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Integrated Thinking of Great Enterprises. You may think that what I just mentioned are just examples of individual companies and individual leaders. However, let me tell you now, great leaders and great companies must have integrated thinking. You can’t be great without thinking holistically. There is a global bestseller in management science called “Built to Last”. This book studies 18 long-established companies. The oldest is Citibank, which was founded in 1812, and the youngest is Wal-Mart, which was founded in 1945. The Marriott Group, which I mentioned before, is also one of these 18 companies. How did these 18 companies achieve longevity? Four words – integrated thinking.

As I just said, the expression of integrated thinking is “both this and that”. According to the summary of the book “Built to Last”, these 18 companies have mainly achieved four “both this and that”:

• They have both a purpose beyond profit and a pragmatic pursuit of profit.
• They both have fairly fixed core values and are bold enough to change and act.
• They not only have a clear vision and sense of direction but also conduct opportunistic exploration and experimentation.
• They both set an audacious goal and achieve it through incremental evolution and progress.

You may be tempted to ask this question by now: How do I move from binary to integrative thinking? There are many things you need to do; let me start with two points. These two points are the two concepts you need to change.

The first point is that you need to change your concept of conflict.

The core of integrated thinking is to integrate two conflicting propositions, such as Procter & Gamble, to integrate cost reduction and vigorous innovation. Your notions of conflict may prevent you from thinking holistically.

Let me ask you, what do you think conflict looks like? If you think of conflict as a war or a game, then you think of conflict as something that one side wins and the other loses. Then you can only choose one of the two, and it will not be integrated.

There is a pioneer in management called Follett, who proposed a concept called “constructive conflict”. She doesn’t think conflict is like a war, nor like a game. What is it like? It’s like friction in physics. Because of friction, there is fire, and because of friction, the violin makes music. Friction brings us something new, so conflict can be constructive and produce something new. You need to understand conflict as constructive conflict.

Conflict is not necessarily a bad thing; conflict can be constructive. This is the first concept you have to change. The second concept you need to change is the concept of resources.

For example, you think you can’t have both, because of what? Maybe it’s because you don’t have enough money. However, integrative thinking leaders will think, “I don’t have enough money now, but I can use the current money to generate more money,” which is finding internal resources. They will also think, “I don’t have enough money, but others have money. I can find them to cooperate,” which is finding external resources.

Your current concept of resources is likely to be that resources are scarce. However, integrative thinking leaders believe that resources are plentiful, and all they need to do is find them. This resource can be found internally or externally.

There is a famous saying, which is said to be said by the sculptor Rodin: “There is no lack of beauty in life, but the lack of eyes to discover beauty.” Similarly, leaders of integrative thinking believe that we do not lack resources; we just need to find them.

To learn to think integratively, you can also use the eighth mantra of leadership practice, “why.” I have covered two uses of “why.” When thinking about decision-making, you ask the first “why” to find the cause of the problem. When thinking systematically, you ask the second “why,” which is used to find the goal of the system. When integrating thinking, you have to ask the third “why.”

The third “why” is somewhat different from the first two “why.” The third type of “why” actually asks “Why not.” Add the word “not” after “why” to ask “why not.” Others say that you can’t have both, and you ask, “Why not,” why can’t you have both? Others say that cutting costs and vigorously innovating cannot go hand in hand, you ask, “Why not,” why can’t we do it at the same time? You can start your own integrative thinking by asking “Why not.”

What great leaders and great companies have in common is integrated thinking.

To learn to think integratively, you have to change your concept of conflict from thinking that “conflict is bad” to thinking that “conflict is constructive.”

You have to change your concept of resources from thinking that “resources are scarce” to thinking that “resources are sufficient.”

You should also apply the leadership mantra “why,” and more specifically, ask “Why not?” Why can’t you do both?

Great leaders and companies must have integrated thinking, which means integrating two conflicting propositions. “Built to Last” studied 18 long-established companies, and found that they all achieved longevity through integrated thinking. They had a purpose beyond profit and a pragmatic pursuit of profit, fixed core values but were bold enough to change and act, clear vision and sense of direction but also conducted opportunistic exploration and experimentation, and set audacious goals and achieved them through incremental evolution and progress.

In conclusion, to move from binary to integrative thinking, one needs to change their concept of conflict and resources. Conflict can be constructive, like friction in physics, and resources are plentiful and can be found internally or externally. Leaders can use the third “why” to ask “Why not” when integrating thinking.