TThree Simple Words. A seemingly simple question. But I've found it to be very useful.

I ask it when I am about to make a serious decision. Most of us do this instinctively, but probably not enough. The key is in seeing how far you can go with it. If you can answer this question through three or four (or more) iterations and you are happy with where it takes you, then it's probably the right choice.

If you can only answer it through a couple of iterations and get stuck, then it might either need more thinking through or it isn't a path worth taking.

That is not to say you should think about every decision this way - just the ones where you seek to invest more than a few moments, or where the outcomes matter.

The question is essentially an exercise in exploring consequences, thinking things through.

But here's the point :

The more you think things through the more likely you are to discover concepts, ideas and places that exhibit dualities. I will explore dualities and resonant truths in another article, but in a nutshell they are objects and ideas that are both close and far, intimate and epic, micro and macro simultaneously. Love is an obvious example.

If you have ever been in a room when someone walks in and everybody's head turns without them saying a word then it's probably because they've mastered a duality - being calm and intense at the same time, or humble and powerful. It's interesting because it's antagonistic yet in harmony (notice the term is a musical one). A duality isn't just a balance between two opposing states - it means inhabiting both at once. They embrace multiple scales, and exist equally well in both micro and macro environments.

Music exhibits dualities as do many things with this inherent sense of parallel power. Think of an iPhone that is both ubiquitous and generic but highly intimate and personal at the same time. It is a masterclass of dualities between and within functions. Physically it is standardised yet highly cared for through its design in an almost bespoke way. Mass-produced bespokeness! The software is universal, but customisable to be highly individual. The data on it is unique to each user, but hosted in a cloud that spans the globe. It holds my most tentative thoughts but I can call my brother in Australia on the other side of the planet in seconds.

The idea of something inhabiting two parallel states at the same time can take you into quantum theory, though the parallels I am extrapolating here are just based on observation and not based on any scientific proof. In a way it's an evolution of the quality one might call 'depth', but depth implies linearity and a single direction, whereas a duality is much wider and often seemingly in opposition to parts of itself.

Quantum computers are built out of 'qubits', the basic unit of quantum information. Qubits are the quantum equivalent of a classical binary bit, of the kind that underpins the device you are reading this article on, but they have the ability to be in two states at the same time until they are observed and then they collapse into one of the two states. Nobody knows how or why this occurs. Harnessing qubits offers the promise of parallel computing many times more powerful than today's computers. There are many technical hurdles yet to be overcome to scale and harness this technology for something useful.

In terms of decision-making the two states that creative people need to inhabit in order to create their best work is in the space between and focused (1) and unfocused (0) thinking.

Unfocused thinking allows connections to be made from all directions. Focused thinking interrogates and collapses the options into a more coherent point to then allow the next stage of unfocused thinking to open the possibilies that the subsequent focused thinking will use to advance an idea. Repeat until you reach a place where you can define the idea and write it down or vocalise it externally.

It's an oscillation. Could our brains be thought of as quantum computers?

The "And Then What...?" question encourages alternate focused and unfocused thinking to generate these high quality ideas.

An example of how unfocused followed by focused thinking can be effective is when you consider how many eureka moments happen when you least expect them to. Hands up if you've ever had a brainwave or been able to answer a question that's been eluding you for a while when you are in the shower? It's very common, which suggests that this is unlikely to be a coincidence.

If you try and learn to be unfocused and focused at the same time when you are out of the shower too - thus entering a sustained dual state - innovations and connections will likely start coming more rapidly.

Dualities also exist in preverbal emotions like Poignancy and Bittersweet (the author Daniel H. Pink argues that poignant moments matter more than happy moments in his book "When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing" - happy and sad. bitter and sweet. These feelings are more complex, have more depth as a result and are therefore more meaningful).

The ideas that can survive the "And Then What...?" question the longest are likely to carry you the furthest - think of skimming a stone on a lake.

But not only will you be more likely to succeed at the answering the original question, but you may well observe spinoffs which are harder to predict but will lead to a greater probability of increased serendipity and understanding.

"And Then What...?" is more useful than it's sister question, "What If...?" because it keeps you in control. "What if...?" delegates the outcome to an outside force. "And Then What...?" encourages you to decide what to do about it. You'll be more prepared and more likely to succeed at the tasks you ask this question of repeatedly.