The Decision-Making Studio reposted this
Look up at your ceiling. Its height can have an impact on how creatively you might be thinking. People working in rooms with higher ceilings display more abstract, creative thinking than those working in rooms with lower ones. This is known as the ‘cathedral effect’ (see: https://lnkd.in/er7KExPm ). Lower ceilings, by contrast, are said to increase focus. Our physical environments matter when it comes to decision-making and problem-solving. Those who design retail environments and casinos understand and leverage/ exploit this. Layouts, colours, background music and smells all come into play. We perhaps don’t consider our physical environments often enough when it comes to the quality of our thinking. We can make better use of it. Something to try when noodling over a decision or problem is to consider the same decision/problem in different physical environments. I do this as a practice regularly now. I’ll pick a question related to a decision or problem and consider it in different places – at my office at home, on a walk or run, in an office or café, or wherever. I make a note of how I feel or think about it - particularly if the environment seems to have made a difference. Sometimes, even sitting or standing matters. I talk about and work with clients on enhancing cognitive diversity in decision-making - it’s important and sometimes easy to overlook. However, “physical diversity” can also have an impact – and might be overlooked even more, particularly in organisational contexts. It might be worth spending a moment or two considering where you do different types of thinking, and where you do these most effectively. And, if you've developed some practices that work for you, do let me know. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ I am the Founder of The Decision-Making Studio and I help leaders and organisations make quality decisions under uncertainty. Get in touch: https://lnkd.in/exrHTMXj What does a quality decision look like? Our “FOCUS” framework: https://lnkd.in/e2Ei_kx2