# Propose the Opposite By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2022-12-09 The first job of the analyst is to think. The second job is to encourage others to think. Both are challenging, especially if you or your peers are stuck in your ways. Once a thought becomes a pattern, we adopt it without thinking. It's an energy-saving shortcut. We don't think about how to tie our shoes or whether the sun will come up today. We've accepted the pattern and go through the motions. Basically, we are not mindful most of the time because it would be exhausting. Within a business context, these patterns are everywhere we look. We meet every day because that is what we've always done - not because work is accomplished. We think trust comes from looking someone in the eye like we did on the playground, so we insist upon getting together in person regardless of the costs. We think the only way to generate more revenue is to raise the price because that's how we think the math and markets work. These simplistic, mindless shortcuts are prime targets for analysis and encouraging people to reengage their brains. Whenever you encounter one of these shortcut patterns simply propose the exact opposite, persistently challenge weak claims against it, and see what new, more thoughtful outcomes emerge. For example, what if we lowered prices instead of raising them, wrote letters instead of meeting in person, and never met again? Not all extreme opposites will make it in the final analysis, but persisting them through to the end means real thinking happened, and that's our job. #### Related Items [[Analytics]] [[Thinking]] [[Loyal Opposition]] [[Business]] [[Organizational Analytics]]