The Net And The Butterfly: The Art And Practice Of Breakthrough Thinking

Of course, that's not to say it doesn't take skills and practice to successfully wield a net to catch these precious butterflies. Some of the techniques you may already be doing, instinctively. Others will feel more of a challenge. But all of them are tried and tested by the authors and the numerous organizations they work with, including Google, Deloitte, the Plexus Institute, and The North Face.

Fox Cabane is a lecturer, speaker and executive coach. She's the former director of innovative leadership for Stanford StartX, where co-author Pollack was a former faculty member. You can hear Fox Cabane talking about charisma in an Expert Interview podcast on the Mind Tools site.

Pollack lectures at the University of California Berkley's Haas School of Business. He's also a speaker and strategic advisor in leadership for clients as diverse as the U.S. Army Special Forces and Airbnb.

So keep listening to hear why you should always sleep on a problem, the reason showers inspire light-bulb moments, and why creativity depends on accepting failure.

This compelling and informative book is divided into two sections. The first, entitled Finding Butterflies, concentrates on understanding and encouraging breakthroughs – what they are, how we can experience them, and how best to use them. The second section, The Blockers, is concerned with the internal and largely self-generated fears that prevent us from having or implementing innovative ideas.

Chapter One introduces the four types of breakthrough thinking, dubbed "butterfly wings" by the authors. Perhaps best known is the Eureka or "I've got it!" moment. It's a sudden flash that brings a fully formed solution to a given problem.

But while this type of breakthrough arrives suddenly, the individual may have been working on the problem for a long time, usually exclusively and obsessively. Like Archimedes, the Greek mathematician who first shouted "Eureka!" in the bath and then ran naked down the streets, we can be sent into a frenzy of excitement by these realizations.

Next is the Metaphorical breakthrough, where a solution comes in dream or symbolic form. You need to interpret it in order to use it. A historical example concerns William Watts, an English plumber who, in 1783, patented shot towers, which created spherical shot bullets. At the time, England was amid the American Revolutionary War and other conflicts. It needed reliable weapons.

The idea came to Watts in a recurring dream about walking in the rain. But the rain wasn't water, it was lead, which fell as perfectly round balls. Naturally, Watts was puzzled about its meaning, but during a walk one day it hit him that this was the solution to a specific problem.

Watts went home and experimented with making lead rain. At the top of the house, he poured molten metal through a sieve where it fell several floors down into a tank of water. Guess what, it worked – in the water lay smooth balls of shot. This plumber's brain had indirectly provided a hugely significant breakthrough in the production and reliability of ammunition.

The third type of breakthrough is Intuitive. This defies logic or explanation. The individual won't know why his solution will work, he just knows it will. For this reason, it requires a leap of faith from other people involved in the project.

Lastly, there's the Paradigm breakthrough. Examples of this are Isaac Newton's discovery of gravity and Albert Einstein's theory of relativity. These have the power to fundamentally change how we experience and understand the world. Their application might not be clear, but they shift our beliefs and create a sense of wonder. Paradigms often result from many years of dedicated study, and are likely to draw on the theories and practices of others.

Have you ever been in the shower, thinking of nothing in particular, when the solution to a problem you've been working hard to resolve pops into your head? This is fairly common. But have you ever stopped to ask why it happens?

Chapter Two provides the answer – it's thanks to switching between the brain's two networks. The executive network – or EN – is the logical, focused and conscious mode that likes to get things done. It thrives on goals, deadlines, making lists, and working within frameworks. This area of the brain is also concerned with self-control and it makes sure we behave like responsible citizens.

Then there's the default network – or DN. This is the background mode we create by allowing our brains to drift off and meander at will. The DN is non-conscious and undirected, and it's the source of invention and genius.

Both the EN and DN are vital to our survival and both are needed to create breakthroughs. The secret to experiencing breakthroughs lies in encouraging your brain to switch from one mode to the other and back again.

Don't be fooled into thinking the EN is more valuable or works harder than the DN. In fact, the DN uses twenty times more energy than the EN. If you think about it, we spend much of our day doing default activities, such as making coffee, folding washing, or gazing out of the window.

What's more, our DN runs 24/7, so even when we switch our attention to the EN and a specific task, the DN keeps running, albeit on low. This means, when we're daydreaming or fast asleep, our brains are still very much powered up – and we can use this to our advantage.

Sleep is one of the greatest ways to boost conditions for breakthrough thinking. The hypnagogic state, just before we fall asleep, and the hypnopompic state, in the moments before we wake up, are both fertile grounds for creativity.

To get the most out of the hypnagogic state, first read up about your problem, to ensure the details are fresh in the mind. Then, lie in a quiet and tidy room with low-lighting and take a 15-minute nap. Don't worry if you end up simply staring at the ceiling. You'll still be in a relaxed and mind-wandering state that's good for creativity.

The hypnopompic state, on the other hand, requires deep sleep. The moment you wake up can reveal the solutions discovered by the DN during your sleep.

The authors recommend a number of activities to fire up the hypnopompic state before bedtime. Watching a documentary on something you know nothing about will help your brain create new associations. Looking at old photographs or reading a book from your childhood will throw up forgotten memories and feelings. Taking a walk provides new stimulus.

Once you're ready for sleep, set your alarm on a gentle, progressive tone that won't jolt you awake. Then have a pen and paper to hand to net all the butterflies coming your way.

