Women Empowerment – Workshop 8 (Critical Thinking)
The Appleton Greene Corporate Training Program (CTP) for Women Empowerment is provided by Ms. Tull Certified Learning Provider (CLP). Program Specifications: Monthly cost USD$2,500.00; Monthly Workshops 6 hours; Monthly Support 4 hours; Program Duration 12 months; Program orders subject to ongoing availability.
If you would like to view the Client Information Hub (CIH) for this program, please Click Here
Learning Provider Profile
Ms. Tull is a Certified Learning Provider (CLP) with Appleton Greene. She has over 25 years of experience in coaching, consulting and training CEO’s and executives. She specializes in the areas of personal and professional development and leadership. She is passionate about empowering women in the workplace equipping them with leadership skills and helping them to reveal their unique value, so they can reach their true potential and make a bigger impact. She has industry experience in the following sectors: Technology, Financial Services, Biomedical, Consultancy and Healthcare. She has commercial experience in the following countries: United States, Canada, England, Mexico and Sweden. More specifically within the following cities: Austin, TX; Houston, TX; Dallas, TX; Los Angeles, CA; New York City NY; St. Louis, MS; Virginia Beach, VA; Chicago IL. Her personal achievements include 17 yrs. as Founder/CEO of Silverlining Concepts, LLC where she empowers business owners and leaders to own their value and earn their worth, Certified Money Breakthrough Method Coach, Best-selling Author of a book about owning your value, so you can earn your worth in the workplace, Executive Contributor to Huffington Post, Biz Journals and Brainz Magazine, featured on the Brainz 500 Global list 2021. She also is a co-host on a national TV show- that focuses on bringing more light and positivity to the world. Her service skills include; leadership development, executive coaching, business strategy, sales and marketing strategies, mindset shifting and advanced communications and presentation skills.
MOST Analysis
Mission Statement
Hone Your Critical Thinking with Problem Solving, Risk-Taking and Decision- Making Skills – As leaders there are often times that we are feeling overwhelmed. What if you could learn a process for thinking to make better decisions and create better solutions? In this training, you’ll learn and practice techniques to generate breakthrough ideas and solve your most pressing problems. In these highly competitive and fast-moving times pushing the boundaries; personal, team, and organization is not an option, but a necessity. Leaders who want to achieve success understand that taking risk is an essential part of achieving results. We will help you discover your ‘risk tolerance’ and learn a 5-step process to start implementing your ideas by taking calculated risks. You will also become a confident decision maker, knowing within a matter of minutes what action to take in any situation that presents itself to you!
Objectives
01. Thinking Concepts: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
02. Types of Thinking: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
03. Thinking Process: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
04. Critical Thinking: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
05. Strategic Thinking: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
06. Positive Thinking: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
07. Problem Solving: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. 1 Month
08. Solving Strategies: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
09. Decision Making: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
10. Risk Management.: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
11. Intuitive Decisions: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
12. Leadership Thinking: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
Strategies
01. Thinking Concepts: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
02. Types of Thinking: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
03. Thinking Process: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
04. Critical Thinking: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
05. Strategic Thinking: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
06. Positive Thinking: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
07. Problem Solving: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
08. Solving Strategies: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
09. Decision Making: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
10. Risk Management.: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
11. Intuitive Decisions: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
12. Leadership Thinking: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
Tasks
01. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Thinking Concepts.
02. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Types of Thinking.
03. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Thinking Process.
04. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Critical Thinking.
05. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Strategic Thinking.
06. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Positive Thinking.
07. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Problem Solving.
08. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Solving Strategies.
09. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Decision Making.
10. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Risk Management.
11. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Intuitive Decisions.
12. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Leadership Thinking.
Introduction
The ability to analyze information objectively and make a reasoned judgment is referred to as critical thinking. It entails assessing sources such as data, facts, observable phenomena, and research findings.
To solve problems or make decisions, good critical thinkers can draw reasonable conclusions from a set of information and distinguish between useful and less useful details. Employers value the ability to think critically—find out why and see how you can demonstrate it throughout the job application process.
Employers seek candidates who can evaluate a situation logically and offer the best solution.
Someone with critical thinking skills can be trusted to make decisions on their own and does not require constant supervision.
Hiring a critical thinker eliminates the need for micromanagement. Critical thinking abilities are highly valued in almost every industry and workplace. You can demonstrate critical thinking by including relevant keywords in your resume, cover letter, and interview.
Critical thinking is a self-correcting procedure that requires a commitment to gaining a deeper understanding of what matters. To improve one’s thought process, logical reasoning is required. The process benefits the thinker by forcing him to look beyond the obvious reasons for the answers, which aids in the development and strengthening of cognitive skills.
The value of critical thinking is that it promotes making sound decisions, understanding the consequences of our actions, and seeking rational explanations in order to improve our intellectual self-improvement. This is possible because the emphasis has shifted from emotions and assumptions to facts, figures, evidence, data, and information.
Critical thinking is widely recognized as an educational goal. Its definition is contested but competing definitions can be understood as different perspectives on the same fundamental concept: careful thought directed toward a goal. Conceptions differ in terms of the scope of such thinking, the type of goal, the criteria and norms for careful thought, and the thinking components on which they concentrate. Its adoption as an educational goal has been recommended on the grounds of respecting students’ autonomy and preparing students for life success and democratic citizenship. “Critical thinkers” have the dispositions and abilities to think critically when necessary.
The abilities can be identified directly; the dispositions can be identified indirectly by considering what factors help or hinder the exercise of the abilities. Standardized tests have been developed to assess the degree to which such dispositions and abilities exist in a person. Experimentally, educational intervention has been shown to improve them, particularly when it includes dialogue, anchored instruction, and mentoring. The generalizability of critical thinking across domains, alleged bias in critical thinking theories and instruction, and the relationship of critical thinking to other types of thinking have all sparked debate.
The term “critical thinking” to describe an educational goal dates back to the American philosopher John Dewey (1910), who called it “reflective thinking” more commonly. He defined it as follows:
Any belief or supposed form of knowledge must be actively, persistently, and carefully considered in light of the grounds that support it. (Dewey 1910: 6; 1933: 9)
The further conclusions that it tends to lead to and identified a habit of such thought with a scientific mindset. His extensive quotations of Francis Bacon, John Locke, and John Stuart Mill show that he was not the first to advocate for the development of a scientific mindset as an educational goal.
In the Critical Thinking Workshop, we will hone our critical thinking with problem solving, risk-taking and decision- making skills. As leaders there are often times that we are feeling overwhelmed. What if you could learn a process for thinking to make better decisions and create better solutions? In this training, you’ll learn and practice techniques to generate breakthrough ideas and solve your most pressing problems. In these highly competitive and fast-moving times pushing the boundaries; personal, team, and organization is not an option, but a necessity. Leaders who want to achieve success understand that taking risk is an essential part of achieving results. We will help you discover your ‘risk tolerance’ and learn a 5-step process to start implementing your ideas by taking calculated risks. You will also become a confident decision maker, knowing within a matter of minutes what action to take in any situation that presents itself to you!
Executive Summary
Critical thinking is the ability to reason, understand the logical relationship between ideas, and focus on important issues in order to avoid future problems and encourage thoughtful decisions. The importance of critical thinking is that it fosters an individual’s reasoning ability. It assists him in becoming an active learner rather than a passive receiver of any relevant data and information.
A key characteristic of the critical thinker is that he will not accept anything at face value. Instead, he will call into question previously held assumptions, resulting in findings that paint an entirely new picture.
Understanding, identifying, analyzing, constructing, evaluating, and then systematically solving problems are all part of the critical thinking process, rather than instincts or intuition. The procedure is all about rational thought and reasoning, not emotions. Logic and creativity are two of its most powerful pillars, and they are widely used to improve creativity skills and speed up the work process.
It also promotes independent thinking, which aids in the improvement of comprehension and presentation skills, allowing ideas to be presented in a systematic and fact-based manner. A critical thinker can articulate his ideas persuasively and thoughtfully.
Critical thinking is defined as an approach that considers new arguments, perspectives, and ideas in order to challenge existing schools of thought. It promotes the ability to think on your feet and solve problems on your own without direct supervision. To defy assumptions, it is a core competency based on constant revision and reflection.
One important fact about the critical thinking process is that it is an acquired skill that anyone can develop with practice and determination. It is in high demand in today’s changing workplace because organizations are increasingly emphasizing this soft skill.
There are 12 courses (or focus areas) in the Critical Thinking Workshop that will assist in acquiring these skills.
Here’s What We’ll Be Covering:
1. Thinking Concepts – Thinking is a complex process in which we manipulate information to form concepts. It also engages in problem solving, reasoning, and decision making. In this course you will discover the nature of thinking, prototypes, idea behind critical thinking and access various thinking concepts and tools to help us navigate the complexities of thinking.
2. Types of Thinking – Some argue that there are as many different types of thinking as there are people who think them. No, it does not. In fact, There is a distinction to be made between types of thinking and methods of thinking. It’s helpful to know which ones we want to identify and improve. This lesson covers the 7 different types of thinking and examples for each of them.
3. Thinking Process – According to researchers, a thought process can be both conscious and unconscious. In fact, your mind can process multiple thoughts at a time. In this course we will reveal multiple thought process examples and sure-fire tools we can use to sharpen and improve our thinking.
4. Critical Thinking – Imagine how much better your life would be if there was a way to make the best decisions possible every day. There is and it’s known as critical thinking. In this lesson, we will gain the skills to help master the skills of critical thinking which can profoundly impact almost every aspect of our lives.
5. Strategic Thinking – Strategic thinking is a powerful skill for leaders in an executive or managerial role. In this course, we will define what strategic thinking is, discuss various applications in the workplace and show us how to develop this skill for ourselves.
6. Positive Thinking – Positive thinking can help you empower others and even play an important role in your overall health and well-being. Discover powerful positive thinking techniques and 7 tips to think more positively at work.
7. Problem Solving – Understanding the value of problem-solving in the workplace will assist us in growing as leaders. Developing these skills will help us in resolving critical issues and conflicts that arise. Learn the powerful 4 step problem solving process and steps to improve our problem-solving skills.
8. Solving Strategies – Problem solving strategies are approaches to and facilitation of the problem-solving processes. Different strategies are more effective when attempting to solve broad problems such as increasing growth versus more focused problems such as improving our customer service on boarding process. In this lesson discover 4 powerful problem-solving strategies along with methods and techniques that provide a complete end – to- end process for developing effective solutions.
9. Decision Making – Having good decision-making skills is something that almost every company looks for in a leader. It’s one of the most valuable skills you can have. In this course, we will discuss decision making skills, the decision process and various types of decision making.
10. Risk Management – Risk taking is an accepted part of doing business. Through risk management, most businesses actively seek to reduce risk and its potential impact. In this lesson, we will uncover specifically what risk management is, discover the 4-step risk management process and the process of risk analysis, as well as, how to identify your risk tolerance level.
11. Intuitive Decisions – Intuitive decision making is a different style of decision making. Based on using your gut or your intuition- which often accesses information others may miss. This type of intuition is based on a wide range of knowledge, experience, perceptions, feelings, and skills that an individual has acquired in the past. In this lesson, we will discover the advantages and disadvantages in using our intuition to make decisions and steps to increase your intuition decision making skills.
12. Leadership Thinking – Leadership necessitates constant thought; if you’re not thinking about a problem, you’re probably thinking about your people or possibilities. A leader’s mind is in near-constant motion. Every leader must consider whether or not the motion is producing anything worthwhile. In this lesson, we will learn from successful leaders form our past and uncover the 9 leadership thinking styles and identify ours in the process.
Curriculum
Women Empowerment – Workshop 8 – Critical Thinking
- Thinking Concepts
- Types of Thinking
- Thinking Process
- Critical Thinking
- Strategic Thinking
- Positive Thinking
- Problem Solving
- Solving Strategies
- Decision Making
- Risk Management.
- Intuitive Decisions
- Leadership Thinking
Distance Learning
Introduction
Welcome to Appleton Greene and thank you for enrolling on the Women Empowerment corporate training program. You will be learning through our unique facilitation via distance-learning method, which will enable you to practically implement everything that you learn academically. The methods and materials used in your program have been designed and developed to ensure that you derive the maximum benefits and enjoyment possible. We hope that you find the program challenging and fun to do. However, if you have never been a distance-learner before, you may be experiencing some trepidation at the task before you. So we will get you started by giving you some basic information and guidance on how you can make the best use of the modules, how you should manage the materials and what you should be doing as you work through them. This guide is designed to point you in the right direction and help you to become an effective distance-learner. Take a few hours or so to study this guide and your guide to tutorial support for students, while making notes, before you start to study in earnest.
Study environment
You will need to locate a quiet and private place to study, preferably a room where you can easily be isolated from external disturbances or distractions. Make sure the room is well-lit and incorporates a relaxed, pleasant feel. If you can spoil yourself within your study environment, you will have much more of a chance to ensure that you are always in the right frame of mind when you do devote time to study. For example, a nice fire, the ability to play soft soothing background music, soft but effective lighting, perhaps a nice view if possible and a good size desk with a comfortable chair. Make sure that your family know when you are studying and understand your study rules. Your study environment is very important. The ideal situation, if at all possible, is to have a separate study, which can be devoted to you. If this is not possible then you will need to pay a lot more attention to developing and managing your study schedule, because it will affect other people as well as yourself. The better your study environment, the more productive you will be.
Study tools & rules
Try and make sure that your study tools are sufficient and in good working order. You will need to have access to a computer, scanner and printer, with access to the internet. You will need a very comfortable chair, which supports your lower back, and you will need a good filing system. It can be very frustrating if you are spending valuable study time trying to fix study tools that are unreliable, or unsuitable for the task. Make sure that your study tools are up to date. You will also need to consider some study rules. Some of these rules will apply to you and will be intended to help you to be more disciplined about when and how you study. This distance-learning guide will help you and after you have read it you can put some thought into what your study rules should be. You will also need to negotiate some study rules for your family, friends or anyone who lives with you. They too will need to be disciplined in order to ensure that they can support you while you study. It is important to ensure that your family and friends are an integral part of your study team. Having their support and encouragement can prove to be a crucial contribution to your successful completion of the program. Involve them in as much as you can.
Successful distance-learning
Distance-learners are freed from the necessity of attending regular classes or workshops, since they can study in their own way, at their own pace and for their own purposes. But unlike traditional internal training courses, it is the student’s responsibility, with a distance-learning program, to ensure that they manage their own study contribution. This requires strong self-discipline and self-motivation skills and there must be a clear will to succeed. Those students who are used to managing themselves, are good at managing others and who enjoy working in isolation, are more likely to be good distance-learners. It is also important to be aware of the main reasons why you are studying and of the main objectives that you are hoping to achieve as a result. You will need to remind yourself of these objectives at times when you need to motivate yourself. Never lose sight of your long-term goals and your short-term objectives. There is nobody available here to pamper you, or to look after you, or to spoon-feed you with information, so you will need to find ways to encourage and appreciate yourself while you are studying. Make sure that you chart your study progress, so that you can be sure of your achievements and re-evaluate your goals and objectives regularly.
Self-assessment
Appleton Greene training programs are in all cases post-graduate programs. Consequently, you should already have obtained a business-related degree and be an experienced learner. You should therefore already be aware of your study strengths and weaknesses. For example, which time of the day are you at your most productive? Are you a lark or an owl? What study methods do you respond to the most? Are you a consistent learner? How do you discipline yourself? How do you ensure that you enjoy yourself while studying? It is important to understand yourself as a learner and so some self-assessment early on will be necessary if you are to apply yourself correctly. Perform a SWOT analysis on yourself as a student. List your internal strengths and weaknesses as a student and your external opportunities and threats. This will help you later on when you are creating a study plan. You can then incorporate features within your study plan that can ensure that you are playing to your strengths, while compensating for your weaknesses. You can also ensure that you make the most of your opportunities, while avoiding the potential threats to your success.
Accepting responsibility as a student
Training programs invariably require a significant investment, both in terms of what they cost and in the time that you need to contribute to study and the responsibility for successful completion of training programs rests entirely with the student. This is never more apparent than when a student is learning via distance-learning. Accepting responsibility as a student is an important step towards ensuring that you can successfully complete your training program. It is easy to instantly blame other people or factors when things go wrong. But the fact of the matter is that if a failure is your failure, then you have the power to do something about it, it is entirely in your own hands. If it is always someone else’s failure, then you are powerless to do anything about it. All students study in entirely different ways, this is because we are all individuals and what is right for one student, is not necessarily right for another. In order to succeed, you will have to accept personal responsibility for finding a way to plan, implement and manage a personal study plan that works for you. If you do not succeed, you only have yourself to blame.
Planning
By far the most critical contribution to stress, is the feeling of not being in control. In the absence of planning we tend to be reactive and can stumble from pillar to post in the hope that things will turn out fine in the end. Invariably they don’t! In order to be in control, we need to have firm ideas about how and when we want to do things. We also need to consider as many possible eventualities as we can, so that we are prepared for them when they happen. Prescriptive Change, is far easier to manage and control, than Emergent Change. The same is true with distance-learning. It is much easier and much more enjoyable, if you feel that you are in control and that things are going to plan. Even when things do go wrong, you are prepared for them and can act accordingly without any unnecessary stress. It is important therefore that you do take time to plan your studies properly.
Management
Once you have developed a clear study plan, it is of equal importance to ensure that you manage the implementation of it. Most of us usually enjoy planning, but it is usually during implementation when things go wrong. Targets are not met and we do not understand why. Sometimes we do not even know if targets are being met. It is not enough for us to conclude that the study plan just failed. If it is failing, you will need to understand what you can do about it. Similarly if your study plan is succeeding, it is still important to understand why, so that you can improve upon your success. You therefore need to have guidelines for self-assessment so that you can be consistent with performance improvement throughout the program. If you manage things correctly, then your performance should constantly improve throughout the program.
Study objectives & tasks
The first place to start is developing your program objectives. These should feature your reasons for undertaking the training program in order of priority. Keep them succinct and to the point in order to avoid confusion. Do not just write the first things that come into your head because they are likely to be too similar to each other. Make a list of possible departmental headings, such as: Customer Service; E-business; Finance; Globalization; Human Resources; Technology; Legal; Management; Marketing and Production. Then brainstorm for ideas by listing as many things that you want to achieve under each heading and later re-arrange these things in order of priority. Finally, select the top item from each department heading and choose these as your program objectives. Try and restrict yourself to five because it will enable you to focus clearly. It is likely that the other things that you listed will be achieved if each of the top objectives are achieved. If this does not prove to be the case, then simply work through the process again.
Study forecast
As a guide, the Appleton Greene Women Empowerment corporate training program should take 12-18 months to complete, depending upon your availability and current commitments. The reason why there is such a variance in time estimates is because every student is an individual, with differing productivity levels and different commitments. These differentiations are then exaggerated by the fact that this is a distance-learning program, which incorporates the practical integration of academic theory as an as a part of the training program. Consequently all of the project studies are real, which means that important decisions and compromises need to be made. You will want to get things right and will need to be patient with your expectations in order to ensure that they are. We would always recommend that you are prudent with your own task and time forecasts, but you still need to develop them and have a clear indication of what are realistic expectations in your case. With reference to your time planning: consider the time that you can realistically dedicate towards study with the program every week; calculate how long it should take you to complete the program, using the guidelines featured here; then break the program down into logical modules and allocate a suitable proportion of time to each of them, these will be your milestones; you can create a time plan by using a spreadsheet on your computer, or a personal organizer such as MS Outlook, you could also use a financial forecasting software; break your time forecasts down into manageable chunks of time, the more specific you can be, the more productive and accurate your time management will be; finally, use formulas where possible to do your time calculations for you, because this will help later on when your forecasts need to change in line with actual performance. With reference to your task planning: refer to your list of tasks that need to be undertaken in order to achieve your program objectives; with reference to your time plan, calculate when each task should be implemented; remember that you are not estimating when your objectives will be achieved, but when you will need to focus upon implementing the corresponding tasks; you also need to ensure that each task is implemented in conjunction with the associated training modules which are relevant; then break each single task down into a list of specific to do’s, say approximately ten to do’s for each task and enter these into your study plan; once again you could use MS Outlook to incorporate both your time and task planning and this could constitute your study plan; you could also use a project management software like MS Project. You should now have a clear and realistic forecast detailing when you can expect to be able to do something about undertaking the tasks to achieve your program objectives.
Performance management
It is one thing to develop your study forecast, it is quite another to monitor your progress. Ultimately it is less important whether you achieve your original study forecast and more important that you update it so that it constantly remains realistic in line with your performance. As you begin to work through the program, you will begin to have more of an idea about your own personal performance and productivity levels as a distance-learner. Once you have completed your first study module, you should re-evaluate your study forecast for both time and tasks, so that they reflect your actual performance level achieved. In order to achieve this you must first time yourself while training by using an alarm clock. Set the alarm for hourly intervals and make a note of how far you have come within that time. You can then make a note of your actual performance on your study plan and then compare your performance against your forecast. Then consider the reasons that have contributed towards your performance level, whether they are positive or negative and make a considered adjustment to your future forecasts as a result. Given time, you should start achieving your forecasts regularly.
