# On Demand Thinking By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2024-03-22 Many organizations attempt to manufacture insights by getting everyone in a room and declaring, "Now is the time to think." Do you know why this fails so often? Thinking clearly and deeply to generate insights is not turned on and off like a light switch. It takes a lot of practice and intentionality. Additionally, it rarely happens when one wants it to happen. The best thoughts come seemingly randomly and after a lot of intentional dedication. Consider this: do you know of any child prodigy philosophers? You do not because they don't exist. Even those gifted with brilliant philosophical thinking abilities only come into their own later in life. Why is this not true in other fields, such as mathematics and physics? The answer is the need for lived experiences along with the systems being studied. While complex, mathematics and physics are imaginary worlds requiring no real-world experience. Life and organizations are much more complicated, and only so much can be learned about them by reading. So, returning to the issue of generating insights on demand, is it reasonable to ask workers to generate insights within a short window when, most of the time, the organization pays them not to think? It's completely and utterly bonkers. However, it is entirely on brand. #### Related Items [[Philosophy]] [[Thinking]] [[Organization]] [[Work]] [[Knowledge]] [[Experience]]