Great Minds Do Not Always Think Alike.

Although it’s nice to joke with a friend about having the exact idea at the same time, the truth is, Great Minds Do Not Always Think Alike… and that’s why they are so incredible.

It’s how Steve Jobs revolutionized computer design, Coco Chanel changed fashion forever, and Henry Ford transformed the automobile industry. Because they “thought different,” they achieved such greatness.

What most of us have yet to realize is that because none of us are alike, we all have the capacity to “think different,” and if we do that, then each of us can become a great mind … if we dare.

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It shouldn’t surprise us that, in a world so complacent, the painless thing to do is be like the rest. But because of that, it’s never been easier to be different. In a society where everyone shapes themselves around trends, seasons, and influencers, making decisions for yourself is as unique as you can be.

You don’t need to be flamboyant or over the top either; thinking differently doesn’t always require a direct change or an entire revolution, but a simple addition to how you approach it: the question “Why?” This little word is powerful and is key to understanding your deepest motives and reorienting your feelings toward your truest desires. Similarly, it’s useful in many other areas of life, a multi-purpose solution.

As I’ve been mulling over this idea, I came across The Algorithm, a book by Jon McNeill, former President of Tesla, that details Elon Musk’s five-step operating framework for innovation. By the end of the text, I was more convinced than ever that great minds don’t think like everyone else; they test ideas and then perfect them through simplicity.

The operating system is not complex, but it is challenging:

1. Question every requirement.

2. Delete any part or process you can.

3. Simplify and optimize.

4. Accelerate cycle time.

5. Automate.

These are the five steps to question when you seek to pioneer. They build upon one another and steadily lead you to “think different.”

The first is rather straightforward. It takes all segments of a process and interrogates how “needed” they really are. Often, you’ll realize you do things the way you do not because it matters, but because you “have always done it this way.”

If that’s the case, this is a ripe moment to engage in the next level of the progression: “Delete any part or process you can.” If something can be done in 10 steps rather than 20, do so. Combined with the first phase, you will be forced to flip a problem on its head and truly imagine what it might look like if done differently. Here is where progress emerges.

If you have gotten to this point, you’ll be at part three’s doorstep, where you must look at what remains and decide how to simplify and optimize it. This often goes hand in hand with the work you’ve done previously but truly questions just how uncomplicated you can make it.

Now we enter the final stages and aim to “accelerate cycle time,” a sophisticated way of finding how to achieve the same result quicker — evidence of skill, not shortcuts. For example, if it used to take one week to complete a task, and after implementing parts 1-3 you find you can do it in a day, you have successfully decreased its cycle time. Which is not to say you should rush through everything, but when you operate with intention, you will sharpen your abilities and learn new techniques.

Finally, “automate,” perhaps the most “technical” stage in the Algorithm. In the world of technology, it implies looking for ways for machinery to assist, but I believe it applies just as much to our personal development when we reframe it with a different name: Habits and Systems. This means keeping our schedules in order, our finances in check, and our whites separate from our colored clothes. It’s finding routines where we automatically become efficient because we set our processes up for success beforehand.

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The Algorithm is one of many frameworks to help us think differently. Others that come to mind are the “5 Whys,” which we have discussed before, or the Kaizen Philosophy popularized by Toyota in the 1950s and characterized by the tenet of “continuous, incremental improvement for the better.”

Regardless of your approach, consider any historic moment of innovation and change, and you will see some form of it in action. The correlation between curiosity and success isn’t an accident; it’s a byproduct. Breakthroughs are embedded in problem-solving persistence. Once you realize this, you will be on your way to making history yourself.

Try it: Question every requirement. Delete any part or process you can. Simplify and optimize. Accelerate cycle time. And develop habits that Automate for your skill.

Ultimately, it points to one idea: Great Minds Do Not Always Think Alike. They often Think Different. You too are invited to be one of them once you start to make the most of being curious.

P.S. Regardless of your stance on Musk, his track record is hard to argue with; as such, I encourage us all to stay open to this philosophy and see the beauty in the art, regardless of our opinion of the artist.

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~ Wednesdays Of Wisdom ~

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