With reference to time management: time yourself while you are studying and make a note of the actual time taken in your study plan; consider your successes with time-efficiency and the reasons for the success in each case and take this into consideration when reviewing future time planning; consider your failures with time-efficiency and the reasons for the failures in each case and take this into consideration when reviewing future time planning; re-evaluate your study forecast in relation to time planning for the remainder of your training program to ensure that you continue to be realistic about your time expectations. You need to be consistent with your time management, otherwise you will never complete your studies. This will either be because you are not contributing enough time to your studies, or you will become less efficient with the time that you do allocate to your studies. Remember, if you are not in control of your studies, they can just become yet another cause of stress for you.
With reference to your task management: time yourself while you are studying and make a note of the actual tasks that you have undertaken in your study plan; consider your successes with task-efficiency and the reasons for the success in each case; take this into consideration when reviewing future task planning; consider your failures with task-efficiency and the reasons for the failures in each case and take this into consideration when reviewing future task planning; re-evaluate your study forecast in relation to task planning for the remainder of your training program to ensure that you continue to be realistic about your task expectations. You need to be consistent with your task management, otherwise you will never know whether you are achieving your program objectives or not.
Keeping in touch
You will have access to qualified and experienced professors and tutors who are responsible for providing tutorial support for your particular training program. So don’t be shy about letting them know how you are getting on. We keep electronic records of all tutorial support emails so that professors and tutors can review previous correspondence before considering an individual response. It also means that there is a record of all communications between you and your professors and tutors and this helps to avoid any unnecessary duplication, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation. If you have a problem relating to the program, share it with them via email. It is likely that they have come across the same problem before and are usually able to make helpful suggestions and steer you in the right direction. To learn more about when and how to use tutorial support, please refer to the Tutorial Support section of this student information guide. This will help you to ensure that you are making the most of tutorial support that is available to you and will ultimately contribute towards your success and enjoyment with your training program.
Work colleagues and family
You should certainly discuss your program study progress with your colleagues, friends and your family. Appleton Greene training programs are very practical. They require you to seek information from other people, to plan, develop and implement processes with other people and to achieve feedback from other people in relation to viability and productivity. You will therefore have plenty of opportunities to test your ideas and enlist the views of others. People tend to be sympathetic towards distance-learners, so don’t bottle it all up in yourself. Get out there and share it! It is also likely that your family and colleagues are going to benefit from your labors with the program, so they are likely to be much more interested in being involved than you might think. Be bold about delegating work to those who might benefit themselves. This is a great way to achieve understanding and commitment from people who you may later rely upon for process implementation. Share your experiences with your friends and family.
Making it relevant
The key to successful learning is to make it relevant to your own individual circumstances. At all times you should be trying to make bridges between the content of the program and your own situation. Whether you achieve this through quiet reflection or through interactive discussion with your colleagues, client partners or your family, remember that it is the most important and rewarding aspect of translating your studies into real self-improvement. You should be clear about how you want the program to benefit you. This involves setting clear study objectives in relation to the content of the course in terms of understanding, concepts, completing research or reviewing activities and relating the content of the modules to your own situation. Your objectives may understandably change as you work through the program, in which case you should enter the revised objectives on your study plan so that you have a permanent reminder of what you are trying to achieve, when and why.
Distance-learning check-list
Prepare your study environment, your study tools and rules.
Undertake detailed self-assessment in terms of your ability as a learner.
Create a format for your study plan.
Consider your study objectives and tasks.
Create a study forecast.
Assess your study performance.
Re-evaluate your study forecast.
Be consistent when managing your study plan.
Use your Appleton Greene Certified Learning Provider (CLP) for tutorial support.
Make sure you keep in touch with those around you.
Tutorial Support
Programs
Appleton Greene uses standard and bespoke corporate training programs as vessels to transfer business process improvement knowledge into the heart of our clients’ organizations. Each individual program focuses upon the implementation of a specific business process, which enables clients to easily quantify their return on investment. There are hundreds of established Appleton Greene corporate training products now available to clients within customer services, e-business, finance, globalization, human resources, information technology, legal, management, marketing and production. It does not matter whether a client’s employees are located within one office, or an unlimited number of international offices, we can still bring them together to learn and implement specific business processes collectively. Our approach to global localization enables us to provide clients with a truly international service with that all important personal touch. Appleton Greene corporate training programs can be provided virtually or locally and they are all unique in that they individually focus upon a specific business function. They are implemented over a sustainable period of time and professional support is consistently provided by qualified learning providers and specialist consultants.
Support available
You will have a designated Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and an Accredited Consultant and we encourage you to communicate with them as much as possible. In all cases tutorial support is provided online because we can then keep a record of all communications to ensure that tutorial support remains consistent. You would also be forwarding your work to the tutorial support unit for evaluation and assessment. You will receive individual feedback on all of the work that you undertake on a one-to-one basis, together with specific recommendations for anything that may need to be changed in order to achieve a pass with merit or a pass with distinction and you then have as many opportunities as you may need to re-submit project studies until they meet with the required standard. Consequently the only reason that you should really fail (CLP) is if you do not do the work. It makes no difference to us whether a student takes 12 months or 18 months to complete the program, what matters is that in all cases the same quality standard will have been achieved.
Support Process
Please forward all of your future emails to the designated (CLP) Tutorial Support Unit email address that has been provided and please do not duplicate or copy your emails to other AGC email accounts as this will just cause unnecessary administration. Please note that emails are always answered as quickly as possible but you will need to allow a period of up to 20 business days for responses to general tutorial support emails during busy periods, because emails are answered strictly within the order in which they are received. You will also need to allow a period of up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Please therefore kindly allow for this within your time planning. All communications are managed online via email because it enables tutorial service support managers to review other communications which have been received before responding and it ensures that there is a copy of all communications retained on file for future reference. All communications will be stored within your personal (CLP) study file here at Appleton Greene throughout your designated study period. If you need any assistance or clarification at any time, please do not hesitate to contact us by forwarding an email and remember that we are here to help. If you have any questions, please list and number your questions succinctly and you can then be sure of receiving specific answers to each and every query.
Time Management
It takes approximately 1 Year to complete the Women Empowerment corporate training program, incorporating 12 x 6-hour monthly workshops. Each student will also need to contribute approximately 4 hours per week over 1 Year of their personal time. Students can study from home or work at their own pace and are responsible for managing their own study plan. There are no formal examinations and students are evaluated and assessed based upon their project study submissions, together with the quality of their internal analysis and supporting documents. They can contribute more time towards study when they have the time to do so and can contribute less time when they are busy. All students tend to be in full time employment while studying and the Women Empowerment program is purposely designed to accommodate this, so there is plenty of flexibility in terms of time management. It makes no difference to us at Appleton Greene, whether individuals take 12-18 months to complete this program. What matters is that in all cases the same standard of quality will have been achieved with the standard and bespoke programs that have been developed.
Distance Learning Guide
The distance learning guide should be your first port of call when starting your training program. It will help you when you are planning how and when to study, how to create the right environment and how to establish the right frame of mind. If you can lay the foundations properly during the planning stage, then it will contribute to your enjoyment and productivity while training later. The guide helps to change your lifestyle in order to accommodate time for study and to cultivate good study habits. It helps you to chart your progress so that you can measure your performance and achieve your goals. It explains the tools that you will need for study and how to make them work. It also explains how to translate academic theory into practical reality. Spend some time now working through your distance learning guide and make sure that you have firm foundations in place so that you can make the most of your distance learning program. There is no requirement for you to attend training workshops or classes at Appleton Greene offices. The entire program is undertaken online, program course manuals and project studies are administered via the Appleton Greene web site and via email, so you are able to study at your own pace and in the comfort of your own home or office as long as you have a computer and access to the internet.
How To Study
The how to study guide provides students with a clear understanding of the Appleton Greene facilitation via distance learning training methods and enables students to obtain a clear overview of the training program content. It enables students to understand the step-by-step training methods used by Appleton Greene and how course manuals are integrated with project studies. It explains the research and development that is required and the need to provide evidence and references to support your statements. It also enables students to understand precisely what will be required of them in order to achieve a pass with merit and a pass with distinction for individual project studies and provides useful guidance on how to be innovative and creative when developing your Unique Program Proposition (UPP).
Tutorial Support
Tutorial support for the Appleton Greene Women Empowerment corporate training program is provided online either through the Appleton Greene Client Support Portal (CSP), or via email. All tutorial support requests are facilitated by a designated Program Administration Manager (PAM). They are responsible for deciding which professor or tutor is the most appropriate option relating to the support required and then the tutorial support request is forwarded onto them. Once the professor or tutor has completed the tutorial support request and answered any questions that have been asked, this communication is then returned to the student via email by the designated Program Administration Manager (PAM). This enables all tutorial support, between students, professors and tutors, to be facilitated by the designated Program Administration Manager (PAM) efficiently and securely through the email account. You will therefore need to allow a period of up to 20 business days for responses to general support queries and up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies, because all tutorial support requests are answered strictly within the order in which they are received. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Consequently you need to put some thought into the management of your tutorial support procedure in order to ensure that your study plan is feasible and to obtain the maximum possible benefit from tutorial support during your period of study. Please retain copies of your tutorial support emails for future reference. Please ensure that ALL of your tutorial support emails are set out using the format as suggested within your guide to tutorial support. Your tutorial support emails need to be referenced clearly to the specific part of the course manual or project study which you are working on at any given time. You also need to list and number any questions that you would like to ask, up to a maximum of five questions within each tutorial support email. Remember the more specific you can be with your questions the more specific your answers will be too and this will help you to avoid any unnecessary misunderstanding, misinterpretation, or duplication. The guide to tutorial support is intended to help you to understand how and when to use support in order to ensure that you get the most out of your training program. Appleton Greene training programs are designed to enable you to do things for yourself. They provide you with a structure or a framework and we use tutorial support to facilitate students while they practically implement what they learn. In other words, we are enabling students to do things for themselves. The benefits of distance learning via facilitation are considerable and are much more sustainable in the long-term than traditional short-term knowledge sharing programs. Consequently you should learn how and when to use tutorial support so that you can maximize the benefits from your learning experience with Appleton Greene. This guide describes the purpose of each training function and how to use them and how to use tutorial support in relation to each aspect of the training program. It also provides useful tips and guidance with regard to best practice.
Tutorial Support Tips
Students are often unsure about how and when to use tutorial support with Appleton Greene. This Tip List will help you to understand more about how to achieve the most from using tutorial support. Refer to it regularly to ensure that you are continuing to use the service properly. Tutorial support is critical to the success of your training experience, but it is important to understand when and how to use it in order to maximize the benefit that you receive. It is no coincidence that those students who succeed are those that learn how to be positive, proactive and productive when using tutorial support.
Be positive and friendly with your tutorial support emails
Remember that if you forward an email to the tutorial support unit, you are dealing with real people. “Do unto others as you would expect others to do unto you”. If you are positive, complimentary and generally friendly in your emails, you will generate a similar response in return. This will be more enjoyable, productive and rewarding for you in the long-term.
Think about the impression that you want to create
Every time that you communicate, you create an impression, which can be either positive or negative, so put some thought into the impression that you want to create. Remember that copies of all tutorial support emails are stored electronically and tutors will always refer to prior correspondence before responding to any current emails. Over a period of time, a general opinion will be arrived at in relation to your character, attitude and ability. Try to manage your own frustrations, mood swings and temperament professionally, without involving the tutorial support team. Demonstrating frustration or a lack of patience is a weakness and will be interpreted as such. The good thing about communicating in writing, is that you will have the time to consider your content carefully, you can review it and proof-read it before sending your email to Appleton Greene and this should help you to communicate more professionally, consistently and to avoid any unnecessary knee-jerk reactions to individual situations as and when they may arise. Please also remember that the CLP Tutorial Support Unit will not just be responsible for evaluating and assessing the quality of your work, they will also be responsible for providing recommendations to other learning providers and to client contacts within the Appleton Greene global client network, so do be in control of your own emotions and try to create a good impression.
Remember that quality is preferred to quantity
Please remember that when you send an email to the tutorial support team, you are not using Twitter or Text Messaging. Try not to forward an email every time that you have a thought. This will not prove to be productive either for you or for the tutorial support team. Take time to prepare your communications properly, as if you were writing a professional letter to a business colleague and make a list of queries that you are likely to have and then incorporate them within one email, say once every month, so that the tutorial support team can understand more about context, application and your methodology for study. Get yourself into a consistent routine with your tutorial support requests and use the tutorial support template provided with ALL of your emails. The (CLP) Tutorial Support Unit will not spoon-feed you with information. They need to be able to evaluate and assess your tutorial support requests carefully and professionally.
Be specific about your questions in order to receive specific answers
Try not to write essays by thinking as you are writing tutorial support emails. The tutorial support unit can be unclear about what in fact you are asking, or what you are looking to achieve. Be specific about asking questions that you want answers to. Number your questions. You will then receive specific answers to each and every question. This is the main purpose of tutorial support via email.
Keep a record of your tutorial support emails
It is important that you keep a record of all tutorial support emails that are forwarded to you. You can then refer to them when necessary and it avoids any unnecessary duplication, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation.
Individual training workshops or telephone support
Please be advised that Appleton Greene does not provide separate or individual tutorial support meetings, workshops, or provide telephone support for individual students. Appleton Greene is an equal opportunities learning and service provider and we are therefore understandably bound to treat all students equally. We cannot therefore broker special financial or study arrangements with individual students regardless of the circumstances. All tutorial support is provided online and this enables Appleton Greene to keep a record of all communications between students, professors and tutors on file for future reference, in accordance with our quality management procedure and your terms and conditions of enrolment. All tutorial support is provided online via email because it enables us to have time to consider support content carefully, it ensures that you receive a considered and detailed response to your queries. You can number questions that you would like to ask, which relate to things that you do not understand or where clarification may be required. You can then be sure of receiving specific answers to each individual query. You will also then have a record of these communications and of all tutorial support, which has been provided to you. This makes tutorial support administration more productive by avoiding any unnecessary duplication, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation.
Tutorial Support Email Format
You should use this tutorial support format if you need to request clarification or assistance while studying with your training program. Please note that ALL of your tutorial support request emails should use the same format. You should therefore set up a standard email template, which you can then use as and when you need to. Emails that are forwarded to Appleton Greene, which do not use the following format, may be rejected and returned to you by the (CLP) Program Administration Manager. A detailed response will then be forwarded to you via email usually within 20 business days of receipt for general support queries and 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Your tutorial support request, together with the corresponding TSU reply, will then be saved and stored within your electronic TSU file at Appleton Greene for future reference.
Subject line of your email
Please insert: Appleton Greene (CLP) Tutorial Support Request: (Your Full Name) (Date), within the subject line of your email.
Main body of your email
Please insert:
1. Appleton Greene Certified Learning Provider (CLP) Tutorial Support Request
2. Your Full Name
3. Date of TS request
4. Preferred email address
5. Backup email address
6. Course manual page name or number (reference)
7. Project study page name or number (reference)
Subject of enquiry
Please insert a maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Briefly outline the subject matter of your inquiry, or what your questions relate to.
Question 1
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Question 3
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Question 4
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Question 5
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Please note that a maximum of 5 questions is permitted with each individual tutorial support request email.
Procedure
* List the questions that you want to ask first, then re-arrange them in order of priority. Make sure that you reference them, where necessary, to the course manuals or project studies.
* Make sure that you are specific about your questions and number them. Try to plan the content within your emails to make sure that it is relevant.
* Make sure that your tutorial support emails are set out correctly, using the Tutorial Support Email Format provided here.
* Save a copy of your email and incorporate the date sent after the subject title. Keep your tutorial support emails within the same file and in date order for easy reference.
* Allow up to 20 business days for a response to general tutorial support emails and up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies, because detailed individual responses will be made in all cases and tutorial support emails are answered strictly within the order in which they are received.
* Emails can and do get lost. So if you have not received a reply within the appropriate time, forward another copy or a reminder to the tutorial support unit to be sure that it has been received but do not forward reminders unless the appropriate time has elapsed.
* When you receive a reply, save it immediately featuring the date of receipt after the subject heading for easy reference. In most cases the tutorial support unit replies to your questions individually, so you will have a record of the questions that you asked as well as the answers offered. With project studies however, separate emails are usually forwarded by the tutorial support unit, so do keep a record of your own original emails as well.
* Remember to be positive and friendly in your emails. You are dealing with real people who will respond to the same things that you respond to.
* Try not to repeat questions that have already been asked in previous emails. If this happens the tutorial support unit will probably just refer you to the appropriate answers that have already been provided within previous emails.
* If you lose your tutorial support email records you can write to Appleton Greene to receive a copy of your tutorial support file, but a separate administration charge may be levied for this service.
How To Study
Your Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and Accredited Consultant can help you to plan a task list for getting started so that you can be clear about your direction and your priorities in relation to your training program. It is also a good way to introduce yourself to the tutorial support team.
Planning your study environment
Your study conditions are of great importance and will have a direct effect on how much you enjoy your training program. Consider how much space you will have, whether it is comfortable and private and whether you are likely to be disturbed. The study tools and facilities at your disposal are also important to the success of your distance-learning experience. Your tutorial support unit can help with useful tips and guidance, regardless of your starting position. It is important to get this right before you start working on your training program.
Planning your program objectives
It is important that you have a clear list of study objectives, in order of priority, before you start working on your training program. Your tutorial support unit can offer assistance here to ensure that your study objectives have been afforded due consideration and priority.
Planning how and when to study
Distance-learners are freed from the necessity of attending regular classes, since they can study in their own way, at their own pace and for their own purposes. This approach is designed to let you study efficiently away from the traditional classroom environment. It is important however, that you plan how and when to study, so that you are making the most of your natural attributes, strengths and opportunities. Your tutorial support unit can offer assistance and useful tips to ensure that you are playing to your strengths.
Planning your study tasks
You should have a clear understanding of the study tasks that you should be undertaking and the priority associated with each task. These tasks should also be integrated with your program objectives. The distance learning guide and the guide to tutorial support for students should help you here, but if you need any clarification or assistance, please contact your tutorial support unit.
Planning your time
You will need to allocate specific times during your calendar when you intend to study if you are to have a realistic chance of completing your program on time. You are responsible for planning and managing your own study time, so it is important that you are successful with this. Your tutorial support unit can help you with this if your time plan is not working.
Keeping in touch
Consistency is the key here. If you communicate too frequently in short bursts, or too infrequently with no pattern, then your management ability with your studies will be questioned, both by you and by your tutorial support unit. It is obvious when a student is in control and when one is not and this will depend how able you are at sticking with your study plan. Inconsistency invariably leads to in-completion.
Charting your progress
Your tutorial support team can help you to chart your own study progress. Refer to your distance learning guide for further details.
Making it work
To succeed, all that you will need to do is apply yourself to undertaking your training program and interpreting it correctly. Success or failure lies in your hands and your hands alone, so be sure that you have a strategy for making it work. Your Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and Accredited Consultant can guide you through the process of program planning, development and implementation.
Reading methods
Interpretation is often unique to the individual but it can be improved and even quantified by implementing consistent interpretation methods. Interpretation can be affected by outside interference such as family members, TV, or the Internet, or simply by other thoughts which are demanding priority in our minds. One thing that can improve our productivity is using recognized reading methods. This helps us to focus and to be more structured when reading information for reasons of importance, rather than relaxation.
Speed reading
When reading through course manuals for the first time, subconsciously set your reading speed to be just fast enough that you cannot dwell on individual words or tables. With practice, you should be able to read an A4 sheet of paper in one minute. You will not achieve much in the way of a detailed understanding, but your brain will retain a useful overview. This overview will be important later on and will enable you to keep individual issues in perspective with a more generic picture because speed reading appeals to the memory part of the brain. Do not worry about what you do or do not remember at this stage.
Content reading
Once you have speed read everything, you can then start work in earnest. You now need to read a particular section of your course manual thoroughly, by making detailed notes while you read. This process is called Content Reading and it will help to consolidate your understanding and interpretation of the information that has been provided.
Making structured notes on the course manuals
When you are content reading, you should be making detailed notes, which are both structured and informative. Make these notes in a MS Word document on your computer, because you can then amend and update these as and when you deem it to be necessary. List your notes under three headings: 1. Interpretation – 2. Questions – 3. Tasks. The purpose of the 1st section is to clarify your interpretation by writing it down. The purpose of the 2nd section is to list any questions that the issue raises for you. The purpose of the 3rd section is to list any tasks that you should undertake as a result. Anyone who has graduated with a business-related degree should already be familiar with this process.
Organizing structured notes separately
You should then transfer your notes to a separate study notebook, preferably one that enables easy referencing, such as a MS Word Document, a MS Excel Spreadsheet, a MS Access Database, or a personal organizer on your cell phone. Transferring your notes allows you to have the opportunity of cross-checking and verifying them, which assists considerably with understanding and interpretation. You will also find that the better you are at doing this, the more chance you will have of ensuring that you achieve your study objectives.
Question your understanding
Do challenge your understanding. Explain things to yourself in your own words by writing things down.
Clarifying your understanding
If you are at all unsure, forward an email to your tutorial support unit and they will help to clarify your understanding.
