(2022-05-10) Chin Cognitive Flexibility Theory The Rules

Cedric Chin: Cognitive Flexibility Theory: The Rules.

Rule 1: Figure Out If You’re in an Ill-Structured Domain

It’s important to figure out which type of domain you’re in because the two domains demand different approaches for mastery. If you’re in a well-structured domain, you should just study the underlying concepts or principles

Rule 2: When Reading Principles or Frameworks, Actively Search for Cases

When you’re reading a business framework, or a set of principles from a believable practitioner in an ill-structured domain, it is important to seek out 10-20 cases to colour in the detail

Rule 3: Read History for Fragments, Not Lessons

A more appropriate way to read biography is to say “ok, this part of the story is an instance of X”, where X is a concept in the domain you’re interested in

One of the two claims that CFT makes is that experts in ill-structured domains reason by combining fragments of prior cases. They reason by analogy. (case study)

Cases are often too context-dependent to generalise into universal lessons.

Rule 4: Reasoning by Analogy is … OK!

Bringing up the anecdote makes it possible to tease apart the deep structure embedded within, in order to better reason about the present situation.

Another way of talking about this is that it is meaningless to reason in the abstract about ‘universal principles’ in business. (first principles)

Rule 5: Focus on the Differences in Cases, Not Just the Similarities!

Rule 6: Search for Stories That Are Relevant To The Framework, But Might Not Fit