Knowledge

Deductive vs. Inductive Strategy

How do you use your brain?

You may wonder whether this question has anything to do with strategy. Believe me, it has.

A lot.

Some people like to use their mind top down. They start with the general principle, and then apply it to specific situations to find a solution. They are the deductive thinkers. When it comes to strategy, deductive thinkers need (and enjoy) to start with stuff like vision, mission statement, core values, master plan, and brand identity. From there, they logically produce priorities, objectives, and sub-objectives, plans and procedures. When you ask them to solve a practical problem, they tend to question you about the underlying vision, value, mission, or objective, and then deduct the solution from it. They look for the source, for point zero, for the alpha principle.

Other people use their mind bottom up. They are not interested in general principles. Rather than thinking before doing, they do before thinking (or they just do). They focus on finding effective solutions to practical problems. They are the inductive thinkers. When it comes to strategy, they like a hands-on, action-oriented, pragmatic approach. In their view, spending time on defining a vision or a mission statement is pointless, irrelevant, or even counter-productive. They prefer an empirical, trial-and-error approach. They want to get tangible results and waste no time on theory, planning, or daydreaming. As a client once told me, “the only way to discover what you want is to do it”.

Professionals tend to be more the deductive type than their clients. This may a source of mutual satisfaction, or a source of irritation and frustration. Indeed, some clients will appreciate the clarity, order, and power that deductive professionals bring to their chaotic strategic ideas. Other clients (and there are many of them), after an experience with a deductive professional, will simply stop the relationship. They expected quick solutions with immediate results, but instead they got questions about objectives and long-term vision. So they felt they were losing their time and money.

Indeed, when deductive and inductive thinkers meet to discuss strategy, it may turn sour. The deductive thinkers find that the inductive ones are disorganised, blind or at best myopic, or even stupid. The inductive thinkers find that the deductive ones are too academic, inefficient and irrelevant.

So, if you want to keep your client, make sure you don’t make the mistake of ignoring the deductive-inductive typology. And if you want to make your client delighted, turn this difference into an asset. Here is a list of recommendations that can help:

• Know Yourself. What type of thinker are you? Deductive or a inductive? Or both? Are you aware of your preferred thinking pattern?

• Know your client. What type is our client? Especially those with whom communication and mutual understanding is not optimal. Generally, can you easily find out whether the client in front of you is an inductive or a deductive thinker?

• Be flexible. Don’t try to impose your thinking pattern upon your client. Your thinking pattern is not the truth, it is not THE way. It is just a set of mental patterns among other possibilities to process information. It will only alienate the client if you stick to your pattern and ignores his. On the contrary, put yourself in the shoes - or, I should say, in the brain - of your client. Mirror your client’s thinking patterns.

• Train yourself. Try to solve an issue first in a deductive and then in an inductive way. Develop your agility so as to stand out in both. As a professional, the only production unit you can rely on is your brain. So, "think before you think." Or, at least, think about how you think. Including the deductive-inductive typology in your mental toolkit is a good way to start. 

Antoine Henry de Frahan | 10 May 2006 |