Question your interpretation
Do challenge your interpretation. Qualify your interpretation by writing it down.
Clarifying your interpretation
If you are at all unsure, forward an email to your tutorial support unit and they will help to clarify your interpretation.
Qualification Requirements
The student will need to successfully complete the project study and all of the exercises relating to the Women Empowerment corporate training program, achieving a pass with merit or distinction in each case, in order to qualify as an Accredited Women Empowerment Specialist (APTS). All monthly workshops need to be tried and tested within your company. These project studies can be completed in your own time and at your own pace and in the comfort of your own home or office. There are no formal examinations, assessment is based upon the successful completion of the project studies. They are called project studies because, unlike case studies, these projects are not theoretical, they incorporate real program processes that need to be properly researched and developed. The project studies assist us in measuring your understanding and interpretation of the training program and enable us to assess qualification merits. All of the project studies are based entirely upon the content within the training program and they enable you to integrate what you have learnt into your corporate training practice.
Women Empowerment – Grading Contribution
Project Study – Grading Contribution
Customer Service – 10%
E-business – 05%
Finance – 10%
Globalization – 10%
Human Resources – 10%
Information Technology – 10%
Legal – 05%
Management – 10%
Marketing – 10%
Production – 10%
Education – 05%
Logistics – 05%
TOTAL GRADING – 100%
Qualification grades
A mark of 90% = Pass with Distinction.
A mark of 75% = Pass with Merit.
A mark of less than 75% = Fail.
If you fail to achieve a mark of 75% with a project study, you will receive detailed feedback from the Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and/or Accredited Consultant, together with a list of tasks which you will need to complete, in order to ensure that your project study meets with the minimum quality standard that is required by Appleton Greene. You can then re-submit your project study for further evaluation and assessment. Indeed you can re-submit as many drafts of your project studies as you need to, until such a time as they eventually meet with the required standard by Appleton Greene, so you need not worry about this, it is all part of the learning process.
When marking project studies, Appleton Greene is looking for sufficient evidence of the following:
Pass with merit
A satisfactory level of program understanding
A satisfactory level of program interpretation
A satisfactory level of project study content presentation
A satisfactory level of Unique Program Proposition (UPP) quality
A satisfactory level of the practical integration of academic theory
Pass with distinction
An exceptional level of program understanding
An exceptional level of program interpretation
An exceptional level of project study content presentation
An exceptional level of Unique Program Proposition (UPP) quality
An exceptional level of the practical integration of academic theory
Preliminary Analysis
Opportunity for Change
As women continue to advance their careers and take on more leadership roles, they must be able to think strategically, calculate risk and make empowered decisions so they can effectively lead their team and represent the organization.
The Women Empowerment Leadership Program is a method of accelerating women’s professional development at work. Women have made significant strides in the workplace, but there is no doubt that they continue to face challenges in climbing the corporate ladder. This program provides the necessary support and tools to ensure that these women have everything they need to succeed. This will in turn benefit the overall growth and profitability of the company.
Workshop 8- Hone Your Critical Thinking with Problem Solving, Risk-Taking and Decision- Making Skills – As leaders there are often times that we are feeling overwhelmed. What if you could learn a process for thinking to make better decisions and create better solutions? In this training, you’ll learn and practice techniques to generate breakthrough ideas and solve your most pressing problems. In these highly competitive and fast-moving times pushing the boundaries; personal, team, and organization is not an option, but a necessity. Leaders who want to achieve success understand that taking risk is an essential part of achieving results. We will help you discover your ‘risk tolerance’ and learn a 5-step process to start implementing your ideas by taking calculated risks. You will also become a confident decision maker, knowing within a matter of minutes what action to take in any situation that presents itself to you!
Preparing for the Workshop
Participants are encouraged to continue to show up with an open mind and be ready for a transformation from the inside out. Once again, there will be a lot of mindset work that involves being open to change. You will also need to be ready to learn new skills and start adopting them into your current role in the company.
Be sure to assess your organizations current stance on critical thinking, decision making and risk management within your company this will be helpful before you start making significant changes to its structure.
Take a look at your current processes and infrastructure.
Participants should also ensure that they are familiar with the major people-related processes of the company. All participants should be familiar with the processes of performance management, recruitment, talent assessment, and talent development. The workshop’s goal is not to change these processes, but rather to supplement them with the 5 Step Women’s Empowerment Business Transformation Process (Mindset Shift, Leadership Development, Personal Presence, Advanced Communications Skills and Creating and Implementing an Action Plan) to improve their effectiveness. Participants should compile a list of their most recent successes and failures in each of these processes. The list will be useful later on when discussing how to integrate the process into the existing model.
It may be advantageous to the participants if these processes are also examined from the perspective of the employees. One or two of the participants should meet with a few key employees to discuss the success of the processes. The effectiveness of these processes, rather than the method itself, should be the focal point of these discussions. When discussing the efficacy of the process, it is critical to consider the outcomes from the perspective of the people it is supposed to help. Ineffective processes, regardless of their efficiency, fail to meet the expectations of the customer. The Women’s Empowerment Business Transformation Process will be able to fill in the gaps discovered by identifying flaws in these procedures.
The eighth workshop in our Women Empowerment Program is Critical Thinking.
How this transformation of this process will be achieved, is by implementation of the following strategies:
1. Learn thinking concepts and tools to solve problems and understand new information valuable to individuals in a variety of different positions within a company.
2. Access steps to develop our conceptual thinking.
3. How to determine our personal thinking type.
4. Discover the 7 thought elements – (tools for thinking) and effective steps to improve your thinking.
5. Steps to improve your thinking.
6. How to master the skill of critical thinking.
7. Learn 5 strategies to help improve your strategic thinking process.
8. Discover positive thinking techniques to help you develop the habit of a more positive outlook on life.
9. How to implement the steps to improve your problem-solving skills.
10. Identify 4 powerful problem-solving strategies.
11. Discover how to master risk management along with a powerful exercise to put it into action.
12. Discover the 9 Leadership Thinking Styles and discern which one(s) you relate to. communication.
Course Manuals 1-12
Course Manual 1: Thinking Concepts
Thinking is a pattern of behavior in which we use internal representations of things and events to solve some specific purposeful problems. Thinking is a process of internalizing external events (Belonging to past, present and future).
Do you know how many thoughts your mind has in a given hour?
According to experts, the mind thinks between 60,000 and 80,000 thoughts per day. That equates to 2500 – 3,300 thoughts per hour. That is amazing.
Have you ever considered what kinds of thoughts you have?
If you pay attention to these thoughts, you’ll notice that the majority of them are useless, unimportant thoughts that race through your mind at breakneck speed. These are words you repeat in your head, comments your mind makes, repeating what you heard, questions, answers, and a slew of meaningless wandering thoughts you may not even be aware of.
You may not believe that you have this many thoughts, but if you have practiced meditation, you will have proof of the large number of thoughts that pass through your mind. It’s like being in a crowded train station or airport terminal with a large number of people coming and going.
When you try to study, solve a problem, or make a plan, you get proof of the never-ending stream of thoughts. You become suddenly aware of the numerous irrelevant thoughts vying for your attention.
The mind is like a butterfly, flitting from one flower to the next, never remaining still.
You might not be aware of this endless thinking in everyday life. The majority of this thinking is automatic, a mental habit. Only when you need to focus on something specific do you become aware of the many thoughts that keep distracting and attracting your attention.
This stream of thoughts continues as you dress, eat, walk, work, drive, talk, shower, or bathe. It happens when you are alone and when you are with others. It continues until you fall asleep. It’s like a constant mental noise that never stops. I’ve previously written about mental noise and how to deal with it.
This never-ending stream of thoughts can be tiring and exhausting, especially when you are anxious or worried. People sometimes drink, take drugs, or engage in hobbies or other activities to divert their attention away from these thoughts, but this is not the best solution.
• Consider how much energy and time you could have saved if you could reduce the number of thoughts you have.
• Consider how much better your focus would be if your thoughts were not bothering you.
• Consider how much inner peace, calm, and happiness you would have gained. If only there was a way to stop all these meaningless thoughts.
Do you leave your car’s engine running after you arrive at your destination? You certainly turn off the engine. So why not do the same with your thoughts?
We could argue that this is an automatic process that cannot be stopped. Wrong! Although it is an automatic process, it can be stopped or at least slowed. Meditation is a great tool to clear our mind and gain focus.
Nature of Thinking
• Thinking is, at its core, a cognitive activity.
• It is always aimed at achieving some goal or end.
• Thinking is defined as a problem-solving strategy.
• Instead of motor exploration, there is mental exploration in thinking.
• Thinking is a symbolic process.
• Thinking can shift very quickly, spanning time and space.
How do we organize all of the information that comes to mind? We mentally categorize information into groups. Concepts are mental collections of similar events, objects, ideas, and people. A concept is an example of fruit. In our minds, there are numerous types of fruit that fall into that category. More specifically, the idea of yellow fruit probably conjures up images of bananas and pineapples.
Grouping information into concepts makes our minds work less hard. We’d have to invent new words if we didn’t organize information this way! How do we form an idea in our heads? A prototype is the first step in developing a concept!
Prototypes:
Prototypes are simply mental representations or examples of a concept. When we match a new item to a prototype, we create a quick sorting pathway for later recall. What fruit comes to mind first when you think of fruits? Is it a fruit? If that’s the case, this is most likely your fruit prototype! It tells you what qualifies as fruit and should be classified as such.
When we come across an unfamiliar object, we may require a new prototype. We could create an entirely new category in our minds for the object, or we could learn more about it to see if it fits into an existing category. Perhaps we should reconsider our understanding of a prototype and concept completely to fit a new example.
Example:
Did you know tomatoes are a type of fruit? Tomatoes are a type of fruit that contains both flesh and seeds. Fruits include cucumbers, avocados, olives, and corn. Okra and string beans are also technically fruits. Do your fruit concept and prototype need to be changed to accommodate these food items?
Critical Thinking:
Critical thinking occurs when we intentionally and carefully apply our thoughts to the world around us in order to understand, relate to, and solve problems. Critical thinking was coined by John Dewey (1910) and defined as the application of understanding. He also used the terms reflective thinking and reflective thought to describe critical thinking.
According to John Dewey, critical or reflective thinking begins with a desire to solve a problem. Also, according to Dewey, the scientific method is all about finding an answer based on available data. Answering a question scientifically necessitates creativity, intellectual honesty, and sound judgment.
Critical thinking necessitates advanced thought processing and refines cognitive abilities. Critical thinking necessitates abilities like conceptualization, interpretation, and analysis. How do we exercise critical thinking? What cognitive tools or concepts can we use to answer questions on a math test, for example?
Psychology Thinking Concepts and Tools:
We use cognitive tools to solve problems and understand new information, just as you would use tools to build things in real life.
Bloom’s Taxonomy of Thinking Tools
Bloom’s taxonomy was developed by Benjamin Bloom (1956) as a hierarchy of cognitive tools. It has six levels of cognitive tools that progress from simple to complex. Remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating are the levels in order. See how many of Bloom’s tools you can use as you think and talk about a topic to determine how well you understand it.
Consider a subject or topic that you are very familiar with. As an example, consider flowers. What are your memories of flowers? What facts can you quickly recall from your memory? How well do you know flowers? Summarizing the parts of a flower, comparing different types of flowers, classifying flowers into groups, explaining how parts of a flower function, and interpreting scientific language about flowers are all examples of understanding.
You can apply your flower knowledge based on your understanding. Can you tell someone about a specific flower that you, see? Applying frequently entails analyzing as well. Can you tell the difference between flowers, organize them, and assign different functions to them? You are ready to begin evaluating a topic if you can apply and analyze it. Does what you’ve learned about flowers so far make sense?
Perhaps you learned something about flowers when you were younger that you now realize only applies to certain types of flowers. You criticize textbooks for generalizing this aspect of flowers. The more you know about a subject, such as flowers, the better you will be able to evaluate what others say and write about them. The highest level of Bloom’s taxonomy is creation.
• Can you create a viable flower farm plan using all of your flower knowledge?
• Can you come up with solutions to flower farming problems?
• Can you think of new ways to keep cut flowers fresher for longer?
Examples of Thinking Concepts in Psychology
To find answers to many questions and problems in life, we rely heavily on various types of thinking.
What are some examples of different types of thinking in action?
Algorithms
Algorithms are taught in science and math classes to help us solve problems. A method or procedure for determining a solution to a problem is referred to as an algorithm. PEMDAS, or the order of operations in mathematics, is an example of this. The answer to the math problem will differ depending on the order of operations you use! Algorithms, when used correctly, guarantee a correct answer.
Heuristic Thinking
Heuristic thinking is a type of simplified thinking. While this strategy is simple and fast, it also leaves a lot of room for error. Heuristic thinking can be considered of as a trial-and-error approach to problem solving.
Example: You need to replace a lightbulb in your home but don’t know what type to get. You go to the store and buy one that looks similar to the one you have at home. As you experiment with the new lightbulb, you realize it is not the correct type of lightbulb. You repeat the process of going to the store and looking for one that appears to work. You eventually find one that works!
What happens if heuristic reasoning fails to provide a solution? We frequently ignore the problem and go about our business. We can move on from a question that we are unable to answer as we take a test. Suddenly, without warning, an answer appears in your mind! This is known as insight, also known as a “Aha!” moment.
Characteristics of Thinking in Psychology
Mental sets, intuition, and metacognition are some characteristics of thinking in psychology. Do we approach a problem the same way each time? Do we follow a gut instinct or intuition to answer a question? What is metacognition?
A mental set means approaching the solution to a problem in the same way that we have in the past. It worked for us last time, so why not try it again? Does this approach or way of thinking always work for every kind of problem? No, but mental sets can still be beneficial as thinking shortcuts. If it is raining outside, we automatically take an umbrella with us because an umbrella proved useful in the past.
What about our intuition? These are feelings or thoughts that can be disconnected from logic or based on our emotions. You just know what to do when you have intuition. When we need to act quickly or solve a problem, we can use intuition to help us. Our intuitions are frequently based on heuristic reasoning.
Metacognition is the process of reflecting on one’s own thinking. It is the process by which we plan, assess, and monitor our performance on a task, our understanding of a subject, or our solutions to problems. Metacognition is the ability to reorganize one’s thoughts about a specific task or problem. Learning, comprehension, and other thinking strategies improve your cognitive abilities. Finally, they assist you in thinking more deeply about various topics and developing your metacognition.
Example:
Maddy and her boyfriend had a huge fight yesterday. They were both exhausted and emotional. Maddy is reflecting on the fight today and realizes that she reacted emotionally and let her emotions guide her thoughts. She is contemplating her thoughts, and she hopes to use what she has learned from this fight to help her respond more effectively in the future.
“Think before you speak. Read before you think.” ― Fran Lebowitz
Exercise 8:1: Have a Conversation WITHOUT Using the Letter “E”
Course Manual 2: Types of Thinking
“We are addicted to our thoughts. We cannot change anything if we cannot change our thinking.” ― Santosh Kalwar
Some argue that there are as many different types of thinking as there are people who think them.
No, it does not. In fact, such statements demonstrate extremely poor reasoning.
To give these people the benefit of the doubt, it is true that different types of thinking interact with one another. This “mixing” of ideas can make the list appear infinite.
And here’s the game-changer you must be aware of:
There is a distinction to be made between types of thinking and methods of thinking. It’s helpful to know which ones you want to identify and improve.
There can only be one Superman now. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have some level of super brain.
There are seven different types of thinking to be exact. Each shows how the brain organizes and processes information. Here’s how to find yours.
**Keep the following two central questions in mind:
• What is thinking, and why does it matter?
• In what ways do I already think this way in my daily life?
7 Types of Thinking
One: Critical Thinking
Analyzing a variety of factors is part of critical thinking. For example, consider the value of an idea and divide it by the form the idea takes.
Assume someone is enraged and yells at you about their desire to change. You would be able to find the value in the suggestion without missing out because the form of address was unfriendly.
In other words, critical thinking enables you to contextualize information and reason objectively about it.
Two: Analytical Thinking
Analytical thinking, as opposed to critical thinking, is concerned with examining the components of an argument. It examines the process in greater depth.
Analytical thinking is usually accompanied by research. The data at hand will not satisfy you as an analytical thinker. You will seek multiple examples in order to compare and contrast the various components of several examples or case studies.
Developing your reflective thinking skills will be extremely beneficial in this area.
Three: Creative Thinking
Edward de Bono is widely regarded as a pioneer in the field of creative thinking. It was a process for him of discovering solutions that would not be obvious under normal circumstances.
De Bono created a number of processes to assist people, the most famous of which is lateral thinking.
Consider digging holes to visualize this type of metacognition. As de Bono points out, most people dig one hole and then dig another in a different location if they don’t find the answer they’re looking for.
Lateral thinking, on the other hand, creates sideways and diagonal tunnels. Furthermore, it does not throw away the dirt as if it were obscuring the solution. It comes up with new ways to use the dirt.
De Bono’s practices are worth investigating if you want to improve your creative thinking. It’s important to note, however, that “creative” isn’t the right word because no one is “creating” anything new.
It’s more about repurposing existing processes in novel ways to generate new ideas that you wouldn’t have discovered otherwise. And, as Leslie Owen Wilson points out, creative thinking often entails taking risks as you add layers of complexity to existing processes.
Four: Conceptual or Abstract Thinking
Symbols are the starting point for abstract thinking.
There’s no reason why the shape of the letter ‘A’ should be pronounced the way we do in English. In fact, it’s pronounced quite differently in other languages, such as German.
Understanding that fact is a simple example of abstract thinking. Later, the use of the letter ‘A’ as a symbol in logical and mathematical contexts provides a more complex example.
Jean Piaget had a significant impact on the description of this technique. According to his cognitive development theory, children begin developing basic symbolic thinking abilities between the ages of 2 and 7.
They progress to developing logical reasoning skills between the ages of 7 and 11. Everything after that is basically devoted to abstract thinking, and we don’t stop until death.
Study subjects such as: to improve your abstract thinking abilities.
• Math
• Philosophy
• Game theory
• Logical thinking
• Play with figurative language
• Practice visualization meditation
• Use a Memory Palace
• Learn other languages
**Later in this course, we’ll be going deeper into conceptual thinking and how it can benefit your success in the workplace.
Five: Perceptual or Concrete Thinking
Concrete thinking is concerned with taking the world literally – or attempting to do so. It’s also known as literal thinking.
This type of thinking prompts you to seek specific examples. When someone makes a claim, you want to know what makes it true, why the evidence supports the claim, and how it does so.
People sometimes avoid concrete thinking because they don’t want to appear obstinate. However, we need more people to insist on evidence that backs up the claims people make, well… concretely.
To improve in this area, ask lots of who, what, when, where, and why questions. And then follow up by employing some of the characteristics of analytical thinking, such as conducting thorough research on your own.
Six: Convergent Thinking
Convergent thinkers seek examples that reveal commonalities and reject the distortion of having a plethora of wild ideas flying around. They do this in order to find the best solutions to problems.
NASA provides numerous examples of convergent thinking, which is essentially the same as linear thinking. The Apollo 13 mission, for example, faced a critical situation in which they needed to obtain enough energy to safely complete the mission – and save their own lives.
To solve the problem, they had to limit themselves to only using the materials they had on hand. As a result, they were able to arrive at the best possible solution quickly and reasonably.
If you want to improve this type of thinking, solving puzzles with only the pieces you have, and no outside parts provides excellent practice. Escape rooms are excellent for this, as are games such as Hunt a Killer, in which you solve crimes solely based on the evidence provided.
Seven: Divergent Thinking
Let us continue with the NASA example.
When Apollo 13 was in danger, someone apparently suggested using a flashlight to generate more energy.
Because the space shuttle team lacked a flashlight, they had to rely on convergent thinking to find a solution.
However, this does not rule out the possibility of a wild idea like “flashlight.” Sometimes you need to use nonlinear thinking to spark ideas that you wouldn’t have thought of otherwise.
Divergent thinking is similar to lateral thinking in some ways. In this case, it’s usually best to work in groups.
Consider hosting an “Idea Party” to help you improve. I’ve gone to these for entrepreneurs and people who need help getting a passion project off the ground.
Each person is given a few minutes to describe their project. The audience then spends 10-15 minutes sharing their best ideas and resources for bringing the idea to life. It’s a powerful exercise because it forces many different types of thinkers to respond in a variety of ways in a short period of time.
How to Develop Conceptual Thinking
Employees at all levels of an organization can benefit from developing and applying soft skills such as communication, problem-solving, and time management. Many people can benefit from conceptual thinking, but few are aware of its existence. The application of conceptual thinking can significantly improve employees’ understanding of their role in the larger organization as well as their work products. In this article, we define conceptual thinking, describe how to begin thinking conceptually, and provide workplace examples of conceptual thinking.
What exactly is conceptual thinking?
The practice of connecting abstract, disparate ideas to deepen understanding, generate new ideas, and reflect on past decisions is known as conceptual thinking. Abstract concepts, such as the function of a complex business or a nonlinear digital process, are easily understood by conceptual thinkers. They can draw connections between disparate concepts to generate novel ideas and reflect on past decisions to improve future outcomes. This soft skill is valuable for a variety of reasons and is applicable to individuals in a variety of positions within a company.
