According to Roger Martin, perspective on a given issue is formed by the interaction between three things: our stance, our tools, and our experience.
Stance describes our personal domain of knowledge as well as our sense of ourselves and our purpose. This frames our personal perspective and approach to the problem space.
Tools includes not just physical tools but also the thinking tools we bring to bear on a situation: theories, processes, rules of thumbs, best practices, and so on. We use these to organize complex problem spaces into something more accessible.
Experience helps us hone our intuition and informs our sensitivities when regarding a problem or challenge.
These different elements do not flow linearly from one to another; they mutually inform each other.
Related
- Honing intuition - We can hone our intuition by acquiring new knowledge and experiences.
- Salience is subjective - What we view as salient to a problem or situation is informed by our subjective experiences
Citations
Martin, Roger L. The Opposable Mind: How Successful Leaders Win Through Integrative Thinking. 1st edition. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business Review Press, 2007.
