Theory and practice
Each of the professions—business, law, education and so forth—seems to divide into two camps. In one camp are the theorists—airy academics who proffer high-minded theories. In the other camp are the practitioners—earthy entrepreneurs who labor on the ground of practice. Every so often, one camp complains about the other. The practitioners grumble about practice-less theory. The theorists grouse about theory-less practice. If the theorists were made to practice what they preach, say the practitioners, they would understand that their theories are impractical, incomplete, or wrong. If the practitioners were made to preach what they practice, counter the theorists, they would realize that their practices amount to poorly informed guesswork.
So which camp is right? As with many issues, the answer lies in the middle. Theory should be built on the ground of practice and practice should be guided by the light of theory, for as the philosopher John Dewey explained, “Theory without practice is empty; practice without theory is blind.” In other words, theory informs practice, and practice informs theory. Loosely defined, a theory is a mental model of the world that says what causes what and why. The car mechanic who knows “what causes what and why” will be more effective than the stalled motorist who knows nothing about cars. The businessperson who knows the “what’s and why’s” of building a company is more likely to be successful than a novice entrepreneur. And in this case, where I’m justifying the posts about thought and thinking, the group that understands cognitive theory is more likely to boost their collective IQ than the one that doesn’t.
If you buy into the yin yang of theory and practice, then you understand why the articles on this blog include some of both. If you don’t, then you’re probably thinking that the theory is “too esoteric” or “too complicated” to have practical value and that you (and I) should skip the theory and focus on the practice of improving collective thought and intelligence. To those of you in second group, I ask that consider how two very knowledgeable persons might respond to you.
John Dewey would probably respond to the “too esoteric” complaint as he did before—practice without theory is blind. If you want to do the best possible job of increasing collective thought and intelligence, you first need to understand things like: What is thinking? What is collective thought? What is intelligence? What is collective IQ? Cognitive theory provides the best answers available.
The Harvard educator D.N. Perkins would likely respond to the “too complicated” objection in this way—we wish for what comes hard. He explains that people often wish for knowledge, “. . . including facts, concepts, principles, skills, and their intelligent, insightful, and sensitive use.” They wish for, rather than possess, these things because valuable knowledge and skills do not come easily. The same holds for groups that wish to know how to increase their collective IQ. Understanding the concepts and principles underlying collective thought and intelligence requires that you go beyond “pop” team-building practices and tackle some cognitive theory.
So, what’s in it for you? How will your group or organization benefit from mastering the theory and practice of collective cognition? The simple answer is simply this—better ideas. Collective cognition, collaboration, team thinking, or however you care to characterize it, is about generating ideas that no one of the group members previously possessed or could have arrived at alone. Take a moment to let that sink in and you’ll be well on your way to understanding the enormous potential of understanding the theory and practice of collective thought and intelligence.
Kevin W. Holt, the founder of Co.Innovation Consulting, is a strategic planning consultant and meeting facilitator based in Phoenix, Arizona. He works with commercial, government, and nonprofit organizations to develop innovative strategies and solutions. His strategy consulting and meeting facilitation practice centers on the use of proven processes mapped to collaboration technologies (e.g., electronic brainstorming) and specialized software tools (e.g., the Blue Ocean strategy canvas). The technologies enable him to serve as both an offsite meeting facilitator and a virtual meeting facilitator for strategic planning workshops, innovation labs, brainstorming sessions, feedback sessions, and other types of meetings. Kevin is the author of Differentiation Strategy: Winning Customers by Being Different, published by Routledge in June 2022.