What is the significance of conceptual thinking?
Conceptual thinking is necessary for improved job performance and job satisfaction. Because they can connect abstract ideas, employees who practice conceptual thinking are more likely to find and implement creative and innovative solutions to business challenges. Conceptual thinkers frequently find greater satisfaction and commitment to their jobs because they recognize the value that the work they do brings to the company and the customer.
Who uses conceptual thinking?
Conceptual thinking is frequently encouraged and applied by managers and other company leaders but developing conceptual thinking skills can benefit any employee. Managers and other leaders must recognize the links between departments and make efforts to keep the company united. All employees, however, can improve their work performance by practicing conceptual thinking in order to improve their abstract thinking and problem-solving skills.
How to Start Thinking Conceptually
With focus and practice, you can develop and improve your conceptual thinking abilities. Use the following steps to improve your conceptual thought processing and work performance and dedication:
1. Observe leadership.
Leaders frequently use conceptual thinking in their daily tasks and responsibilities. Examine how your company’s leadership identifies disparate concepts and makes connections between them. Examine how they transfer processes from one department to another to determine whether a new procedure improves work performance.
2. Use Challenges as case studies
When confronted with a work challenge, use it as an opportunity to conduct a conceptual thinking case study. Begin by considering how the problem might be handled by other departments within the organization. Consider previous challenges and what worked and what didn’t. Find additional abstract connections to create a one-of-a-kind solution.
3. Seek outside expertise
Abstract connections are essential for conceptual thinking. Seek information from outside sources to solve insider problems. Examine how organizations outside your industry handle challenges. See how combining ideas can result in an entirely new outcome.
4. Keep up on industry news and trends.
Keep up to date on changes in your own industry. Learn how industry leaders are innovating work processes, products, and other business elements to improve their operations. Consider how you could incorporate some of these practices into your own work.
5. Implement new practices
Once you’ve identified a variety of interesting processes, ideas, and procedures from both within and outside your industry, try incorporating some of them into your job to see what works and what doesn’t. Track your progress and reflect on your experiments to improve further.
6. Brainstorm ideas with coworkers
Inquire with your coworkers about any connections they see within the organization that can improve work performance and product. Propose new ideas and inquire how your colleagues might apply them to their own work.
7. Find a mentor
Look for a mentor in your field. Find someone who regularly engages in conceptual thinking and can assist you in developing the skill for yourself. Examine how they apply conceptual thinking to their own work and seek guidance as you connect disparate concepts and come up with unique solutions.
8. Learn about the organization
Learn how your company or organization works. Create a clear picture of how each department helps the others and how everyone in the company works together to achieve the same goal. Spend time with departments with which you do not normally interact and learn about their contributions to the company’s mission.
Conceptual Thinking Examples:
Depending on your job and industry, conceptual thinking can take many forms. Use the following examples to help you apply conceptual thinking to your work:
Consider the project’s outcomes. After completing a project, take a moment to consider what went well and what could be improved. Take into account the outcome for yourself and other stakeholders.
Evaluate the applicability of proposed solutions. Consider how the outcome will affect other, seemingly unconnected members of the organization before implementing a solution.
Create organizational frameworks and models. Create mind maps, flow charts, or other visual representations of the company’s hierarchical structure. Visualizing the organization can assist you in keeping all internal stakeholders in mind as you work.
Determine how your work benefits the entire organization. Consider how your daily obligations
Apply various concepts to projects. Develop innovative concepts for your work using the knowledge you’ve gained from outside sources, mentors, and other resources.
Experiment with identifying the context and purpose. When given a new project or assignment, consider its context within the larger organization as well as its purpose in promoting the company.
Plan your operations. Check that your operations are in line with your company’s goals. Evaluate and improve your operational plans on a regular basis to maximize your time and deliverables.
How to Determine Your Thinking Type
Knowing how you think allows you to understand:
• What inspires you to move and act?
• Why do you find certain things difficult or boring, and what you can do to improve areas of your life so you can achieve your goals
• What is the most effective method for you to manage people?
• How to Improve Your Team Dynamics with Your Peers
• How to Improve Your Personal Productivity and Growth Mindset
As Mindvalley’s Superbrain Quest trainer Jim Kwik puts it, “we need to understand how our minds work so we can work our minds better.”
So, how would you describe your thinking style? Logical? Creative? Rational? Or do you think in terms of abstractions?
If you’re unsure, there are tests out there that can help you determine your thinking style. You can also use a ‘thinking types of framework’ that can help you map it out.
Framework for Thinking Types
Mark Bonchek and Elisa Steele created this method. People, according to them, have a typical area of focus on ideas, processes, action, or relationships, with an orientation toward the big picture or the details.
The following is a two-step explanation of how to read the thinking type framework.
Step One: Focus
Consider where you typically direct the majority of your attention. It’s similar to when you go to see a movie — do you prefer action, romance, drama, or mystery?
One way to really focus is to ask yourself what comes to mind first when you wake up in the morning.
Consider the following…
• Do you have any issues that you need to resolve?
• You need to make plans?
• What actions must you take?
• Who are the people you need to see or manage?
These responses will assist you in determining which of the four key areas to which you devote the most attention — ideas, process, action, or relationships. It’s not so much about choosing one over the other as it is about where your ‘default’ focus naturally lands.
Step Two: Orientation
Now, notice whether your focus shifts toward the micro (the details) or the macro (the big picture).
Consider what bothers you most in meetings to help you identify this orientation. So, consider whether you are more likely to become demotivated when things are overly detailed or when they are overly general and insufficiently specific.
Micro (the specifics):
• The goal of expert thinking is to achieve objectivity and insight.
• Optimizer thinking is concerned with increasing productivity and efficiency.
• Producers are concerned with achieving completion and momentum.
• Coach thinking is about developing people and their potential.
The macro (big picture):
• The goal of explorer thinking is to generate creative ideas.
• -The goal of planner thinking is to create efficient systems.
• -The goal of energizer thinking is to get people to act.
• -Relationships are built and strengthened through connector thinking.
With this two-step framework, you’re thinking type becomes a very useful tool — a social currency, if you will — that you can use to your advantage in order to progress toward your higher self.
Exercise 8.2: Mind Mapping
Course Manual 3: Thinking Process
Ready to sharpen your thinking skills? In this course we will reveal multiple thought process examples and sure-fire tools you can use to improve your thinking.
What Exactly Are Thought Processes?
A thought process, according to researchers, can be both conscious and unconscious. In fact, your mind can process multiple thoughts at the same time.
As a result, the precise definition of a thought process is straightforward:
It is occupied with the stuff of thought.
It is concerning that many of your thoughts are occurring outside of your awareness. Although many positive thought processes stimulate our creativity and problem-solving abilities, Daniel Kahneman’s research has revealed that we are vulnerable to many cognitive biases.
Cognitive bias is any of a variety of thought processes that lead to us taking shortcuts. As a result, we distort reality and make irrational decisions.
As a result, it’s a good idea to become acquainted with as many thought processes as possible.
Different Types of Thought Processes (with Examples)
Don’t just read the following list passively as an exercise. Consider a time when you either thought these thoughts or witnessed others thinking in these ways.
Write down your personal examples and observations for the best results.
Also consider whether each thought process is positive, negative, neutral, or a combination.
1. Associative Thinking
It is essential to be able to see how one thing connects to another. The ability to think in terms of associations develops early in healthy children. Most of us improve as we get older because more life experiences create pattern recognition.
For example, we frequently associate events in our lives with mythological patterns. If someone is greedy, you might compare them to King Midas or say that Pandora’s box has been opened. Pattern recognition stimulates this type of associative thinking.
It also does not have to be Greek myths. Since 1999, it has been very common for people in the Internet age to respond to certain events by saying, “It’s just like in The Matrix.”
Freud famously asked his patients to engage in free association, which led to the development of many new psychological therapies and procedures, including the Rorshach test.
And the term “association” is widely used. In order to come up with interesting and unique ideas, creative people frequently allow themselves to follow random trains of thought. Mind mapping is used by students, and association is a key mnemonic strategy.
2. Abductive Thinking
This way of thinking entails drawing conclusions from observations. Sherlock Holmes is one of the most well-known examples of inferential thinking. It is also used by real-life detectives.
A simple way to think about this thought process is that you’re reaching a conclusion without having all of the information. When you arrive at a crime scene and discover a bloodied knife, you can reasonably conclude that it is the murder weapon. But you don’t know because you’re inducing the conclusion.
It is worth noting that many people confuse this type of thinking with deductive reasoning. So, let’s take a look at that next.
3. Deductive Thinking
Deductive thinking is frequently formulaic. It is typically composed of a “if this, then that” structure. For example, you can deduce that if you don’t get on the freeway before rush hour, you’ll be late for work.
In contrast to induction, in which you draw a conclusion from an incomplete picture, you have a complete picture of how traffic works on the highway.
When there is a lot of evidence, deductive reasoning is usually easier to test. There are three major types to learn:
• Syllogisms
• Modus ponens
• Modus tollens
Check out these critical thinking book recommendations to help you even more.
Inductive and deductive thinking combine to form what we commonly refer to as logical or rational thinking.
4. Social Thinking
We like to think of ourselves as unique individuals.
That could not be further from the truth!
Humans speak a variety of languages, and none of the words or phrases are unique to any one person. Rather, we work together to keep this communication tool evolving.
We are increasingly using the Internet to communicate in our native languages. Students use it to study together, which entails working together to achieve common goals.
In this regard, we can also consider transpersonal thinking. When we realize that the individual’s role isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be, we can transcend the ego and dissolve into the great river of life.
Does that sound abstract? Never be afraid. That type of thinking will be addressed next.
5. Abstract Thinking – Thinking Outside the Box
To think abstractly is to physically distance oneself from an idea or concept.
We just did that by considering how language is not owned by any single person, even if it is experienced in unique ways.
This is an “abstract” thought because we’re looking at the entire species rather than the individual.
This is a nuanced thought process, so if you’re interested, you can read more about abstract thinking with other examples.
5. Concrete Thinking
Concrete thinking is concerned with concepts that are directly related to material reality. For example, you could consider how things feel and make mental comparisons and contrasts.
An orange and an apple, for example, feel more similar than an orange and the handle of a shovel.
Another example is referring to rain as “pounding.”
6. Analogical Thinking
Analogical thinking entails drawing parallels and assuming that what is true for one thing is also true for the other.
We can use them effectively, for example, when we say that an argument is going in circles. When the same points come up again and again, it feels like they are on a loop.
However, analogies frequently fail because things are rarely as similar as they appear. Keep an eye out for anyone who says, “it’s like x.” Although the comparison they are about to make appears to make sense on the surface, the connection is all too often superficial.
7. Analytical Thinking
Analysis entails literally disassembling things.
When a Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass participant When we approach a problem, we’re attempting to solve, we can analyze it by looking for the individual components.
That’s not to say we shouldn’t consider the problem in its entirety. Analytical thinking, on the other hand, starts with the premise that everything is made up of parts.
Deconstruction is a philosophical concept that describes an analytical process that reveals how many of our most cherished truths were constructed over time. It’s a twist on what Nietzsche called “genealogical thinking.”
A simple way to improve at this type of thinking is to practice observing and questioning everything.
8. Linear Thinking
Linear thinking is all about structure and adhering to a specific process.
However, this does not make it boring.
In fact, Triz is one of the most intriguing collections of linear thinking tools on the planet. It’s also extremely creative.
Nonlinear thinkers are thought to use fewer structures or to intentionally introduce randomness.
The German band Einstürzende Neubauten, for example, creates new songs by drawing ideas and roles from a hat. Although the singer is not a world-class drummer, he will play percussion while writing a new song if he chooses a slip that requires him to do so.
Although this type of creativity appears to be nonlinear and “outside the box,” it is procedural and linear in its own right. If we use analytical thinking to “deconstruct” the concept of linear thinking, we may discover that there is no such thing as nonlinear thinking at all.
9. Reflective Thinking
Making time to reflect is extremely important.
It’s simple and easy to do, and there are many powerful reflective thinkers to be inspired by.
Simply put, find a quiet place to sit, write down your thoughts, and use analytical thinking to sort, sift, and screen through the material of your mind.
It’s ideal for assisting yourself in making better decisions and broadening your mind.
10. Counterfactual Thinking
We frequently think of alternative histories as fiction. A common example is Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle.
However, considering what might have happened in our daily lives is extremely beneficial.
What our life would be like if we made different choices.
Next, consider the polar opposite of this type of thinking. It’s also extremely useful.
11.Speculative Thinking
If counterfactual thinking entails imagining alternative past scenarios, speculative thinking entails imagining two or more possible future outcomes.
Dan Sullivan’s “dangers, opportunities, strengths” routine is a simple exercise for thinking about your future.
You can imagine a practical path forward for your future by asking yourself questions about these three core areas.
You can also use journaling as a powerful exercise.
12. Decisive Thinking
When it comes to the future, you’ll never get there unless you can make decisions.
Decisive by Dan and Chip Heath contains one of my favorite problem-solving models. It’s known as the W.R.A.P. technique:
• Widen your options
• Reality check
• Attain distance
• Prepare to fail
Because you’re making the tool a rule of thumb, using step-by-step decision processes like this is always considered “heuristic thinking.”
This technique has been linked to a much older tool called Ars combinatoria, which you might want to learn about if you want to master multiple thought processes.
13. Metacognition
Have you ever heard of Zen?
It’s a rather radical philosophy that helps you realize that the present moment is all we really have – and because it passes so quickly, the idea that we have it at all is an illusion.
The great masters of meditation use metacognition to realize this fact and hold onto it so that you can experience lasting mental peace.
To become a master yourself, you simply need to cultivate an awareness of how your own thoughts operate, as well as a meta-level awareness of how your thoughts about your thoughts operate.
There is a great book called, The Victorious Mind that showcases this way of thinking.
This type of thinking is also known as “mindfulness thinking.”
14. Skeptical Thinking
We’ve saved the most important mode of thought for last. And I want you to apply it to everything we just discussed.
Why?
Because questioning the validity of people’s claims is one of the most powerful things you can do.
• Consider your options.
• Conduct your own research.
• Test.
You risk being naive if you don’t.
You don’t want to go overboard, of course. It’s also beneficial to be curious and to give certain things the benefit of the doubt on occasion.
This is where you’ll want to use your discernment, which is why practicing all of the skills on this page will be extremely beneficial in the long run.
Thought Elements (Tools of Thinking)
The various components of the thinking process can be summarized as follows. We usually rely on these elements or tools in various thought processes.
1. Images:
Images are personal experiences of objects, people, or scenes that have been seen, heard, or felt. These mental images represent actual objects, experiences, and activities.
2. Concepts:
A concept is a ‘general ide’ that represents the common property of all the objects or events in a general class. The concepts, as a tool, save us time and effort in thinking.
3. Signs and symbols:
Symbols and signs are substitutes for actual objects, experiences, and activities. The symbolic expression is represented by traffic lights, railway signals, school bells, badges, songs, flags, and slogans.
4. Language:
Language is the most efficient and developed vehicle for carrying out the thinking process.
5. Muscle exercises:
A strong positive correlation has been discovered between an individual’s thinking and muscular activities.
6. Mind functions:
Thinking is primarily a brain function. Our mind, or brain, is said to be the primary tool for carrying out the process of thought.
7. Methods of Thinking:
Some of the methods you’ll want to explore include using all of the Types of Thinking found in Course Manual 8:2 are in the form of:
• Writing
• Studying
• Mind mapping
• Discussing
• Debating
• Meditating
“The student reflects rarely and unconsciously. The smart reflects daily and consciously. The master lets it go.” – Maxime Lagacé
How to Improve Your Thinking Skills
Completing critical thinking exercises is the best way to see significant improvements in your thinking abilities.
In addition, you’ll want to improve your:
• Reading techniques
• Comprehension of reading
• Visualization abilities
• Memory Palace abilities (See exercise below)
Above all, you should make time to study great thinkers as well as practice thinking.
All it takes is dedication and consistency.
What’s more, the best part?
You now have new ways to consider increasing your commitment and consistency by employing tools such as analytical thinking and speculative thinking to become the architect of your future.
So, what do you think?
Are you ready to experience various types of thought?
Dive right in!
Exercise 8:3: Memory Palace
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Course Manual 4: Critical Thinking
“You have a brain and mind of your own. Use it and reach your own decisions.”—Napoleon Hill
Imagine how much better your life would be if there was a way to make the best decisions every day.
There is, and it is known as critical thinking.
Mastering the skill of critical thinking can have a profoundly positive impact on almost every aspect of your life.
Much has been said in praise of critical thinking over the centuries. Over the years, many great critical thinkers have shared their wisdom.
Plato’s account of Socrates’ teachings is the first documented account of critical thinking.
The definition of critical thinking has evolved over time.
Most critical thinking definitions are fairly complex and best understood by philosophy majors or psychologists.
Here’s the Wiki definition of critical thinking:
Critical thinking is the analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to form a judgement. The subject is complex; several different definitions exist, which generally include the rational, skeptical, and unbiased analysis or evaluation of factual evidence. Critical thinking is self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking. It presupposes assent to rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use. It entails effective communication and problem-solving abilities as well as a commitment to overcome native egocentrism and sociocentrism.
Why is Critical Thinking Important?
Asking why something matters can help you:
• Set it in context
• Discover its history.
• Disassemble and examine its components
For example, we know that human civilization began only when people began to think.
The more you can rest and think, the more you can think about how to maximize your free time, which is ultimately what gave rise to the Internet, which we now use to communicate with one another.
And that was most likely only possible because our forefathers discovered how to irrigate land for farming.
Although human history is obviously more complicated than that, it is also quite simple: if you don’t have to spend all of your time hunting and foraging for food, you have more time to rest and think.
This means that more free time and improved interpersonal communication make critical thinking even more important.
Why?
Because the better you become at critical thinking, the more free time and better communication you will have.
11 Wonderful Benefits of Critical Thinking
One: Critical thinking allows you to gain experience in a variety of disciplines
Do you want to be able to think more quickly?
Make use of “mental rotation.”
This is how it works:
Assume you’ve been assigned a problem to solve, such as inner-city poverty.
It’s a huge advantage to be able to look at a problem from multiple angles rather than just one. You can, for example, mentally cycle through:
• Political viewpoints
• Perspectives on psychology
• Biological viewpoints
• Perspectives from Ethnography
• Perspectives from the Past
• Economic Prospects
• Perspectives on ethics
• Etc.
The critical thinking benefits of “rotating” through these perspectives occur as a result of your thinking skills being exercised. As your perspective broadens, you will be able to identify more potential options for the next benefit.
Two: Avoid Unnecessary Problems
The more perspectives you have, the more mental models you can navigate. These models (such as the ones listed above) assist you in imagining various outcomes.
Essentially, you enable yourself to create multiple versions of the W.R.A.P. technique taught in the Ars combinatoria training, (that we shared in the last course manual) which is an early critical thinking tool you might want to investigate. It is just one of several critical thinking strategies that you should learn.
Of course, not all problems are avoidable, and it is unrealistic to believe that critical thinking will result in a friction-free paradise.
However, while some decisions will always create new issues, you can significantly reduce the negative impact of those decisions in advance simply by thinking things through with the broadest range of perspectives.
Three: Brain Exercise
Critical thinking provides brain exercise for several reasons.
When you switch between multiple perspectives, you promote cognitive switching. According to research, this mental movement is the equivalent of walking for your heart and lungs. Only in this case are the advantages directed at your brain.
In this case, you’ll reap even more benefits because of how critical thinking is applied in conversations. A fit brain, for example, is much more likely to use objective reasoning and avoid the pitfalls of subjective reasoning.
Four: Personal Time Increases
We’ve now discussed how critical thinking was used to help entire societies increase their free time. This also works on an individual level.
For example, if you run an online business and want more free time, nothing beats applying critical thinking skills to how you can delegate certain tasks.
If you’re a student, you can learn techniques like interleaving, which is just one of several genuine methods for reading faster.
Five: Communication and Your Use of Language Improves
When you study critical thinking, you will learn new vocabulary, just like any other skill.
Learning new words directly leads to improved language skills.
You’ll also get a sense of which words and phrases to use in which situations.
Linking thinking to improved language use has always been a part of the memory tradition discussed on this blog. It dates back to at least 90 BCE, when it was codified in Rhetorica and Herrenium.
Six: Scientific Living Enhances Health
When you use your mind effectively, you will be able to make much better health-related decisions.
For starters, rather than always taking your doctor’s word for it, you’ll learn to understand the math behind their decisions and determine how much of it applies to you.
This also applies to the use of language. How many people are aware that “doctor” is the Latin word for “teacher”?
You’ll probably make much better health decisions if you start thinking about your own medical professionals in this light and treat them as a starting point for educating yourself.
Furthermore, knowing the origins of words is an important skill for critical thinkers because it allows you to think on your feet faster.
Seven: Catch Yourself in Conversations
How many times have you found yourself in a self-punishing cycle after saying something you later regretted?
Psychoanalysts such as Robert Langs and Robert Haskell believe that we “encode” unconscious ideas in the way we speak.
