do great minds think alike?

considering cognitive diversity

Making unseen business issues

visible is like discovering that

stars also shine in the day time.

-Ned Herrmann

diversity

is…

difference

difference

takes many forms

difference is

relational

…it exists between people, not in people

difference is

generative

…difference always

changes social groups

difference changes social groups…

Introducing or increasing difference in a social group triggers:

• we vs. they mentality• stereotyping• in-group favoritism• inter-group conflict• satisfaction, performance, turnover get

worse

difference changes social groups…

greater diversity = greater variance in performance

(groups with more diversity always perform better or worse than groups

with less diversity)

inclusion is…

Our ability to include difference and utilize the resources that

we have access to.

• fairness of employment practices

• openness to difference• inclusion in decision making

If you do not intentionally

include, you will unintentionally

exclude.

identity

diversity

cognitive diversity

differences in mental process, perception, judgment,

categorization, rule of thumb, etc.

one

We think differently.

analyticalrationalrealisticfactuallogical

definitive

risk takercreativeflexible

synthesizerconceptual

intuitive

persistentplanner

organizeddisciplined

detailedpractical

passionatecooperativeempatheticexpressive

harmonizingresponsive

Solving technical problemsAnalyzing complex issues

Logical approach

Interpersonal aspects of situationsIce breakers

Socializing in meetings

ConceptualizingInnovating

Seeing the big picture

Routine MeetingsDetails

Structure

Expressing ideasUnderstanding group dynamics

Team building

Logic ahead of feelingsNo interaction with people

Implementing ideasDeveloping plans

Follow-up and completion

“Blue Sky” thinkingNot following the rules

Joys

Frustrations

Joys

Frustrations

Joys

Frustrations

Joys

Frustrations

Cerebral Mode (abstract & intellectual thought)

Limbic Mode (concrete and emotional processing)

Left

Mod

eR

ight Mode

ANALYZE

ORGANIZE

STRATEGIZE

PERSONALIZE

countingmoney

spendingmoney

savingmoney

helpingthe others

earnings diversity

marketshare

humanpotential

get lost get funding

get insurance

get lucky

financial strategic

tactical people

“Forensic science using theundeniable facts of blood

type, fingerprints, andspectrographic analysis

of paint fragmentsproves beyond a doubt…”

“This accident demonstrates the lethal combination of drunk

driving and faulty car design. These two issues are national in scope and deserve urgent

Congressional attention if future generations are to be

adequately protected…”

“At 3:30 pm, Thursday, April 9th, on Route 9, 15 miles

North of Columbus, a black1978 Plymouth 4-door sedantraveling at 75 mph in a 35

mph school zone…”

“Tearful, screaming motherattacks cowering suspect asirate police officer hold off

an angry mob at the terrifyingscene of a tangled school busand the accidents victims.”

If everyone is thinking the same thing,

someone isn’t thinking at all.-General George S.

Patton

What’s in the toolbox?

•perspectives

•heuristics

•equifinality

perspectives

Perspectives are ways of representing

situations and problems, how we

organize knowledge.

what do you see?

timefor

some exercis

e

forced choices…

Which do you most value in your friendships?

A. trustB. loyaltyC. honesty

forced choices…

Which would you least want to be?

A. very poorB. very sickC. disabled / living with a disability

forced choices…

Which kind of marital type relationship would you least

want for your child?A. different raceB. different religionC. same genderD. out of necessity

identity

diversity

heuristics

Heuristics are ways of generating solutions. Heuristics can vary in

their sophistication, and they can be immediate

reactions to situations or simple rules of thumb.

equifinality

The belief that a given result can be achieved many different ways.

going from point a to point b

Are there multiple ways to get there…or is there one

“right” way?

so…

Perspectives are how we see things (and problems and opportunities)

Heuristics are how we approach or solve them

Equifinality is how open we are to considering other perspectives and heuristics

two

Thinking differently is

good.

MBA Harvard University

100 people

MBA Harvard University

100 people

team #1

MBA Harvard University

100 people

team #1

team #2

1-survival

“…openness to the outside world, tolerance for the entry of new individuals and ideas,

and consequently a manifest ability to learn and adapt to new circumstances.”

The Living Company | Arie de Geus

2-new competitive advantage

Change is the engine of growth.

Sustainable, profitable change is fueled by

innovation.

"Innovation provides the seeds for economic growth, and for that innovation to happen depends as much on collective difference as on aggregate ability. If people think alike then no matter how smart they are they most likely will get stuck at the same locally optimal solutions. Finding new and better solutions, innovating, requires thinking differently. That’s why diversity powers innovation.“

-Scott E. Page, Professor, University of Michigan

3-better problem solving

The Difference | Scott Page

None of us is as smart as all of

us.-Ken Blanchard

4-conformity kills

“A person does not live for months or years in a particular position in an organization, exposed to some streams of communication, shielded from others, without the most profound effects upon what he knows, believes, attends to, hopes, wishes, emphasizes, fears and proposes.”

-Herbert J. Simon

5-human nature

three

Thinking differently is

hard.

stereotypesassumptions

labelscategoriesconformity

confirmation biasother cognitive biases…

If everyone is thinking the same thing,

someone isn’t thinking at all.-General George S.

Patton

how?

expectations

• expect everyone to promote and participate in honest, candid conversation and support the final outcome

• role model• no dead fish!

devils advocate

• practice it• expect it• enforce it• reward it• ask questions

mix things up

• networking and interaction across organizational boundaries

• “The Social Origin of Good Ideas” -Ronald Burt

do different

• training and experiential diversity

• bring people, ideas, practices in from different organizations, different industries, different cultures

high difference lowdifference

high interactio

n

learninggrowth

self-organization

stressconflict

exhaustion

celebrationreinforcement

energy

low productivitywasted energy

factions

low interactio

n

reflectionsafety

clearing the decks

isolationmisunderstanding

frustration

comfortbelonging

rest and recovery

boredomstagnation

deathDifference MatrixGlenda Eoyang HSDI

high difference

lowdifference

high interactio

n

move to low difference:Tell a joke.

State a shared value or belief.

Share personal experience.

Pick a low difference topic.

move to low interaction:

Stop communicating.Leave the area.Explain yourself.

Pick a low communication

topic.

low interactio

n

move to high interaction:

Ask a question.Use another medium.

Listen more.Pick a high

communication topic.

move to high difference:Amplify little differences

Play devils advocatePick a high

difference topicDifference MatrixGlenda Eoyang HSDI

“To be creative requires divergent thinking (generating many unique ideas) and then convergent thinking (combining those ideas into the best result).”

-Newsweek

thank you!

resources• The Difference: How the Power of

Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies | Scott Page

• The Wisdom of Crowds | James Surowiecki

• A Whole New Mind | Daniel Pink • The Medici Effect | Frans Johansson• The Geography of Thought | Richard

Nisbett

resources• Achieving Success Through Social

Capital: Tapping Hidden Resources in Your Personal and Business Network | Wayne E. Baker

• The Whole Brain Business Book | Ned Herrmann

• Competitive Advantage Through People: Unleashing the Power of the Work Force | Jeffrey Pfeffer

joe gerstandt

www.joegerstandt.com

joe.gerstandt@gmail.comwww.twitter.com/joegerstandt

www.linkedin.com/in/joegerstandtwww.facebook.com/joegerstandt

402.740.7081

joe gerstandt

illuminating illuminating

the the valuevalue

of differenceof difference

inclusive culturesintentional relationsintegral leadership

innovative practices