There is this story about two cops standing at the street corner. One of the cops commented on the gleaming new car ahead. The other says, “That is odd. Who flicks the cigarette ash in a brand new car. It is odd!” They stopped the car and quickly discovered that it was a stolen car. Tapping a cigarette inside a brand new car was a behaviour that is at odds with what we know. Our greatest insights challenge our deeply held beliefs. Instead of brushing it off, just pausing to examine that odd behaviour turned out to be valuable. How do we get insights?
How to stay curious
Curious people are often insightful. Here are some ways you can get flashes of insight
1 Become part of cross-functional teams to solve problems
2. When something does not make sense, don’t brush it away. Dig deeper
3. In doing even routine tasks, try to improvise new ways of working
Why experts think about failures
The greatest experts constantly reflect on their failures. They recreate the scenario mentally and try to solve it in different ways. An expert knows four aspects of their subject:
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How does it work?
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When does it NOT work?
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What are the work arounds
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Where will people make mistakes when they try it?
Acknowledgement: This post was inspired by the conversation between Shane Parrish and Gary Klein. Listen to the idea of a Decision Journal in this podcast. And the story about the stolen BMW.
Check out the TEDx talk by Gary Klein about what he calls “Lightbulb Moments”
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