Think Again and Again

I am not sure when the American election actually starts, as millions of people seem to have voted already, but the thoughts around this began to merge with the threads of my previous post on independent thinking and that of July 29th.

I have copied that one in here so you don't have to try and find it.

I had the strange experience of being very reassured by a small piece in the Sunday Telegraph this weekend.

It was a report on a part of the conversation between David Cameron and Barack Obama in which they were discussing diary management (don't we all). We all think our diaries are out of control but imagine what it is like for these guys. Everyone wants a piece of them and their diaries are filled up in 15 minute increments. David Cameron referred to it as the 'dentist's waiting room'.

What was so refreshing was that they both agreed that the most important thing to do was 'to have big chunks of time during the day when all you're doing is thinking' in order to keep a sense of the big picture and not lose your 'feeling' or the judgement you need to use to make decisions.

It is easy to think that what we need from our leaders is the ability to make snap decisions, under pressure all the time. True, we do need some of that, but we also are in desperate need of them having time to think.

Last week's post was about the impact on short-term, conformist thinking within organisations and the knock on effect on the economy. But this cannot be untangled from the same type of thinking at a governmental level. Worldwide it would seem.

Let's have the suggestion of a change in thinking style, rather than just policy and personality, be our reason to be hopeful for today.