# The Limits of Conceptualization By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2023-07-16 Envisioning alternatives is always constrained. As much as one might wish for radical reimaginations of the possible or encourages nonjudgment brainstorming, people are constrained by the limits of their conceptualizations. If management sincerely desires to unlock the workforce’s creativity, attention must be given to overcoming the limits of conceptualization. People tend to think those things that conform to their experiences and expectations. It isn’t easy to imagine that this can ever be completely transcended. Without transcendence, one can improve the situation by allowing the workforce to expand its experiences. One of the most immediate ways to do this is through foreign travel. Going to someplace new, with a different language and culture, can provide an experience that enables one to think more broadly. More locally, simply working in and with another department within the organization can expand one’s understanding, expectations, sensitivities, and conceptualizations. How this is done is likely less important than being done. Assuming that overcoming the limits of conceptualization through exposure to different experiences is organizationally beneficial, it potentially reveals how such an effort might be taken. Under one approach, management would attempt to discover the minimum amount of new exposure employees need to think more creatively. An alternative approach would be the maximum amount possible while accomplishing the required work. These might be radically different allocations. Using the Pareto Principle is useful to illustrate this point. Under one construction, 80% of the benefit of increased experiential exposure could be obtained from 20% of the enactment of the approach. This is the hedge-investment approach. Conversely, 80% of the organizational work could be accomplished with 20% of the effort and 80% of the time could be invested in cultivating experiences designed to overcome the limits of conceptualization. This is the full-commitment approach. The first focuses primarily on the organization, whereas the second focuses on the individual. It is hard to think of things outside of our experiences. Simply asking for creative solutions is inadequate to the task. Investments in employee experiences could be an important part of overcoming the limits of our conceptualizations. #### Related Items [[Work]] [[Creative]] [[Experience]] [[Organization]] [[Pareto Principle]] [[Effort]] [[Conceptualization]]