The Opposable Mind

We have an inclination to accumulate experiences that reinforce the stance and

Through this period, Lafley continued to accumulate experiences that strengthened both ends of the mastery-originality continuum. In

With integrative thinking, aspirations rise over time.

As they do with salience and causality, integrative thinkers allow complexity to compound as they design their decisions. The complexity presents a cognitive challenge that integrative thinkers welcome, because they know that complexity brings along in its train an opportunity for a breakthrough resolution.

They have the predisposition and the capacity to hold two diametrically opposing ideas in their heads. And then, without panicking or simply settling for one alternative or the other, they're able to produce a synthesis that is superior to either opposing idea. Integrative thinking is my term for this processor more precisely this discipline of con

Second, integrative thinkers don't flinch from considering multidirectional and nonlinear causal relationships.

The most striking aspect was how he used his experiences both to deepen his mastery and nurture his originality, rather than focusing on one at the expense of the other.

An important question remains: is the capacity for integrative thinking a gift reserved for a small minority or can it be consciously and intentionally developed?

More salient features make for a messier problem. But integrative thinkers don't mind the mess. In fact, they welcome it, because the mess assures them that they haven't edited out features necessary to the contemplation of the problem as a whole. They welcome complexity because they know the best answers arise from complexity. And they feel confid