Power of Impossible Thinking

This book is about getting better at making sense of the world...so you can make decisions that respond to reality, not some obsolete model of reality. Drawing on the latest neuroscientific research and their experience with corporate transformations, Jerry Wind and Colin Crook explain how your mental models stand between you and reality, distorting all your perceptions...and how they create both limits and opportunities. You'll learn how to develop new ways of seeing...how to keep your mental models fresh and relevant...when to change to a new model...how to build a portfolio of models...and improving your models through constant experimentation. Better mental models = smarter decisions Understand what's real, so you can act on it How people get "stuck," and what to do about it How obsolete mental models keep you from making changes The neuroscience of mental models What scientists can teach us about perception-and reality Creating new models Practical ways to see things in new ways-fast "Wind and Crook have written a marvelous book that can teach you how to think more effectively in personal and business settings. Read it and learn!" Drea Zigarmi Author of The Leader Inside: Learning Enough About Yourself To Lead Others and co-author of Leadership and the One Minute Manager"We like to say, 'See it with your mind's eye.' Wind and Crook show us that our mind is our eye. What we think is what we see, and what we see directs how we act. Not only do the authors make this paradigm clear, but they offer concrete and practical ways to change our mind's eye and as a consequence change our actions and the results we get. The value of that is hard to top." J. Stewart Black, Ph.D. co-author of Leading Strategic Change and Professor, University of Michigan Business School"I have been trying to explain why Japan has fallen into a pitfall and cannot come out of even the simplest problems. One can call it an innovators dilemma, but that does not solve the problem. This book suggests we have to go back to the basics of reviewing our underlying 'mental models' now and then, and only then, have to construct a new model, perhaps plural, and move onto exploring the new terrain." Kenichi Ohmae Author of the international bestseller, The Borderless World"While most of us may recognize that the world we respond to is more in our mind than in any physical reality, often we don't have a clue why this is so. This very important book clearly explains how our mental models work to construct these distinct inner worlds. And more importantly it offers empowering advice on how we can use this knowledge to work for us rather than against us in creating a better outer world for ourselves, our organizations, and our societies." Charles C. Manz Best-selling author of SuperLeadership, Fit to Lead, and Temporary Sanity"This is an important book that 'makes sense of how we make sense.' The authors provide a thorough, fresh, and compelling exploration into the dimensions of mental models. All leaders who want to be more effective in their actions would be served well to leverage the principles in this book to learn about how they think and make sense of the world around them." Nick Pudar Director of Strategic Initiatives, General Motors "This is an important book that 'makes sense of how we make sense.' The authors provide a thorough, fresh, and compelling exploration into the dimensions of mental models. All leaders who want to be more effective in their actions would be served well to leverage the principles in this book to learn about how they think and make sense of the world around them." Nick Pudar Director of Strategic Initiatives, General Motors"This is a really great piece of work. It is 'immersion into the process of insight'. Truly a valuable addition to any forward-thinking person's library in light of the rapid change we face in today's world-business and personal." J.Allen Kosowksy, CPA Forensic Accountant and Director, 0N2 Technologies"A masterfully written book that is sure to capture the attention of every thinking person who's willing to look at the world of business through new lenses. The Power of Impossible Thinking is both timely and intriguing." Kathy Levinson, Ph.D. Author of The 60-Second Commute "Tough-minded managers like to think they see the world as it is. Wind and Crook, drawing on recent neuroscience research, demonstrate that none of us, tough-minded or not, do anything of the sort. What we perceive as 'the world' is as much inside our heads as outside. By realizing that and making choices about how we see things, we can become much more effective managers." Rob Austin, Ph.D. Harvard Business School and co-author of Artful Making"While most of us may recognize that the world we respond to is more in our mind than in any physical reality, often we don't have a clue why this is so. This very important book clearly explains how our mental models work to construct these distinct inner worlds. And more importantly it offers empowering advice on how we can use this knowledge to work for us rather than against us in creating a better outer world for ourselves, our organizations, and our societies." Charles C. Manz Best-selling author of SuperLeadership, Fit to Lead, and Temporary Sanity"Today, life moves at hyperspeed. Hence, the age-old human skill of pattern recognition is more essential to our health and happiness than ever before in history. The Power of Impossible Thinking is a wonderful guide to help you understand the patterns you recognize and-critically-when those patterns serve you well, when they don't, and what you can do about it." Douglas K. Smith Co-author of The Wisdom of Teams and author of On Value and Values"I have been trying to explain why Japan has fallen into a pitfall and cannot come out of even the simplest problems. One can call it an innovators dilemma, but that does not solve the problem. This book suggests we have to go back to the basics of reviewing our underlying 'mental models' now and then, and only then, have to construct a new model, perhaps plural, and move onto exploring the new terrain." Kenichi Ohmae Author of the international bestseller, The Borderless World"Jerry Wind and Colin Crook have one of the most