{"id":50250,"date":"2021-09-22T15:45:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-22T19:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=50250"},"modified":"2021-10-01T09:58:39","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T13:58:39","slug":"exponential-thinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/exponential-thinking\/","title":{"rendered":"Exponential Thinking: Put Your Knowledge to Work"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is exponential thinking? How is it different from incremental thinking?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Too often people think in incremental terms\u2014one step at a time<\/a>. With exponential thinking, however, each step is bigger than the previous step. It’s an exponential mindset that leads to exponential success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read on to learn about exponential thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Limitless Action Starts With Exponential Thinking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In Limitless<\/em>, Jim Kwik discusses not only how to learn<\/em> <\/em><\/strong>but also how to think<\/em>. Once you\u2019re capable of learning anything, the next step is using all of your new knowledge to its maximum potential. In other words, Kwik teaches you how to move from limitless learning <\/strong>to limitless action.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think Exponentially<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Kwik urges us to stop thinking incrementally <\/em>(one small step at a time) and start thinking exponentially <\/em>(each step bigger than the one before it). According to Kwik, exponential thinking leads to world-changing innovations and billion-dollar companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entrepreneur Mark Bonchek first wrote about developing an exponential mindset<\/a> to complement the exponential growth of technology. The crux of his argument was that many businesses fail because they have incremental mindsets in an exponentially advancing world.<\/strong> Bonchek encourages business leaders to make strategies that grow slowly at first, but lead to ever-accelerating rates of return.

However, Bonchek\u2019s method claims that you can\u2019t <\/em>predict the future<\/a> while using an exponential mindset\u2014he likens an exponential growth curve to a bend in the road that you can\u2019t see beyond. In contrast, Kwik\u2019s model is all about predicting and planning for the future<\/a>, as we\u2019ll see shortly.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Exponential thinking encourages us to look beyond the immediate problem<\/strong> and instead seek the root cause of that problem<\/strong>. <\/strong>Solving the underlying issue will most likely have a much greater impact than just fixing the current problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Find the underlying problem. <\/strong>The problem you\u2019re trying to tackle might not be the real issue at all, so look for a root cause. For example, if you\u2019re trying to reduce air pollution, you might tackle that problem at the source by addressing \u201cdirty\u201d energy sources like coal and oil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kwik urges us to look for root causes, but doesn\u2019t provide much guidance on how to do that. The Design of Everyday Things <\/em>suggests <\/strong>finding the root cause of a problem by <\/strong>continuously asking \u201cwhy.\u201d<\/a>

For example, if the problem you\u2019re trying to solve is that you always buy unhealthy fast food on the way home from work, your \u201croot cause analysis\u201d might go something like this:

Why am I buying fast food?<\/strong>
Because I\u2019m hungry.

Why am I hungry?<\/strong>
Because I haven\u2019t eaten in a while.

Why haven\u2019t I eaten?<\/strong>
Because I was at work.

Why did being at work stop me from eating?<\/strong>
Because I didn\u2019t have food there.

Why didn\u2019t I have food at work?<\/strong>
Because I didn\u2019t bring any.

You could continue with this line of questioning (\u201cwhy didn\u2019t I bring food to work?\u201d), but the solution to your underlying problem should be clear by now: Bring your own food to work, and you won\u2019t be tempted to buy junk food on the way home. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2. Ask \u201cwhat if.\u201d <\/strong>This isn\u2019t just about asking what might happen if you do one thing or another; try to come up with extreme, and even outlandish questions. These seemingly strange questions will get you thinking along different paths than everyday linear thinking would. For example, instead of looking for cleaner energy sources, what if <\/em>we could make a society that didn\u2019t need electricity at all? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: An article from Forbes offers one reason why \u201cwhat if\u201d questions<\/a> can be effective brainstorming<\/a> tools: they encourage you to approach the situation with an open mind. When you ask yourself \u201cwhat if,\u201d you let go of your ideas about what\u2019s possible or feasible, and simply try to answer the question.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Study. <\/strong>Now that you\u2019ve found the root problem and thought about some hypotheticals on your own, it\u2019s time to see what other people have to say about that situation. Try to get a well-rounded view of the issue by studying many different (reliable) sources. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: One of the internet\u2019s major pitfalls is that you can find sources supporting any idea or theory you can imagine, no matter how outlandish. Therefore, it\u2019s important to vet your findings, and to take information only from reliable sources. This article from the University of Georgia offers some pointers;<\/a> most importantly, checking a site\u2019s credibility and the author\u2019s credentials before taking anything on that site as fact.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Imagine what\u2019s next. <\/strong>By now, you should at least have an idea for a solution to the problem you\u2019re tackling. However, before you implement that solution, you should try to envision both the short-term and long-term consequences of it. Note that the short-term consequences might feel like a step back, rather than progress; however, the long-term results of solving an underlying problem will probably go well beyond the immediate issue you were trying to tackle when you started this process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, Kwik provides a general guideline (imagine the long-term consequences) without offering much concrete advice about how to do it.

One Forbes article suggests a five-step process<\/a> for creating and implementing a long-term plan (while this article is specifically about running a small business, the process applies to any kind of plan):

1) Write down your mission statement. <\/strong>Whether you\u2019re running a business or planning out your personal life, you have a mission that you want to accomplish or a purpose that you want to fulfill. Determine what that is, and write it down.

2) Set goals. <\/strong>Find some concrete objectives or milestones that you\u2019ll meet in the process of fulfilling your mission.

3) Come up with broad strategies. <\/strong>The key word here is broad<\/em>\u2014you\u2019ll have to deal with the specifics as they arise. However, you should come up with some general strategies and rules of thumb for how you can meet your goals and fulfill your mission.

4) Track your results. <\/strong>Measure what you\u2019re putting into your mission in terms of time, money, resources, and so on, versus what results you\u2019re getting. Be specific: For example, if you\u2019re devoting a lot of time to building your social media presence and aren\u2019t getting as many new followers as you\u2019d like, it may be time to reevaluate that particular strategy.

5) Stay optimistic.<\/strong> Remember that you don\u2019t need to be perfect, and your results don\u2019t need to meet your expectations every step of the way. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Plan Exponentially<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Kwik\u2019s previous model was designed to help us tackle specific problems. However, we plan out courses of action all the time, even when we\u2019re not responding to some dire or complex problem<\/a>. For example, we might plan the most efficient route to run our errands, or a student might need to plan out what courses he or she will take in the upcoming semester. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, Kwik encourages you to apply exponential thinking to every plan you make\u2014a practice he calls exponential planning.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n