Insightfulperspective

For humans as species to survive and thrive, true wisdom is the most important thing to push the world forward!

Rational wisdom is the usual meaning of the term 'wisdom' - it means accumulative wisdom that grows with age - or 'learning from past experience.' People do have their own beliefs and practices, which one can call as Conventional Mind. And one has the right to live with the same. With age one tends to become risk-averse, so they have a tendency to stick to conventional wisdom. Unconventional wisdom often means fresh insight or “out-of-the-box” thinking, so conventional wisdom or unconventional wisdom, which is true wisdom?

"In-the-box" thinking vs."Out of -the -Box" thinking: Conventional thinking often refers to “in-the-box” thinking, which is opposite to the “out-of-box” creative thinking. The conventional mind is bound by its beliefs and general practices, it perhaps works in the considerably static industrial age. However, with rapid changes and frequent disruptions, we have to be determined to get better results somehow and it will help us try unconventional thinking, practices, with a better result. The issue is that with the conventional mind you expect unconventional results. This is like walking on the treadmill. Taking steps, getting stressed but not moving ahead...wondering what is happening...

The logical mind is not equal to conventional thinking, it can be creative as well: The logical mind is more structured in the solution hunt, whereas the innovative mind is faster to test new untested areas. The more structured approach means that the discerning and mature thinker with a logical or structural style will first approach the problem from all possible conventional methods, most times in simulations; identify problem areas, choose solutions and move forward. The logical mind can be also creative when necessary. It is only when all known avenues have been thought through, that the logical mind will start the out-of-the-box thinking. This is a far more stable method in most situations; the intuitive mind is faster to perceive, solve; it is quick in decisions; but suffers from the weakness of fast thought - which has its own risk side, as there is a tendency to be fast but not through - which is why at times innovations fail despite being brilliant in conceptual thought.

Being unconventional does not mean being foolish, neither being conventional means one is wise: Often at the society with traditional culture, it usually considers conventional to be wise, and unconventional to be unwise. So, we keep preaching with the age-old wisdom. But in a digital society with more open culture, conventional wisdom has a negative connotation about sticking to the outdated concepts, traditions, cultures, or the old ways to do things. And, with being called conventional wisdom, we keep nurturing mediocrity and keep expecting innovation out of that mediocrity. The same mediocrity is inherited down the line by generations. Some crisis situations, often with more frequent digital disruptions, will require an innovative process; where a conventional style would be troublesome. Simply put, an innovative mind doesn't do different things, they do things differently.

Conceptually, balance is the key: Innovation often means to mix something new with old. the ideal scenario is a judicious and mature mix of both styles. Ideally, an organization will, by choice, build a mix of styles in the optimal proportion as dictated by its realities and its industry. But, in reality, to apply balance would require a very high level of awareness. This is about maturity and discernment. The unconventional wisdom comes from the balance of analytics and intuition, thinking fast and slow. Analysis just leads to a balancing “act,” which is like a “see-saw.” But, the real balance achieved is an outcome of inner awareness. You are sure of what you are doing. Awakened – will win. An innovative culture will entertain the "impossible," not out of passive hope but out of active intention. We have to act differently to get a different result which may not be easy to a conventional mind.

Either conventional or unconventional thinking, true wisdom leads to putting more thought into things and searching for flaws in decisions and that widens the possibility of coming up with alternative solutions. Wisdom is at the top of the knowledge life cycle: the abundance of data, information, and knowledge are not automatically equal to the abundance of wisdom. Many times, wisdom is still in scarcity, for human as species to survive and thrive, the true wisdom is the most important thing to push the world forward.

Posted in: Connecting Dots,Creativity,culture Master,Decision Making,Digital Balance,Future of Leadership,Information/Data Management,Innovation,Systems Wisdom