CRAZYTANK News vol.220／Can we design co-prosperity between network thinking and logical thinking?

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CRAZYTANK News vol.220

Monday, October 7th, was a hot day in Tokyo with a high of 29 degrees Celsius, but Tuesday, October 8th, the temperature is expected to plummet to below 20 degrees Celsius.... It is very difficult to manage one's physical condition in this climate. Please spend your time with care.

Well, in this week's newsletter...

We discussed in CRAZYTANK that people in their 20s today, who were born and raised in an era of massive information overflow, may be adopting a way of thinking called “network thinking. We would like to write about what we think is necessary for the company's growth and development, and how these network thinkers can be active in the company in the future.

Please read on.

Can we design co-prosperity between network thinking and logical thinking?

In every generation, we hear the phrase, “Young people these days...” from various parts of society.

It is only natural that the social environment of our childhood has a great influence on our way of thinking. Because we live and work together in a society that is influenced by the great changes of the times and generations with different “foundations” of thinking, it may be inevitable that we will see behaviors and actions that are considered “incomprehensible” .

Now, as mentioned in the title, “network thinking” is a natural way of thinking for those who are currently in their 20s or so. This was the subject of our most recent discussion in CRAZYTANK.

Network thinking, as defined by CRAZYTANK is a way of thinking in which a large amount of information is connected like a network (like a 3D space) and you grasp the answer you think “this is it” from among them.

On the other hand, the term “logical thinking” is generally defined as “logical thinking,” a term with which you may be familiar. At CRAZYTANK, we interpret it as a way of thinking that leads to an answer while sequencing, deepening, and assembling information.

If logical thinking is defined as “logical, then, by comparison, network thinking might be classified as “intuitive” .

However, network thinking is not the kind of thinking that leads to an answer with a single line of “emotion (at that moment),” but rather, as mentioned earlier, it is a state in which a large amount of information is floating around in a 3D space and is connected to each other, so thinking is not done with a single line, but with countless lines.

In the logical thinking method, those who are sensitive or quick to understand often say, “When I say 1, you understand 10”.

The difference, however, is that those who use the network thinking method develop the idea that “saying 1 leads to 5, 10, A, γ, and spinach”.

This is by no means a deliberate shifting of the argument or a lack of understanding, but rather a state in which there is a myriad of information in the mind and they are connected.

We mentioned earlier that people in their 20s may naturally engage in this kind of networked thinking, but people in their 20s have been surrounded by devices since birth and have grown up in a social context where they are naturally surrounded by a large amount of information

We often have the following conversation with parents of young children.

”They are deftly using one device to watch a video while doing something else on the other hand, and using the smartphone next to it to keep in touch with their friends.”

This is becoming more and more common among young people.

Therefore, it is not surprising that a large amount of information, both consciously and unconsciously accumulated, exists in the mind in countless numbers, from which networked thinking is naturally established to grasp answers in a spontaneous manner.

By the way, the logical thinking method has naturally been important in the structure of society and companies up to now. This is because it is a way of thinking that can be “returned to” when there is an issue or problem while working in an organization. Everyone is equally able to see how the thinking was done, and if it is found that there was an issue at this stage, it can be corrected, improved, and made better from there.

On the other hand, network thinking is characterized by the fact that it does not build up in an orderly fashion, making it difficult to set a point of reflection.

However, it is a bit questionable whether this will be a difficult point in the future society and the organization of a company.

This is because we predict that in the future, we will be required to acquire a greater volume of information at a faster pace, increase our decision-making speed, and take on more and more challenges, or rather, we will have to do so in order to survive.

In such an era, we believe that young human resources with a network mindset are likely to fit into the environment very naturally. However, it is also true that in the “company structure,” there are rules, procedures, and the “understanding and acceptance” of those around you who work with you is necessary, and logical thinking methods are still effective in this context.

In the future, this network thinker will need to work harder within the organization of the company, while learning and incorporating logical thinking methods, while taking advantage of its speed.

In addition, those who are currently on the management side will need to be able to scoop up the comments of younger network thinkers by asking the following questions and helping them with logical thinking methods, rather than dismissing them as “out of line”.

”Why do you think that way?”
”How can we apply this thinking to business situations?”

Furthermore, we believe that companies and managers will have a great advantage to survive in the coming era if they can understand the difference between network thinking and logical thinking, and design their organizations, human resources, and work styles to take advantage of both characteristics, rather than leaving it to the efforts of their employees. We believe that this will be a major advantage for surviving in the coming era.