2. What do your ideas look like?
The next time you have an idea, grab a piece of paper
and sketch it out. Now take a look. How did you
translate it from your brain to the page? Did you
write a paragraph? Draw a picture? Make a diagram?
Now ask a coworker to sketch the same idea –
chances are, their page will look very different from
yours.
3. What do your ideas look like?
There are many different kinds of thinkers. More
often than not, we wind up working with people
who understand the world in vastly different ways
from ourselves. It’s what we mean when we say,
“great ideas can come from anywhere.”
Sometimes, what’s obvious in one mode of
thinking is remarkably complex in another. By
putting different kinds of thinkers on a problem,
we can compose a greater range of creative
solutions.
4. What do your ideas look like?
I’ve found a list of the ten most prevalent types of
thinking you’re likely to encounter . I don’t mean
to say that every individual falls into one category
or another. Most people can think across several
modes, depending on the situation, but everyone
tends to have a few styles they’re most
comfortable in… no one is equally adept at them
all. Great agencies build diverse teams that can
approach a problem from several angles.
6. 1. Storyteller
Storytellers like to think in narratives. Ideas are
usually linear and have distinct beginnings, middles
and ends. Most traditional creative copywriters tend
to think this way, excellent for narrative media like
TV but can be a bit of a struggle in less narrative-
based digital media.
8. 2. Visually Minded
A picture is worth a thousand words. Visual thinkers
are adept at conveying a larger idea through carefully
chosen visuals. It’s no surprise they make great art
directors and designers.
10. 3. Systems Oriented
System thinkers fuss over the relationships between
things. Instead of developing a big narrative, they try to
map out and understand how all the moving parts fit
together. They love flowcharts and diagrams.
This type of thinking is readily apparent in the platform
strategies of digital brands like Apple, Adobe and Google.
The true value of each company is predicated not just on
their individual products, but how all their products work
together seamlessly. Planning and understanding that
connection is where system thinker’s shine.
12. 4. Associative
Associative thinkers look at the patterns between
things. They have a tendency to express themselves
through metaphor and proxy. They often lay out
ideas in a chaotic fashion and are extremely prone to
digressions. For example, there is a famous
“digression” scene from Catcher in the Rye.
13. 4. Associative
[Mr. Vinson] could drive you crazy sometimes,
him and the goddam class. I mean he’d keep
telling you to unify and simplify all the time.
Some things you just can’t do that to…. It’s nice
when somebody tells you about their uncle.
Especially when they start out telling you about
their father’s farm and then all of a sudden get
more interested in their uncle. I mean it’s dirty to
keep yelling ‘Digression!’ at him when he’s all nice
and excited. I don’t know. It’s hard to explain.
15. 5. Logical
Logical thinkers break problems down into a series of
choices. They focus heavily on the structure of
decision-making, often establishing rubrics, filters
and other tools that can not only institutionalize
knowledge, but be used to teach computers how to
automate tasks.
Not only are they great programmers, but they also
make some mean spreadsheets.
17. 6. Organizers
Have you ever met someone who had a knack for
simplifying complex lists into simple categories?
They probably fall here. Organizers are excellent
and grouping and bucketing ideas, personnel,
files… you name it. They have a habit of breaking
things down by function, which makes them
excellent programmers, but also excellent project
and account managers as well.
They tend to have the most amazing file cabinets
and binders.
19. 7. Architects
This mode of thinking is very similar to that of the
organizers, but instead of grouping by function, they
arrange in terms of hierarchy. Traditionally, this is
called Information Architecture and produces the
kind of tree layout shown above.
21. 8. Intuitives
Like a sculptor, intuitives often start with a rough
idea of what they’re trying to create. As they
gradually mould their creation, it begins to take form,
often in unexpected (and wonderful) ways. They
know they’re done when it “feels right.”
22. 8. Intuitives
Bill Moggridge, founder of IDEO, explains:
“If you think about the structure of the mind, there just
seems to be a small amount that is above the water—
equivalent to an iceberg—which is the explicit part…
Most academic subjects are designed to live in that
explicit part that sticks out of the water.
23. 8. Intuitives
If you can find a way to harness, towards a productive
goal, the rest of it, the subconscious [understanding],
the tacit knowledge, the behavior—just doing it and
the intuition—all those, then you can bring in the rest
of the iceberg. And that is hugely valuable…. I mean
every scientist is an intuitive person, and most “ahas”
come from intuition anyway.”
24. 8. Intuitives
They are known to cause panic attacks in more
structured thinkers who prefer to have a concrete
sense of where they’re going.
26. 9. Leaders
Leaders are goal-oriented individuals. They lay
out the objectives and the timeline and lead the
troops into the breach. They may not have
charted a course, but they have a clear-eyed
understanding of where the team is now and
where it needs to go.
In films, montage-time helps bridge the gap
between the inspirational speech and ultimate
success. In the real world, they rely on the
dedication of their team to get to the finish.
28. 10. Visionaries
Similar to leaders, but far less grounded, visionaries
imagine how things could be without regard for
feasibility. Often, their ideas inspire more grounded
thinkers to take bold, innovative steps.
29. Conclusion
It’s good to take note of the different kinds of
thinkers around you. Pay attention to how your
coworkers diagram their thoughts and keep it in mind
when assigning tasks to teams of individuals. Instead
of pushing likeminded individuals together (i.e. a
brainstorm of programmers) try deliberately forming
differently minded teams.
Interesting things happen when you pair two or three
very different types of minds together. Sometimes, all
greatness needs is a little perspective.
