What Would an Integrative Thinker Do?

I am now three quarters into my program at Medill and one thing I have tried to do with each class, be it Medill, IMC or Kellogg, is to view it through the prism of my end goal. How will this course help me once I graduate? How is this directly applicable to the projects I plan to tackle in another few months? Those have been among my thoughts this spring as I find myself in Managing Integration, discussing “The Opposable Mind,” a book by Roger Martin that is intended to teach us how integrative thinkers think and act.

Martin writes that there are six aspects to an integrative thinker’s stance (the first three apply to the world; the next three apply to the self):

1. Existing models do not represent reality; they are our constructions;
2. Opposing models are to be leveraged, not feared;
3. Existing models are not perfect; better models exist that are not yet seen;
4. I am capable of finding a better model;
5. I can wade into and get through the necessary complexity; and
6. I give myself the time to create a better model.

The second, third and fourth points most resonated with me when I read them. Obviously the print media model continues to be decimated for a multitude of reasons – the loss of classified ads, prolonged decreases in circulation and massive debts. Also, one only has to look to the future and see there is no reason to believe audiences will continue to pick up paper copies of The New York Times or Chicago Tribune when the same material – sometimes enhanced material – is available on computers, Blackberrys, iPhones, iPads, Kindle and so on (and that is to say nothing of the fact that you cannot email or retweet paper!).

Ok, so …

Opposing models are to be leveraged, not feared and

Existing models are not perfect; better models exist that are not yet seen

Every week I read, listen to and engage in arguments over pay walls, subscriptions and ad-supported sites. Should start-ups be nonprofits, so they can accept foundation money? What about getting a venture capitalist to invest? I predict the most successful models in the next decade will find a way to combine – leverage – the benefits of each financial model. The Chicago News Cooperative is basically taking this approach and throwing everything against the way to see what sticks. It is a nonprofit (through WTTW), it receives money from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, a fee from The New York Times, and its leadership is considering a pay wall or subscription structure once the site goes live.

I am capable of finding a better model

This was my answer when people asked me why a sane person would quit a job during a recession to go back to a program dedicated to field where many feel we're just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. BECAUSE I CAN DO IT BETTER. That’s what I am working on and that’s what I will hopefully have to show for myself come August. I should be able to squeeze in a few more integrated management courses before then.