Some critics now believe that these thinkers were looking for hidden meanings that did not exist. Although some of the evidence presented by both is dubious, in Langs’ case, he was protecting the identities of his clients.
Langs has compelling ideas, and one of the problems he faces is that his theory attempts to account for the criticisms leveled at it. As a result, there is a history of people going on the offensive rather than having a reasonable discussion about the subject.
And I say this because, if Langs is even slightly correct, we could all benefit from avoiding a lot of unnecessary problems by holding our tongues in advance, rather than feeling bad about the innuendo encoded in our speech later.
Eight: Intellectual Honesty Improves
We use the Langs as an example because the modern world is full of bad actors eager to criticize theories or ideas they haven’t fully explored or tried.
This results in intellectual dishonesty, which harms many people.
But if you’re willing to admit that you haven’t given something enough thought to be critical of it, you’re doing everyone a favor. You also save a lot of time and energy because you don’t have to go backwards, watch your back, or have a part of your brain constantly monitoring the environment for threats caused by a lack of integrity.
Nine: Critical Thinking Fosters Independence
People who do not learn the benefits of critical thinking never achieve the level of independence that they could.
Obviously, we want to consult with others at all times. That requirement will never go out of style.
However, there are many times in life when we simply do not have the option of seeking a second opinion. When this occurs, we want to be able to rely on ourselves.
The issue is, what if you forget how to use your critical thinking tools?
Great news…
Once you’ve memorized the critical thinking tools and perspectives you’ve added to your mental toolbox, you can use the Memory Palace technique to train yourself to use them almost automatically.
Ten: Improve Your Career
Who has the best jobs available?
People who can think on their feet and make good decisions on a regular basis.
Not only that, but they can achieve other lifestyle goals much faster because they have successful careers.
Consider this. When you have a great job, you will be able to:
• Increased pay
• Health insurance of the highest caliber
• Packages for retirement
• Company benefits such as travel expenses and a car
• Better places to work
• Improved access to upper-level colleagues
• The benefits of contributing more
Eleven: Everyone Becomes a Better Global Citizen
Of course, you don’t have to be (or even want to be) a top-level executive or manager.
No matter what roles you choose in life, you can reap the benefits of helping others.
Simply learning the value of critical thinking and applying it in daily life will benefit others.
Case Study 1: Repel the Problem
Paul Smith tells the story of Tide, a laundry detergent brand, in Lead with a Story.
Proctor and Gamble, the brand’s owner, sought to improve the product after it was introduced in 1946. They spent years developing formulas to remove tough dirt stains without harming clothing.
It turns out that there is no way to make a detergent stronger without also weakening the fabric being cleaned.
Unless you have a team of brilliant minds to work through such critical thinking scenarios.
As Smith sums it up:
“Instead of trying in vain to find chemicals that could remove the dirt, the team switched its efforts to finding chemicals that prevented it from redepositing on the fabric in the first place.”
Case Study 2: Gather and Analyze the Data That Matters
In Richard Wiseman’s The Luck Factor, you’ll read the story of Carolyn, who was feeling down on her luck.
Rather than relying on Carolyn’s feelings, Dr. Wiseman had her complete a Life Satisfaction Questionnaire. It’s similar to the Wheel of Life, which I discussed on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast with Arthur Worsley.
After collecting the data, Dr. Wiseman taught Carolyn how to be more fortunate in life.
Spoiler Alert: Most of those lessons involve little more than reflective thinking and objective reasoning, two key components of logical thinking that you should practice.
Carolyn’s luck improved after applying these principles, as did the luck of many other participants in Dr. Wiseman’s studies.
This book is very powerful. Prior to completing its exercises and analyzing my own data, I had a very pessimistic attitude toward almost everything in life.
However, it is much easier to see ways to improve your life when you think critically about the data that matters. See the data behind why the world is becoming “luckier” in Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Now and Hans Rosling’s Factfulness for more science-based examples.
Top Characteristics of Critical Thinkers
What are the characteristics shared by all influential critical thinkers? More importantly, are these the characteristics that enable them to think in a non-linear, critical manner? It has been observed that some people are simply better at making logical decisions than others.
The secret to their decision-making abilities is not the quality of their education or the places they have visited. The key is how much of their education they have applied in their daily lives and how much they have absorbed from the places they have visited and people they have spoken with.
According to researchers, critical thinkers all over the world share four characteristics.
• They are active listeners.
• They are curious people.
• They have self-discipline.
• They are humble and rooted.
Active Listening
It is a well-known quote that the best communicators are those who listen well rather than those who speak well. You may be a persuasive speaker, but if you do not listen to others, you will continue to speak out of tune. In such cases, your brilliant statements and observations will be completely irrelevant.
Being an active listener necessitates complete attention and engagement with what the speaker is saying. Not only that, but an active listener can understand the subconscious messages that the speaker is sending simply by interpreting the speaker’s words, even if the speaker has not explicitly mentioned it.
Curiosity
A curious mind is a learning mind. It has been observed that people with good decision-making abilities are constantly trying to learn new things. That curiosity keeps them prepared and up to date, allowing them to handle any crisis as effectively as possible. These people enjoy asking questions and are skeptical of explanations that are not based on logic and rationality.
However, there is a fine line between being curious and being nosy. Many people try to meddle in other people’s lives and businesses and are labeled as “meddlesome.” In contrast, being curious is about learning things through your own senses, as opposed to collecting rumors.
Self-Discipline
One of the primary goals of self-discipline is to prevent others from influencing your thoughts so that you can reason and rationalize independently. Critical Thinkers are more aware of their surroundings as well as their own strengths and weaknesses. This is due to their dedication to bettering the world. They are compassionate and believe in equal opportunity.
Humility
Humility is the ability to minimize one’s contribution to a successful task while crediting others. Humility is also characterized by an openness to new ideas. Critical thinkers are always humble when learning so that they can learn new things without their ego fighting them.
5 Tips to Improving Your Critical Thinking
This critical thinking process will allow us to carefully de-construct a question removing all bias and manipulation and focus on the facts
The Ultimate Critical Thinking Exercise
People have been wondering, “Who am I?” for thousands of years.
You might not think of this as a critical thinking exercise but submitting to the question as a practice will improve your thinking in general.
When your name, title, roles in your profession, and all the games of life are stripped away, who are you really? Is there a “true self” in the mix that you can always rely on?
Get 15-20 index cards and write down personal qualities on each to practice this exercise with more structure. They can be characteristics such as:
• Honesty
• Discipline
• Enthusiasm
• Patience
• Dedication
• Versatility
Take a seat, take a deep breath, and begin mixing the cards.
Then, choose one of the cards and consider how others in your life perceive that quality:
Coworkers, family, and friends.
Consider what your life would be like if that quality was completely absent. What would you be if you didn’t have it? Can you see your true self if you don’t have this label?
Then take another card and repeat the process, each time taking a deep breath. Then, write about your experiences in your journal. It’s critical to write after completing each of the exercises on this page if you want to benefit from the reflective thinking skills you’ll want to develop.
Regardless of your current level of critical thinking ability, it is a skill set that you can develop.
Exercise 8:4: The Prison Exercise
Course Manual 5: Strategic Thinking
Most workplaces benefit from having strategic thinkers on the team. These people are frequently in managerial or executive positions, and their ability to make informed decisions and plan for the future is crucial. Knowing what this skill is and the various benefits it brings to the workplace can help you cultivate it yourself, which is useful if you want to be a manager or something similar. In this lesson, we will define strategic thinking, discuss its various applications in the workplace, and show you how to develop this skill for yourself.
What Exactly Is Strategic Thinking?
Strategic thinking is simply an intentional and rational thought process that focuses on the analysis of critical factors and variables that will influence a company’s, team’s, or individual’s long-term success.
Strategic thinking entails anticipating threats and vulnerabilities to avoid, as well as opportunities to pursue. Strategic thinking and analysis, in the end, result in a clear set of goals, plans, and new ideas required to survive and thrive in a competitive, changing environment. This type of thinking must take economic realities, market forces, and available resources into account.
Strategic thinking is a process in which you consider various factors and variables, consider your goals and objectives, and then develop specific plans of action. Setting clear and actionable goals, determining how achievable they are and in what time frame, and considering the possible outcomes, setbacks, and opportunities are all important parts of this.
This is why strategic thinkers spend so much time considering risks and possibilities, as these occurrences can have a significant impact on their plans. As a result, a strategic thinker is also concerned with contingency planning, flexibility, and feedback mechanisms.
Why is strategic thinking important?
Any organization’s competitive landscape can shift quickly. New trends may emerge quickly, requiring you to capitalize on them or risk falling behind. By incorporating strategic thinking into your daily work and life routines, you will improve your ability to anticipate, forecast, and capitalize on opportunities.
Individually, strategic thinking allows you to make a greater contribution in your role, become more important to your organization, and demonstrate that you’re ready to control more resources.
Critical vs. Strategic Thinking
The best way to explain critical thinking vs. strategic thinking is to say that one is something you use, and the other is something you do. The primary distinctions between them are how far into the future they think, when to use them, and whether one requires the other.
Critical thinking is focused on the present, whereas strategic thinking is concerned with the future. Critical thinkers will use available data to solve a problem or figure something out, whereas strategic thinkers will consider how that problem fits into a larger picture.
Let us use chess as an example to better understand how each one works. For good reason, some of the greatest thinkers have played chess, but strategy trumps critical thinking. This is due to the fact that a critical thinker will consider the implications of the current move.
Application:
To distinguish between critical thinking and strategic thinking, it may be useful to understand when each should be used. Short-term critical thinking is commonly used in academic tasks such as code deciphering and comprehension.
Strategic thinking is better suited for business and forecasting outcomes, such as marketing manipulation and product sales in a specific industry. You can use strategy to get your ducks in a row before making a move that will result in the desired outcome.
This is especially useful in positions of management or leadership of any kind. In a boardroom, strategy is used to plan the best pitch. In a courtroom, you adjust your position to accommodate the jury. Of course, one of the best comparisons between the styles of thought is war.
There are dozens of ideas on critical versus strategic thinking, but perhaps the simplest way to understand it is as follows: The critical thinker will win a battle because they will position their soldiers correctly and use the appropriate weaponry.
The strategist, on the other hand, will eventually win the war because they will outmaneuver their opponent. In fact, they may purposefully lose a battle if it will give them a false sense of confidence or open another path to victory.
Using the previous business metaphor, the critical thinker will understand the product being sold and will analyze all user data, whereas the strategic manager will know how to sell it to consumers and investors.
What Does Strategic Thinking In Business Look Like?
Leaders frequently compile, analyze, and synthesize external and internal data and ideas during an organization’s annual strategic planning process to develop its strategic intent and build a strategic narrative. For a set period of time, this document will guide the company into the future. Leaders then select and plan specific actions to carry out these strategic initiatives.
Businesses must also set aside time throughout the year for strategic thinking and reviews. Leadership teams should examine their strategic initiatives on a regular basis to ensure execution, review, and sustain the effort across the organization.
What is Strategic Thinking in Leadership?
Strategic thinking and analysis are used by business leaders and stakeholders to determine what product mix to offer, what competitive landscape to compete in (or not compete in), and how to allocate limited resources such as time, employees, and capital. They must decide how to best structure the enrollment of others in order to achieve important goals while avoiding putting resources at unnecessary risk of loss.
What Professionals Can Benefit From Strategic Planning?
Although a strategic mindset is advantageous in almost every workplace and organization, some professions and roles benefit more than others. In general, any role that requires planning, leadership, and decision making will necessitate strategic thinkers. This means that it is more specific to specific types of roles rather than specific sectors or industries, as these roles frequently exist in multiple fields of work. Strategic mindsets are useful in the following roles:
Managers: Because managers are typically concerned with performance, overseeing teams of individuals, and delivering specific outputs, strategic thinking can be extremely beneficial. This is due to the fact that it allows them to plan the use of their various human and other resources, as well as develop contingencies and other measures to ensure that work runs smoothly.
Procurement and logistics: These people are in charge of obtaining the materials, components, and other items that a company requires to function. Working with various suppliers and organizing deliveries is frequently required, and solid strategies are essential because these flows can experience delays or interruptions.
Marketers: Because marketers frequently develop long-term marketing plans to achieve specific goals, they must think strategically. This enables them to develop a sense of direction and consistency, both of which can be extremely beneficial to the brand or products they’re promoting.
Investment and finance: Whether you’re trading on behalf of a client or putting together a long-term investment portfolio, the ability to maneuver in times of calm and volatility necessitates the ability to plan and organize effectively. This enables investment and finance professionals to reassure their clients while also providing the best returns.
Budgeting: If you are in charge of creating and allocating budgets, your job is to make the best use of a limited resource over a set period of time. Being able to think strategically can thus be extremely beneficial, especially when competing priorities or unexpected needs must be considered.
What Are The Primary Components Of Strategic Thinking?
Strategic thinking is not a single process, but rather a collection of interconnected processes that complement and reinforce one another. As a result, you will be able to develop effective plans, putting you in a better position to respond to anything unexpected. The following are some of the main components of this process:
Observation
A good strategic thinker understands what data is relevant and useful. A strategic thinker’s ability to observe and absorb information is therefore critical, as the information gained through effective observation informs their plans and decisions. Strategic thinking frequently begins with the collection and analysis of all available and relevant information.
Planning
Plan development is an important part of strategy formulation, and it is also what strategic thinkers excel at. These plans are based on current circumstances, organizational needs, and information gathered through observation and other channels. Planning entails determining the achievable objectives, the steps required to get there, potential challenges and opportunities, and the resources required. Planning may also entail extensive research, such as determining what competitors are doing and how this may impact your own plans.
Problem-solving
Strategic thinking necessitates the ability to solve problems during both the planning and implementation phases. When developing plans, you may encounter resource constraints or a lack of information. This is a problem that must be addressed. Similarly, once you begin implementing the plan, you will almost certainly encounter additional problems and challenges that will necessitate problem-solving skills. By incorporating contingencies and other measures into your plans, you can frequently combine problem-solving and planning.
Adaptability
Even the best-laid plans are subject to unforeseen circumstances that necessitate change. A good strategic thinker is capable of adapting to changing circumstances and revising their plans accordingly. This is often a big part of the initial planning, where you’d make sure your plan can accommodate changes on the fly. Adaptability is also linked to observation and problem solving because a strategic thinker can monitor the implementation process and integrate solutions as needed.
Decisiveness
Strategic thinking necessitates agility and decisiveness in selecting and sticking to a plan. You must, however, be aware of new, more promising opportunities. It’s a delicate balancing act between consistency and adaptability. You and your colleagues will:
• Use thorough research to ensure that decisions are well-informed.
• Select objectives and metrics to go with them.
• Prioritize your goals.
• Use a standard decision-making procedure.
• When necessary, reach an agreement.
You will need to communicate ideas to your staff and solicit feedback from them during strategic planning. You will then use effective channels to communicate to all employees a compelling vision of the completed plan while keeping them focused on their contribution to the plan.
“A vision without a strategy remains an illusion.” – Lee Bolman
How to Improve Your Strategic Thinking Skills:
Here are five strategies to help you improve your strategic thinking process right now.
1. Make Time for Progress
One of the most difficult obstacles to progress in any organization is being so overwhelmed with mundane business tasks that the ability to focus on strategic direction is hampered. Taking care of daily problems is important, but you also need to make time to think about the future if you want to make progress. How do you find the time, energy, and discipline to take a break from your daily routine?
• First, recognize that it is time well spent. You are investing in the organization’s long-term success.
• Prioritize tasks and decide which can be put on hold for the time being.
• Discover any anxiety that is preventing you from moving forward.
2. Recognize Your Own Biases
Being self-aware enough to monitor and question your own thoughts is an important part of being a rational critical thinker. What exactly does it mean to think strategically? Being able to control your own mind. Recognizing that your thoughts or ideas may be flawed does not diminish your credibility; on the contrary, it increases it. You are willing to verify facts and think outside the box in order to generate new ideas.
• What is my current situation?
• Is my point of view realistic?
• What other details did I overlook that I should have?
• What does my viewpoint imply?
3. Enhance Your Listening Skills
A critical thinker recognizes that their ideas may be flawed and thus listens intently to others in order to learn more from their perspectives. Every team member is important and deserves to be heard. Developing keen listening skills will encourage others to speak up and foster an environment in which everyone contributes strategically as a cohesive unit. These pointers will assist you in making the most of listening opportunities.
• Maintain an open mind free of biases.
• Be open to receiving feedback from others.
• With a desire to learn a new perspective, pay close attention.
• Examine what was said and identify the most important point(s) learned.
4. Improve Your Questioning Skills
To think critically, you must question everything. Not in a cynical way, but in a constructive way that allows you to see ideas objectively. Just because a way of thinking or an idea is widely accepted as the standard does not mean it should not be challenged. Taking the time to question something allows for growth.
Here are a few examples of strategic thinking questions to ask during the critical evaluation process:
• Is the concept logical?
• Is the source trustworthy? Was the information provided by a reputable expert, or was it rumor?
• What assumptions and biases are present in each option?
• Identify any evidence that exists to support the theory.
5. Understand the Consequences
Every decision has ramifications. After challenging various sources and points of view, consider the consequences of each option. This step is critical in final decision-making, and it will become easier with practice. It is critical for final decision-making to rationally identify the effects of various scenarios. Ask these questions to determine which outcome will best align with your organization’s vision.
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
• What do they all mean?
• Which will best help us achieve our objectives?
• Is there a way to open up long-term opportunities?
The ability to overcome one’s own egocentrism in order to seek out new perspectives for the most credible solution results in creativity, progress, and innovation. Meetings become more productive and business goals are met faster when those in positions of leadership are experienced critical thinkers. Fostering a culture of inclusion and encouraging all employees to think critically will pave the way for future success.
Anyone can benefit from learning strategic thinking skills. Everyone has the ability to influence future developments.
Case Study
Strategic Thinking Case Study (TMT Associates 2006)
Problem: A company in a rapidly changing industry was stuck in its traditional business model, losing market share while protecting earnings by raising prices and cutting expenses. Recognizing that these responses could not be sustained in the long run, senior management asked TMT Associates to assist them in thinking creatively and achieving breakthrough strategic thinking.
Approach: TMT developed a unique and highly successful strategic thinking product for groups called STARRS based on our experience with both successful and unsuccessful approaches to strategic planning (Strategic Thinking, Action, Responsibilities, Results, Success).
STARRS’ success is built on a highly inclusive, interactive, inspiring, and proven process that:
• addresses strategic, organizational, and cultural issues concurrently
• employs a highly structured, data-driven assessment process
• incorporates proven group process tools and work to identify strategic issues
• Utilizes tried-and-true group process tools to identify strategic issues and an organization’s readiness to leverage assets or develop capability in response to these issues.
• Creates major strategies through a facilitated “Visions of Success” activity.
• the framework within which specific strategies, goals, tactics, and measures are developed
TMT Associates guided members of the leadership and management teams through a STARRS assessment.
Results: Several new growth strategies were developed, and they are still effective and guiding the company’s direction.
o The comprehensive review of current facts and trends required by STARRS was dispelled some incorrect assumptions and provided valuable information to many members of the leadership team
o The inclusive nature of the process resulted in “buy-in” of the resulting plan
o The facilitated process and group activities incorporated into our STARRS planning protocol.
o By doing “real work” together, the participants naturally broke down barriers and strengthened teamwork.
o The participants overcame functional barriers, recognized their interdependence, and established work and communication processes to ensure their effectiveness and joint objectives would be met.
Exercise 8:5: A Completely Technological Future
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Course Manual 6: Positive Thinking
Do you see the glass as half full or half empty? You’ve most likely heard that question before. Your response is directly related to the concept of positive thinking and whether you have a positive or negative attitude toward life. Positive thinking is important in positive psychology, which is the study of what makes people happy and fulfilled.
According to research, positive thinking can help with stress management and even play an important role in your overall health and well-being. It can help you overcome feelings of low self-esteem, improve your physical health, and broaden your outlook on life.
As a leader in the workplace, having a positive attitude can inspire others to do the same and allow for a better culture and work environment.
What is positive thinking, exactly? You might be tempted to interpret it as viewing the world through rose-colored glasses, ignoring, or glossing over the negative aspects of life. Positive thinking, on the other hand, means approaching life’s challenges with a positive attitude.
Positive thinking does not always imply avoiding or ignoring the negative aspects of life. Instead, it entails making the best of potentially bad situations, looking for the best in others, and viewing yourself and your abilities positively.
Positive psychologist Martin Seligman, for example, frames positive thinking in terms of explanatory style. Your explanatory style describes how you explain why events occur.
Positive thinkers are more likely to use an optimistic explanatory style, but how people attribute events varies depending on the situation. A person who is generally a positive thinker, for example, may use a more pessimistic explanatory style in particularly difficult situations, such as at work or school.
People with an optimistic explanatory style tend to give themselves credit when good things happen and typically blame external forces for bad outcomes. They also tend to see negative events as sporadic and out of the ordinary.
Individuals with a pessimistic explanatory style, on the other hand, frequently blame themselves when bad things happen but fail to give themselves adequate credit for successful outcomes.
