No, It’s Not New Age. It’s Business.
 
 
You can’t solve many of today’s problems by straight linear thinking. 
It takes leaps of faith to sense the connections that are not necessarily obvious.
—Matina Horner
 
 
Holistic thinking is concerned with the whole system, not just one part at a time. Women are particularly good at this—and that’s a good thing! Don’t hesitate to use this talent in business. Why would you hesitate? I’m glad you asked—this brings up a common complaint that linear thinkers toss at holistic thinkers, “You’re so scatter-brained! We were talking about going from A to B and you brought up Z. Stick to the topic!”
 
To be fair, linear thinking is a good complement to holistic thinking. If it didn’t exist we might have never ending meetings. No one wants those, but in terms of business strategy it’s crucial that your company has plenty of holistic thinkers involved who are not afraid to speak up when one of those seemingly random thoughts pops into her head. In the tip today I’ll give you a way to preface your remarks to prevent the Scatter-Brain Label.
 
Holistic thinking can help propel you to the top of the corporate ladder. Carol Bartz was the only female executive director with Sun Microsystems. Carol told me that in the directors’ meetings, she noticed how the men used their linear thinking to tackle going from Point A to Point B.  She would tell them they also needed to consider Points C and D because they could put plans into motion to begin attracting those customers now. Bartz was thinking holistically—a skill in which many women excel. Instead of welcoming this viewpoint the typical reaction was, “This meeting was called to discuss going from Point A to Point B.”  Carol left to accept the CEO position at Autodesk where her nonlinear holistic thinking is considered a positive attribute.
 
New creative outlets can be found using holistic thinking. Anne Sweeney, President, ABC Cable Groups and Disney Channel Worldwide, likes to look at the big picture and find a new door that no one has opened.  She finds excitement in turning things upside down, looking at them differently and discovering a new opportunity. Holistic thinking has served Sweeney well. Allow yourself to use it too!
 
Now, here’s the tip of the week.
 
Tip:
 
When one of those random thoughts pops into your head, speak up right away, but preface your remark with, “I know we’re talking about topic A here, but it’s important that we consider the big picture. We need to consider strategies that will include Z at this time as well. I recommend …”
 
 
Further Reading:
 
Podcast (always less than 10 minutes), Working in Heels, by Nancy Clark, Are Women As Competitive As Men? —Is Competition Unfeminine?
 
 
Blog, Women’s Lunch Talk, by Nancy Clark, Are Women Afraid Of Criticism? —This Is Not A Good Thing!
 
Website, WomensMedia, by Kimberly Wiefling,  How to Get Out of Your Own Way
—5 Strategies for Thinking Outside the Box

 
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Tags: gender, differences, business, women, holistic, thinking