Diamond Logic (What)

Diamond method is a framework for making a decision when you have many possible choices and you want the best choices among the countless alternatives.

Think of diamond logic as a way of effectively sorting through many ordinary rocks and finding the diamond. Diamond logic gets its name because the method can be visualized as a diamond shape (@fig-diamond).

Here are some examples of situations in which diamond logic is useful.

1. Deciding on when and where to vacation.
2. Deciding on the most useful actions to take today.
3. Deciding on the best course of action for solving a problem.
4. Deciding on the most import issues facing a company.
5. Deciding on your key roles in life.
6. Deciding on the characteristics of a great day.

Rationale

Here are some reasons why diamond logic is worthwhile.

1. When you face multiple solution options, you have a way to make the best choice.

   1. Avoid decision paralysis and decision fatigue.
   2. Especially useful for groups.
   3. Helps individuals see the possibilities.
      1. Helps break fixation on one solution option.

2. Maximize your rewards in a holistic sense when you need to choose among alternatives.

3. Reliable: it always works.

4. Useful: this is the most common method of logic that I use.

Diamond Logic (How To)

@fig-diamond shows diamond logic.

The logic is iterative. While quality is improving, take the following actions.

1. Idea Generating Question: Ask a generating question.

   1. A generating question is an open-ended question that provokes many responses.

   2. Here are some examples.

      1. What actions might I take today?

      2. What problems or challenges do we face right now?

      3. When we go on vacation, where might we go if anything is possible?

      4. What actions can we take to solve this problem?

2. Idea Generation (Options): Get many ideas, number them, and write them down.

   1. An idea is one answer to the generating question.
   2. Ideas come from three places
      1. Brainstorming and reflective writing.
      2. Secondary research.
      3. Primary research.
   3. As you generate ideas
      1. Do not judge ideas.
      2. Do not discuss ideas
      3. Get ideas as fast as you.
      4. Value silly and impractical ideas.
         1. There promote innovation and brilliance.

3. Idea Selection: Select the best idea or synthesize two to three ideas into a single best idea.

4. Conclusion. Summarize the best idea or ideas. Write it down. Assess the quality and take the appropriate next steps.

High Quality for Diamond Logic

The conclusion has high quality when the following criteria are met.

1. The conclusion is strongly motivating for the actor applying the logic.

2. The conclusion seems obvious because it is such a good idea.

   1. Sometimes, we describe this as “elegant simplicity.”

3. The amount of time spent doing the diamond logic was minuscule.

   1. Individual: Less than 10 minutes per iteration cycle.
   2. Group: Less than 20 minutes per cycle
   3. This time excludes the time for research.

4. The process of doing diamond logic was super enjoyable.

Tips for Diamond Logic

• Achieve high quality by doing iteration cycles.
  • Space these out over days, weeks, months.
  • Spaced repetitions allows the brain to recharge
• When I first started this method, I could not think of many ideas. I felt I had zero creativity. Now ideas spring from my brain like water from a firehose. This is a natural result of learning through purposeful and systematic repetitions (Deliberate Practice).