Chapter Three champions the creative value of daily tasks that allow the mind to wander. Walks are especially good for this, as they offer a change in our physical state and environment, and endless possibilities for inspiring our senses. They also allow us to admire nature and learn from its flawless patterns and designs.

In fact, a study into the rituals of two hundred of the top innovators and inventors, including Charles Darwin and Charles Dickens, showed that the majority considered walking an essential part of their daily routine. Interestingly, a separate study found that even time on a treadmill in a windowless room has a positive effect on our creative levels.

Chapter Five is titled Cultivating Your Garden and introduces the concept of neuroplasticity. Neuroscience has proven that our brains are constantly making new connections. And the more we have, the greater our pool of information from which to draw creative ideas. Exposure to new information boosts neural connectivity and enhances our brain's plasticity.

Watching a documentary or reading a non-fiction book on a subject you know nothing about, visiting a new place, tasting foreign food, and taking up a new physical exercise. These are all recommended ways to increase neuroplasticity and reap the creative benefits.

Again, looking for inspiration in nature is hugely influential here. An example in the book concerns a design fault that meant Japan's high-speed bullet train caused localized hurricanes whenever it passed through a tunnel. The solution was born from watching a wildlife documentary. The way the shape of a kingfisher's beak enables it to glide into water with hardly a splash inspired a redesign of the train's nose. The resulting train may look funny to some, but it's still running!

The book's second section addresses some of the common blocks to breakthrough thinking. Chapter titles like The Spiders of Fear, The Failure Wasps, and Icy Uncertainty reflect the main threats to the butterfly of creativity. Innovation depends on us being willing to risk failure, and the ability to let go of our inner critic. The advice on offer here can help us with both these obstacles.

We learn that it was vital for our ancestors to remain alert to threats at all times and to react quickly to them. But today this fight or flight reaction tends to overwhelm us, stifling innovation and making it hard for us to think creatively.

Our brains are set to retain negative information and select details that confirm our pre-existing notions, such as "my boss doesn't like me" or "I'm not very good at public speaking." Negative things get stored in the memory almost immediately. Whereas positive things need to be experienced for 12 seconds before they're committed to long-term memory.

The brain's natural bias toward the negative shows itself in many ways. For example, the section on catastrophizing explores the tendency to imagine and fear worst-case scenarios. So, when your manager asks you for an unscheduled meeting, you immediately jump to the conclusion you're in trouble. The impostor syndrome – the sense that you don't really deserve to be in a senior position and fear being exposed as a fake – is also addressed here.

Arguably, the greatest psychological blockers are the fear of failure and the experience of failure. Yet, failure is unavoidable in all aspects of our life. So, we need to train ourselves to accept – even embrace – the risk of failure and learn how best to cope when it happens.

For example, if you're consumed by the idea that everyone's saying bad things about you, draw up a table and give concrete examples of who's said what and when. Put the positives in the left-hand column and the negatives in the right. This exercise will likely reveal two things. First, you're imagining most of the negatives. And second, the people in the negative column are not worth wasting time thinking about.

The closing chapter identifies three super tools that activate the brain's genius mode, and arm you with the determination and strength to overcome creative blockers.

The first is a sense of higher purpose. The authors found all of the contemporary innovators they spoke to were driven by the belief their work would benefit humanity. Emotional conviction sets the brain firing on all cylinders and compels you to keep going no matter what. It also draws others to your cause or mission.

The other super tools may surprise you.

The second is altruism. The authors admit that altruism wasn't something they expected to be discussing in a business book, but its power became impossible to ignore during their research. The feeling of doing something for others boosts self-morale, helps overcome barriers, and shifts your focus from internal to external. Altruism also makes you happier, healthier, more persuasive, and charismatic.

The third super tool is meditation. Meditation offers a health and fitness program for the brain. It increases connectivity in the areas related to learning, memory and emotion. Meditation also improves sleep – and we've already learned how important this is for innovative thinking.

Given the amount of information on offer, it's very helpful that the book concludes with a summary of each chapter. Three more valuable sections follow. They are Recommended Exercises, which include breakthrough advice for teams, a Science Appendix, and Recommended Resources, which enable readers to pursue and develop the techniques on offer.

So, what's our last word on The Butterfly and the Net?

The Introduction promises that understanding the science of breakthrough thinking can have a profound effect on your personal, physical, and emotional well-being, as well as enhancing your professional life. It's a big claim, but we believe this book delivers.

Readers might not always agree with the examples of creative breakthroughs, for example, Keith Richard's lyrics for the Rolling Stones track "Satisfaction." And some of the techniques might seem a little childish or bizarre. But the caliber of the authors, and their combined experience and research, speak for themselves.

This book is packed with inspiring material and techniques to implement on a daily basis. There's plenty you'll want to share and adopt, both professionally and socially.

So for those willing to commit to the techniques on offer, we've no doubt this book can help master inner fears, and promote and release the butterflies of breakthrough thinking. You'll emerge from its pages armed with greater self-knowledge, new found gratitude, and a willingness to face and overcome failure. You'll also be inspired to seize and explore creative possibilities. Just remember to have a pen and paper to hand to catch them!

"The Net And The Butterfly," by Olivia Fox Cabane and Judah Pollack, is published by Portfolio, Penguin.

That's the end of this episode of Book Insights. Thanks for listening.