Think tanks were identified as one of the top ten growth industries in 2017. Now, veteran think tank analyst Mary Wheaton has released a guide for entrepreneurs thinking about opening think tanks of their own.
Think About What You’ll Be Thinking About (Pullman Press) offers many practical suggestions, including:
- Demanding Accountability: Take simple steps to ensure employees are thinking about important things, and not about lunch or baseball.
- Enforcing Inactivity: Think tank thinkers often want to “do” the things they think about. Successful think tank thinkers only “think” – they never “do.”
- Creating a Brand: It’s essential that the name of the think tank provide no clue as to what it thinks about.
- Building a Team: In the intense think tank environment, keeping the mood light is essential. Casual banter such as “Thinking hard…or hardly thinking?” is encouraged to improve morale.
- Defining the Mission: Determine if you are a liberal or a conservative think tank. Conservative think tanks expect to know what their thinkers are thinking. Liberal think tanks don’t care what they’re thinking, as long as it feels right to them.
The 510-page book will be available soon on Amazon.com. The author is still thinking about the price.