They also have a tendency to see negative events as predictable and long-lasting. As you might expect, blaming yourself for events beyond your control or viewing these unfortunate events as recurring problems.
Positive thinkers are more likely to use an optimistic explanatory style, but how people attribute events varies depending on the situation. A person who is generally a positive thinker, for example, may use a more pessimistic explanatory style in particularly difficult situations, such as at work or school.
The Health Advantages of Positive Thinking
Researchers are still investigating the effects of positive thinking and optimism on health. Positive thinking may provide the following health benefits:
• Increased life expectancy
• Lower depression rates
• Reduced distress and pain levels
• Increased resistance to illness
• Improved psychological and physical health
• Better cardiovascular health and a lower risk of death from heart disease and stroke
• Cancer death risk is reduced.
• Lower risk of death from respiratory diseases
• Reduced risk of infection-related death
• Improved coping abilities during adversity and stress
Positive Thinking Techniques
While you may be predisposed to negative thinking, there are strategies you can employ to become a more positive thinker. Using these strategies on a regular basis can help you develop the habit of having a more positive outlook on life.
• Take note of your thoughts: Begin paying attention to the kinds of thoughts you have every day. Make a conscious effort to reframe your thinking in a more positive manner if you notice that many of them are negative.
• In a gratitude journal, write: Practicing gratitude can have a variety of positive effects, including teaching you how to develop a more positive outlook. Having grateful thoughts makes people feel more optimistic.
• Make use of positive self-talk: How you talk to yourself can have a big impact on your outlook. According to research, switching to more positive self-talk can improve your emotions and how you respond to stress.
• Get physical activity daily: Remember to take 10,000 steps per day to improve your physical health.
• Listen to some of your favorite music. “Always have it playing,” for more fun – get up and dance!
• Have some midday meditation. Try a guided meditation video on YouTube or a free mindfulness app.
• Read a good book: A good book can allow you to escape the real world and time your mind off things.
• Create a vision board. Daydream about positive things in the future, such as your healthy savings account, your dream vacation, or that promotion at work.
• Get enough sleep. This improves your memory, increases your energy, reduces irritability, and allows your body to recover from the day.
• Set and end time to your workday. Make clear distinctions between your workday and your personal time.
“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.”– Ralph Waldo Emerson
7 Tips for Thinking Positively at Work
Thinking positively at work has numerous mental and physical advantages. An optimistic mindset can improve your mood, boost your confidence, and boost your effectiveness at work. In this article, we’ll look at why you should think positively and how you can start incorporating more positivity into your work life.
Why is it beneficial to think positively at work?
Maintaining a positive attitude at work may make your environment and day-to-day tasks more enjoyable. Maintaining a positive attitude allows you to concentrate on areas for improvement and future goals rather than the challenges you’re facing. Because positivity tends to influence others, you may also make your coworkers happier at work.
How to Maintain a Positive Attitude at Work
Here are some suggestions to help you think more positively at work:
1. Celebrate small victories
Finding several small achievements to celebrate each day is one of the simplest ways to develop positive thinking at work. Making a list of your accomplishments can help you feel more optimistic and motivated. For example, if you have a large project to complete, concentrate on the last few tasks you have completed- be proud of your accomplishment.
2. Make an effort to cultivate positive thoughts.
Consider turning negative or unpleasant experiences into something productive and positive. For example, you can use traffic time to prepare for the upcoming workday by listening to recorded notes from your last meeting or a motivational speaker. You might even start looking forward to this time each day because you know you’ll be educating yourself.
3. Make every situation a learning experience.
When you finish a task or project, take a few moments to reflect on what went well and what you would change the next time. Consider the difficulties you encountered and how you can overcome them in order to make your next project a success. For example, if you recently completed a project, you could consider three different strategies for future projects so that you have options as you work toward your objectives.
4. Surround yourself with people who are upbeat.
Making an effort to surround yourself with positive people can help you think more positively about yourself and your surroundings. You could accomplish this by having lunch with coworkers who make positive comments. During your time with them, you may bring up difficult projects and solicit their feedback on them. They may present you with a new perspective on the situation that you had not previously considered.
5. Choose positive language
Using positive words in your workplace conversations is a simple way to boost your positivity. Words like “accomplish,” “believe,” “encouraging,” “energized,” “generous,” “kind,” “optimistic,” “progress,” and “rewarding” are examples of these. Using these and other words with positive connotations can aid in the creation of a positive environment.
You could say in a meeting, “I believe we can complete this project successfully” or “I am encouraged by the progress we are making.” This can boost your and your team’s confidence in the face of an unfinished project or looming deadline.
6. Express gratitude
Spend some time during the day reflecting on the people, events, and accomplishments for which you are grateful. Each day, write down five things you are grateful for in a journal or planner. You might discover that you had a great workout at the gym that morning, delivered a successful presentation at work, or had a pleasant lunch with a coworker. Recognizing the benefits of these activities can be a wonderful way to end the day.
Another easy way to practice gratitude is to say thank you throughout the day. You can set a goal of saying this to three people at work. Thanking your secretary for organizing a meeting, expressing gratitude to a coworker for following up with a client, or thanking your supervisor for feedback on your performance are all examples. Gratitude for what others do for you can have a positive impact on others at work.
7. Make a list of three positive aspects of each situation.
Finding three positive aspects of a difficult situation is one way to stay positive at work. This improves concentration and makes a difficult situation more manageable. For instance, if you have a time-consuming project, write down three aspects of it that you enjoy. You may discover that you enjoy working with your team or that you have learned a new skill. Seeing your accomplishments within your challenges can help you keep a positive attitude.
“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so…” – Hamlet
Case Studies
5 Positive Thinking Case Studies
People who are happier live longer, are healthier, and are more successful in life. Take a scientific approach to happiness rather than looking for what or who can make us happy. We can increase our chances of happiness by learning how to replace negative, hopeless thoughts with positive imagery or feelings. This may sound like pop psychology, but it is backed up by scientific evidence. I discovered five peer-reviewed studies that demonstrate the power of positive thinking.
1. A study demonstrating the effectiveness of positive visualizations
Researchers from Kings College in London tested 102 people with anxiety disorders in this positive thinking study, which was published in the Journal of Behavior Research and Therapy in March 2016. They asked one group to imagine a positive outcome to each of the three worries they’d had in the previous week, another to imagine verbal positive outcomes, and the last to imagine any positive image whenever they began to worry. The two groups that visualized a positive image, whether it was related to a specific worry or not, reported higher levels of happiness, restfulness, and reduced anxiety.
2. A study proves that happiness causes success rather than success causing happiness.
This review, which was published in the December 2005 issue of Psychological Bulletin, looked at studies of over 275,000 people and discovered that the happiest people are successful in part because of their optimism and positive outlook. “When people are happy, they tend to feel confident, optimistic, and energetic, and others find them likeable and sociable,” concluded Dr. Lyubomirsky, head researcher at UC Riverside. People who are happy can thus benefit from these perceptions.
3. Research demonstrating that while short-term stress strengthens the immune system, long-term stress harms the body.
Researchers at the University of Kentucky, led by Dr. Segerstrom, analyzed over 300 separate studies done in the previous 30 years within the psychological community on the effects of stress on humans and concluded that when people face a stressful situation, their immune system is boosted, and they are better able to deal with the immediate situation. However, if they continue to be stressed about an event, their immune systems deteriorate, resulting in illness, depression, and anxiety disorder. If you can’t change your situation, change your mindset…or else.
4. The Penn Resilience Program serves schoolchildren, college students, and now soldiers in the United States Army.
Based on decades of research, this program successfully helps people become more resilient to stress and anxiety by increasing their mental fitness. Students learn coping strategies and how to boost their positivity in the areas of emotional, social, spiritual, and family well-being. This allows them to cope better with stress or trauma at work or school. It is now being taught by the Army as a PTSD prevention measure.
5. The Nun Study demonstrated that positive thinking leads to a longer life.
Researchers from the University of Kentucky rated the positivity of autobiographies written in 1930 by nuns living together at the same convent in their early years, between the ages of 18 and 32. Sixty years later, the researchers contacted the surviving nuns, who were now between the ages of 75 and 90. Half of those who were still alive had outlived the average life expectancy. Regardless of the circumstances, all of the longest-living survivors scored high on positive thoughts or feelings about life in their journals written in 1930!
Exercise 8:6: Play Time
Course Manual 7: Problem Solving
Understanding the value of problem-solving skills in the workplace will assist you in growing as a leader. Problem-solving abilities will assist you in resolving critical issues and conflicts that may arise. Problem-solving is an important skill to have in the workplace because it allows you to:
• Apply a consistent problem-solving strategy to all challenges.
• Determine the root causes of problems.
• Deal with short-term business interruptions as soon as possible.
• Make plans to address long-term issues and improve the organization.
• Consider difficulties to be opportunities.
• Maintain your composure in the face of a challenge
Problem solving is act of defining a problem, determining the cause of the problem, identifying, prioritizing, and selecting alternatives for a solution, and implementing a solution.
What Is Business Problem Solving?
In business, problem-solving is defined as implementing processes that reduce or remove obstacles that prevent you or others from achieving operational and strategic business goals.
A problem in business is a situation that creates a chasm between the desired and actual outcomes. Furthermore, a true problem does not always have an obvious solution.
Business problem-solving works best when approached in a systematic manner in which individuals:
• Determine and define the issue
• Determine the problem’s importance based on its size, potential impact, and urgency.
• Perform a root-cause analysis.
• Create a variety of potential solutions.
• Evaluate potential solutions and select the most effective one.
• Plan and carry out the solution
Case Study
Examples of Problem Solving in the Workplace
1. Correcting an error at work, whether made by you or someone else.
2. Overcoming a work delay via problem solving and communication.
3. Resolving a problem with a difficult or irritated customer.
4. Overcoming budget constraints while still producing quality work through creative problem solving.
5. Overcoming a scheduling/staffing shortage in the department while still producing excellent results
6. Technical troubleshooting and resolution.
7. Handling and resolving a disagreement with a coworker.
8. Solving any money-related issues, such as customer billing, accounting, and bookkeeping, and so on.
9. Taking the lead when another team member has overlooked or missed something critical.
10. Taking the initiative to meet with your superior to discuss a problem before it worsened.
11. Solving a workplace safety issue or reporting it to those who can help.
12. Using problem-solving skills to reduce or eliminate a business expense.
13. Finding a way to increase the company’s profitability through new service or product offerings, new pricing strategies, promotion, and sale ideas, and so on.
14. Changing the organization of a process, team, or task to make it more efficient.
15. Using innovative thinking to develop a solution that the company has never used before
16. Conducting research to gather data and information in order to find a new solution to a problem.
17. Increasing the performance of a company or team by improving some aspect of employee communication.
18. Finding new data that can help a company’s decisions or strategy in a specific area.
The Problem-Solving Process
Leadership must guide their employees and develop problem-solving techniques in order to effectively manage and run a successful organization. Following the basic four-step problem-solving process and methodology outlined below can help you find a suitable solution for your problems.
1. Define the problem
Diagnose the situation so that your attention is drawn to the problem rather than its symptoms. Flowcharts can be used to identify the expected steps of a process, and cause-and-effect diagrams can be used to define and analyze root causes.
The sections that follow explain important problem-solving steps. These steps encourage the participation of interested parties, the use of factual information, the comparison of expectations to reality, and a focus on the underlying causes of a problem. You should start by reviewing and documenting how current processes work (i.e., who does what, with what information, using what tools, communicating with what organizations and individuals, in what time frame, using what format).
Considering the impact of new tools and revised policies on the development of your “what should be” model.
2. Generate alternative solutions
Defer choosing a solution until several problem-solving alternatives have been proposed. Taking into account multiple alternatives can significantly increase the value of your ideal solution. Once you’ve decided on the “what should be” model, this target standard serves as the foundation for creating a road map for researching alternatives. In this stage of problem solving, brainstorming and team problem-solving techniques are both useful tools.
Before making a final decision, many alternative solutions to the problem should be generated. A common error in problem solving is evaluating alternatives as they are proposed, resulting in the selection of the first acceptable solution, even if it is not the best fit. We miss out on opportunities if we are only concerned with getting the results we want.
3. Evaluate and select an alternative
When choosing the best alternative, skilled problem solvers take into account a number of factors. They assess the extent to which:
• A specific solution will solve the problem without causing additional unanticipated problems.
• The alternative will be accepted by all parties involved.
• The alternative is likely to be implemented.
• The alternative is compatible with the organizational constraints.
4. Implement and follow up on the solution
Leaders may be asked to direct others in implementing the solution, to “sell” the solution, or to facilitate implementation with the assistance of others. Involving others in the implementation process is an effective way to gain buy-in and support while reducing resistance to future changes.
Regardless of how the solution is implemented, feedback channels should be included. This enables continuous monitoring and testing of actual events in relation to expectations. Problem solving and the techniques used to gain clarity are most effective when the solution is retained and updated to respond to future changes.
What Are Problem-Solving Skills?
Specific procedures that can be used to complete one or more of the four general steps of problem-solving are referred to as problem-solving skills (discussed above). Here are five noteworthy examples:
Using Emotional Intelligence: When you learn to recognize your own emotional patterns and to empathize with and guide the emotions of others, you will be able to solve problems more calmly. Avoid making assumptions and acting on impulse.
Problem Research: An accurate description of the problem is required for an effective solution. Define simple problems by asking questions like “What? Where? When? and How much?” Difficult problems necessitate deeper investigation, such as data exploration, surveys, and interviews.
Creative Brainstorming: When brainstorming with a group, encourage idea creation by paying close attention to everyone and recognizing everyone’s unique contributions.
Logical Reasoning: Create standard logical steps for analyzing potential problem solutions. Learn about logical fallacies, deductive reasoning, and other areas of analytical thought and apply your knowledge.
Decisiveness: Choose a solution using an agreed-upon system, which can include assigning pros and cons to solutions, identifying mandatory results, gathering feedback on solutions, selecting the decision-makers, and finishing and or repeating the process.
How to Improve Your Problem-Solving Skills
It takes time and effort to learn how to solve business problems. Although some people appear to be born with superior problem-solving abilities, great problem solvers typically practice and refine their skills. You can also develop high-level problem-solving skills by using the methods listed below:
Ask and Listen: Don’t expect to be able to solve every problem on your own. Ask for advice and pay close attention to it.
Practice Curiosity: When you’re working on a problem, spend a little more time researching and defining it than you normally would.
Break Down Large Problems: Breakdown large problems into their smallest units whenever possible. Then, look for answers to one unit at a time.
Don’t Negatively Label Yourself: Don’t let a problem make you feel bad about yourself. Remove yourself from it. Examine it objectively and become a part of the solution.
“If you do not focus on solutions, you will be just lost in problems.”. – Sadhguru
Exercise 8:7: The Balloon Tower
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Course Manual 8: Solving Strategies
“There is no problem that you cannot solve if your focus is on solutions.”– Nitin Namdeo
Problem solving strategies are approaches to and facilitation of the problem-solving process using a set of techniques, actions, and processes. Different strategies are more effective when attempting to solve broad problems such as increasing growth versus more focused problems such as improving our customer onboarding process.
In general, the problem-solving steps outlined in Course Manual 6 should be included in any problem-solving strategy; however, where to focus your time and what approaches to take differs. Some strategies may require problem identification prior to the session, while others may require that everything be completed in a single day workshop.
The main point of similarity is that all effective problem-solving strategies are structured and designed. Four hours of open discussion will never be as fruitful as a four-hour workshop designed to guide a group through a problem-solving process.
Good problem-solving strategies are customized to the team, organization, and problem at hand. Here are some examples of problem-solving strategies from which you can learn or apply to get started.
Use a workshop to guide a group through a process.
Bringing a group together effectively is frequently the first step in effectively solving problems or organizational challenges. Most teams already have the tools, knowledge, and expertise required to solve their problems; they just need some direction on how to leverage those skills, as well as a structure and format that allows people to focus their energies.
Problem-solving Workshop:
Excellent for:
• Creating a customized, tailored process
• Taking on problems of all sizes
• Increasing the capability of in-house workshops and encouraging their use
Workshops are an effective problem-solving strategy. You can design and deliver a workshop that is perfectly suited to the unique variables of your organization by using tried and tested facilitation techniques and methods. You may only have time for a half-day workshop and thus require a problem-solving process to match.
You can design the ideal problem-solving workshop for your team by using our session planner tool and importing methods from our library of 700+ facilitation techniques. You might want to encourage creative thinking or look at things from a different perspective to unblock your mind. You can help ensure great results by tailoring your workshop design to the purpose.
The structured approach to problem solving is one of the main advantages of a workshop. Not only will the workshop be a success, but many of the methods and techniques will also help your team improve their working processes outside of the workshop.
We believe that workshops are one of the most effective tools for improving the way your team works together. Begin with a problem-solving workshop and then see what team building, culture-building, or design workshops can do for your company!
Hold a design sprint:
Excellent for:
• bringing together large, multi-disciplinary teams
• rapid solution design and testing
• tackling large, complex organizational challenges by dividing them into smaller tasks
A design sprint is a great way to identify, prioritize, and prototype solutions to long-term challenges that can help solve major organizational problems with quick action and measurable results by utilizing design thinking principles and methods.
Some knowledge of design thinking is beneficial, but not required, and this strategy can really help a team align if there is some debate about which problems should be tackled first.
The design sprint’s stage-based structure is also very helpful for teams that are new to design thinking. The inspiration phase, in which you look to competitors who have solved your problem, as well as the rapid prototyping and testing phases, are excellent for introducing new concepts that will help a team in all of their future work.
It is common for teams to look inward for solutions, so looking to the market for viable solutions can be very productive. Instilling an agile prototyping and testing mindset can also be beneficial in assisting teams to progress – quickly generating and testing solutions can help save time in the long run and is also quite exciting!
Divide larger problems into smaller ones:
Organizational challenges and problems are frequently complex and on a large scale. Trying to solve such a problem in one fell swoop is sometimes simply impossible or overwhelming.
Break such problems down into smaller ones that you can work on step by step. You may not be able to solve the problem of customer churn right away, but you can work with your team to identify low-effort but high-impact elements and prioritize them.
Use guiding frameworks or try new methodologies:
Some issues are best solved by introducing a significant shift in perspective or by implementing new methodologies that encourage your team to think differently.
Problem Solving Methods
Through the following exercises, we’ll look at comprehensive problem-solving methods and techniques that provide a complete end-to-end process for developing effective solutions. These will assist your team in guiding them from the discovery and definition of a problem to the delivery of the best solution.
These processes are a great place to start if you’re looking for an all-encompassing method or problem-solving model. They will ask your team to question preconceived notions and adopt a problem-solving mindset.
Exercise
Exercise 8:8: The Six Thinking Hats (By De Bono)
Time: 10-30 minutes
Goal: Constructively create, explore, and develop ideas.
Instructions:
Blue Hat: Considering and managing the thinking process
Green Hat: Generating concepts
Red Hat: Feelings and intuition
Yellow Hat: Benefits and values
Black or Grey Hat: The Judges Hat – Caution
White Hat: Information
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Exercise 8:9: Lightening Decision Jam
Time: 45 -90 minutes
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Instructions:
Step by Step Guide:
1. Begin with Issues — 7 mins
2. Problem Presentation — 4 minutes per person
3. Choose Problems to Solve — 6 minutes
4. Reframe Issues as Standardized Challenges — 6 minutes
5. Create Solutions — 7 minutes
6. Solutions Voting — 10 minutes
7. Rank Solutions -30 Seconds
8. Determine what to execute — 10 minutes
9. Convert solutions into actionable tasks — 5 minutes
Exercise 8:10: World Café’
Time: 60-90 minutes
Goal: Enabling meaningful conversations that are entirely driven by participants.
Materials:
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Step 1: Introduction:
Step 2: Questions:
Step 3: Small group rounds:
Step 4: Harvest:
Course Manual 9: Decision Making
Having good decision-making skills is something that almost every company looks for in a leader. It’s one of the most valuable skills you can have.
In this lesson, we will discuss decision making skills, the decision process, and the various types of decision making.
What are Decision Making Skills?
Decision-making abilities refer to your ability to select the best option from two or more alternatives. There are three main approaches to decision-making as a type of problem-solving skill: intuition, reasoning, or a combination of both.
Intuition: When faced with a problem or a decision, your default response is intuition, or the gut feeling you get. This initial reaction is influenced by a combination of things you’ve learned, experiences you’ve had, and beliefs you hold, so everyone’s intuition is unique.
Using intuition means making a decision based on your past experiences, which can be subjective.
Reasoning: Reasoning, on the other hand, is data driven. When you use the data available to you and base your decision solely on facts and figures rather than your instinctive reaction, you are reasoning. This is a more objective method of decision-making, and it is usually how major decisions are made.
Both: Decisions are typically made using both intuition and reasoning. Using both is a good way to double-check and ensure that your decision is logical.
When faced with a problem or a decision, your default response is intuition, or the gut feeling you get. This initial reaction is influenced by a combination of things you’ve learned, experiences you’ve had, and beliefs you hold, so everyone’s intuition is unique.
