Integrative thinking. Integrative Thinking is a field which was originated by Graham Douglas in 1986.[1][2][3] He describes Integrative Thinking as the process of integrating intuition, reason and imagination in a human mind with a view to developing a holistic continuum of strategy, tactics, action, review and evaluation for addressing a problem in any field.
A problem may be defined as the difference between what one has and what one wants. Integrative Thinking may be learned by applying the SOARA (Satisfying, Optimum, Achievable Results Ahead) Process devised by Graham Douglas to any problem. The SOARA Process employs a set of triggers of internal and external knowledge. This facilitates associations between what may have been regarded as unrelated parts of a problem. Definition used by Roger Martin[edit] The Rotman School of Management defines integrative thinking as: The website continues: "Integrative thinkers build models rather than choose between them. Background[edit] Theory[edit] Influences[edit] ChoicesConflictandtheCreativeSpark.
Barack Obama's Integrative Brain - Roger Martin. By Roger Martin | 10:21 AM January 29, 2010 There was something intriguing, even a little perplexing, about President Obama’s State of the Union address Wednesday night.
It’s the same intriguing note to be found in many of Obama’s most important speeches. And before you ask, it isn’t ideology or rhetoric or even oratory, but something deeper and more complex: It is the clear evidence of a way of thinking not often seen in the Oval Office, or indeed in the corner office. This way of thinking — which at first blush can be mistaken for indecision — is characterized by a willingness to embrace conflicting ideas or models. I’ve seen this pattern of “integrative thinking” employed by a number of highly successful business leaders — so much so that I set out to study it.
This is Obama’s approach. Throughout his State of the Union speech, Obama held up and contemplated a series of seemingly opposing models: “We find unity in our incredible diversity.” Opposable Mind: Winning Through Integrative Thinking - Roger L. Martin. One More Note About Integrative Thinking - James Fallows - National. By Lane Wallace A reader sent me the following note in response to my post on innovation not being about math, but about more flexible, "integrative" thinking: Most schools where I live seem to tout their 'integrated' curricula.
It's certainly the case at every public and private school I've visited in the last few months (our son is entering kindergarten next year). Usually this integration takes the form of choosing a theme (fall harvest, civil rights, sea life, etc) and weaving it into project for each subject (art, science, history, etc). While far better than the old silo approach to class work, this integration trend strikes me as stopping short of truly encouraging integrative thinking. Roger Martin, the dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto (whom I mentioned in the post) would agree. Where I don't agree entirely with lots of the efforts to be multi-disciplinary is that I think you have to build a basic science of multi-disciplinarity. The%20Art%20of%20Integrative%20Thinking. Rotman Integrative Thinking. Integrative Thinking is the ability to constructively face the tensions of opposing models, and instead of choosing one at the expense of the other, generating a creative resolution of the tension in the form of a new model that contains elements of the both models, but is superior to each.
When making any decision, people proceed through four steps: The first step is Salience: what do we choose to pay attention to, and what not? In this initial step, we decide which features are relevant to our decision. The second step is Causality: how do we make sense of what we see? What sort of relations do we believe exist between the various pieces of the puzzle? Integrative thinkers approach these four steps in a very specific way. Integrative thinkers build models rather than choose between them. PODCAST: Listen to Roger Martin's interview with the Business Innovation Factory (Dec.08) VIDEO: Watch Dean Roger Martin's interview with BusinessWeek.com (Oct.7, 2008) 1. 1. 2. 3.