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November 26, 2004

Man Traps

Further to may last entry on the boxes that we create for ourselves through our assumptions, is this quote. It needs to read a couple of times to resonate.

”A trap is a trap only for creatures which cannot solve the problem it sets. Mantraps are dangerous only in relation to the limitations on what men can see and value and do. The nature of the trap is a function of the nature of the trapped. To describe either is to imply the other.”

– Sir Geoffrey Vickers, Freedom in a Rocking Boat.

Heavy bru.

I used the following in a pitch to flesh out the above quote:
· To make sense of the complex world around us, we employ thinking models and scripts to help us cope. These mental models are developed over time through our experiences and environment.
· The models we use to make sense of the world create these boxes, or ‘mantraps’.
· Unfortunately the moment one tries to simplify complexity, detail is lost, and to fill the gaps we use assumptions, stuff that has worked for us in the past in seemingly similar situations.
· In the corporate space, truisms of the past inhibit creativity and growth for the future. My role is to help you surface these assumptions and challenge them.

Posted by sdehaast at November 26, 2004 05:02 PM Posted to food for thought