Gender, ethnic, sexual identity, religion and disability diversity in employees are admirable goals for any company and the broader society. Creating a diverse workforce under these parameters is long overdue and provides companies with a way to bring in different experiences and cultures. However, there’s another overlooked element that business people should embrace —diversity of thought.
Many companies end up collecting like-minded staff, without realizing it. This develops a group-think dynamic where leadership looks for control, people are comfortable with their role and the company isn’t aligned with the values of the workplace. Companies with like-thinking cofounders definitely need more diversity of thought, as the strategic direction and dynamism of the company depend on a blend of thinking styles.
Richard M. Schulze, the founder of Best Buy was in charge of the company during the rise of ecommerce. The firm missed out on a real chance to compete with Amazon because it was late to join the trend. The leadership lacked the creative vision Jeff Bezos and others at Amazon possessed to see where ecommerce could lead in terms of speedy delivery and the expansion into providing content such as movies and TV shows. Mr. Schulze is a capable leader, but the company could have used key executives with a more creative mindset who could have pushed out of the “box.” It’s an example where a different thinking style might have produced a fresh take on the current and future state of the company and broader commerce.
Diversity of Thinking Styles
Within the modern organization there’s a risk that comes with having too many extroverts working together. They might shut each other down and will certainly shout down the introverts who might have a transformative idea. A more diverse collection of people will be able to better develop insights on opportunities and challenges. Likewise, they are less likely to be prone to exuding blind overconfidence. They’ll allow the company to avoid stagnation and not miss market or product opportunities.
People with diametrically-opposed thinking styles approach everything differently. Cofounders and coworkers need to avoid frustration when confronted with such situations. Instead they need to understand that not everyone sees the world the same way. The logical thinker might see their process as sound, but the creative type sees it as wasting time on the details. Instead of jumping to conclusions, it’s best for both type of people to reflect and appreciate the different thinking styles and the benefits they can bring to the greater organization.
Consider the dynamic between Apple co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak to see the power of combining different thinking styles. Jobs was a creative genius (with flaws) while Wozniak was also creative, but his mindset was more focused on the computer science aspect of their business. By his own admission Wozniak stated on the CBS Early Show “My role was [to be] the key technologist, the scientist, the engineer that was building all these devices. … Steve was spotting them and seeing ways to sell them and talking about where they could go. And talking about enhancements and improvements that would take it to the next level. He was always trying to move to the next level.” This dynamic between cofounders is a significant reason for Apple’s early success that allowed it to become the transformative giant it is today. It led to the company developing advanced tech that met people’s needs but was also marketed brilliantly.
Look for Creativity and Logic-based Thinkers Then Fill the Gaps
The more creative business thinkers don’t often operate on linear thought. They come up with an idea first and process it later. Within many tech firms, the founders are engineers who operate almost entirely with linear-thinking, who like process and problem solving. This approach allows firms to meet the needs of a market, but what if the market changes and they need to innovate to a new direction? A cofounder with more of the sales and creative mind can provide balanced thinking to the more linear partner, by suggesting new products or solutions that are simply ideas, not yet technically achievable. Firms should actively review the thinking styles of staff and strategically hire to “fill the gaps” that might be preventing the company from growing aggressively.
Move Away from Traditional Linear Thinking Styles
Thirty or forty years ago, companies didn’t typically embrace creativity in the workplace nor did they seek it out as a desirable and productive trait, compared to the linear approach. More creative ideas would be painted as “half baked” and not thought through at a sufficient level. Creative thinkers were in the entertainment industry, but traditional businesses were still dominated by analytical thought. The main thrust of business thinkers was to project future cash flows, more so than have ambitious ideas.
It wasn’t until the advent of the internet and its capability to reach people and present services in new ways that creative minds were able to flourish, in this environment. I saw this problem firsthand which is what led me to create CoFounderworx which measures a leadership team’s compatibility in an effort to prevent disagreements and do dramatically improve results. Understanding the executive team’s strengths and weaknesses in relation to their thinking styles is an essential task for companies that want to transform their industry.
Creative thinkers are finally seeing demand for their skills from corporations, not just startup environments or industries that have traditionally sought them. Established firms need innovation to survive, especially in a mobile and web-focused economy where consumers demand adaptability to rapid changes. Creative thinkers connect the dots and patterns that can produce the desired results. Both linear and creative thinkers work together for a company to reach the loftiest of goals. Great ideas must, after all, still be executed as profitable ventures. HR managers and executive teams should develop plans for attracting and retaining top creative mind talent to jump-start their innovation.
Blend Thinking Styles for Long-Term Success
Many startup and growth-stage companies are valued much more for their potential and the appreciation of an “idea” than actual revenue. Uber is a shining example of this type of firm, a company that needs to develop a blend of thinking styles in order to succeed. It requires both creative leadership that can adjust the company’s model or explore new avenues with linear thinkers that can engineer new features and find the right path towards profits.
Logical thinkers that focus on actual deliverables are essential for getting things done. A blended pool of thinking styles is helpful for strategic meetings where both the creatives and logical thinkers can work together. Consider a cofounder that’s introverted and process-based who might not mesh well with a potential partner who’s extroverted and has a “stream of consciousness” style. Perhaps the cofounder who focuses on sales and the “big picture” is the right person for the meeting. It’s a simple example that points to the power of diversity of thought, as multiple personality types are able to work collaboratively to ensure the company’s long-term prospects.
It’s crucial to find the right diversity between linear and non-linear thinkers, to have a successful company, for current and future success. Every company is going to lean one way or another, based on their specific goals but it’s clear that a diversity of thought is essential to achieve them.
