Tag: Dialectical Thinking

I propose to strengthen the cognitive processes involved in design thinking, especially for cross-functional teams, both through artificial intelligence techniques and focused cognitive coaching. I take as an example of design thinking the canvas metaphor used by Osterwalder and Pigneur (2014, 2010), selecting its CS (customer segment) component for further scrutiny. Specifically, I introduce an amplified form of design thinking called "transformational" thinking that is grounded in research in adult cognitive development over the lifespan (Laske 2008 [2017b/c]). My approach is rooted in DTF, the Dialectical Thought Form Framework developed at the Interdevelopmental Institute (IDM) since the year 2000. In focus in the blog is the notion of “hidden dimensions” of the canvas that iterative cognitive sprints of a cross-functional team reveal. I see such sprints as based on a combination of “breadth-first” and “depth-first” search, where the former is focused on creating the biggest possible picture, while the second deepens and refines the picture in its details, both in terms of thinking and resulting outcome. I show that the two kinds of searches are mutually reinforcing and that purely logical thinking (and thus algorithmic thinking also) fail in depth-first search, At the end of the text, I demonstrate by... Read More...

This blog introduces the new IDM Program for learning complexity thinking based on critical problems brought forward by the client. Client-proposed problems serve as a procedural and behavioral guideline for a 5-step acquisition of cutting-edge solution approaches that have been tested in previous IDM teaching and are grounded in Roy Bhaskar’s work on dialectic (1993). In contrast to earlier IDM offerings, the present one progresses in clear steps from module to module to facilitate learner progress. Emphasis in the course is put on “doing” over passive listening. Lecturing is kept to a minimum. A progressive sequence of mandatory "meta-thinking" exercises is in place. The program comprises 5 steps taking 9 months to 1 year to complete, depending on the learner’s present level of cognitive development and mental habits. It concludes with three successively higher-level certifications in complexity thinking for use in life and work. Course materials are module-specific and are enriched by IDM publications on sale at www.interdevelopmentals.org under Publications, or taken from recent blogs by Otto Laske. A discount applies to registering for 4 of the 5 modules upfront, after writing to [email protected] to discuss the learner's agenda. In coming months, the program will move from its present test-phase... Read More...

This Spring, the second editions of Laske's Measuring Hidden Dimensions: Foundations of Requisite Organization (2008) as well as its associated Manual of Dialectical Thought Forms (2008) appears under Publications on this site. Both publications can be downloaded for a nominal price at While the first text, referred to as MHD2, introduces crucial concepts for managing the digitization of business and grasp the challenges posed by new, non-hierarchical organization designs, the Manual is a much needed set of tools for "meta-thinking". Meta-thinking, or "thinking about thinking", is not a philosophical past-time but rather a way of thinking critically and complexly. Using Meta-thinking, what is said, the content of a communication, can be reflected upon, critiqued, and elaborated in terms of the quality and complexity of thinking that gave rise it. Imagine you work with a real or virtual team and are focusing on enhancing collaborative intelligence: what better tool could you possibly wish for? For instilling meta-thinking in individuals or teams, it is helpful to know where DTFM comes from. This is spelled out in some detail in the 2017 Acknowledgements recently written by Otto Laske who speaks to the history and relevance of this priceless tool for "agile" and "hyper-"... Read More...

This short text explains what is important about crafting new forms of dialog in organizations and institutions seeking to be innovative. The text points to DTF, the Dialectical Thought Form Framework (2008, second edition 2017), that was introduced in a previous post entitled “A new approach to dialog.” In a time of deliberately developmental organization and organizations transcending rigid managerial hierarchies, the dialogical approach to thinking and managing here highlighted becomes an essential part of innovation. Short Preface, A new approach to dialog OL 3-2017   Read More...

Can you imagine being part of a dialog in which you not only listen to what your interlocutor is saying but also to the underlying structure of his or her thinking?  If you had knowledge of the thought form structure of human sense making, this way of listening, called “dialectical”, would enable you to point to what is missing (absent) both in your own and others’ verbal communication. It would thereby help you deepen your and others' thinking in real-time dialog. Your critical listening would then not be restricted to content but would equally focus on underlying thought structures used by your interlocutors. In a team and group context, you would be able to point to interlocutors’ thought gaps in a compassionate, inter-developmental, way. Such gaps are not “academic”. They are more serious than that since they translate into gaps between how people think and how reality works. It is this kind of dialog that the present article introduces. The article paves the way for an intelligent reading and teaching of the Manual of Dialectical Thought Forms (DTFM), which in the near future will become available in pdf form on this website under Publications. The article introduces cutting-edge thinking tools... Read More...

As the Interdevelopmental Institute (IDM) enters a new era, it wants to communicate what it has learned and what, based on its learning over nearly 20 years, it can now deliver to CEOs and Boards. Find out how the Institute's main methodology, called Constructive Developmental Framework (CDF), addresses contemporary issues such as the digital transformation of businesses in all of its facets. Take note of the critical realism CDF tools embody (thanks to Roy Bhaskar's work on a dialectical ontology), and IDM's critical theory practice that now provides a new home for Frankfurt School insights just in time ... Sincere thanks to the international community of students who have made IDM widely known through their own work over many years! A New Beginning at IDM Read More...