Thinking deeply on the things that truly matter

People of deep influence are deep thinkers. Surface thinking is one of the scourges of our time. Shallow thinking leads to shallow solutions and shallow results. Deep influence itself is a result of taking the time to deal with the issues of our inner lives, our relationship with God, our EQ, our shadow side and many other internal disciplines and issues. None of this is possible without the deepest of thinking.

The book of proverbs speaks of “mining” the things of God. That mining is done primarily in the inner recesses of our lives. Henry Nouwen wrote that we don’t like to be silent and still because we are then confronted with the scaffolding of our lives, some of which we don’t like, some of which we abhor. Yet, without taking the time to be still and silent we miss out on the ability to search deep things in our lives and in our ministries. There is a reason that the Lord says through Isaiah, “Be still and know that I am God.” It is in that stillness that we are confronted with His full majesty!

The thinking of people of influence is born out of the practice, habit and discipline of extended periods of thinking. Our frenetic schedules and propensity to activity are the main enemies of deep thinking. As it robs us of time to think it also robs us of our influence.

This is why I block off major portions of my year for writing and thinking. For me, writing often clarifies my thinking so that is a discipline that is critical for me to maintain. I encourage pastors to develop a preaching team so that they can take time off from the weekly grind of preparation to stop and think deeply about their lives and ministries. If time to think, ponder, and meditate deeply is important to us, then our schedules should reflect that discipline. And think time should not be the first to go when things press into our schedules.

Equally important is time for deep dialogue with other leaders. It is not unusual for me to take 24 hours to be with another leader whom I respect and trust and to share our lives and talk through situations we face. This is thinking multiplied as two deep thinkers sharpen and challenge one another!

Truly deep thinkers are hard to find but when one does, they are a treasure to be nurtured and a friendship to be cultivated. For me, one of these is my brother Tom who is one of the most insightful people I know. He is a contrarian thinker and a deep thinker. He asks probing questions and has a humble demeanor. He is as others have said to me, “without guile.” Tom and I regularly try to find time together and both of us leave better for it.

Because I work in the international arena, I rub shoulders with some amazing movement leaders from around the globe. Usually I meet with national leaders in a group setting. But there are some unusually deep thinkers among them that I will schedule full days with, sometimes multiple days. In our mutual dialogue, sharing of life and ministry I come away with insights that cannot be had any other way. Hopefully I leave something of value behind as well. There is a multiplication factor of critical thinking when deep thinkers spend time together.

One of my former colleagues, Steve, actually has a band of five brothers who meet together on an annual basis, and have done so since seminary days. They have a pact to be transparent and honest and they are able to speak into each other’s personal lives, marriages, hearts and ministries. They have developed a powerful bond with one another that helps them think more deeply and live more intentionally.

The art of Grey Thinking

Contrarian thinking often simply means that we think grey on issues until we must make a decision. Grey thinking is the practice of soliciting as much input on a situation as possible, allowing those options to marinate in our minds and not making a final decision until it is necessary to do so. In the process, we often realize that there is an out of the box combination solution that is far better than any one of the proposed solutions by themselves.

Some people think it is a skill to make quick decisions and they pride themselves in their ability to do so. The truth is that slow decisions that have had significant input from a variety of sources is usually far better than a rapid one. In fact, wise leaders always bring the best thinking to the table including disparate viewpoints in the process of seeking the very best solution.

Outside my office is another room that used to be occupied by my executive assistant. Today is has a table, four chairs and white boards on two walls. I use that office far more than my actual office with a desk because this is the “think room” where together with colleagues I tackle complex issues in one of our many white board sessions. It is frequent in a conversation with colleagues that someone will say – “We need a white board session on that!”

Out of those sessions have come all kinds of unique ideas and solutions that were far better than any one of us could have crafted. There is no such thing as an all wise “sage” who invariably makes the right move. The sages of our day are those leaders who are secure enough in their own leadership to invite many others to the table in order to find solutions that no one person could have found.

Having sought a variety of wise counsel, wise leaders will than mull on those ideas, always asking the question, “Is there a solution that is different from a conventional solution that would allow us to move forward in a leveraged position.” And, they will often wait until the decision must be made to give themselves as much time as possible to consider alternatives. This is not decision avoidance: Rather, it is getting the right input and giving the right time to come up with a solution that is unconventional and better than what might have been decided earlier.

I will often tell my colleagues that I am thinking grey on an issue. They know that as long as I am thinking grey, they can dialogue with me on it. Of course, I rarely make a decision alone anyway – they are part of the equation. Grey thinking gives all of us the opportunity to continue to look for a unique solution. Remember, conventional wisdom is always conventional but it is rarely wisdom.

Embracing the discipline of thinking deeply

Good leaders are good thinkers. They have embraced the "discipline" of thinking - and it is a discipline that can be learned, sharpened and honed with time and practice.

There are others who have ambition but not the will to think deeply. Instead of thinking deeply they copy ideas of others and apply them to their ministry, hoping for the same results. Usually they don't get the same results because they did not understand the underpinnings of the strategy that came from deep strategic thought.

The more leadership responsibility one has the more one needs to set aside for thinking - away from distractions, email, and interruptions. Where you have other deeply insightful and strategic people on staff you will want to engage them in dialogue on critical issues you face. Some think best in solitude, some think best in dialogue. Either way, the intellectual capital of others plays a major role in coming to the best solutions.

As an organizational leader, I allocate about 25% of my time for thinking, analysis, considering options and dialoguing with other key individuals. Most people gravitate toward action. Leaders activate but only after a lot of deep thinking.

Leaders also practice "grey thought." Thinking grey is the ability to evaluate and consider many different options - some of them contradictory - without coming to a conclusion until one needs to. Here is an irony. Great leaders put off making decisions as long as they can so that they can do all the grey thinking possible. That way when they come to a conclusion, they have considered as many of the ramifications as possible and have a much higher wisdom and success ratio than those who make quick decisions.

Distractions are the greatest threat to deep thinking. Twitter, facebook, CNN, Fox, Sirius, the pace of life, and the obligations we have all rob us of think time. They are good if used well and unhelpful if not. Those who run too fast - even with great success - often crash. They lose their bearings that could have been saved if they had taken the time to consider and think about their ministry and their personal life. This is why my study is a haven for me, it is a place to stay grounded, think deeply and avoid distractions.

Our own spiritual development is integrally tied to the discipline of thinking. One of the reasons for the shallow discipleship of our world today is that we don't take the time to consider the implications of what God says in his word. Reading his word or listening to a message is easy. Making thoughtful application of that word to our lives is far more complex and difficult.

Those who display Biblical wisdom are people who think deeply rather than shallowly and often rather than seldom.