The Next Next Common Sense
of space." This possibility-focused model drove the innovation that tradi- tional models dismissed as impossible.
4. Tolerance for productive failure
Creative models view failures as learning opportunities, using phrases like "we learned," "this revealed," or "now we understand." Amazon's development of the Fire Phone was a market failure, but the creative mental model within the company interpreted this not as evidence that Amazon should stay out of hardware but as specific lessons about what kinds of hardware initiatives might succeed. This learning directly informed the successful development of Echo and Alexa. Signs of Obstructionist Mental Models Obstructionist mental models typically display their own set of characteristics:
1. Categorical thinking
Obstructionist models use absolute terms like "always," "never," "com- pletely," "entirely," or "without exception," suggesting a rigid view that leaves little room for nuance or adaptation. Kodak’s mental model of photography was built around the absolute primacy of film. This categorical thinking made it impossible to fully embrace digital technology, even though Kodak itself invented the first digital camera.
2. Appeal to precedent
Obstructionist models rely heavily on phrases like “we’ve always,” “we’ve never,” “traditionally,” or “our standard practice,” indicating a pref- erence for past approaches regardless of changing circumstances.
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