Decisions are largely based on intuition and reasoning, but other skills are also required. If you’re good at making decisions, you’re also good at a variety of other skills required to make a sound decision.
A good decision requires reasoning, information processing, intuition, asking questions, analyzing potential outcomes, and other skills. Employers look for good decision-making skills because they encompass so many other skills required to thrive in a professional environment.
The Process Of Decision Making
To make decisions, effective decision-makers follow a seven-step process. While it is not necessary to follow these exact steps when making a simple decision, such as what to cook for dinner, it can be a great way to check your thinking when making a big work decision, such as which strategy will lead to higher sales.
1. Identify the problem. First, you must recognize the decision that must be made and comprehend the factors that will influence that decision. This step is critical because everything else is built on what you do here.
Before proceeding, ensure that you have a thorough understanding of the situation, what is being asked of you, and the tools at your disposal.
2. Do some research. You’ll need some background information to help you choose the best option for any decision. This can range from simply recalling details from meetings to conducting more sophisticated research. Step one can assist you in determining what information you will require to make an informed decision.
3. Think creatively. At this stage, you should consider as many options as possible. It makes no difference whether they are good or bad; you simply want to consider all of your options.
Feel free to be as imaginative as you want with this step. There are no bad choices here because you want to consider every possible outcome. You’ll have a chance to go over all of your ideas later.
4. Consider your options. This is the stage at which you will double-check all of your potential outcomes. Go over your list of solutions from step three and see which ones feel better or sound more logical to you.
Remember to keep your end goal in mind when you consider all the choices. That way you’re sure to make a good decision.
5. Make your decision. It’s time to choose one of the alternatives you considered. Remember that you can select a solution you devised or even combine solutions to make the best decision possible. Reflect on your process for step four and choose the decision that feels the most comfortable to you.
6. Take action on your decision. Once you’ve decided what to do, you must begin taking the steps necessary to put your decision into action. These can be big or small steps but stay focused and determined to finish the job.
In this step, don’t be afraid to involve others in your process. You may want to enlist the assistance of your coworkers, especially for major workplace decisions.
7. Take a look back. After you’ve made your decision and had some time to observe its consequences, take a moment to evaluate it. Consider whether the decision had the desired outcome or if it was less successful.
Taking the time to reflect on your decisions is a great way to not only improve your decision-making abilities, but also to learn more about yourself. You can even ask others for their thoughts on the consequences of a decision to see how your perception of the impact compares to theirs.
Decision-Making Skill Types
Decision-making is such an important skill because it necessitates the use of many other key skills. Let’s look at some other skills you can develop to help you make better decisions.
Problem-solving. Problem-solving is the most important skill you need to be an effective decision-maker. Because decisions are merely a type of problem (determining which option is the best), having strong problem-solving abilities is unquestionably advantageous.
If you approach a decision with a logical mindset, as if it were a problem to solve, chances are your solutions and final decision will be stronger.
Collaboration. One person cannot always make decisions. When dealing with a group, you must be able to collaborate and compromise in order to make the best decision.
Even if you’re making a decision on your own, getting feedback from friends or coworkers can help you brainstorm the best possible outcome. Collaboration is your friend, both when making a group decision and when you’re the one in charge of making the decision.
Emotional intelligence (EQ). Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the ability to observe and comprehend your own emotions as well as the emotions of those around you. Being able to consider emotions will make you a better decision maker.
Consider this to be related to intuitive decision-making. To make a good decision, you must be able to balance facts, figures, and emotions.
Logical thinking. This ability is essential for the middle stages of decision-making. The ability to fully evaluate and analyze your information, options, and decisions will strengthen your decisions.
“Not making a decision is actually making a decision. It’s the decision to stay the same.” – Lysa Terkeurst
Case Study
Decision-Making Examples
It’s simple to list the skills needed to make sound decisions, but it can be difficult to understand when and how those skills will be useful. Let’s look at some real-world workplace decision-making examples and the skills required to deal with them effectively.
Solving problems.
• Choosing a manufacturer to supply your product.
• Comparing various candidates for a job opening or promotion
Collaboration.
• I’m coming up with names for a new product.
• Inquiring with employees about the impact of working longer hours.
Emotional intelligence (EQ).
• Proposing the most effective way to increase sales.
• Evaluating the impact of spending cuts.
Logical thinking.
• Choosing how to distribute bonuses for the coming year.
• Choosing which employee(s) to let go of.
There are many skills that go into making good decisions but knowing when and where to apply those smaller skills is the most important. Emotional reasoning or collaboration will not always assist you in making the best decision. Knowing which skill, you require will help you far more than simply applying every skill you have.
Remember that good decision-making entails much more than simply learning new skills and applying them wherever possible. Instead, consider what will be most helpful in approaching a decision and constantly evaluate your decision-making performance.
Improving Your Decision-Making Skills
Start improving your decision-making skills today by using the following guidelines:
Set reasonable objectives. When making decisions, keeping your eye on the big picture is extremely beneficial. Someone can make all the right decisions, but if their ultimate goal is flawed, those good decisions won’t amount to much.
Furthermore, keeping larger goals in mind simplifies decision-making. It is easier to know how to get to a destination if you know what that destination is.
Reduce your options. Americans adore options but being overburdened with them can be paralyzing. Before making any decisions, try to narrow down your options to the top three.
Research. Making decisions is difficult when you don’t have all of the facts in front of you. Good decisions are based on good data, so begin working on improving your research abilities. Most decisions become easier to make as your knowledge and expertise grow.
Communicate frequently and early. Communication skills are an excellent complement to decision-making abilities. Team members who understand each other get more done, more effectively, whether seeking advice or expressing project goals.
Don’t analyze too long. The expression “analysis paralysis” is all too accurate. Don’t be afraid to make minor decisions in the absence of complete information. A few minor setbacks can actually help you come up with better ideas. Begin with the simplest possible solution and iterate from there.
“Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from making bad decisions.” – Mark Twain
More Decision-Making Skills
While the skills listed above are the key decision-making skills — meaning you can’t make any decision without using them — there are many more that will help you sharpen your decision-making abilities. Examine this list to see what you’re already good at and where you can improve.
Organization. Being organized can assist you in keeping track of all of your background information, options, and other tools.
Time management is essential. Making timely decisions entails more than just making a hasty decision. Managing your time to complete the seven steps correctly is a skill that will set you apart from the competition.
Leadership. You must take charge and ensure that the decision is carried out, which is where good leadership skills come in.
Creativity. The more inventive you are in your problem-solving, the more options and potential outcomes you will have to work with, as well as creative ways to put your decision into action.
Ethics. Making ethical decisions is a necessary skill, so knowing how to balance the ethical pros and cons is essential.
Research. The more research you can gather in the early stages of decision-making, the better prepared you’ll be to make an informed decision.
Analysis. Strong analytical skills will assist you in making logical and reasonable decisions.
Flexibility. When it comes to making decisions, quick thinking and flexibility are your best friends because sometimes you’ll have to compromise or new constraints will arise, changing how you approach a decision.
Personal Decisions
When it comes to personal decision-making, I have found the more simple you can make it the better.
When you have a decision to make or have an opportunity in front of that you are unsure about – you can simply ask yourself the 2 following questions.
1. Is this in alignment with my values?
2. Is this going to take me closer or away from my goals?
If you can answer Yes to both of these questions, then chances are it is the right decision to move forward.
**Keep in mind, this only works when you have done the work to clarify your values and have set goals for yourself.
Exercise 8:11: Egg Drop
Time: 30-45 minutes
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Course Manual 10: Risk Management
“If you don’t invest in risk management, it doesn’t matter what business you’re in, it’s a risky business” – Goldman Sachs president Gary Cohn
Risk-taking is an accepted part of doing business. Through risk management, most businesses actively seek to reduce risk and its potential impact. While some risks are necessary and can lead to positive business outcomes, others, such as accidents, potential legal exposure, financial uncertainty, operational errors, or poor strategic decisions, can have a negative impact. While not all risks can be avoided, organizations can control the size and scope of the risks they take.
What is Risk Management?
Risk management entails identifying, analyzing, and responding to risk factors that arise during the course of a business’s operations. Effective risk management entails attempting to control future outcomes as much as possible by acting proactively rather than reactively. As a result, effective risk management has the potential to reduce both the likelihood and magnitude of a risk.
Risk Management Process
Structures for Risk Management
Structures for risk management are designed to do more than just identify existing risks. A good risk management structure should also calculate and predict the impact of uncertainties on a business. As a result, the choice is between accepting or rejecting risks. Acceptance or rejection of risks is determined by the tolerance levels that a company has established for itself.
Risk management structures can be used to support other risk mitigation systems if a business establishes it as a disciplined and continuous process for identifying and resolving risks. Planning, organization, cost control, and budgeting are among them. In such a case, the business is unlikely to encounter many surprises because the emphasis is on proactive risk management.
Risk Response
Typically, risk response takes one of the following forms:
Avoidance: A company strives to eliminate a specific risk by removing its source.
Mitigation: Reducing the projected financial value of a risk by lowering the risk’s likelihood of occurrence.
Acceptance: A company may be forced to accept a risk in some cases. This option is viable if a company develops contingencies to mitigate the impact of the risk if it occurs.
When developing contingencies, a company must take a problem-solving approach. The end result is a detailed plan that can be carried out as soon as the need arises. Because it can deal with risks as they arise, such a plan will enable a business organization to deal with barriers or blockages to its success.
The Value of Risk Management
Risk management is an important process because it provides a business with the tools it needs to identify and manage potential risks. It is simple to mitigate a risk once it has been identified. Furthermore, risk management provides a foundation for sound decision-making in a business.
Risk assessment and management are the best ways for a business to prepare for unforeseen events that may impede progress and growth. When a company evaluates its plan for dealing with potential threats and then develops structures to deal with them, it increases its chances of becoming a successful entity.
Furthermore, progressive risk management ensures that high-priority risks are dealt with as aggressively as possible. Furthermore, management will have the necessary information to make informed decisions and ensure the business’s profitability.
Process of Risk Analysis
Risk analysis is a qualitative problem-solving approach that employs various assessment tools to identify and rank risks in order to assess and resolve them. The risk assessment procedure is as follows:
1. Identify the risks
The process of identifying risks primarily entails brainstorming. A company gathers its employees so that they can review all of the potential sources of risk. The following step is to prioritize all of the identified risks. Because it is impossible to mitigate all existing risks, prioritization ensures that those risks that can have a significant impact on a business are dealt with more urgently.
2. Evaluate the dangers
In many cases, problem resolution entails identifying the issue and then devising a suitable solution. However, before determining how to best manage risks, a company should identify the source of the risks by asking, “What caused such a risk, and how could it affect the business?”
3. Create a suitable response
Once a business entity has decided to assess potential solutions to mitigate identified risks and prevent their recurrence, it must ask the following questions: What steps can be taken to avoid the recurrence of the identified risk? Furthermore, what is the best course of action if it occurs again?
4. Create preventive measures for identified risks.
The ideas discovered to be useful in risk mitigation are developed into a series of tasks and then into contingency plans that can be deployed in the future. If risks arise, the plans can be implemented.
Risk Appetite vs. Risk Tolerance
Risk appetite and risk tolerance are frequently used interchangeably, which leads to misunderstanding and confusion.
This section will assist you in comprehending both concepts so that you can incorporate them into your framework.
ISO 31000 defines risk appetite as “the amount and type of risk that an organization is prepared to pursue, retain or take.”
Simply put, risk appetite is a high-level general statement that broadly defines the acceptable risk while pursuing business objectives prior to taking any action to reduce that risk.
Many factors influence risk appetite, including industry, culture, competitors, the nature of the objectives being pursued (how aggressive they are), and the organization’s financial strength and capabilities (more resourceful businesses may be more inclined to accept risks and the associate costs). Furthermore, risk tolerance is not constant and shifts over time. Risks should be assessed against risk criteria on a regular or continuous basis (once or twice a year, or daily in specific risk scenarios), depending on the circumstances, available resources, skills, technologies, or systems.
An enterprise-wide risk appetite statement is a powerful tool for providing direction to your risk or compliance program. However, risk appetite without accompanying action is nothing more than a theory.
Risk Tolerance
There are few definitions of risk tolerance; however, risk tolerance “reflects the acceptable variation in outcomes related to specific performance measures linked to objectives the entity seeks to achieve,” according to COSO’s “Strengthening Enterprise Risk Management for Strategic Advantage.”
Risk tolerance is the maximum risk that a company will accept based on the type of risk. Given its overall risk appetite, risk tolerance defines the boundaries within which the organization operates. Legal, operational, financial, third-party, information security, compliance, credit, and reputational risks must all be considered, with acceptable parameters set for each. Risk tolerance can be expressed using various metrics that reflect the unique nature of each risk. KPI limits, acceptable loss, credit ratings, probabilities, qualitative measures, or balance sheet ratios are just a few examples of metrics that can help measure, communicate, and guide daily decision making.
A higher risk tolerance indicates that a company is willing to take more risks, whereas a low risk tolerance indicates that the company is not willing to take many risks.
Several factors influence an organization’s risk tolerance, such as a company’s willingness to take more risks on a critical project but not on a less important project.
When a company operates outside of its risk tolerance limits, it can jeopardize its risk management strategy, goals, and objectives, or both, and possibly even the entire company.
According to the FAIR Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline of measuring and managing information risk, using the highway speed analogy described in the following paragraph helps distinguish between risk appetite and risk tolerance.
The department of transportation or another highway authority establishes a speed limit that can be regarded as the risk appetite and indicates the authorities’ belief in an appropriate balance between traffic flow, highway and environmental wear-and-tear, and public safety (among other things).
As long as the weather and other conditions are normal, traffic officials rarely enforce the speed limit exactly at the limit. As a result, risk appetite is analogous to a line drawn in the sand that helps to set expectations, whereas risk tolerance is analogous to the deviation from that appetite that drives day-to-day decisions to operate differently in some way.
Risk Posture
A company’s risk posture is defined by its risk appetite and risk tolerance. Risk posture is an organization’s overall approach to risk management and a useful indicator of how well risk management is integrated into its culture, strategy, and corporate governance. Companies with a strong risk posture are better able to take meaningful risks within the constraints of their strategic and operational goals.
A strong risk posture requires senior executive focus and board support to ensure accurate risk reporting, proactive management, and a consistent approach. An independent risk function, the use of a risk management platform to identify, analyze, and measure risk, and a determined, risk-based approach to decision making must underpin this effort.
Residual Risk
Residual risk is defined as the threat posed by a risk after taking into account the current mitigation activities in place to address it, and it is an important metric for determining overall risk appetite.
Integrated Risk Management Framework
The goal of risk management, particularly enterprise risk management, is to communicate and inform the organization’s leadership and all stakeholders with the information they need to make informed business decisions based on an executive-approved risk appetite statement. A company-wide risk appetite statement can be used to guide the risk or compliance program.
A risk appetite framework helps decision-makers be aware of the risk and recognize the risk exposure associated with their chosen course of action or strategy. To be effective, a risk appetite framework must include an agreed-upon risk measurement and risk scoring methodology, as well as a common risk taxonomy that is consistently understood and applied throughout the organization.
A company, for example, may choose to appoint third-party vendors for specific services, accepting some third-party risk in exchange for the expertise, value, and flexibility that a third party brings. In this case, the organization is consciously deciding to take a level of risk that is within its specified risk tolerance, consistent with its strategic and organizational goals, and, when all categories of risk are collected, in line with its risk appetite.
Challenge
A well-articulated integrated risk framework assists businesses in deciding how much risk to take while adhering to overall business and operational strategy. An integrated risk management framework with a well-defined risk calculation and aggregation methodology, adherence to agreed risk tolerances, and a dynamic risk reporting solution captures the acceptable level of trade-off. Organizations with a strong risk posture tend to integrate risk management into their strategic positioning and day-to-day operations, making informed risk-taking part of their culture.
Reality
It is difficult to develop risk appetite, make it relevant on a daily basis, and enforce it. It is critical to collect the relevant metrics to measure risk appetite in order to link risk appetite to business decisions. Being aware of residual risk and operating within a risk tolerance gives executives greater assurance that the organization is staying within its risk appetite, ensuring a higher level of comfort that the business will meet its strategic objectives.
Risk appetite and risk tolerance definition best practices ensure that risk tolerances are tailored to an organization’s specific goals and have actionable parameters.
Case Study
Example:
Every risk pillar in Maclears’ integrated risk management solution is assigned a risk tolerance, or a range that is acceptable to the organization. This range can be determined by keeping an eye on the residual risk.
The board of directors has charged the risk management oversight committee with establishing a risk tolerance range for minimum and maximum levels of residual risk. Business process owners are then tasked with monitoring and adjusting mitigation activities, procedures, or controls to keep the residual risk within the risk tolerance defined.
Setting enterprise risk tolerances is an iterative calibration exercise; you must collect several risk assessments for known high and low risk areas, always comparing residual risk with acceptable levels.
Standardized risk assessment templates and user-friendly dashboards enable risk managers to collect the necessary data to implement appropriate risk appetite and risk tolerance at both the individual and enterprise levels.
Finally, risk appetite is the general level of risk that a business accepts while pursuing its goals before deciding to take action to reduce that risk. Risk tolerance, on the other hand, is the level of variation around objectives that is acceptable.
Businesses face numerous risks that threaten their survival and growth. As a result, understanding the fundamental principles of risk management and how they can be applied to help mitigate the effects of risks on business entities is critical.
Exercise 8:12: Planning a High-Profile Wedding
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Risk Management Exercise
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Evaluate Probability and Impact
Evaluation of Severity:
Ranking the Risks:
Setting Risk Strategy:
Wrap Up:
Course Manual 11: Intuitive Decisions
“Never apologize for trusting your intuition – your brain can play tricks, your heart can blind, but your gut is always right.” – Anonymous
How much we should rely on intuition when making difficult decisions?
Intuition plays a significant role in the choices we make.
Intuitive decision-making is also known colloquially as the sixth sense. Unlike the typical decision-making process this is based on rational decision-making and involves gathering information that other people might miss based on our gut.
You don’t need repetition if you make intuitive decisions. You can trust your gut instinct about a person’s behavior or communication after only one partial or complete exposure to them.
You can use your imagination to extrapolate the missing pieces from that single encounter, giving you a pretty good idea of what future interactions will be like.
You’re naturally trusting until someone gives you reason to doubt it. You value efficient decisions, but you recognize that your desire for speed may force you to change your mind after making a decision.
“Intuition is the supra-logic that cuts out all the routine processes of thought and leaps straight from the problem to the answer.” – Robert Grave
Intuitive Decision-Making in Business
In business, intuition is defined as subconscious knowledge. According to research, this type of intuition is based on a wide range of knowledge, experience, perceptions, feelings, and skills that an individual has acquired in the past. The effectiveness of this type of decision making in business is determined by the context and expertise of the decision maker.
The question of whether intuition is the best approach is still being debated. Nonetheless, it has been demonstrated that intuitive decision making can be effective in certain situations. However, organizations must not make decisions solely on the basis of intuition or logic. More effective organizations require both intuitive and rational decision making. When discussing the decision-maker, there are two important factors to consider that influence the effectiveness of the decisions made. These factors are the individual’s expertise and processing style.
The Benefits of Intuitive Decision Making
In the right circumstances, trusting intuition in decision making can provide the following benefits:
• In complex and novel situations, a manager can make quick and effective decisions based on intuition.
• You are particularly creative because you are skilled at filling in “missing pieces” after gathering a limited amount of information.
• In life, intuition can assist in determining a goal. Because it is a part of the subconscious, it can assist in identifying dreams that correspond to personal values and goals.
• Individuals who trust their intuition are more open to new ideas in general. The rational mind believes in patterns that are sometimes incomplete. Because intuition can see things that the rational mind cannot, new opportunities may be discovered.
• You have a high level of trust in others (unless they prove otherwise), which allows you to form strong, valuable relationships.
• Intuition can assist in reading people. A potential client may indicate that they want to purchase a company’s services, but the salesman may suspect that the client is not going to cooperate. Intuition can aid in the detection of such signals. This could mean the difference between winning and losing.
Some Disadvantages of Intuitive Decision Making
• Misguided Decisions- Sometimes more experience and exposure are required to make an informed decision. If you are unwilling to do so, you risk making a mistake.
• Commitment – Not everyone is as easily persuaded as you are, which can be frustrating when you’re ready to move forward because others may take longer to commit to your ideas.
• Rash Decisions – Moving forward after brief exposure increases efficiency, but it can also make you appear impulsive to team members who do not share your intuitive decision-making style.
How to Increase Your Intuitive Decision-Making Skills
1) Pay close attention to details.
You must sharpen your intuition in order to make intuitive decisions. You can accomplish this by sharpening your observation skills and paying close attention to details, such as nonverbal cues.
Even if you have limited exposure to something, you will have absorbed all of the information available to you at the time. This will allow you to fill in the blanks on your own and come to a conclusion.
2) Make decisions quickly.
Giving yourself no other option is a surefire way to improve your intuitive decision making. If you would normally take more time gathering information and feedback, force yourself to make a decision right away.
For example, if your team has pitched a new project and needs your approval to move forward, resist the urge to ask for more details and give it some more thought. Set a deadline for issuing (or not issuing) your approval by the end of the meeting. This will force you to believe in yourself and the information you have.
