FogHorn March 29, 2018  -  THINK WRONG - Greg Galle

Galle holds a BFA in communication design from The Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design. He has more than 25 years' experience applying Think Wrong Practices to private, public and civic sector innovation challenges such as product, service, systems, policy, experience, professional development and culture innovation and more. He co-founded Silicon Valley innovation product and services firm Future Partners with co-authors John Bielenberg and Mike Burn in 2012 to teach how to Think Wrong. He has been responsible for brand development, product and business innovation, and service and experience delivery, across 200 business in more than 70 countries. He has collaborated on books on design, communication and business strategy. HIs clients include NASA, Apple, Hewlett Packard, Motorola, NCR and Intel. He serves on the board of Not For Sale and in 2014 was named to the GOOD 100. His work has brought him numerous prestigious art and design awards.

  

He began his Rotary talk by asking the listeners to jot down answers to this simple question, “What is half of the number 13?” Many listeners (including yours truly) wrote down "6.5."  Others asked, did the question mean the number or the word, which Galle said was a good question. Galle then gave away copies of Think Wrong: How to Conquer the Status Quo and Do Work That Matters  to the Rotarians who came up with unexpected answers, such as, “Thir” and “Teen.”
Galle then asked how many of us had taken the standardized SAT test while in school. He noted that we are taught that there are "right" answers to questions, and that by nature Rotarians are curious people who set out to engage the world. But do we consider that there might be many answers to any question, and what possibilities sticking to "right" might exclude?

In his business, Galle explained, he helps clients to get off of the "predictable" path and onto the "wrong" one. Or, to go from the conventional way things are to the way they might be. The way things are is a status quo, he said, created by our brains and our culture, based on our belief systems. Typically, when we try to step off the predictable path, the response is to "put it back," he said.

He spoke about the amazing human brain, and how when we learn, new synaptic connections are created in the brain. Those have to do with doing tasks without thinking, such as driving home every day; when synaptic connections are forged in the brain so that we do this without having to think about it. That is thinking right. In order to step out, forge a bold new path, and create positive change we need to find ways to overcome what conspires against us.

Then he encouraged overcoming biological and cultural resistance. As examples, he cited business magnate Elon Musk, someone on the path of doing things differently. He cited Malala, the teen girl who spoke out in support of education of girls in her conservative culture and was shot in the head for what was seen as an heretical stance in Pakistan. But she continues to speak out, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize by another culture, which values her position and courage.

Culturally, those who blaze different paths might be either celebrated or labeled as crazy, depending on biological and cultural forces trying to "snap you back to business as usual." He wrote that in his online statement "Why It Works, The Elements of Thinking Wrong" in support of his assertion that "It's time to think wrong." On the same site he presents illustrative graphics included in his talk for Rotary: a horizontal line labeled "predictable path," with another line shooting off of it at 45-degree upward angle, labeled "Bold Path." There were also arrows from the latter to the former implying the pull from the bold back to the predictable. His point is that the dominant outlook is a group determination of what is acceptable and conspires against whatever is outside of "what is" or outside the standard as presented in school or in business.

When you step onto the  bold path, he said, you encounter forces that tell you that that's not normal. He tries to help people recognize what forces them back onto the predictable, or safe, path and to retrain the brain into exploring possibilities. You have to trick the brain, he said, into thinking "wrong," letting go of cultural and group biases and starting from a brand new place.
We also have to look at larger issues of what we want to address. If you could do anything, he said, what would you want to do?  And what is holding you back?
Galle stated that if you want to eradicate disease, i.e. polio, you know what the problem is, and what the solutions are, so it makes sense to focus on Think Right Practices that enable productivity, efficiency and optimization those solutions. However, if you are less certain about the challenges and solutions associated with the problem you are workin on, then Think Wrong Practices that enable exploration, experimentation, and discovery of solutions are more useful and productive.

 

He shared that focusing on “ROI” (Return on Investment) is appropriate when you are optimizing a solution, but, when you are uncertain of the challenge and answer, then "LFI" (Learning From Investment) is a better metric to use to assess the value and success of your efforts.
He discussed "Not for Sale," a movement that originated on the Coastside and works against modern-day slavery discussed in a book by fellow Coastsider David Batstone. He also mentioned the impact of education and jobs on inoculating a population from exploitation. He shared the story of REBBL Tonics, a successful application of the Think Wrong Problem-Solving System. REBBL came out of a passionate collaboration of global business leaders and thinkers with the goal of identifying an innovative, sustainable, market-based way to prevent exploitation in the Peruvian Amazon. Currently REBBL donates 2.5 % of its revenue toward regions of the world that are vulnerable to exploitation and human trafficking, and Not for Sale is a key resource for it.

 

                                            

Galle wrapped up by sharing six Think Wrong Practices that can be used as forces for positive change:

 

 

“Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. 
It matters that you don't just give up.”

“We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special.”