powerful messages there is about dealing with the present changing world. Perspectives are prisons, they say. The only way to thrive in the coming environment is to cultivate the ability to sense the new patterns and relationships as (and before) they emerge-otherwise you'll be locked in the past. This book can get you out of that jail." John L. Petersen President and founder of The Arlington Institute and author of Out of the Blue: How to Anticipate Wild Cards and Other Big Surprises"The Power of Impossible Thinking is a health spa for the executive brain. Poor mental models can do more than ruin your reputation, your organization, or your team. How many times do we ignore market changes because of personal bias? Thanks to Wind and Crook we have a new vast insight into 'making sense' to help global leaders master the models needed for successful leadership behavior." Cathy L. Greenberg, Ph.D Executive Director, Institute for Strategic Leadership, LeBow College of Business, Drexel University"Everyone is familiar with exhortations for mindset change, attitudinal change and paradigm shift. But slogans are not solutions and words are not deeds. What is missing is a "how to" book. Wind and Cook have brilliantly filled this chasm of need with an extraordinary book that revolutionizes businesses, individual lives and society." Dr. Y Y Wong Chairman and Founder, The Wywy Group of Companies"Wind and Crook have written a marvelous book that can teach you how to think more effectively in personal and business settings. Read it and learn!" Drea Zigarmi Author of The Leader Inside: Learning Enough About Yourself To Lead Others and co-author of Leadership and the One Minute Manager"We like to

Preface. Hijacking Our Minds. Mental Models. What We See Is What We Think. The Importance of Mental Models. Thinking the Impossible. Endnotes. I. RECOGNIZE THE POWER AND LIMITS OF MENTAL MODELS. 1. Our Models Define Our World. Rethinking IBM's Research Model. Compartmentalization of Business and Personal Life. Domestic Emerging Markets. The Parallel Universes in Our Minds. Building Our Brains. Where "Models" Come From. Models for the Moment. Avoiding Obsolescence. The Consequences Of Models. Endnotes. 2. Running The Miracle Mile. Flights of Fancy. Shifting Models. Models That Are Out of Sync with the Times. The Power Of Models. Perils Of Models. Changing the Tune. Making a Segway: The Bumpy Ride to a New Model. The Human Spirit Is Indomitable. Endnotes. II. KEEPING YOUR MODELS RELEVANT. 3. Should You Change Horses? Place Your Bets. A Wild Ride. Knowing When To Switch Horses. Off To The Races. Endnotes. 4. Paradigm Shifts Are a Two-Way Street. SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW. THE SEQUENCE OF SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTIONS. SOMETIMES WE GO ONLY ONE WAY. The Paradigm Swing: Living in St. Petersburg. Paradigms Whose Time Has Not Yet Come. Seeing in Both Directions. Endnotes. 5. Seeing A New Way of Seeing. How To See Differently. New Maps. Endnotes. 6. Sift For Sense from Streams of Complexity. What Is Knowledge? Throwing a Drowning Man Another Megabyte Of Data. Knowing More, Knowing Less. Swallowing the Sea. It's All about Context. Zooming In and Out. The Process of Zooming in and Zooming Out. Knowing Where You Stand. Zooming In. Zooming Out. Extreme Thinking: Simultaneous Zooming In and Out. An Application: Do You Want Fries with That? Zooming. Endnotes. 7. Engage in R&D of the Mind. The Need for Experiments. Conducting Cognitive R&D. Making a Leap. Challenges of Experimentation. When to Experiment: Weighing the Costs and Returns of Cognitive R&D. Into the Laboratory. Life as a Laboratory: Continuous Adaptive Experimentation. Endnotes. III. TRANSFORM YOUR WORLD. 8. Dismantle the Old Order. Persistence of Models. Changing Models: Revolution or Evolution. Smoothing the Way to a New Order. Castles in the Air. Endnotes. 9. Find Common Ground to Bridge Adaptive Disconnects. Adaptive Disconnects. The Need for Unlearning. Addressing Adaptive Disconnects. Recognizing Your Own Adaptive Disconnects. Bridging the Gaps. A Process for Connecting. Adapting the World. Endnote. IV. ACT QUICKLY AND EFFECTIVELY. 10. Develop the Intuition to Act Quickly. What Is Intuition? Instinct, Insight and Intuition. The Power of Creative Leaps. Dangers of Intuition. Developing Your Capacity for Intuition. Models in Action. Endnotes. 11. The Power to Do the Impossible. Howard Schultz. Rethinking Coffee. A Journey of Discovery and Intuition. Bridging Adaptive Disconnects. Building a New Order. Zooming In and Out. Continuous Experimentation and Challenging the Model. Stretching Beyond the Possible. Oprah Winfrey. Rethinking the Talk Show. Adaptive Experimentation: Books, Magazines and Other Media. Bridging Adaptive Disconnects. Build a World Order: The Harpo Infrastructure to Support the Oprah Brand. Andy Grove. Continuous Reinvention and Experimentation. Changing Horses: The Strategic Inflection Point. Using Paranoia and Cassandras to See Things Differently. Intuition. A Two-way Street: Adding Market Perspective to Engineering through "Intel Inside". Conclusions. Endnotes. 12. Challenging Your Own Thinking: Personal, Business and Society. Healthy Thinking: Making Sense in Personal Life. Dot-Com: Making Sense in Business. Terrorism and Individual Rights: Making Sense in Society. Keep Your Eye on the Model. Endnotes. Conclusion What You Think Is What You Do. Beyond Possibility. Appendix: The Neuroscience Behind Mental Models. Core Concepts. We Live Together in Separate Worlds. We Use Only a Small Part of What We See. Reality Is a Story the Brain and World Work Out Together. Mental models. The Cartesian Theater. The Reality of Reality. Explications. Walking on a Dark City Street at Midnight (Book Opening). Shaking Hands with Bugs Bunny: The Nature of Memory (Book Opening). Overlooking Gorillas: Inattention Blindness (Book Opening). Hard Wiring: Nature vs. Nurture (Chapter 1). Seeing Things Differently (Chapter 5). Zooming in and Out to Sift for Sense from Streams of Complexity (Chapter 6). A Self-Reflexive World: Epistemological Solipsism (Chapter 9). Intuition (Chapter 10). Cultivating A Practice Of "Letting Go" (Chapter 10). Endnotes. Selected Bibliography. Acknowledgments. Index.