I came across an article with the title "How to think like Bill Gates" I found it by accident while on twitter.
I liked the article but my interest was not about to think like Bill Gates, or not, but I was interested about how to think Right. I found that the article can be utilized for that meaning very well.
So, I decided to concentrate its content in a small recipe that I can always go back for it.
The article has ten major points under the title 10 Ways to Think Like Bill Gates & I found them fair enough but if I found further point that can share in that field I'll be happy to extend this list.
1.Prioritize. “What’s the next best thing you should be thinking about?”
2.Ask smarter questions. If you want better answers, ask better questions.
3.Make data-driven decisions. By default, most people make emotional decisions and then find data to support the decision.
4.Divorce your ego. This is where you separate yourself from the problem. This is also about separating yourself from the solution.
5.Frame the problem. It’s about choosing what to focus on, what’s in and what’s out. When you frame the problem, you bound it.
6.Get perspectives on the problem. Rather than see the glass half-full or the glass half-empty, you should see both.
7.Model the problem. By abstracting the problem into a model, you can think about it in simpler ways, without being bogged down by the implementation details.
8.Think of the system and the ecosystem. See the problem as a system. After you have a handle on the system, you can ask yourself about the ecosystem or the system of systems.
9.Think of the problem over time. Time can dramatically change what it looks like. Some things that look good only temporary, and really break down when you apply time to them.
10.Think strategically.
You can think strategically along different lines.
Consider the core of what you do (mission, vision, values, and goals.)
Consider internal analysis (strengths and weaknesses, resources and capabilities, and benchmarking.)
Consider external analysis (competitive analysis, opportunities and threats, and industry conditions.)
Consider the organization design (structure, controls and incentives, culture and people.)
Consider execution (roles, responsibilities, resources, action plans, measurement, and accountability.)
Consider functional strategies (marketing and sales, operations, human resources, and R&D.)
Consider strategic choices (corporate strategy and business strategy.)
I have wrote the tenth point in detail because I think this is new to me.
As a software developer, or analyst programmer, I think I practice a lot of these concepts most of the time. I remember many times when I forget to use one of these concepts, the first nine, I usually end in trouble and telling my self I didn't ask myself all the right questions I didn't browse the problem enough.
Currently, I'm reading the book of "Think like a Genius" and I can find a relation between the concepts above and the Metaphorming concept explained in the book. It's all about building right connections & exploring these connections to reach a new discovery then to convert it into an Application. You can find the same statement in the book "Model the problem".
Thanks god, as a developer and ex-mathematician, I'm used to create models & I'm fond of Mind Maps too :)
