Critical Thinking: The Raw Power Of A Simple Idea
February 4, 2010 by Dr. Steve Bedwell
Filed under Critical Thinking
I discovered something at London’s Heathrow airport last week that provides support (and scientific validation) for the ping-pong ball story from my motivational speech.
The ping-pong ball story is short and simple yet has a vital, and often overlooked, message. You can hear all about Tom and the ping-pong ball by clicking the video below…
The story illustrates the raw power of a simple idea. We have a love/hate relationship with ‘simple’. Don’t have time for ‘complex’ and are, at the same time, disappointed with ‘simple’. The message behind my simple story is that ideas don’t have to be complex to be effective, any more than medicine has to taste bad to be potent.
With this in mind, my objective is to share simple strategies that I’ve found personally effective “under fire”. Quick and easy tactics that really work, even when I’m frustrated, angry or fearful.
So, back at Heathrow airport…
During a trip to the men’s room, I notice a dead housefly in the urinal. When (despite my best targeting efforts) it refuses to move, I realize it’s embossed into the porcelain. So I check out every urinal; somewhat upsetting for the man standing next to me. Sure enough, every one has an embossed fly.
Upon my return to the US, further investigation reveals that this trend began at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. In the words of economist Aad Kieboom, the guy who came up with the idea:
“If a man sees a fly, he aims at it.”
Which, I guess, is why you don’t want flies around a picnic hamper!
Kieboom’s research revealed that the simple presence of the embossed flies reduces spillage by 80% percent. An 80:20 ratio, demonstrating the raw power of a simple idea; and Pareto’s principle to boot!
Transplanting Ideas
This amusing finding also illustrates another crucial point: Sometimes a simple idea from one area of your life can be transplanted into another. For example, an effective approach to a problem at home (such as a young boy with poor aim) might be useful in a business context (keeping busy international airports cleaner).
In conclusion…
- What simple ideas have made the most difference in your personal, professional and organizational life?
- Are there any simple ideas from one area of your life that could be transplanted into another?
- Do you have a simple idea in the back of your mind that, even though it might be a stellar solution to a challenging problem, you’ve dismissed because it seems too simple?
I would love to hear your ideas; simple or not…
Speak your mind in the box below…
My wife mentioned that she found some nice PVC rain jackets for a real good price, but they had ink marks on the shoulder. She figured that it would take some high powered solvent or professional to get the ink marks off. I told her that a simple pencil eraser would take it off without marking the PVC. She went back and those PVC rain jackets were still sitting there and looked as if they had not even been touched. The pencil eraser worked and she picked up three jackets for a very cheap price. The point is that the solution is NOT always a difficult thing. Always look for the simple solution first.
Great story Steve, but I want to know what the people in the restroom thought of you taking pictures of the urinal? I think your message is that the best or correct answers are often the most simple ones.
Since your visit to our Hospice and Home Health team, we have utilized the “What am I missing?” and “What am I making up?” questions on an (almost) daily basis. Sometimes those questions are the answer to an employee who comes to me with a concern or an issue. Many of them are now to the point of saying “I know, what am I missing and what am I making up?”, before I can even get the first words out.
Hey Doug,
Great story, thanks for sharing it. There’s no doubt that many of us are way too quick to assume that, if there’s a simple solution, someone else would have already tried it. Turns out you and your wife were the first and so made a killing.
There’s an apocryphal story about NASA spending millions to develop a pen that would write in zero gravity. (Which would be like trying to write upside down back on planet earth.)
…Meanwhile the Russians, in a flash of the blindingly obvious, simply used a pencil.
While the incident makes for a great story, it’s not actually true. Apparently, both American and Russian astronauts were using pencils. However, there were concerns that, if a pencil lead broke, it might short out an electrical circuit.
The American inventor, Paul C.Fisher did create a pen that addressed these concerns. However, he paid all the development costs himself and the pens were used by both American and Russian astronauts.
That said, I had a similar problem (kind of) with a blotchy pen. I was underlining insightful sentences in a book (not about critical thinking I might add) and smearing ink all over the place. I tried different pens. However, because the book was printed on some kind of shiny, not very porous, paper that approach didn’t work.
My wife Krys, fed up with my whining, suggested I use a pencil. To make things more embarrassing, I knew the NASA urban legend…and Krys didn’t!
I found details of the NASA story at this urban legends website.
Thanks for your comment Doug.
Hi Mark,
“…but I want to know what the people in the restroom thought of you taking pictures of the urinal?”
Hey, I was in Europe…people are much freer about such things
I’m thrilled to hear that your staff are embracing “The Two Questions” principle. I passionately believe that, when facing a challenge, knowing how to answer “what am I missing?” and “what am I making up?” can alter the trajectory of an individual’s life and an organization’s fortunes.
Thanks for the comment.