“If your only tool is a hammer, all your problems will be nails” – Mark Twain

A wife has been married to her husband for 30 years. Together they have 2 children, one is a successful doctor and the other an artist. On the eve of her 53rd birthday the wife hands her husband divorce papers. A few months later she moves to a stunning house at the beach.

What do you make of this story?

The husband might say ” she was only after my money and once the kids were established she ditched me!”

The child that is the artist might say ” I feel sorry for my dad but my mom has given us so much love and attention, I think she deserves to do something for her self.”

The doctor might think ” maybe if I intervene I can patch up the relationship between my folks and things can get back to normal.”

A family friend would possibly have a totally different perspective to the husbands boss. And so on….

Who is correct?

None of them.

They are all hitting the nail with their own unique hammer. Which can have catastrophic results.

We need to diversify our toolbox…

We need to be able to use different mental models in different situations.

Have you noticed how often a surgeon’s first option is to bring out the scalpel?

People inherently link their own map of the world to a particular problem.

So is that wrong?

Well imagine if people applied their specialized expertise in areas they shouldn’t.

For example; teachers and coaches who treat their friends like students.

There are countless instances where this happens so be aware of it. You might even be guilty yourself.

In summary, seek ways of adding new tools to your kit. Once you have found ways of expanding your skills and knowledge you need to put it into practise. Research shows that it takes about 6 to 12 months to internalize the fundamental mental models of the new field. So start now because soon your toolbox will be far more versatile and your focus will be sharper.

Click on the image below to add more tools to your box.