Divergent & Convergent

Let me explain why these two words matter. 

Every meeting, planning session, or workshop starts with an often unspoken assumption. It’s worth naming the assumptions so we’re all on the same page. 

A meeting can be divergent or convergent. 

Divergent meetings explore possibilities and create options. Let’s ‘brainstorm’ to uncover all of the things we could do. Divergent is expanding the menu. Divergent allows for fresh thinking, new ideas, and opportunity. 

Divergent thinking is the beginning. 

If the goal of a divergent meeting is to create options, then the goal of a convergent meeting is to make choices. Knowing the trade-offs and risks, convergent-driven meetings allocate resources. Money and blood flow to it. 

Because they describe a paradigm or “mode” of operating that operates very different parts of the brain, it’s worth naming in the meeting what mode of thinking will best serve the group. If one person thinks divergently and the others are convergent, the whole thing will feel off.  

Most meetings, teams, and planning sessions attempt simultaneously, but it never works out. 

So, here, then, is the pro tip: Separate your meeting into two parts. 1) A time for divergence and 2) A time for convergence. Use words in the forum to name what is happening. 

Also, in between divergent and convergent, step away. Eat a meal, go for a walk, or get a night’s sleep. 

At Pop Up Think Tank, we find that bringing people together for divergent thinking sessions creates energy for the startup or founder. As it turns out, brainstorming generates much more than ideas. It creates empathy, engagement, and energy. 

Emergent thinking is mode #3, but that is for another time. 

Also, replace the word “meeting” with “journaling session” and watch how this changes your solopreneur journey.