With everyone turning to their local AI tool of choice for wisdom, advice and practically treating it like a genie in bottle, the art of independent thinking might be dying.
I say “might” because you can change that.
To live is to think, and despite what the AI companies tell you, letting AI think for you is not a good idea. If everyone is using AI, that is no longer your advantage.
Being an elite independent thinker that doesn’t need to over rely on AI might be your best advantage today.
So, here’s 4 unique frameworks to stand-out in a sea of AI-hijacked humans to become a problem solver that people want to listen to (and pay you lots of money 💰).
Being an Elite Thinker doesn’t need to be complicated
Some of what I’ll share you might know already, and some you might not.
I’m not going to over-engineer these frameworks or how to use them. I’m not a consulting firm with a 100-page report designed to blow you away with fake brilliance in the hope of buying something from me.
These don’t need to be complex to be useful, hence my overview of each being light and to the point. My hope is you continue to do your own research into the ones that sound most helpful.
4 frameworks to become an elite independent thinker without AI
Note: How and when you use these frameworks is up to you. Of course, they’re not suitable for every situation and you certainly shouldn’t use all of them together…deploy your common sense, friend.
1/ Problem Thinking
The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem.
Captain Jack Sparrow
This isn’t an official title for this framework.
It doesn’t have one because it’s just something I came to on my own through real world work experience rather than discovering in a book or something.
Most people approach AI, and learning tech in general, backwards. They buy a tool, or get excited about a feature, and then go looking for a use case to justify it. That’s a guaranteed way to get poor results and waste time.
Here’s an example of the framework framed around using AI:
1 / Use Case
What problem are you actually trying to solve?
This can be at a macro level (I want to become more confident using AI across my work) or a micro level (I need to reduce the time I spend writing stakeholder communications).
2 / Problem
This is the bit that’s easy to skip but is the critical element to this framework.
- Why does this matter?
- What does solving it free up?
- Where will you put that time?
The time you get back from AI needs to go somewhere valuable, ideally into the areas AI can’t reach, like stakeholder relationships, strategic thinking, and influencing.
3 / Task
What are the specific tasks that need to happen to solve this problem?
Be specific here, so not “use AI for research” but “find case studies from the last five years on remote onboarding programmes from companies with 500+ employees.”
4 / Tool
Only now do you think about the tool.
And if you’re constrained to a specific platform at work, adapt the tasks to what that tool can do.
2/ First Principles Thinking
If you want to re-establish the current order of how ‘x’ works, this is the one for you.
Lots of people bang on about “rewiring”, “reshaping” and “transforming” L&D, but ultimately end up doing none of that because they are constrained by the conditioned thinking they already have on the subject.
First principles is just asking: why do we do it this way? Is it because it’s the best way or just because it’s always been done this way?
A great L&D example is end of course quizzes and tests. I f**king hate them. Yet, we do them because it’s been part of the fabric for L&D assessment for soooo long, but does that tell us if behaviour changed?
Easy answer – No.
So why are we doing it?
This is what first principles challenge you to think about.
How to apply it
- State the problem clearly
- Ask: what assumptions am I making about this problem?
- Strip each assumption away and ask: is this actually true, or is it just how things are done?
- Rebuild from what’s left with the things you know to be true
3/ Inversion Thinking
Inversion is the practice of flipping a problem on its head.
Instead of asking “how do I achieve X?”, you ask, “what would guarantee I fail at X?” and then you avoid those things. I learnt this from famed investor, and Warren Buffets best bud, Charlie Munger, who popularised this in modern thinking (although he was not the creator).
I’m a bit of a weirdo who likes to be counter-intuitive in my approach to most of life. So, spending time calculating what actions would guarantee a disaster so I can avoid them, is right up my street.
How to apply it:
- State your goal: Ask what would guarantee this fails?
- List every plausible answer
- Now remove or avoid those things
An L&D example:
Imagine your L&D team is designing an AI upskilling programme for the organisation.
You ask: how do we make this experience effective? You brainstorm content, formats, delivery methods etc, all the standard stuff.
↳ Inversion asks: what would guarantee this experience is completely ignored and changes nothing?
Think, debate and turn that into your advantage.
4/ Systems Thinking
Systems thinking is all about how everything is interconnected.
We could call this the ability to connect the dots in the work that you do across the wider organisation.
You’ll find lots of definitions on systems thinking online but I view it as simply not focusing on problems in isolation and following your curiosity while using your critical thinking skills to ask how, why and what effect your decisions or outputs will make on the larger system around you.
I find this especially important in L&D functions because we’re often siloed from the main business.
And not recognising how your decisions can impact the wider business for good or bad can be fatal (sorry for the dramatics).
This is a good video that explains systems thinking with examples and below is a helpful framing from the CPTO at Netflix.
Why elite independent thinking without AI is so critical
Now you could outsource your thinking to AI, but at what cost?
Maybe it does good work, and maybe it doesn’t. The problem with either path is your brain gets lazy, and without the golden elixir of on-demand access to AI, you’re not so smart anymore.
This is not to say AI isn’t useful because it is incredibly useful.
Everything with AI comes down to how you choose to use it. AI isn’t making you dumb, your choices are.
Elite thinkers will always be in demand. No surprise that elite thinkers are amazing problem solvers, and being a problem solver, regardless of your industry, is a profitable path.
What most of the narrative gets worng nowdays is that AI + elite human thinking can co-exist. It’s not about delegation, it should be about amplification of your capabilities.
That combo will make sure you thrive long-term.
Before you go… 👋
If you like my writing and think “Hey, I’d like to hear more of what this guy has to say” then you’re in luck.
You can join me every Tuesday morning for more tools, templates and insights for the modern L&D pro in my weekly newsletter.
