SERVICES
│ Supplementary course
Set a "tentative answer" before gathering information, then evolve it through verification
Master the thinking skill of setting a "tentative answer" before over-gathering information and evolving it through verification. A foundational skill that activates in every setting from Ph.0 to Ph.7.
─ ARTICLE COVER
Foundational Thinking ／ Supplementary course
§I ─ POSITION
A supplementary course of the DX-project curriculum (the thinking-skills series). Alongside "Bird's-Eye Thinking," "Analytical Skill," and "Ideation Skill," used especially in cross-reference with "Issue Tree," "Analytical Skill," "Discovery," and "Creating Meeting Materials."
§II ─ TAKEAWAYS
Avoid the "branch-and-leaf person" phenomenon and move from a tentative answer rather than information-gathering
Mass-produce hypotheses with the four thinking patterns (the opposite side / zero-base / extremes / So What?)
Verify hypotheses with the three methods of experiment / discussion / analysis, and rewrite them
§III ─ EXCERPT
¶ 01
Rather than "think after gathering information," it's the thinking style of "set a tentative answer first and evolve it through verification." By rapidly cycling hypothesis → verification → evolution, you can reach a sound conclusion even within limited time and information.
¶ 02
The more information you gather, the more the details nag at you and the further you drift from the whole (the trunk). Get absorbed in the branches and leaves and, no matter how much you research, you can't answer "so, what's the conclusion?" Someone who sets a hypothesis first and verifies it can keep drawing the trunk, not the branches.
¶ 03
Hypothesis thinking balances the speed and precision of work.
¶ 04
Four perspectives to switch to when a hypothesis won't come.
| Pattern | Question | Suited situation |
|---|---|---|
| Look from the opposite side | How would it look from the opposing stance? | When you sense bias in your own hypothesis |
| Zero-base | What if we threw away every assumption? | When bound by industry conventional wisdom |
| Swing to extremes | What if we made it 100× / 1/100? | When you can't see the difference |
| So What? | So, what can we say? | When you've stalled by just lining up facts |
¶ 05
Not just any hypothesis will do. ① Concrete (it has numbers, periods, targets) / ② Verifiable (you can confirm it by experiment / discussion / analysis) / ③ Goes beyond existing conventional wisdom (the kind that makes you think, "now that you mention it, yes"). Meet the three conditions and it becomes a hypothesis worth verifying.
¶ 06
A hypothesis only has value once you verify and evolve it. Use the three methods appropriately by setting.
¶ 07
Hypothesis thinking is a "template for thinking." Combine it with other courses in the verification setting. Draw a hypothesis-testing tree in the issue tree, verify quantitatively with analytical skill, throw and break the hypothesis in discovery, and assemble points with the hypothesis as your claim in creating meeting materials.
§∞ ─ DOWNLOAD
─ EXERCISE
Exercises Q1–Q5 in the Azika Foods "revenue down 5% YoY" scenario plus a 75-minute practical test (Miyama Foods new-store evaluation). Designed to go once around the hypothesis → verification → evolution process. Comes with sample answers and a 4×4 rubric.
Lecture slides
Every slide of the course
Cheat sheet
Quick reference for the field
Exercises
With answers and grading
Advanced / test
Hands-on plus rubric
INCLUDED PDFS ─ 6files
§IV ─ RELATED