Martin's two largest intellectual contributions to the business community have come from his work in integrative thinking and design thinking, both theories that he has helped to originate and develop.
Integrative thinking is the ability to balance two opposing models, and instead of choosing one at the expense of the other, generating a creative solution that contains elements of the individual models, but is superior to each. Martin argues that business leaders that master this mode of thinking have a unique ability to innovate and solve problems facing their company.
Design Thinking balances analytical thinking and intuitive thinking, enabling an organization to both exploit existing knowledge and create new knowledge. A design-thinking organization is capable of effectively advancing knowledge from mystery to
heuristic to
algorithm. The design-thinking organization is capable of achieving lasting and regenerating competitive advantage. Both modes of thinking have become more prevalent in the business community in recent years with companies including
Procter & Gamble,
Four Seasons, and
Research in Motion incorporating both design and integrative thinking into their business strategies. In 2004, Martin collaborated with then-
Conservative Party leadership candidate
Tony Clement on a proposal for a
lifetime income tax to reform Canada's
taxation system. Martin's most recent work has centered around corporate responsibility and the company's role within our economic structure. He has argued for an overhaul in how we evaluate the success of companies, advocating a shift in focus from the
stock market. He proposes several suggestions including an alteration in the current
executive compensation models, and a renewed strategic focus aimed at benefiting customers and the community. In one of his recent books,
Fixing the Game, Martin notes that "the problem isn’t that Wall Street broke the rules to their own benefit, it’s that the rules themselves are unhelpful”, and suggests that the best solution is to eliminate short-term stock-based compensation. ==Personal life==