Why do we need essential thinking?#
I believe everyone has had the experience of not being able to understand the true intentions of others during communication. Or when reviewing work, we are unable to analyze the real problems and therefore cannot provide improvement methods. These problems have a common reason: a lack of essential thinking ability.
What is essential thinking ability? We need to first understand what is essential. Essence refers to the fundamental attributes of things. Therefore, essential thinking ability is the ability to discover the fundamental characteristics of things.
Mastering essential thinking ability has the following benefits for us:
- Helps solve problems. Mastering essential thinking ability can help us identify the root causes of problems and quickly solve them.
- Improves the quality of decision-making. Mastering essential thinking ability can help us clarify the many factors that need to be considered in decision-making, enabling us to make rational decisions.
- Facilitates innovation. Mastering essential thinking ability can help us discover the fundamental characteristics of things, opening up innovative ideas.
Habits of essential thinking#
In order to master essential thinking ability, the first thing we need to do is develop the habit of essential thinking.
Accurate expression#
People communicate through language and words. However, people are not always able to achieve the intended communication purpose. This is largely due to the imprecise way we use language, resulting in misunderstandings or incomplete information. In everyday conversations, even if the exact meaning of language and words is not completely clear, it generally does not cause much trouble. However, in work, the imprecision of language and words often leads to delays in project schedules, financial losses, or even major accidents.
Therefore, it is important to learn how to accurately express intentions using language and words.
Take a conversation as an example. As the inquirer, the intention of the question must be clear. The following methods can be used:
- Use closed-ended questions, hoping the other party will answer with "yes/no" or one of multiple options.
- Use "5W2H" (What, Why, When, Where, Who, How, How much) to guide the respondent to provide detailed answers.
To improve the precision of language, it is necessary to cultivate the ability to grasp the essence and practice deliberately.
Avoid ambiguity#
Ambiguity is the main culprit behind understanding barriers.
In communication, if you find that you cannot understand the other person's expression, you should immediately ask the other person to eliminate ambiguity. Do not be afraid that doing so will waste time or cause dissatisfaction, as it may result in even more time wasted and more serious consequences.
Slow down#
For various reasons, people want to take action as soon as possible. However, if you blindly pursue the speed of problem-solving, you may miss the opportunity to find better solutions or have a fundamental misunderstanding of the problem, resulting in more time wasted.
Therefore, before taking action, it is advisable to slow down and systematically think about the problem.
Break free from fixed patterns#
When we are thinking, we often have fixed patterns of thinking. For unknown problems, we tend to transform them into known problems. In this process, we often forget to explore whether there are differences in essence between unknown and known problems, and simply apply previous experiences.
In this rapidly changing era, the possibility of facing exactly the same problem is becoming smaller and smaller. It is difficult to touch the essence of the problem by relying on past answers. Therefore, when facing unknown problems, we should remind ourselves whether this problem is really the same in essence as previous problems, and avoid falling into the trap of thinking.
Iterative thinking#
When it comes to thinking, people often imagine themselves holding their heads, thinking hard, and then having a flash of inspiration and quickly writing it down. This gives the impression that thinking is an instantaneous and purely mental activity that does not require actual participation.
In fact, "thinking" and "action" are not antonyms. For "thinking," outputting information is necessary. In practice, we often use an iterative approach to solve problems: first, come up with a preliminary plan, then collect problems and analyze their causes in practice, make improvements, and return to practice again. In this cycle, we constantly improve.