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Tech, Strategy, and other interesting things by Roberto Zoiaby Roberto Zoia

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Diversity and Problem Solving

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Solvable problems are usually solved by surprising, non-trivial alternatives. If an obvious solution from an obvious source could have provided an answer, it would have happened already.

Instead, it’s the unlikely approaches—the odd combinations that come from diversity—that often win the day.

Diversity might involve ethnicity or physical abilities. But it’s just as likely to involve idiosyncratic approaches and differences in experience. If enough peculiar people get together, something new is going to happen. Author Scott Page has shown that as systems get more complex, diversity creates ever more benefits.

— Seth Godin, The Practice (p. 52)

Open-minded vs Closed-minded

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Fron Ray Dalio’s Principles: Life and Work, p. 195-198:

  1. Closed-minded people don’t want their ideas challenged. Open-minded people are more curious about why there is disagreement.
  2. Closed-minded people are more likely to make statements than ask questions. Open-minded people genuinely believe they could be wrong.
  3. Closed-minded people focus much more on being understood than on understanding others. Open-minded people always feel compelled to see things through other’s eyes.
  4. Closed-minded people say things like “I could be wrong… but here’s my opinion”. Open-minded people know when to make statements and when to ask questions.
  5. Closed-minded people block others from speaking. Open-minded people are always more interested in listening than speaking; they encourage others to voice their views.
  6. Closed-minded people have trouble holding two thoughts simultaneously in their minds. Open-minded people can take in the thoughts of others without losing their ability to think well –they can hold two or more conflicting concepts in their minds and go back and forth between them to assess their relative merits.
  7. Closed-minded people lack a deep sense of humility. Open-minded people approach everything with a deep-seated fear that they may be wrong.

Closed-minded

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If you’re like most people, you have no clue how other people see things and aren’t good at seeking to understand what they are thinking, because you’re too preoccupied with telling them what you yourself think is correct. In other words, you are closed-minded; you presume too much. This closed-mindedness is terribly costly; it causes you to miss out on all sorts of wonderful possibilities and dangerous threats that other people might be showing you—and it blocks criticism that could be constructive and even lifesaving.

— Dalio, Ray. Principles: Life and Work (p. 186)