7Flexible Thinking Versus Rigid ThinkingThe individual who wants to reach the top in business must appreciate the might and force of habit. He must be quick to break those habits that can break him—and hasten to adopt those practices that will become the habits that help him achieve the success he desires.
—J. P
AUL
G
ETTY
I
N TIMES OF TURBULENCE
and rapid change,
your ability to think flexibly, to consider every aspect of a situation and then to respond effectively to change, can have an enormous impact on your business and your career.
In 1952, Albert Einstein was teaching at Princeton University. One day,
he was walking back to his office with his
teaching assistant, who was carrying the copies of an examination that Einstein had just given to an advanced class of physics students.
The teaching assistant, a bit hesitantly, asked Dr. Einstein,
Excuse me for asking, but isn’t this the same exam that you gave to this same class of physics students last year?”
Dr. Einstein replied, Yes, it is the same exam.”
The teaching assistant then asked, even more hesitantly than before,
“But how could you give the
same exam to the same students, two years in a row?”
Einstein answered simply, Because the answers have changed.”
At that time,
in the world of physics, new advances, theories, and discoveries were being made continually allover the world. The answers that had been correct one year were no longer correct the following year because of new ideas and breakthroughs in the field.