There are complacent organisations which are doing well at the moment but have no thought for a future in which Chinese competition, at a much lower price, maybe a factor.
Complacency does not, however, only refer to blindness about the future. Complacency indicates a smug satisfaction with the current state of affairs. Even if there are no threats in the future, this complacency cuts off paths of development and growth.
Complacency arises for many reasons. There is an aversion to risk-taking. People are frightened of creativity and new ideas because they are not sure how to deal with them. Chief executives are usually, except in family firms, senior executives who have been promoted to the top position.
As executives, their role and lifestyle have been continuity: ‘Do what you are supposed to do and solve problems as they arise.’ So the mode is continuity and problem-solving. Continuity and survival are what matter. The result is complacency.
Then there is arrogance. Some smart people get to be arrogant. They believe that they can do all the thinking needed. If there is a new idea to be had then they will, of course, have that idea. This may be a personal characteristic but, today, there is an even stronger basis for arrogance.
It is often hard to distinguish between arrogance and ignorance because arrogance often arises from ignorance.
If I were to tell an executive that I could generate new ideas that would double the profits of that organization within seven years, this would not be believable. This is because of ignorance of the very powerful tools of lateral thinking.
Lateral thinking is not some mystery or some positive attitude. Lateral thinking is made up of specific tools that can be used deliberately in order to generate new ideas.
Innocence and ignorance overlap so much that usually they are indistinguishable. Ignorance arises when someone makes no effort to be better informed and does not even accept that there may be something to learn. Innocence is when someone innocently does not know of any possibility of change.
Our logical, analytical and judgment skills are very well-developed. But creative thinking is regarded either as an inborn talent or a mystery. It is nothing of the sort. It is a skill that can be learned deliberately and applied as formally as we might apply mathematical skills.
There is a great deal more to be done to improve human thinking.
If you do not consider the possibility of change, then you are not going to do anything to make that change happen.
This is an extract from the December 2007 edition of Robert Heller and Edward de Bono's monhtly Letter to Thinking Managers. Read the full article with a two-month free trial subscription.
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