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First there is a mountain

One of the greatest stumbling blocks in the path to solving a problem occurs when you tell yourself, “I already know that.”

When you are trying to tackle a business challenge, this is the same as placing your hands over your ears. You are unwilling to listen and uninterested in exploring the implications of an idea. But you may have only considered it without understanding.

I have many times heard people discuss something I believed I had understood. It was only later, because of the repetition or because the others were approaching things from a different angle, I understood the point at a much deeper level.

Most of those I regard to be thoughtful, respected experts are willing to embrace repetition. They don't mind reading a book in which 90 percent is familiar. The fresh 10 percent can nudge their minds into valuable new insights. Furthermore, the 90 percent that's “already known” can shift their thinking too.

Donovan had a song about seeing mountains first as mountains, then as non-mountains, and finally as mountains again. Seeing the same mountains as mountains again, without the intervening stage, can also involve a revelation.

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