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“We have interest from new investors,” a new acquaintance, Tom, told me after a conference a few years ago. He assured me that this new cash injection would help his startup reach new heights. Needless to say, he was overly confident, overzealous and wanted to grow as quickly as possible.
It’s an old story: inexperienced entrepreneurs believe that the only way to succeed is to focus solely on immediate profit.
Unfortunately, Tom failed to factor in several variables such as a solid business plan and building a quality product with high market demand. His business became just another statistic in the 90% of startups fail.
I’ve been the CEO of my company, Jotform, for over 16 years now, and I’ve seen the above scenario more times than I care to count. And what I discovered is the same as what Harvard Business Review contributor Helen Lee Bouygues points out when she writes that the root cause of these organizational failures comes down to a lack of critical thinking.
“Too many business leaders simply don’t reason through pressing issues and take the time to evaluate a topic from all sides.” However, she offers good news: critical thinking is a skill we can all learn.
Related: Truly Independent Thinkers Have These 5 Traits
Why Entrepreneurs Should Sharpen Their Critical Thinking
When I first launched my company in 2006, I did something that sounds unheard of today: I didn’t take my job. I had people insisting that I take the “all or nothing” approach. They told me that my business would only succeed if I took things seriously and devoted myself completely to my startup.
I’m glad I didn’t listen.
We eventually grew to over 15 million users, and we did it with $0 funding.
And I can attribute a lot of this to prioritizing critical thinking.
You see, I went against the norm and didn’t quit my day job cold turkey. I didn’t feel the need to hire a co-founder or attract investors. My business has always been a bootstrapped business. And I’d rather grow slowly and steadily over the past decade and a half than reach the top of TechCrunch.
So, let me tell you what happened: By the time I left my job, the product I had been working on replaced my paycheck and gave me a runway job to dedicate my time to building Jotform.
For this reason, I want to help you develop your critical thinking skills – drawing on my own experience and expert advice – to ensure the success of your organization.
Related: An ukbusinessupdates.com’s Guide to Better Thinking
1. Don’t be guided by assumptions
As I mentioned above, many people told me that I was making a big mistake by holding down my job. “You assume too much”, some colleagues warned. “You are not fully committed,” others would add.
I had to avoid their voices to hear mine.
As important as it is to question the assumptions of others, it is just as important to question our own. As Bouygues writes, “an interrogative approach is especially useful when the stakes are high.”
She notes that as we think about long-term business goals that will require years of effort and cost, we need to ask ourselves the following questions:
- Can we determine how sales will increase?
- Have we done our research on our expectations for the future market?
- Have we wondered what possible alternatives there are?
All of these analyzes are necessary to think critically and take the best course of action.
Related: The Real Reason Most Businesses Fail (and What to Do About It)
2. Improve your reasoning
It’s tempting to want to jump straight into a new project without fully weighing all the pros and cons. And this doesn’t just happen to newly minted entrepreneurs – it applies to even the most seasoned among us.
Yes, we can indeed gain more critical thinking skills with time and experience. But instead of learning through costly missteps, we can also improve our reasoning through logic. One way to do this is to examine different arguments and see if they are supported by evidence.
“Do all the pieces of evidence build on each other to arrive at a good conclusion?” asks Bouygues. “Being aware of common misconceptions also helps you think more logically.”
For example, before taking on a new project at Jotform, we do our homework by sending out customer surveys, analyzing feedback, and taking the market and competition into account. Instead of letting our excitement take the lead, we rely on a thorough process of solid reasoning.
Related: Escape Your Mind: How Overthinking Could Hurt Entrepreneurs in 2023
3. Step outside your bubble
This is a trap many of us fall into: we only surround ourselves with people from our industry.
“This is a problem,” writes Bouygues. “If everyone in our social circles thinks like us, we become more rigid in our thinking and less likely to change our beliefs based on new information.”
To sharpen our critical thinking, it is therefore imperative that we leave our bubble. And we can do that by taking small steps.
One way I apply this is by talking to people outside of technology or having lunch with people from different backgrounds than mine. Aside from these active measures, I also make it a point to switch up my daily reading – I prefer books that are also outside my industry.
Experts agree. “Training yourself in this way allows you to escape your usual way of thinking and gain richer insights,” advises Bouygues.
My suggestion? Don’t just read or listen to podcasts about business or technology (if that’s what you normally like). Read novels and listen to speeches from opinion leaders outside of your normal environment. And remember:
“While luck plays a part – sometimes small, sometimes big – in a company’s success,” adds Bouygues, “The most important business victories come from smart thinking.”
In other words: Go against the herd mentality. Use logic, question your assumptions, and don’t allow yourself to stand still.
Related: Critical thinking is the skill many leaders lack
