Tag Archives: Thinking

Thinking as a function

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Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.

Henry Ford

Times are changing. Even though you have the brightest of the ideas, investors and consumers are looking at the fact that it is not about only solving the problem, but reaching the consumers.

As entrepreneurs, we need to embrace the fact that solving the right problem is just not the only way, but what becomes important is how we message and help our consumers understand the solutions. There are two aspects which we need to consider seriously before embarking on the journey of building solutions – First, we need to understand the view of traditional logic and secondly, we have to employ the view of association theory.

What do these mean?

The view of traditional logic provides us the understanding of the problem and the kind of solutions which have traditionally been accepted by consumers. When you identify the problem, depict how consumers have accepted solutions to similar kind of problems earlier and design the solutions based on the principals of approachability.

Let us look at a simple case study of an online grocery store in India. Traditionally, the way we shopped groceries was to go to a Supermarket or a local vegetable market and purchased our daily needs. Over the period of time, it was acceptable for us to call the local grocery shop and have them deliver to us. As times changed, now, we do not even call the local grocery store, but open a website/app and select all the groceries we need and they get delivered home.

The progression happened step-by-step. First, consumers were accustomed to not requiring to go to the shop to select their goods, and then slowly, consumers have been introduced to the concept of shopping in more than one store and select what they like.

When you are designing a solution, if it is a progressive step to the daily workflow, it becomes easier for consumers to understand and use the solution appropriately.

Look at how banking has changed in India. Initially, it was ATM Cards, then Net Banking and now, API Banking, making it easier to send money by just using a mobile number. The transition was step-by-step.

This does not mean solutions cannot be radical. Few years ago, SpaceX said that they would put people on Mars and asked interested people to sign up and after their selection, they would undergo rigorous training before they are sent to mars. This is radical progression and the company was looking at not many people in their first batch, but a select few. Since the world is definitely made up of early adapters, they got their numbers.

It all depends on how you wish solve a problem and how you want to make your clients utilise your solution. Either make it a progressive approach or a radical one. But, before you begin solving a problem, spend time on understanding the progression of the domain/industry and illustrate to yourself how things have changed over the period of time. This makes it easier for you to design, educate your consumer and implement the solutions.

In view of association theory, what you would understand is the consumer behaviour. You can use various techniques and methodologies to understand this – Consumer interviews, survey’s, having conversations with potential users etc. These methodologies will help you understand what the user is looking forward as a progressive next step. To contradict this, Henry Ford famously said, “If I asked people what they wanted, they would ask for faster horses”. So, we should be very specific in what we are looking for and understand the trends and the industry before we even begin solving the problem.

The objective of this post is to help aspiring innovators/entrepreneurs ideate and provide a framework for the same.

Thinking like a pro

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Thinking is not art, but a skill which needs to be mastered.


In his book Outliers, author Malcolm Gladwell says that it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill. Winston Churchill once said, typically people think 2-4 hours a year and I practiced doing it each day and that is what got me here.


In today’s world of fast changing and adapting technology, only the one’s who practice thinking are making strides in every aspect of their lives. So, how do we begin thinking like a pro?


Thinking is the function of both the left and right brains. It needs constant practice and the will to make your thinking impactful. While the left brain focus’s on understanding the small picture, verbal communication, linear and logical thinking, positive emotions, math, and EQ; the right brain focus’s on understanding the big picture, non-verbal communication, IQ, math reasoning, information interpretation and negative emotions.


Thinking is a tight balancing act between the left and right brains. Like any other balance activities, even the brain needs to be taught and practiced thinking.


If we go with the statistics quoted by Churchill, we would not spend more than 240 hours thinking in our lifetime (3 Hours a year for 80 Years). For us to reach at least 50% of the mastery level, setting a goal of 10 years, we need to practice thinking 500 Hours a year. This translates to an average of 0.057 Hours each day, which is less than 20 minutes.


When you begin learning a 2 wheeler/4 wheeler, you focus on keeping the balance of the vehicle straight on the road while combining using the Accelerator, Brake, Clutch and the Gearbox. Initially, it would be difficult, but the more your practice, the easier it gets.


