Posted by Kirsten Gibbs Last updated 20th March 2023 reading time
"Think for yourself, but not by yourself."
My ear caught the phrase on Radio 4 this morning and I was intrigued. It's from Julian Baggini's new book "How to think like a philosopher" (on my shopping list already, of course).
I don't know about you, but I am all too often guilty of thinking by myself. Working things through on my own, running off down blind alleys, diving into rabbit holes, only to end up at a conclusion I could have looked up.
I'd have got there much quicker if I'd talked to other people.
It's not that other people necessarily know more than I do, it's that they might, and even if they don't, going through my thinking out loud, to a group of people with shared values and different perspectives is bound to clarify my workings.
Luckily, when you run your business with a team, you have that like-hearted thinking club ready-made. Encourage everyone in it to think for themselves, then do your important business thinking together. You'll like the results.
