Thinking is Beneficial - From the Heart with John Willard
Channel: CNA TV - NAHCA Broadcasting Network
Date: 25/02/2020

Thinking is Beneficial - From the Heart with John Willard

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

A man had bought his daughter a bicycle—unassembled, of course— and after reading and rereading the instructions he couldn’t figure out how it went together. Finally, he sought the help of an old handyman who was working in the backyard.

The old fellow picked up the pieces, studied them, then began assembling the bicycle. In a short time, He had put it together. “That’s amazing,” said the man. “ and you did it without even looking at the instructions!”

“Fact is, said the old man, “I can’t read and when a fellow can’t read he’s got to think.”

Let the Gentleman Poet share this poem— 

The many will follow the beaten TRACK
  With guideposts on the WAY, 
They live and have lived for ages BACK
  With a chart for every DAY
Someone has told them it’s safe to GO
  On the road he has traveled O’ER,
And all that they strive to KNOW  
  Are the things that were known BEFORE.

Edward de Bono, The Oxford exponent of lateral thinking, suggests that when we can’t solve a problem using traditional methods, we should try “detours and reversals,” anything that will give us a different angle from which to ponder solutions. To illustrate, he tells his story about a problem faced by the executives of a large company:

The company had moved into a new skyscraper and had discovered that the builder apparently had not put in enough elevators. Employees were disgruntled because there were overlong waits for elevators, especially at both ends of the working day.

The company got a wide cross section of the staff together and asked them to sit down and solve the problem. The task force came up with four possible solutions:

1.  Speed up the elevators, or arrange for them to stop at certain floors during rush periods.

  2. Stagger working hours to reduce elevator demand at either end of the day.

  3. Install mirrors around entrances to all elevators.

  4. Drive a new elevator shaft through the building.

Which solution would YOU have chosen?

According to Professor de Bono, if you chose the first, second, or fourth solutions, then you are a “vertical” or traditional thinker. If you chose the third possibility, then you are a “lateral thinker.” The vertical thinker takes the narrow view; the lateral thinker has a broader view.

After some consideration, the company chose the third solution. It worked.

“People became so preoccupied with looking at themselves or (surreptitiously at others),” said de Bono ”that they no longer noticed the wait for the elevator. The problem was not so much the lack of elevators as the impatience of the employees.” 

Friends, the Gentleman Poet says— all that I’ve shared with you today—THINK about it—

Many things will catch your eye- but only a few will catch your heart- pursue those-

Friends, the pups Cora Mae and Bubba are ready for some chow so I’ll have to leave you until we meet again next week.

As always you can reach me on Twitter @JohnWillard47