Episode 668

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Published on:

7th Jan 2026

Why Don’t We Think Anymore? The Lost Art of Thinking with Scott Burgmeyer & Tammy Rogers

Are we too busy to think or just out of practice?

Scott Burgmeyer and Tammy Rogers dive into one of the most overlooked skills in today’s workplace: thinking. From the rise of “non-thinking” archetypes to the danger of lizard brain decision-making, they explore why so many leaders and employees are stuck in reactive loops; and how to break out of them.

Scott shares his signature Swiss cheese analogy to explain how systems thinking can prevent blame culture and improve decision-making. Tammy reframes the idea that "there's no time to think," showing how intentional reflection is a competitive advantage. If you want to lead with clarity, think more critically, and get better at making decisions that matter, this episode will give you the tools and mental models to start.

Topics explored in this episode:

(05:15) Critical Thinking Skills -- A Dying Art?

*Tammy asks the important question of ‘why aren’t people thinking’?

*What is ‘Thinking’ really? Scott explains

*Tammy shares some common ‘non-thinking’ archetypes.

*Having a thought vs. thinking are two very different things.

(14:00) Moving Out of Lizard Brain Thinking

*It’s important to ask growth questions: What worked/what didn’t work.

*Recognizing your logical fallacies is how you grow.

*Apply the ‘learning/thinking’ lesson in other areas and categories of life.

*What’s more likely to go wrong? --Some people take this the wrong way.

(22:10) The Swiss Cheese Analogy

*Scott shares his swiss cheese analogy and how it connects to thinking.

*We sometimes find scapegoats to shift blame on instead of the actual system that lead up to the mistakes.

*Our brains fill in the gaps and make assumptions all the time.

*Although we frequently notice subconscious and intuitive cues, we tend to ignore them

(34:30) I Don’t Have Time to Think

*Things are just too busy to slow down just to think? Tammy reframes this perspective.

*Thinking is all about expanding value to you and those around you.

*You’re rewarded by how quickly and how WELL you make decisions.

Thanks to Scott Burgmeyer & Tammy Rogers for being on the show!

Connect with Scott & Tammy: https://www.becomemoregp.com

Scott’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/burgy/

Tammy’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammerarogers/

Book: Think: The Road Less Traveled by Scott Burgmeyer & Tammy Rogers


Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the Scaling Up Business podcast, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth.


Join Bill in the Growth Navigator Coaching Program: https://ScalingCoach.com/workshop


Bill on LinkedIn: https://www.LinkedIn.com/in/BillGall


Bill on YouTube: https://www.YouTube.com/@BillGallagherScalingCoach


Visit https://ScalingUp.com to learn more about Verne Harnish, our team of Scaling Up Coaches, and the Scaling Up Performance Platform, which includes coaching, learning, software, and summit. We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around people, strategy, execution, and cash so that they can scale up successfully and beat the odds of business growth.


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This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/

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Scaling Up Business with Bill Gallagher
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