{"id":291862,"date":"2019-11-25T04:33:09","date_gmt":"2019-11-25T12:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=wherenext&p=291862"},"modified":"2024-05-10T05:54:12","modified_gmt":"2024-05-10T12:54:12","slug":"quantitative-and-visual-thinkers","status":"publish","type":"wherenext","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/quantitative-and-visual-thinkers","title":{"rendered":"How Quantitative and Visual Thinkers Differ, and How They Blend"},"author":501,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[369792],"tags":[404762,241,182012,404752],"department":[488812],"wherenext-category":[],"industry":[],"class_list":["post-291862","wherenext","type-wherenext","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-location-intelligence","tag-business-risk","tag-gis","tag-hr","tag-quantitative-thinking","department-emerging-technologies"],"acf":{"short_description":"A respected designer calls businesses out for overlooking visual thinkers when planning new products and systems.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"In education, there\u2019s ever deepening understanding of the importance of different learning styles\u2014visual, auditory, reading, writing, and kinesthetic (hands-on). In the business world, marketers and HR professionals are catering to distinctive styles of learning and thinking. The boardroom would do well to take note. By intentionally hiring employees with diverse thinking styles, a company can improve its strategy, planning, problem solving, and outcomes."},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Right","content":"Article snapshot:<\/strong> Businesses might be inviting risk if they don\u2019t enlist visual thinkers to complement data-minded peers. These two types of thinkers can bring clarity to product design, market analysis, and supply chain planning.","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Best-selling author and industrial product designer Temple Grandin recently wrote<\/a> in a Forbes<\/em> blog that disasters might have been averted if visual thinkers had had a more prominent role at Boeing and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.\r\n\r\nGrandin says many mathematical minds aren\u2019t good at seeing how a system could break. The reason, she believes, is that they lack visual thinking.\r\n

Valuing Visualization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nPeople whose minds process information as visual representations tend to see<\/em> the outcomes of certain design risks, Grandin notes, while those with more of a quantitative mindset tend to calculate risk rather than envision it.\r\n\r\nDuring the design of the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan, Grandin says, visual thinkers might have stressed the value of placing electric cooling pumps well above the level of the sea wall and installing waterproof doors. For the Boeing 737 MAX, visual thinkers might have drawn more attention to the lack of redundant sensors as a possible single point of failure. The delicate nature of both designs becomes clear through visualizations that reveal vulnerabilities, according to Grandin.\r\n\r\nModern technologies such as a geographic information system (GIS) help bridge the two kinds of thinking. GIS provides a common operational picture that each type of thinker can use to explore and analyze visual and analytical outputs. The result is a more holistic understanding of potential problems."},{"acf_fc_layout":"form","form_type":"aside","form_position":"Right","form_title":"THE ESRI BRIEF","form_desc":"A biweekly email connecting senior executives and business leaders with thought-provoking articles on location intelligence and critical technology trends.","form_button_label":"Sign up now","form_content":"https:\/\/go.pardot.com\/l\/82202\/2017-10-12\/jw1bmb","form_tag":"low-commitment-form\/sign-up-form"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"The visual thinker can spot conditions that stand out when data appears in a spatial context\u2014via GIS maps and dashboards. The quantitative thinker can explore attribute tables and apply data science to create models that quantify risks and prioritize actions. Together, these thinkers can map the best path forward for a business or project.\r\n

Bringing Together Disciplines and Data Layers <\/strong><\/h3>\r\nGrandin has encountered both quantitative and visual thinkers on all the projects she\u2019s been involved in during her career. The most successful efforts, she says, incorporated a mix of these talents.\r\n\r\nIan McHarg, one of the pioneers of the concept of spatial thinking\u2014a form of visual thinking\u2014devised transparent overlays for various kinds of information (infrastructure, land use, vegetation, wildlife, hydrology, soils, and more). Today\u2019s mapping technology blends these and other views, allowing people to turn on and off layers to see relationships, gaining insights into challenges.\r\n\r\nMcHarg also pioneered using a mixture of disciplines in the design and planning process. In the 1960s and 1970s, he recruited geologists, ecologists, anthropologists, and ethnographers for his firm\u2019s land-use planning work. This cross-disciplinary group viewed design and planning as keys to adaptability, and many of the places the group designed (such as Sea Ranch<\/a> on the California coast) have stood the test of time. Bringing together diverse thinkers with cross-domain expertise certainly contributed to the lasting legacy of these projects.\r\n

