Divergent Thinking — A New Formula For Success

Why the ability to think divergently is crucial for success today…

If I ask you to name the single best mathematician in history, who would you say it is? Perhaps you would say it is Albert Einstein, or maybe it’s Steven Hawking for you. What about philosophers? Nietzsche? Marcus Aurelias? Confucius? How about businessmen or businesswomen? The Rothschild? Henry Ford? The Rockefellers? Who are some of the most influencer scientists? Charles Darwin? Isaac Newton? Galileo? Now, what do all these individuals have in common? Why is it that they are able to achieve such monumental status and success? What differentiates them from others? Answer: they are all great divergent thinkers.

Are You a Divergent Thinker?

So what is a divergent thinker anyway? Divergent thinkers are individuals capable of producing multiple solutions to a given problem. Everyone is a divergent thinker to some extent, the real question is “to what degree”. According to a study that included 1600 school children, a staggering 98% were found to be ‘geniuses’ at divergent thinking. This figure dropped to 32% by age 10, and further plummeted to a dismal 2% by adulthood.

These so-called great divergent thinkers can be characterised by their increased appetite for risk taking, unusual ability to apply knowledge from one domain to another, and their ability to produce brilliant yet unconventional solutions. Great divergent thinkers are ahead of their time. They are not constrained by typical environmental or social programming, allowing them great flexibility and success in traversing unexplored paths.

What’s So Great About Divergent Thinking (Story of Coco Chanel)

Coco Chanel is the epitome of divergent thinking. At the tender age of 11, her mother died and her father abandoned her, sending her to a convent-run orphanage. Despite her years in a convent, Chanel never conceded to leading a guileless and celibate life. On the contrary, she began performing on stage. Her charm and youthful exuberance quickly made her popular amongst elites and bolstered her status. Even then, she was unlike the other women she hung around with. In an era where women were praised for their submissiveness and compliance, she was blatantly rebellious.

Chanel never conformed to social norms, she was a dashing yet brash young lady. In particular, Chanel was not fond of the Edwardian attire ever so rampant during the Belle Epoque era (1871–1914). Corset dresses so tight it made trivial tasks like eating and sitting unnecessarily cumbersome. Instead, she preferred wearing men’s attire, a deed considered extremely repugnant by both men and women of that period. She believed that luxury for women should be both elegant and comfortable, and thus spawned her motivation to create a brand that would go on to shape the fashion industry in unforeseeable ways, the brand we call ‘Chanel’.

Coco Chanel, credit of Britannica

Chanel’s story provides some very valuable insights into the nature of great divergent thinkers. Firstly, they love to challenge what is considered ‘conventional’ or ‘normative’, applying radical solutions to existing challenges that may initially seem ridiculous. Secondly, they are risk-takers. Naturally, if you plan to pursue the route less traveled, your chances of success are slimmer, and this necessitates a larger appetite for risk-taking. And lastly, they are ambitious, very ambitious. After all, great divergent thinkers are great because they take on great challenges. They are unafraid of tough problems, in fact they are attracted to them. Tough problems are often best tackled through a fresh perspective, and it takes a great divergent thinker to come up with an ingenious and creative solution that shapes the world.

Divergent Thinking Today

Divergent thinking has proven extremely useful in the past, but what about the present? Is it still a valuable asset today? Yes, and arguably more so than ever. The democratisation of information has made knowledge more accessible and ubiquitous. Just over a century ago, specialised knowledge in medicine, politics, engineering, etc was only available to a small minority of elites. Today, such information is more widely available than ever, and with our education system churning out so many specialised and highly trained individuals, specialisation in a narrow domain is becoming more and more common.

There is however, a caveat to the way our system currently operates, one that benefits divergent thinkers— it suppresses creativity. Increased exposure to social media coupled with the lack of personalisation in our education system has led to greater social programming and less divergent thinking. People are increasingly cut from the same cloth, making creative problem-solving more scarce and valuable. This makes divergent thinking an extremely valuable asset today.

On top of which, our world is changing at a faster pace than ever. Industries rise and fall at an accelerating rate given the rapid advancement of technology. Those with the ability to transfer specialised knowledge from one domain to another can benefit from the rapid changes that characterise our modern economy, riding on the waves of sunrise industries.

How to Increase Your Divergent Thinking

This is all very fascinating, but what does it matter if you can’t reap the benefits of divergent thinking? Well, you can. I will now provide some helpful tips on how you can increase your divergent thinking.

Brainstorming. Brainstorming is the process of coming up with multiple ideas or solutions in a free-flowing and unstructured way. This process facilitates creative thinking, ideas ‘piggyback’ off one another, becoming increasingly more creative and unique. By brainstorming frequently, you practice coming up with novel ideas you would not be otherwise be accustomed to, encouraging divergent thinking.

Free writing. Free writing involves writing whatever comes to mind about a particular topic. It encourages an unobstructed flow of thought and by mapping all out accumulated knowledge in words, we begin to discover new things about our own thoughts. Patterns, flaws and connections we never knew existed become more apparent to us.

Read broadly. Reading is something that I always preach, I simply love it! Reading across a variety of topics builds foundational understanding in many areas and promotes cross-subject thinking. The brain will begin to form connections between materials from different genres and fields, which is the essence of divergent thinking. Multiple studies have further shown a positive correlation between creative problem-solving and time spent reading. Consistency is key here, as a rule of thumb, 30 minutes of reading per day is sufficient to promote divergent thinking amongst a host of other benefits.