Dancing with Complexity: Roger Martin on The Opposable Mind

Posted by Chris Flanagan on May 1, 2008

Yesterday I spent some time at the offices of Continuum. The Boston-based design firm was hosting a book signing soiree for Roger Martin, Dean of the Rotman School in Toronto and author of the new book The Opposable Mind.

Martin has spent the past few years searching for patterns in thinking among great leaders. His conclusion: success comes from an ability to utilize tensions between different business models in order to build a better one. He calls it 'integrative thinking' and it's a direct assault on the reductionist, either/or approach to decision-making, which is typically taught in business schools. This holistic - and yes, more complex and often times ambiguous - approach to thinking, Martin says, is at the heart of many great, new business models.

Martin has a strong, optimistic point-of-view. One of my favorite lines of the night was "just because something hasn't been taught doesn't make it unteachable." While there are those who believe that great leaders are born and not made, Martin says no. To prove it, he established Designworks, a centre for a new way of learning and thinking on the campus of Rotman.

Managed by Heather Fraser, Designworks Director and Adjunct Professor at Rotman, the program provides a learning experience that encourages and nurtures new ways of thinking and leading. Bypassing the often linear “management only” or “design only” curricula, Designworks makes use of its resources in the academic and design community by teaming Rotman MBA students with those at the Ontario College of Art and Design. (Stateside, I think Stanford's d.School probably comes close to this type of curricula.)

After his talk, I was fortunate to spend some time with Martin, one-on-one, for a video podcast. I'll have that posted later next week. In the meantime, I recommend reading his book. I particularly liked chapter 4, "Dancing Through Complexity," because it hammers home how integrative thinking is a masterful blend of both art and process. When you have a predisposition to look at opposing models and turn tension into harmony, some very useful answers will arise. Leaders profiled in Martin's book include P&G's A.G. Lafley, Bob Young of Red Hat Software, Four Season's Isadore Sharpe, and Institute for OneWorld Health founder Victoria Hale.

Thanks to Continuum for hosting this great event.

Related

There is a lot of synergy between design-thinking and integrative thinking. Here at the Business Innovation Factory, we're firm believers of both and two of our recent workshops offered insight into these areas. Read my recaps here:

• Report from the Field: Designing Networks for Innovation
• Report from the Field Thoughts on Design Thinking

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