Thinking style: linear or systemic?
They focus on the relationships between parts and they often bring into play metaphors and analogies. If you were to diagram systemic thinking, it would look like a series of loops.
Americans tend to be very linear in their approach to problem solving. The Japanese tend to be systemic.
Cultural traps
If you come from a culture with a linear thinking style, you may lose patience with your more systemic colleagues or acquaintances. It may seem to you that they are incapable of keeping the discussion focused. Instead, they bring in seemingly unrelated stories and analogies.
If you come from a culture with a systemic thinking style, you may regard your linear clients as rigid, uncreative and narrow. They may seem unable to think on several levels at once or to see how the parts connect to the greater whole.
They focus on the relationships between parts and they often bring into play metaphors and analogies. If you were to diagram systemic thinking, it would look like a series of loops.
Americans tend to be very linear in their approach to problem solving. The Japanese tend to be systemic.
Cultural traps
If you come from a culture with a linear thinking style, you may lose patience with your more systemic colleagues or acquaintances. It may seem to you that they are incapable of keeping the discussion focused. Instead, they bring in seemingly unrelated stories and analogies.
If you come from a culture with a systemic thinking style, you may regard your linear clients as rigid, uncreative and narrow. They may seem unable to think on several levels at once or to see how the parts connect to the greater whole.
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