Grocery Shopping

*/By Rick Nason, PhD, CFA
Partner, RSD Solutions Inc/*

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I was conducting a university seminar for executives on managing complexity a
short while ago and the question was asked where do you get your best ideas,
or how do you get your best solutions to issues; while working at the office,
or while doing something totally unrelated to the idea or issue at hand? 
The reason for the question was to illustrate that formal settings – such
as the office, the meeting room, or a laboratory are seldom the best places
in which to think creatively.  It was also to illustrate that you cannot
force thinking creatively. 

Archimedes of course came up with his breakthrough while supposedly getting
into a tub.  It turned out that the executives in the seminar got almost all
of their best ideas while being anyplace other than at work.  One
participant stated that whenever he has to solve a tricky problem he goes
grocery shopping.  Such responses illustrate the power and the superiority
of the sub-conscious mind. 

Collectively I believe that we also need more sub-conscious mind thinking
about risk management.  Trying to force risk management paradigms onto
companies or even whole industries is like trying to sit in a corner and
think real hard.  It may produce answers, but the answers may not be as good
or as creative as the ones you come up with while grocery shopping (and thus
not trying to think so hard).


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