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DEVELOPING NEW BUSINESS IDEAS46

step two: strengthen your non-preferred thinking
style The following sections suggest how you can strengthen your

non-preferred style by improving your ability to switch between left-
brain and right-brain thinking and by deliberately stretching your non-
preferred thinking side.
switching between thinking styles Before moving into the brain-
stretching exercises, we will start with a few warm-ups to get you used
to the movement between convergent and divergent thinking,
generating new perspectives on things which your left-brain told you
were unambiguously true.
Look at the picture below and describe the woman you see.36

Conventional left-brain thinking would say that a picture can
communicate only one image. But what do you see? An old woman? Or
a young woman with a boa? Consider which detail it was that drew you
to your initial interpretation – it shows the power of the first impression
to colour your judgement. Once you have spotted both, reflect on what
it feels like to shift perception from one perspective to another: it will
make it easier for you actively to manage the conscious transition from
convergent to divergent thinking which is such an important part of
creativity.