Many novel or even seasoned serial entrepreneurs get struck in what I call the dichotomous thinking trap. The noun dichotomy is defined by Webster’s dictionary as:
1: a division into two especially mutually exclusive or contradictory groups or entities <the dichotomy between theory and practice> ; also : the process or practice of making such a division <dichotomy of the population into two opposed classes>
2: the phase of the moon or an inferior planet in which half its disk appears illuminated
3 a: bifurcation; ; especially : repeated bifurcation (as of a plant's stem) b: a system of branching in which the main axis forks repeatedly into two branches c: branching of an ancestral line into two equal diverging branches
4: something with seemingly contradictory qualities <it's a dichotomy, this opulent Ritz-style luxury in a place that fronts on a boat harbor — Jean T. Barrett>
Dichotomous thinking is narrow thinking that divides the world, your problems or solutions into only two opposing camps: Yes/No; right/wrong; black/white; Ying / Jang; in-source/ outsource etc. Mainly that’s how the brain works in creating information patterns. Many people don’t even bother to think beyond these self-imposed, artificial, cognitive boundaries to come up with a third, forth or fifth option.
Here’s a case study of one Canadian business that broke free of the dichotomous thinking trap (source: from the Opportunity ClinicTM workshop notes)
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