#17: Thinking The Opposite

TIGER KINGS

It’s 1989 in the Sundarbans, located on the Ganges Delta and home to one of nature’s most impressive apex predators – the Bengal Tiger. In these wetlands situated on the border of India and Bangladesh, 100s of tigers roam freely. 

Whereas tigers often avoid humans, Bengals are unusually aggressive and on average kill 30-50 people yearly. Although the tigers rarely venture into the villages, honey collectors and fishermen do enter the mangroves and are often vulnerable to opportunistic attacks.

Over the years workers have tried many tactics, to coexist peacefully with the tigers, once even setting up human mannequins with electric wires. However, these tactics have had little effect, until that is, a student came up with a clever idea...

He mused that tigers, like other big cats, prefer to sneak up on prey and instinctively attack unseen from behind. Furthermore, the student thought about other species – certain butterflies and beetles that use eye patterns to trick potential prey. 

Putting these concepts together he suggested locals could possibly protect themselves by wearing a face mask on the back of their heads. 2500 face masks were ordered and incredibly the rouse worked - for 3 years no mask wearing workers were attacked. Those killed, either took their masks off whilst working or refused to wear them. Source

Although thinking the opposite may not always be life or death, it can be very helpful in competitive arenas. Many successful entrepreneurs have thought the opposite to beat the competition.

Jeff Bezos at Amazon and Jim Senegal at Costco, both thought the opposite by prioritising customer experience and value over making immediate profits. Not aiming for profit was different to the norm and it turbocharged their growth of market share and ultimately, they had tremendous success because of it!

Many sports stars and coaches have also gained an edge by thinking the opposite. Tex Winter, who coached offence for the championship winning Chicago Bulls, gave them an edge through the triangle offence. 

This took the emphasis away from Michael Jordan and provided many attack points, allowing them to finally get past the Pistons. Winter’s offence under Phil Jackson’s leadership won 11 championships for the Bulls and then the Lakers.

WISDOM 💎

‘When they zig, you zag’

Simon Reynolds

Tip 1 - A SMART PLAY ✅

Being a contrarian, does not mean you are guaranteed success; often the majority are right. However, being open to thinking differently, is a potential goldmine, if you can handle the inevitable setbacks.

Tip 2 - AVOID 🚩

Jumping in. Often what appears like thinking the opposite, has actually being previously trialled and isn’t used for a reason. Do your research.

Tip 3 - ACTION 💪

What might ‘thinking the opposite’ look like for you? Maybe a different way of doing your job, your industry or even a different way of doing life.

‘The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.’

Marcel Proust