Thursday’s Thoughts

Thinking As A Group

It's fun to realize how others think.

Sculpture by Rodan. The photo was taken and modified by the Author. From the Author's Library.

In 1970 I joined Sales & Marketing Executives International. At the time, it was for anyone that was responsible for national or international marketing. I was 23 years old. One of the benefits was a weekly phone meeting where we would “brainstorm” (see note below) a specific thought. An example would be increasing market share. A few months after joining, I bought the overhead lifting company I was working for, at the time.

The term “brainstorm" has been expanded to include “Group Think, Think Group, Fireside Chat, Team Think, and several more. The point of group thinking is this:

One person can have a good thought. Put two people together to think about the problem and from out of nowhere a third mind arises when two or more people get together to solve a problem. The third is always better than either one of the two.

The idea is that there are no rules, no stupid ideas or questions. Some folks like the “Go” approach. Someone is selected as the moderator, and when they say GO people, individuals offer a thought or signal a pass. This rapid approach is exciting.

One of the more successful companies I had, before Skype or Zoom, was a casualty insurance company we started. Our Chairman of…