White paper: Diversity of Thought and the Search for Best Ideas

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Summary

The concept of “best ideas” is well understood in an investment context, but it is seldom grasped with such clarity in a broader organisational setting. We ask how a process of distillation and refinement might be used in decision-making and problem-solving systems of all kinds and how it might thereby shape the functioning of an entire business. We propose a basic framework that draws on diversity, inclusion and meritocracy to produce best ideas. This framework rejects common decision-making and problemsolving failings – among them hubris, inertia, groupthink and design by committee – and instead prioritises humility, open-mindedness, multiple perspectives and critical scrutiny