Practical Intelligence: The Art and Science of Common Sense

Chapter 8. MEGA-SKILL 1: "Bivergent" Thinking

"Not all who wander are lost."

—J.R.R. Tolkien

MANY YEARS AGO WHILE TRAVELING IN JAPAN, I met an executive of a Japanese textile firm over breakfast in a Tokyo hotel. When he discovered that I was a management consultant, we got to talking about Japanese and American business practices, and I expressed a particular interest in the Japanese approach to making decisions. He invited me to visit him and his fellow executives on my way through Nagoya, and I enthusiastically accepted.

During my brief visit, I met with him and his colleagues over coffee for an interesting discussion. During the conversation I inquired about their typical decision-making processes. How, for example, would they approach the question ...