Thinking: A Manifesto

I think the reason we are all so busy planning is that we are scared to think. If we think, that takes a leap of faith in ourselves that we will actually think of something worthwhile. Thinking is murky and unstructured, there is a possibility that you may spend a long time thinking and still not have the answer to your problem at hand. Thinking does not necessarily guarantee anything, but it does give you valuable perspective.

A plan on the other hand has structure—deadlines, action items, concrete goals and budget numbers. It is impersonal. A plan is about the metrics established by the organization and structured by the budget and timing parameters given to the team by someone else.

The problem is that I have personally seen so many well-organized and structured plans go awry because no one in the organization has paused to think. A goal is handed down with a budget and timeline; and then, with a heavy dose of organizational cognitive dissonance, a plan is created within a construct that may or may not make any sense. No one has asked why; just how, what and when have been addressed.

I know the caveat you will throw at me, "but Laura, we have no time to think." You are not going to like my response to this one: I think that’s a socially acceptable excuse to not think. I almost never leave a marketing presentation without someone quoting Steve Jobs in admiration. Do you think he was too busy to think?

Something else that is impacted by lack of thinking, your bottom line. I am always amazed by the good money thrown after bad, because Clients do not want to invest the time and money needed to create a thoughtful positioning or marketing strategy before diving right into a web site execution or social media promotion. Effective marketing tactics require thinking.

Do me a favor, start integrating a minute of thinking into your day. One minute. Ask "why?" at least once a day and let me know what happens.