My friend and I came up with a great version of the ‘there are two kinds of people in the world’ thing.  One kind fills out matrices.  The other kind creates them.

Reminder – these matrices are little plots, often 2×2, with two axes that help assess or structure a situation.  The BCG Dog/Star matrix with axes of high versus low market share and high versus low growth is a famous example for business unit or product portfolio management.  The size of impact versus execution difficulty is another commonly used matrix for prioritizing initiatives.

I like these matrices and I find them useful, especially in the face of real complexity.

That said, it’s worth noticing that when we fill out such a matrix, we’re implicitly endorsing the idea that the axes we pick are the two most important aspects of the problem.  That may or may not be true and in most complex situations, it’s very important to make sure it doesn’t become a plug-and-chug exercise that eclipses having a thought process.

That’s why knowing how to create a matrix is important; to avoid falling into that trap when we’re asked to fill out a matrix.

It’s a genuinely worthy and even more valuable ability to figure out a conceptual model of a novel problem and be able to structure it in a neat little matrix.  What are the two or three most important aspects of the problem?  Is there a little solar system we can envision, what planets are in it, what are its laws of motion?

Then use it as a starting point for a thoughtful discussion.  

-Chris

P.s., this also reminds me of one of my favorite dorky math jokes:  there are 11 kinds of people in the world—those who understand binary and those who don’t.