How to Cultivate the Power of AND
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The OR mindset
We live in a divisive environment; it’s governed by the power of OR. Are you a Democrat OR a Republican? Are you pro-gun OR against guns? How many times in the last few years has the United States government almost shutdown? That’s partially due to the power of OR. Our minds crave simplicity and certainty. Is that person good OR bad? Is that company good OR bad?
It’s not to say there isn’t a time and place for an OR mindset, A/B testing for example is basically OR thinking. However, A/B testing is not going to lead to breakthrough innovation. It’s meant for optimization, to understand user preferences between two versions of the same website for example.
When is an AND mindset important?
The larger and more complex the issue is that we are dealing with, the more important it becomes to shift to an AND mindset. Here are three examples of when an AND mindset is important:
· When dealing with major changes because businesses need to be able to balance between change AND continuity.
· When we are trying to innovate because if we fall into the OR mindset trap of “I like that idea” OR “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” our innovation efforts will not go very far.
· When dealing with people because people are complex. The best movies are not those where the good guys are always good, and the bad guys are always bad but rather when the good guy has done something good AND bad and vice versa.
Cultivating the Power of AND when Dealing with Change, Innovation and People
The power of AND is not a new concept, it goes as far back as the ancient Chinese concept of yin and yang. I was about to title this post the Power of AND but then saw there was a book by that title already and that Jim Collins in Built to Last explored this concept and called it “Genius of the AND” vs the “Tyranny of the OR.” So, you can dive into those references for more information and let’s focus instead on how to cultivate the Power of AND.
It seems recently that I’ve been exposed to this topic in multiple ways. Here are some tools and strategies that you can use to cultivate an AND mindset for three areas where an AND mindset is important: dealing with change, people, and innovation.
Cultivate the Power of AND when Dealing with Change
We all have to deal with change, and it is coming at us at a more rapid pace than ever. Dr. Nadya Zhexembayeva shared the Reinvention Academy research from 2022 that 20% of organizations are having to re-invent themselves once every 12 months or less.
When we are pressed for time, our brains want to switch to OR mode because it lets us make decisions faster. That is OK for some decisions but can be problematic for others. A few ways to counter this tendency:
1. Start identifying when your brain is in OR vs AND mode. Many minor changes and decisions can be made in OR mode. However, when you are dealing with a critical or major change, it is important to switch to an AND mindset.
2. Don’t take a change request at face value, find out what the reason is for the change. The why is more important than the how when it comes to change. The why is what will enable you to find an AND solution.
3. Identify where your organization is on the change AND continuity continuum. For mature organizations, there is a tendency to overvalue continuity over change. For start-ups it is the opposite. This is why you will see a small start-up able to disrupt the industry. Successful organizations are able to balance between change AND continuity. For a start-up to be able to scale-up successfully, they then have to start establishing processes that enable their initial success to be continued. For a mature organization, if they are overly resistant to change, they risk being disrupted and becoming irrelevant. Be aware of where your organization lies and balance both change and continuity.
Cultivate the Power of AND when Dealing with Innovation
When you look at the history of innovation, you will find that a lot of innovation happens at the intersection of two disciplines. For example, biomedical engineering combines biology AND medicine AND engineering principles to come up with novel solutions for patients.
Image Source: Tyler Hayes for Newsweek.com
HOKA running shoes are a good example of an innovative product that has successfully harnessed the power of AND for innovation. I was reading about HOKA recently and learned that minimalist shoes were all the rage when HOKA shoes debuted in 2009. What HOKA did is combine the light-weight characteristics of minimalist shoes AND a maximum thickness cushion to create a comfortable but extremely light-weight running shoe. The power of AND enabled this relatively new shoe company to recently surpass $1 billion in annual revenue.
So, what can you do to personally be more innovative?
Shirzad Chamine, the author of Positive Intelligence, talks about a strategy to improve innovation that he calls the “Yes…And…” approach. We don’t have to like someone else’s idea. However, if we can focus on the 10% of the idea that we do like, it will help foster innovation. So instead of saying, “I like your idea” and not being truthful, try to find some part of their idea that you actually like and say, “Yes, what I love about that idea is… AND… (build on to that idea).”
How can your organization be more innovative?
The more established and larger your organization is, the more challenging it is to remain innovative. When undertaking a major innovation initiative, consider forming an ambidextrous organization within your company instead of a cross-functional team. This concept of an ambidextrous organization was introduced by Charles O’Reilly and Michael Tushman in 2004. As they explain, an ambidextrous organization intentionally separates out the new, exploratory business units from their traditional, exploitative ones. This enables part of the organization to function more like a start-up and provide innovative new products and services to the parent organization.
Cultivate the Power of AND when Dealing with People
Harvard Business Review shared that research studies consistently demonstrated how successful organizations are more diverse than their peers. A 2019 study from McKinsey showed companies in the top quartile for ethnic diversity were 36% more likely to have above average profitability than companies in the bottom quartile. This is the power of AND at work. Diverse organizations bring more viewpoints and perspectives to the table.
People are complicated! When we are not aware how our different traits complement each other, they can cause friction. If someone is very organized, he/she may struggle to appreciate their co-workers who are more flexible and less organized. Both traits can be beneficial depending on the situation at hand. But without understanding how these differences can complement each other, conflict may arise. Dr. Dan Harrison developed a unique report that reveals someone’s paradoxical traits – these are AND traits. The Harrison Assessments Paradox Report shows 12 pairs of traits that seem to be contradictory but are in fact synergistic and this assessment is very powerful when used for both individual and team development. To learn more about paradoxical traits, check out these previous blogs on respectful candor (frank AND diplomatic), compassionate enforcing (enforcing AND empathetic), and mindful courage (risking AND analyzing pitfalls).
Contact Claritas Consulting & Coaching if you are interested in a partner that can equip you to cultivate an AND mindset in your organization to leverage these AND tools and strategies for your change, innovation, or people initiatives.
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