Similarly, thinking like a pro needs practice. Practicing a combination of activities will help sharpen our thinking. It is not mandatory that one understands every aspect of the functions of brain and practice them, but identifying the right combinations coupled with the passion helps better the chances of the thinking process.


Next time when you have to think about something, try a combination of the skills required and then your output will be much better than it was the last time.

The Perception Problem

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Let us accept that we do not have answers to all the questions. But, we do not want to accept the reality. It is generally more difficult to not know answers to questions. We try and avoid to say ‘I don’t know’.
What happens when you are thinking of bigger problems like the Economy in the country, or the Healthcare system or Politics? We will go with what the majority of people are saying about the issue and if it matches with our thinking, we go with them. We perceive that what the majority are saying is correct. But, we do not spend time to think if this is the truth or not. If the issue is supported with data, then there is a little support to the bias, but if it does not, then there is a bigger problem. Without understanding the actual facts, we also tend to solve the problem with everyone else.
Apply this to your startup. When you have an idea to solve a problem, doing a market research and evaluating the market potential might give you a certain way to address the problem. But, what really makes the cut is the ability for you to think and solve it the best way which seems possible.
Henry Ford once said “If I ask people what they want, they would ask for faster horses”, he identified the problem and solved it by building a car. He did not go with what the majority said.
When Apple brought out the iPad, there was no competition for them. They were the first. Steve Jobs identified the problem of bringing computers to your hand and the iPad rolled out which not only created history, but the entire pace of computing changed overnight. There is enough competition today and this competition is creating more innovative products.
So the next time you wish to solve a problem, do look at what the majority are thinking, but adapt to your ability to think and address the problem.

Blackbox Thinking

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Every flight is equipped with a Blackbox, which records all the conversations in the Cockpit and each and every instruction given to the plane. There is no debate on how this is helpful to track how the plane has been operational.

Our brain is our blackbox and it records each and every instance of our life, making us what we are and how we behave and handle our thought process. What if we decode our brain from time to time and look at how it has been processing our experiences?

Many a times, our mind takes over our thoughts. It clubs our emotions to our feelings and gives out instructions on how we react to situations. Only few of us can actually note these reactions and understand the instructions from the brain and then take action. This comes out of practice. The practice of thinking and practice of handling instructions from brain and mind.

When it is a good news or success, we celebrate. But, when there is failure, we allow our mind to rule over and react according to what it feels. Success comes from managing this reaction. This is the reason successful people become successful. They look at their failures and downtimes, practice thinking and understand the reactions from the brain and then take action.

So, the next time you experience failure, evaluate what your feelings are and act according to what the brain says. This will give you the required result rather than a

Checklist thinking

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Thinking is an art. Winston Churchill once said “Most people think once a year, I practiced to think twice a week and that is why I am here”. So, what is so different and difficult in thinking?
Thinking is simple, but yet very complicated. If we just read what Churchill said, we can understand that there is something more to thinking what we do each day. All of us think, each day, each minute and each second. We are thinking of various things and we are thinking on how to solve problems. We stop at thinking when we find an appropriate solutions, not necessarily the right solution. Many a times we restrict our thinking because we are given a checklist to think.
If you look at a developer, he starts coding when he receives Low Level Design and Algorithm. He will understand the problem, LLD and the Algorithm, but we does not understand is how to solve the problem. He has the blue print of the solution and his thinking is mostly towards writing code, based on the design and algorithm. What is wrong with this?
Limited thinking. That is the key here. Fortunately or unfortunately many of us are in this mode. We receive instructions and immediately our thinking stops. We follow the instructions. It is good and many a times it is encouraged to follow the laid out plan, but it is also very important to practice thinking and solving the problem. In aviation, the Pilot has a series of checklists for any kind, for flying the airplane. There is a checklist for starting the engine, taxing to the runway, takeoff, causing, depending, landing and parking the aircraft. Is the pilot not thinking then? He thinks. They are trained to think in simulations. Even though they follow the checklists, it is left to the pilots discretion as to how to handle the situation. This is checklist thinking.
Even though we have set guidelines to perform any tasks, what we need to practice is how to effectively solve the problem/address the situation following the checklist.