Spanning Visual and Quantitative Thinking in Business <\/strong><\/h3>\r\nFrom its beginning, GIS technology has woven together inputs from different perspectives to inform better understanding and action. It has become a go-to resource for a variety of operational and analytical workflows.\r\n\r\nElectric and renewable-energy companies<\/a> use GIS to design networks and monitor performance. The quantitative thinkers who explore the complexities of substation design, for instance, measure surrounding conditions and keep an eye on regulated outputs such as air pollution\u2014tuning designs for minimal environmental impacts. The visual thinkers who plan distribution routes use map-based technology to create efficient paths that have a low visual impact and reach the most customers with the least amount of material.\r\n\r\nCompanies that manage retail outlets\u2014banks, restaurants, grocery stores, and product destinations of every stripe\u2014use location technology to identify and analyze markets and sites<\/a>. Quantitative thinkers on their planning team might investigate data on customer demographics and competitors to create revenue forecasts for new stores<\/a>. The visual thinkers might look closely at a shopping center\u2019s design to mitigate the risk that it will hinder customer flow.\r\n\r\nMeanwhile, organizations that manage delivery operations and complex supply chains<\/a> use GIS to gain efficiencies in the flow of goods. The quantitative thinker often digs deeply into the data to tease out better routes or practices that can save millions of dollars on fuel costs<\/a>. The visual thinkers can keep an eye on changing variables, such as weather, traffic patterns, or geopolitical risks, to quickly pivot and ensure that goods keep flowing<\/a>.\r\n\r\nBusinesses thrive in an environment of complementary skills and thinking. With the growing trend to employ data scientists and AI specialists to solve business challenges<\/a>, visual systems like GIS can help bridge the divide between quantitative and visual thinking. Acting on guidance from many types of professionals lowers a company\u2019s risk while improving operational outcomes."}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"\nMitigating Business Risk, Improving Outcomes with Visual Thinkers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Looking back at the tragedies of Fukushima and the Boeing 787 MAX crashes, author Temple Grandin offers businesses advice on the value of visual thinking.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/quantitative-and-visual-thinkers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Quantitative and Visual Thinkers Differ, and How They Blend\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Looking back at the tragedies of Fukushima and the Boeing 787 MAX crashes, author Temple Grandin offers businesses advice on the value of visual thinking.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/quantitative-and-visual-thinkers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Esri\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/esrigis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-10T12:54:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2019\/11\/wherenext-diverse-thinkers-help-companies-communicate-problem-solve-Card-826-x-465.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Esri\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n\t \"@graph\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/quantitative-and-visual-thinkers\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/quantitative-and-visual-thinkers\",\n\t \"name\": \"Mitigating Business Risk, Improving Outcomes with Visual Thinkers\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website\"\n\t },\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2019-11-25T12:33:09+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2024-05-10T12:54:12+00:00\",\n\t \"description\": \"Looking back at the tragedies of Fukushima and the Boeing 787 MAX crashes, author Temple Grandin offers businesses advice on the value of visual thinking.\",\n\t \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/quantitative-and-visual-thinkers#breadcrumb\"\n\t },\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/quantitative-and-visual-thinkers\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/quantitative-and-visual-thinkers#breadcrumb\",\n\t \"itemListElement\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 1,\n\t \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 2,\n\t \"name\": \"How Quantitative and Visual Thinkers Differ, and How They Blend\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Esri\",\n\t \"description\": \"Esri Newsroom\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t \"target\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t },\n\t \"query-input\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t }\n\t }\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/b890389919572d29641d24fc67eaf376\",\n\t \"name\": \"Chris Chiappinelli\",\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Esri-Chris_Chiappinelli_540x540.jpg\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Esri-Chris_Chiappinelli_540x540.jpg\",\n\t \"caption\": \"Chris Chiappinelli\"\n\t },\n\t \"description\": \"Chris Chiappinelli is the editor of Esri\u2019s WhereNext magazine. 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