????能夠從容地權(quán)衡各種想法，而不屈從于即刻得到實用價值，這一點同樣重要。克里斯將其稱之為“開放模式”，在這種模式下人們沒有完成任務(wù)的壓力，可以做出多種嘗試。如果生物學家亞歷山大?弗萊明要趕進度，他就會對滅菌的培養(yǎng)皿視若無物（因為那不是他所要尋找的目標）。但在開放模式，這就導致了青霉素的發(fā)現(xiàn)?？死锼拐f，大導演希區(qū)柯克就會打斷工作進程，和大家講講故事，而故事與手邊的劇本毫無瓜葛，這樣就把大家引入開放模式?！拔覀兘o自己的壓力太大，我們太用功了，”希區(qū)柯克告訴他的同事?！胺潘牲c，靈感自然會出現(xiàn)。”

????這些事跡讓我想到，出去抽根煙其實不僅僅是為了尼古丁，也能讓你離開一會兒，獨自思考5分鐘。老媽會覺得你在“發(fā)呆”，而我不記得什么時候看到過有人在辦公室發(fā)呆。

????就像克里斯看到的那樣，“封閉模式”在工作中更為常見。他承認，那種有目的的、急切的甚至帶點瘋狂的辦公室環(huán)境也有用處。理想的狀況就是員工可以在兩種模式間切換。開放或醞釀模式用來尋找答案，而封閉模式用來完成任務(wù)。

????醞釀模式也適用于更宏大的生活計劃。麗莎?伯克維茨是商業(yè)培訓師，也是“最佳位置計劃”（Project Sweet Spot）的創(chuàng)始人。她聲稱，大多數(shù)進行二次創(chuàng)業(yè)的女士在離職期間都會有某個茅塞頓開的時刻。她們意識到，要想清楚了解自己想做什么，就得“完全脫離過去的工作”，得把積蓄用來給自己提供空閑時間，而不是首飾，也不是房子。

????對那些只想員工按部就班的老板們，克里斯有個建議：如果你正好碰到某人正在若有所思，不要一口咬定他就是在偷懶或是猶豫不決；記得培養(yǎng)一種危機隨時會降臨的氣氛，因為一旦你給大家思考的時間，那就麻煩了，他們肯定會提出問題，想出新點子

????Also important was having the time to consider ideas not in terms of their immediate practical purpose but just…because. In this "open mode," as Cleese called it, a person was not under pressure to get a specific thing done, but could play. Had biologist Alexander Fleming been in a rush, he would have looked at the uncultured petri dish as an irrelevance (because it wasn't what he was looking for). Instead, in open mode, it was a clue that pointed to penicillin. Alfred Hitchcock, Cleese said, would force his colleagues into open mode by interrupting work sessions and veering off on storytelling tangents that had nothing to do with the script at hand. "We're pressing, we're pressing, we're working too hard," Hitchcock purportedly urged his collaborators. "Relax, and let it come."

????All of which makes me think the cigarette break was not just about nicotine but instead involved the baser desire to stand outside and be alone with your thoughts for five minutes. "Staring off into space" is what mothers typically call that behavior, and I can't recall the last time I saw anyone do it in the office.

????As Cleese saw it, "closed mode" was far more common at work. That purposeful, impatient, moderately manic office environment did have its uses, he allowed. Ideally, an employee would be able to switch between the two modes, however. Open -- or gestation -- mode to find the right solution. Closed mode to get it done.

????Gestation mode pertains to larger life projects as well. Lisa Berkovitz, business coach and founder of Project Sweet Spot, says most women who enjoy entrepreneurial second careers typically experienced "aha" moments during rest periods. They realized that thinking clearly about what they wanted to do required a "full un-plugging from what they used to be," and subsequently used savings not to invest in hardware or real estate but time.

????And as for those bosses who'd prefer to keep things unimaginative, Cleese offered the following advice: If you catch anyone pondering, accuse them of laziness or indecision. Establish a permanent atmosphere of looming crisis because once you give people time to think, the next thing you know, they'll be asking questions and coming up with new ideas.