The biggest hurdle one faces in today’s environment is to know ‘how to think.’ We are forced to think every moment of our life. You are always thinking – about something or the other. Work, home, person, exams, studies, money, dreams – you put anything here and it will remain true. We think for us and we think for others as well!

Now, being in the business of communication, we are also forced to think about what others may be thinking! How do you do that? Well, let’s try and find some answers. Some people will say let’s do research to find out what people are thinking about a particular product/brand or a service or even an individual. Some people think that they know everything about everything and think that there’s no need to think for others – they will buy whatever we create or sell. Well, it’s becoming either too funny or too complicated.

Let’s look at what’s happening around us. Social media experts believe that the emergence of social media has opened pandora’s box for every researcher on the planet earth. They can spot the society trends just by closely watching what’s happening on ‘Facebook’ and ‘Twitter.’ They may be true – some section of people behave in a certain way and if they are connected with common interests (groups/gangs/fans whatever you may call them…) they may think in a similar way about a situation. But, is it always true? Society doesn’t change overnight the way ‘social media’ changes. Few years ago, it was ‘MySpace’, then came ‘Orkut’; now it’s time for ‘Facebook’ and ‘Twitter’ – tomorrow you never know what will happen. But, do you think that the society changes this fast? I don’t think so. Some people might argue that these media are reflection of the very society I am talking about. But, to my mind these are macro changes and not the micro changes, which we fail to notice in a day to day grind.

So, what do you think and how do you think? “Google can be the best answer,” said somebody from behind. I beg to defer. Google just gives you information and fodder for thinking. It doesn’t think for you. The analysis of what google has thrown upon you is still need to be done by us and we need to make some sense of what is being displayed on your LED screen. We need to find newer meanings of the same words and use them, we need to implement them for life and see how they react in a real life environment – it’s not about creating one more jargon, but it’s about ‘thinking’ and moving forward.

Someone said, TV News, Newspapers, Reality Shows  - those reflects the true nature of the society. Do you think so? I don’t think so. What do you see on TV or read in the newspapers is more gossip that the reality. There are thousand and one examples galore all around you! They can’t move beyond Nityanand or Icchadhari Babas and cricket, politics and bollywood or the mahasangam of all three – IPL! If you want to think about your consumers or your brand or your clients, you need to find new source of information. May be the person on the street, the person who is going to open her purse to buy your product or service.

Another way to develop thinking is to look around you. You can be your best teacher. Learn from what you see, what you observe and think about it. There is some Chinese proverb that says that you learn more by walking a mile than reading a book – or something like that. If you are in unknown city, explore it by walking and I am sure your braincells will think more than you could have ever imagined. You need to observe everyday, mundane and boring things to develop new thinking. You need to spend time with people you don’t like to get the new point of view – to develop new thinking.

I think, this is enough for today. The crux is thinking never stops but how do you think is more important. What do you think that will make your future a brighter one, is more important. As I have always said, to know the future – you need to know the history and remember it well in order to forecast the future. So, however futuristic you think, it is important that you know what you are doing and what you need to do to make things happen beyond your thinking – for you, for your life and for your clients. Thinking has to result in a strategy and strategy has to result in impact. Start thinking…

Take care.