The Software That Makes You Think Better

Flying Logic makes your ideas — fly!

The software industry is a 90% monotonous repetition of imitations, stolen ideas and half-baked concepts.

Think, for example, presentation tools and how PowerPoint has made your presentations worse than your nightmares. There is no elegance and uniqueness in that pile of convoluted code.

OK. That was a rant. Now comes the good news.

There are shining examples of brilliantly unique, elegant, relevant and valuable software. One of them is Flying Logic.

Thinker’s secret weapon

Flying Logic is the brainchild of a great programmer, Wolf McNally, who was introduced to the Theory of Constraints (TOC) Thinking Processes when reading thinking for a Change by Lisa J. Scheinkopf. That was in the early 2000s.

Wolf wanted computer software to build the logical diagrams that Lisa’s book explained. Unfortunately, they were none that could produce those diagrams dynamically and follow the in-built logic of the thinking processes.

So, to cut a long story short, Wolf decided to create software for the TOC tools to be more digitally accessible.

Slow start, a long runaway

Because TOC seems to be a niche method and not all managers are fascinated by learning anything more profound than the latest buzzwords, the Flying Logic took a long time to take off.

However, over time, the devoted fanbase grew. I have been one for about 12 years now. Flying Logic has given me the intuitive tool to extract my thoughts in a way that I can then analyse, communicate and use for basically all of my work. And by the way, I have no affiliate programs or any kickbacks from Wolf. So, read this as an enthusiast’s testimony.

It seems that during the last lockdown years, Flying Logic has become more popular. There must be some crisis and pressure for the new ideas to take off. The status quo of incrementally more boring software solutions can not offer ways out from the shit when it hits the fan. Flying Logic’s blades cut the crap and help find solutions when going gets tough.

Because it is based on a specific philosophy or school of thought, it requires some understanding of the Thinking Processes paradigm. Still, once you have seen the introductory video, you’ll be fine and ready to explore the infinite potential uses of the software.

Deep product but soaring high

The simple yet profound innovation in how Wolf created the software is the dynamic way to draw the diagrams.

When you try to draw a complex flow of causalities, the other tools become very quick convoluted and changing anything becomes a nightmare. The boxes and lines crisscross each other, and you soon lose the will to live if you want to add, edit or omit anything.

The other tools overload your short-term memory with crap, and soon, you cannot think logically because the tool forces you to find ways to fiddle with the software and not be in your flow. Flying logic takes all that distraction away.

Instead of organising the screen, editing lines and drawing boxes, in Flying Logic, you add your thoughts, and the software does the rest. Like magic, they connect in front of you by beautifully building tightly formatted cause and effect chains that are easy to follow and understand.

Every time you change something, the software dynamically adjusts the layout. No clutter, no lines like spaghetti tangling and blurring the screen but a nice visual flow of your thoughts is the heaven of thinkers.

Solve any problem, show any process, visualise the flow

Wolf has built a dynamic visual flow in the software, and logic checkers called Confidence Spinners. The spinners are like gauges that show whether your thoughts are true, false or something in between. They are little indicators that show if the logic you try to use holds water.

Especially when building more extensive diagrams that require strict logic and validation, the Confidence Spinners give you a valuable way to verify that your thinking is robust.

Flying Logic can also handle basic project management data (dates, times, durations and responsibilities).

It is a profound product. However, spend about 30 minutes learning the basics by watching excellent tutorials. You will find this fascinating tool to boost your thinking and productivity like no other diagram or visualisation tool.

Flying Logic makes your ideas fly higher — and land safer with better solutions, whatever the problem or strategy you need to build using the software is.

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