The Strategy of Inversion

 
 

“Learn to use your brain power. Critical thinking is the key to creative problem solving in business.”_Richard Branson

 

Today, we want to examine an interesting idea on creative thinking and problem-solving that is credited to some deep thinkers of the past, the most prominent of them being the German mathematician Carl Jacobi.

Driven by this idea, Carl realized that the solutions to the mathematical puzzles he was attempting to unravel would often become clearer to him when he turned the equation upside down.  

Like me, if you’re still a novice in this line of thought, I am hoping that with experimentation and focused study, we can also verify the veracity of its value.

Now, let’s move ahead to see how to make the power of negative work for us in our business and life.

So instead of looking at the brightest sides of things, let’s look at their darkest sides once in a while.

Instead of planning for the surest way to succeed, let’s study the surest way not to.

Instead of thinking a little forward, let’s decide to think a little backward today.

As counter-intuitive as this may appear to you, history has proven its worth through the lives of its practitioners.

To be clear, the essence of inversion strategy is not to enthrone mediocrity and negative mental attitude; it is to open the gates of possibility thinking that could generate a quantum leap forward.

In the words of an American poet Adrienne Rich: “Responsibility to yourself means refusing to let others do your thinking, talking, and naming for you; it means learning to respect and use your own brains and instincts; hence, grappling with hard work.”

For most of us, inversion doesn’t come naturally. However, it is a good thinking tool to have as it helps improve our understanding of the problems we may face.

It could compel us to step out of our habitual way of thinking and reconsider common perspectives to give a chance to new insights and uncommon breakthroughs.

For instance, in a real-life situation of a serious student, instead of asking:

“How can I pass my next exam in flying colours?”

Apply the inverse strategy by flipping it over to:

“How can I fail woefully in my next exam or what could cause all my preparation to amount to nothing?”

You see, the point here is to uncover a subtle or hidden challenge that can derail our progress beforehand, and then creating a formidable plan to prevent it by all means.

When we are sure of what we don’t want to experience, we can take appropriate steps to make sure it doesn’t happen.