here’s the link to the Miro board in case you’d like to take a closer look: Integrative Thinking Case Study.
Here’s the link to the book, “Creating Great Choices”.