Reading between lines

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When did you hear this last? Today? Am sure you did. “You should read between the lines” is what you get to hear when you are being rejected or something is not working the way you want it to work. Is it really worth reading between the lines?
To understand the line reading between the lines, you will need to first understand why you are being rejected and then start understanding the person or the group you rejected you.
To understand why you are being rejected might not take long. For example, you applied for a position outside your skill set area and the company did not select you for the job, it is very simple to understand that you did not fit into the role. But, if you check marked all the requirements (and you fit into all) and then got rejected, then there is a little thinking which needs to be done. You will need to evaluate what went missing (either your resume did not exactly speak what you wish to communicate or you could not articulate your experience well enough). It is very important.
When I applied for my masters program, the first time my application got rejected. I did not understand why because I was meeting their criteria. The second time too, my application was rejected. This time, I walked in to the Institute to understand what is happening. The admissions office explained that they are categorizing applications based on Industry background (they do not mention this publicly). The first time they picked applicants with Finance background, the second time they were looking at Investment Banking background. I could have lost hope and left it there. But, knowing the situation helped me better understand as to why I am being rejected. Talking to the admissions office gave me clarity. So, the next time I applied I checked with them and then did.
Reading between the lines is important, but either you have to understand what is not connecting properly or the background of the person who is rejecting you. Only then it helps.

How to think? – Challenge assumptions

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In the first part of How to think, we started with Questioning. This is the first step towards improving our thinking. What’s next?

The next step to sharpen our thinking is to Challenging assumptions.

Challenging assumptions is developing our curiosity quotient. How do we practice curiosity? Start by asking Why? to things around. Why are we afraid of what we are afraid of?

Let me share my story. Long ago, I was afraid of the middle sex. When ever I saw them on the road coming towards me, my heart would pound. One day when I was with a good friend of mine, she noticed it and asked me. I told her. She asked me if I reasoned as to why I am afraid? I said no. The next week on a Saturday, she invited me to come to an NGO. I went. This was the NGO which was run by the middle sex for various social causes. She introduced me and told the gathering that I would be teaching them Fundamentals of Computers. With my inhibitions, I started to teach them. Over the next 2 months, everything changed for me. I got to know them better and I realized how wonderful and nice people they are. My fear was absolutely baseless. They loved me so much that after my sessions were over, they actually called me to come back few times.

Look around, start by asking simple questions. There are mostly no questions which have no answers. We just need to spend time with the question and we will get the answer.

If you are an Entrepreneur, ask yourself why you are solving the problem. If you work for a company ask why you are doing what you are doing.

Developing curiosity enhances your ability to challenge assumptions. When you challenge the assumptions, the way you look at dealing with things completely changes.

Are you a true Interpreter?

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Interpretation is a crucial aspect. Understanding the situation is more important and the Interpretation coming from that understanding determines the success or failure of the conversation.

Recently, I attended a talk. During the talk, the speaker was speaking on the benefits of Asking and how many times do you ask. She provided many examples and asked the audience for their experiences in asking. One participant was very clear that there is no absolute result in asking and he does not believe asking is an important in solving any problems. When the presenter asked if he can substantiate what he said, he said “I believe so.”

What happens when we go with our belief’s is that we get struck to our experiences. There more than 6 Billion people on this plant and quite surely, one or the other would have experienced what we are going through right now and the kind of problem we wish to solve. Depending on the experience the person has, he/she would provide an insight to what the ‘probable’ result would be; but they are not sure.

According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, Interpretation is a story or description that is different in some way from another person’s story or description.

When starting a conversation with anyone – be it family, boss, colleague or in a meeting, what usually happens is that we go with certain thoughts/assumptions on the topic to be discussed and when the conversation starts, we tend to go by what we are thinking. However, this is not the way it needs to be handled. We need to listen, understand the other persons perspective and then take the conversation forward.

This is easier said than done. I have been trying to practice this over the last year and to be quite honest, it has been really tough. However, as I continued my practice, I am seeing the joy of the outcome of conversations.

To Interpret is easy, to understand is tough.