3) Consider the worst-case scenario.
Fear of failure frequently prevents us from making quick or intuitive decisions. What if that choice is incorrect? When we try to take in all accounts and information, we get analysis paralysis.
When faced with a choice and an opportunity to be intuitive, consider the worst-case scenario that could occur if you made a decision right then and there. It’s probably not a life-or-death situation, which can give you the confidence you need to make a quick decision.
4) Be open to making mistakes.
Your gut instinct is strong and enlightening, but it is not always correct. If you want to improve your intuitive decision making, you’re going to make some mistakes. Not every choice you make will be wise.
Be comfortable with being uncomfortable and be open to some trial and error. It can be difficult, but it is also when the most important lessons are learned.
Vroom Yetton Jago Decision Making Model
The Vroom Yetton Jago Decision Model is a situational leadership-based decision-making model. The model can be used by anyone, regardless of rank or position, and it aids in the selection of leadership style in a variety of decision situations.
In some business situations, it is preferable for the leader to make all decisions, whereas in others, it is preferable for the group to have a say.
The Vroom Yetton Jago Decision Model aids in the selection of the appropriate style by having the user answer a series of questions with either yes or no to reach a final decision. This series of questions is presented as a matrix. After answering the questions, the user can immediately see which method is best suited to the situation at hand (leadership and decision).
Three specific factors have a direct influence on the method for decision-making, according to this decision-making model: quality, collaboration, and time. The series of questions clarifies the impact of these factors in the situation.
Following that, the model shows how the leader should make good decisions: independently, with the group, or after seeking advice. There are five distinct situations where a different approach is desired and effective.
The Vroom Yetton Jago Decision Model was created in 1973 by Victor Vroom and Phillip William Yetton, and it was expanded 15 years later with additions from Arthur G. Jago.
Three Critical Decision-Making Factors
When a decision must be made, three important factors influence the desired management style and the level of participation of team members.
As a result, the Vroom Yetton Jago Decision Model necessitates careful consideration before answering the series of questions.
By considering the three specific factors, a better understanding of the decision to be made is formed. In each decision situation, the three factors listed below are critical:
The Decision’s Quality
The decision’s quality is determined by how much impact the decision will have and how important it is to find the right solution. The higher the quality of the decision, the more people who must be involved in the process.
Involvement and Collaboration
Involvement and collaboration refer to how important it is in a team that everyone agrees on a decision. The level of participation must be adjusted depending on how important this is.
Time Restraints
How much time do you have to make a decision? When time is of the essence, a quick autocratic approach may be preferable, as there is no time to waste in certain situations. If there is plenty of time, there are more opportunities to include more team members in the process.
The user can determine the best leadership style and decision method based on how these factors influence the situation.
There are five decision-making styles
The Vroom Yetton Jago Decision Model distinguishes three types of leadership and five distinct processes:
Autocratic I (A1)
The leader uses the available information to make an independent decision in this decision process. In this case, no team members or outside parties are consulted. Although the decision is not dependent on the team members and their opinions are irrelevant, it is critical that the decision be communicated openly and clearly to the team.
Autocratic II (A2)
The leader makes the decision independently here as well, but unlike autocratic style 1, the leader has more time and gathers information from team members or external parties.
The team members have no idea why information is being requested of them and do not consider the situation, alternative, or eventual choice.
Consultative (I C1)
The leader takes on a consulting role and actively takes the initiative to have team members give their individual opinions about the situation, the problem, and the decision to be made.
The team is more involved in this decision-making style than in the autocratic decision-making style. The decision is still made by the leader, who can choose to disregard the team’s opinions and input if they haven’t changed.
Consultative II (C2)
Whereas in the first consulting style, the leader solicits individual opinions from team members, in the second, he gathers the team in a group meeting for a discussion.
This meeting solicits ideas and suggestions. The leader shares the problem and the situation with the group, but ultimately, the leader must make the decision on his or her own.
Group II (G2)
The decision is made by the entire group. The leader introduces the group to the situation and the problem, identifies alternatives, makes a consensus decision, and encourages team commitment.
The leader merely serves as a facilitator, accepting the group’s decision without regard for his own opinion or vision.
The decision tree from the Vroom-Yetton-Jago Decision Model must be completed in order to determine which of these styles and processes is most suitable, taking into account the three factors.
Choosing the Best Decision-Making Style
Victor Vroom, Phillip Yetton, and Arthur Jago created eight questions that must be answered with a yes or no to determine the best decision style. Every question has a specific theme. The abbreviations in the model represent these themes. The leader must answer the eight questions in the order listed below in order to determine the best leadership style and decision-making method.
1. Is the quality of the decision critical? Are the ramifications of a possible failure significant? – QR (quality requirement)
2. Is the success of the team members dependent on their efforts? – CR (commitment requirement)
3. Is the leader equipped with enough information to make a critical decision on his or her own? LI (leadership information)
4. Is the problem properly defined and structured so that it is clear what needs to be done and what a good solution might be? ST – (problem structure)
5. Is it reasonable to assume that when a leader makes the decision himself, the team is sufficiently involved and motivated to accept the decision? – CP (commitment probability)
6. Are the team’s goals in line with the organizational goals established to define a successful solution? – GC (goal congruence)
7. If the team must make a decision, are disagreements about the decision and its solution to be expected? – CO (subordinate Conflicts)
8. Do team members and other stakeholders have enough information to make an important decision? – SI (subordinate information) Use the model’s visualization to answer the questions step by step and arrive at the best decision-making style. An arrow is used all the way to the right in the model image to indicate which decision method is most appropriate for the situation.
Advantages and disadvantages Decision Model for Vroom Yetton Jago
The main benefit of the Vroom Yetton Jago Decision Model is that it can be used in a variety of situations.
The ability to organize the process is a quality of the model that many leaders can benefit from. Each situation necessitates a different approach, and this model can be applied to almost any situation.
On the other hand, the model has a number of flaws. For example, personal factors and characteristics of the leader are not taken into account, and the model’s questions may not be specific enough to determine the best decision method.
Furthermore, users of the model express reservations about the Vroom Yetton Jago Decision Model’s ability to predict outcomes.
Exercise 8:13: Try Out the Vroom Yetton Jago Decision Model
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Course Manual 12: Leadership Thinking
Leadership necessitates constant thought; if you’re not thinking about a problem, you’re probably thinking about your people or possibilities. A leader’s mind is in near-constant motion. Every leader must consider whether or not the motion is producing anything worthwhile.
We are drawn to stories of effective leaders at work. Their decisiveness is essential crucial to their success and energizes those around them. The events that unfold as a result of their bold moves, which frequently result in successful outcomes, and make for compelling narratives. Most importantly, we look to accounts of their actions for lessons we can apply in our own careers. Books like Jack: Straight from the Gut and Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done are appealing in part because they implicitly promise that we can emulate the success of people like Jack Welch and Larry Bossidy.
However, this emphasis on what a leader does is misplaced. This is because moves that make sense in one context may not make sense in another, even within the same company or within the experience of a single leader. For example, early in his career at General Electric, Jack Welch insisted that each of GE’s businesses be number one or number two in their industry in terms of market share; years later, he insisted that those same businesses define their markets so that their share was no greater than 10%, forcing managers to look for opportunities outside the confines of a narrowly defined market. Trying to learn from what Jack Welch did leads to confusion and incoherence because he pursued diametrically opposed courses at different points in his career.
So, where do we go to find lessons? A more fruitful, albeit more difficult, approach is to examine how a leader thinks—that is, the antecedent of doing, or the ways in which leaders’ cognitive processes produce their actions.
Roger L. Martin, a business leader, has spent the last 15 years studying exceptional leaders, first as a management consultant and now as the dean of a business school. Over the last six years, he has interviewed more than 50 such leaders, some for as long as eight hours, and discovered that the majority of them share an unusual trait: they have the proclivity and capacity to hold two opposing ideas in their heads at the same time. They are then able to creatively resolve the tension between those two ideas by generating a new one that contains elements of both but is superior to both, without panicking or simply settling for one or the other.
This process of contemplation and synthesis is known as integrative thinking. It is this discipline, not superior strategy, or flawless execution, that distinguishes most exceptional businesses and the people who run them.
F. Scott Fitzgerald saw “the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function” as a sign of a truly intelligent person more than 60 years ago. And, of course, not every good leader possesses this ability, nor is it the only source of success for those who do. However, it is clear that integrative thinking significantly improves people’s chances.
This insight is easy to overlook, however, because the management conversation has shifted in recent years away from thinking and toward doing (witness the popularity of books like Execution). Furthermore, many great integrative thinkers are unaware of their special ability and thus do not consciously exercise it. Consider Jack Welch, one of the executives Martin interviewed: He is clearly a consummate integrative thinker but reading his books would lead you to believe otherwise.
Leadership Thinking Styles
The following is a list of the nine leadership thinking styles identified by Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences in 1983. Do any of these make you think of friends or family? How can you adapt your communication style to accommodate thinking styles that are different from your own? How you think has an impact on leadership and change initiatives.
1) Logical-mathematical thinkers: These are leaders who enjoy deciphering patterns and relationships between objects or actions.
• Attempt to comprehend the world in terms of causes and effects.
• Are capable of critical thinking and problem solving.
Isaac Newton, Archimedes, and Albert Einstein are examples of logical-mathematical thinkers. Physicists, chemists, biologists, lawyers, computer programmers, engineers, and inventors are examples of logical-mathematical thinkers’ careers.
2) Linguistic thinkers: They tend to think in words and like to express complex ideas through language.
• Are aware of word sounds and rhythms as well as their meanings.
Linguistic thinkers include famous orators such as William Shakespeare, Sylvia Plath, and Anne Frank. Journalists, Librarians, Salespeople, Proofreaders, Translators, Poets, Lyricists, and Motivational Speakers are examples of linguistic thinkers’ careers.
3) Interpersonal Thinkers: They enjoy thinking about other people and attempting to understand them.
• Recognize individual differences and appreciate that different people have different perspectives.
• Make an effort to maintain healthy relationships with family, friends, and coworkers.
Inspirational leaders such as Winston Churchill, Mother Teresa, and William Shakespeare are examples of interpersonal thinkers (who have also given some great inspirational speeches). Politicians, Psychologists, Nurses, Counselors, and Teachers are examples of careers that suit interpersonal thinkers.
4) Intrapersonal thinkers: Spend a lot of time contemplating and attempting to comprehend themselves.
• Consider their emotions and thoughts, and work to improve them.
• They are aware of how your actions affect your relationships with others.
Sigmund Freud, Gandhi, Grahame Greene, and my mother-in-law are examples of intrapersonal thinkers. Intrapersonal thinkers may be interested in careers such as psychologist, teacher, pilot, childcare worker, explorer, and drama therapist.
5) Naturalist Thinkers: They are fascinated by the natural world and the living beings that inhabit it.
• Possess the ability to communicate with animals.
• They try to comprehend life patterns and natural forces.
Charles Darwin, Jane Goodall, Johnny Morris, David Attenborough, and my Pekingese dogs are all naturalist thinkers. Naturalist thinkers may be interested in careers such as biologist, meteorologist, forester, farmer, astronomer, and alternative therapist.
6) Existential thinkers: They enjoy debating philosophical issues such as “What is the meaning of life?”
• Attempt to see beyond the ‘here and now’ in order to comprehend deeper meanings.
• Consider both the moral and ethical implications of problems and the practical solutions.
The Buddha, Gandhi, Plato, Socrates, and Martin Luther King were all existential thinkers. Philosopher, Religious Leader, Head of State, Artist, and Writer are examples of careers that suit existential thinkers.
7) Musical Thinkers: They tend to think in terms of sounds, but they may also think in terms of rhythms and melodies.
• Are aware of word sounds and rhythms as well as their meanings.
• There is a strong link between music and emotions.
Mozart, John Lennon, and Jimi Hendrix are among the musical thinkers.
8) Spatial thinkers: People who think in pictures have a better mental model of the physical world.
• Consider things in three dimensions.
• Possess a talent for working with objects.
Pablo Picasso, Michelangelo, and Isambard Kingdom Brunel were all spatial thinkers. Mechanic, Photographer, Artist, Architect, Engineer, Builder, and Set Designer are all careers that suit spatial thinkers.
9) Kinesthetic Thinkers: Think in terms of movements.
• They enjoy using their bodies in expressive and skillful ways.
• Possess a talent for working with their hands.
Houdini, Rudolph Nureyev, and David Beckham are all kinesthetic thinkers. Sportsperson, Craftsperson, Surgeon, Actor, Dancer, Coach, and Physiotherapist are all careers that suit kinesthetic thinkers.
Case Study by Super Scholar: 20 of the Most Influential Women Intellects
Women intellectuals have become increasingly influential in shaping thought and culture. Super Scholar has compiled a list of the 20 most influential living female intellectuals.
Margaret Atwood (1939-) is a well-known Canadian feminist novelist who expresses both the “goddess” and “activist” modes of the mid-twentieth-century feminist movement through a confrontational style that gained converts by avoiding both violence and eccentricity.
Aung San Suu Kyi (1945-), a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and scholar, leads a popular political movement and party whose nonviolence and civil disobedience offer hope for eventual democratic government in her native Burma (Myanmar).
Susan Blackmore (1951-), a British evolutionary psychologist, expanded on Richard Dawkins’ concept of the “meme” (a theoretical Darwinian unit of thought she believes is responsible for human behavior) in her numerous books, articles, and lectures.
Mary Daly (1928-), an American Catholic theologian who felt Vatican II did not go far enough, gained widespread recognition for rejecting Christian and other “patriarchal” thinking patterns in favor of a spirituality of women’s liberation.
Midge Decter (1927-), an American editor and writer, was a leftist in her youth before being drawn to observant Judaism and a conservative political approach, and she has since become a leading figure at the flagship magazine Commentary.
Barbara Ehrenreich (1941-), an American journalist, wrote many books from a socialist perspective, but is best known for her best-selling Nickeled and Dimed (2002), in which she investigated the lives of low-wage service workers.
Susan Faludi (1959-) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist and author best known for advocating “power” feminism rather than “victim” feminism, criticizing irrelevant “deconstruction” theory, and for warning of a feminism backlash.
Susan Greenfield (1950-), a British pharmacologist and consciousness researcher, has held a number of prestigious scientific positions despite colleagues’ criticism of her controversial theories on the dangers of computers and social networking to children.
Germaine Greer (1939-), an Australian scholar and journalist best known for her 1970s feminist text The Female Eunuch (1970), initially advocated sexual liberation but has recently praised celibacy.
Gertrude Himmelfarb (1922-), an American scholar interested in the causes of social progress and decay, is best known for her sympathetic depictions of Victorian society, which dealt with similar social problems to those faced today.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali (1969-), a Somali-born women’s rights activist, writer, and politician who fled both pre-modern Somalia and post-modern Holland and now lives in the United States, has received numerous death threats for rejecting Islam in favor of atheism, as described in her best-selling book Infidel (2007).
Mary Midgley (1919-), a British philosopher of science, has come under fire for opposing science’s growing religion and arguing that pre-Darwinian ideas about human nature tell us more than the latest pop-science evolutionary psychology best-seller.
Peggy Noonan (1950-) is an American political historian and journalist best known for emphasizing the character of political and religious figures over their glamour, as evidenced by her biographies of John Paul II and Ronald Reagan.
Camille Paglia (1947-), an American author, journalist, art critic, and “dissident feminist,” is best known for advocating feminist goals while reasoning her way to them outside of the formal movement, earning her both hostility and mischaracterization as a conservative.
Melanie Phillips (1951-), a British journalist and author, has targeted Western countries’ growing climate of censorship and political and social irrationality, for which she has received both vehement condemnation as a “conservative” and the Orwell Prize for political journalism (1996).
Phyllis Schlafly (1924-), an American lawyer, political analyst, and author, is best known for almost single-handedly preventing the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution from being ratified in the 1970s, arguing that it would overly empower activist judges.
Gloria Steinem (1934-) is an American feminist journalist and author who has written many best-selling books, including Revolution from Within (1993), but she is best known for co-founding Ms. Magazine, which advocates for many important progressive and feminist causes.
Mary Warnock (1924-), a British philosopher and ethicist influenced by Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialism, is best known for chairing the committee that produced A Question of Life: The Warnock Report on Human Fertilization and Embryology (1984), which advocated human embryo research.
Naomi Wolf (1962-) is an American author, editor, and essayist best known for her 2002 book The Beauty Myth, which depicted successful women as haunted by the desire to look like movie stars.
“Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it.” – Marian Anderson
Exercise 8:14: Your Leadership Thinking Style
Workshop Exercises
Critical Thinking Exercises
01. Thinking Concepts : Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
02. Types of Thinking : Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
03. Thinking Process : Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
04. Critical Thinking : Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
05. Strategic Thinking : Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
06. Positive Thinking : Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
07. Problem Solving : Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
08. Solving Strategies : Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
09. Decision Making : Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
10. Risk Management.: Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
11. Intuitive Decisions : Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
12. Leadership Thinking : Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
SWOT & MOST Analysis Exercises
01. Undertake a detailed SWOT Analysis in order to identify your department’s internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats in relation to each of the 12 Critical Thinking processes featured above. Undertake this task together with your department’s stakeholders in order to encourage collaborative evaluation.
02. Develop a detailed MOST Analysis in order to establish your department’s: Mission; Objectives; Strategies and Tasks in relation to Critical Thinking . Undertake this task together with all of your department’s stakeholders in order to encourage collaborative evaluation.
Project Studies
Process Review:
As a whole, the Women Empowerment Program aims to create a better culture and a level playing field for women in your organization. Each workshop is designed to delve deeply into a specific topic so that we have a clear understanding of how to apply the information in our daily personal and professional lives. This Workshop on Critical Thinking – focuses on Step 4 of the Business Transformation Process – Advanced Communication and Presentations Skills.
After completion of the Critical Thinking workshop, and after going through the implementation exercises in this Project Study it will be clear to see how to best incorporate these new processes into your organization. You and your team will walk away with new skills to develop your ability to think strategically, confidently make decisions all while effectively managing risk.
This Workshop and Project Study focuses specifically on the following areas and strategies:
1. Learn thinking concepts and tools to solve problems and understand new information valuable to individuals in a variety of different positions within a company.
2. Access steps to develop our conceptual thinking.
3. How to determine our personal thinking type.
4. Discover the 7 thought elements – (tools for thinking) and effective steps to improve your thinking.
5. Steps to improve your thinking.
6. How to master the skill of critical thinking.
7. Learn 5 strategies to help improve your strategic thinking process.
8. Discover positive thinking techniques to help you develop the habit of a more positive outlook on life.
9. How to implement the steps to improve your problem-solving skills.
10. Identify 4 powerful problem-solving strategies.
11. Discover how to master risk management along with a powerful exercise to put it into action.
12. Discover the 9 Leadership Thinking Styles and discern which one(s) you relate to. communication.
Project Study (Part 1) – Customer Service
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Critical Thinking process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Thinking Concepts
02. Types of Thinking
03. Thinking Process
04. Critical Thinking
05. Strategic Thinking
06. Positive Thinking
07. Problem Solving
08. Solving Strategies
09. Decision Making
10. Risk Management.
11. Intuitive Decisions
12. Leadership Thinking
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 2) – E-Business
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Critical Thinking process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Thinking Concepts
02. Types of Thinking
03. Thinking Process
04. Critical Thinking
05. Strategic Thinking
06. Positive Thinking
07. Problem Solving
08. Solving Strategies
09. Decision Making
10. Risk Management.
11. Intuitive Decisions
12. Leadership Thinking
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 3) – Finance
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Critical Thinking process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Thinking Concepts
02. Types of Thinking
03. Thinking Process
04. Critical Thinking
05. Strategic Thinking
06. Positive Thinking
07. Problem Solving
08. Solving Strategies
09. Decision Making
10. Risk Management.
11. Intuitive Decisions
12. Leadership Thinking
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 4) – Globalization
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Critical Thinking process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Thinking Concepts
02. Types of Thinking
03. Thinking Process
04. Critical Thinking
05. Strategic Thinking
06. Positive Thinking
07. Problem Solving
08. Solving Strategies
09. Decision Making
10. Risk Management.
11. Intuitive Decisions
12. Leadership Thinking
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 5) – Human Resources
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Critical Thinking process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Thinking Concepts
02. Types of Thinking
03. Thinking Process
04. Critical Thinking
05. Strategic Thinking
06. Positive Thinking
07. Problem Solving
08. Solving Strategies
09. Decision Making
10. Risk Management.
11. Intuitive Decisions
12. Leadership Thinking
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 6) – Information Technology
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Critical Thinking process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Thinking Concepts
02. Types of Thinking
03. Thinking Process
04. Critical Thinking
05. Strategic Thinking
06. Positive Thinking
07. Problem Solving
08. Solving Strategies
09. Decision Making
10. Risk Management.
11. Intuitive Decisions
12. Leadership Thinking
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 7) – Legal
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Critical Thinking process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Thinking Concepts
02. Types of Thinking
03. Thinking Process
04. Critical Thinking
05. Strategic Thinking
06. Positive Thinking
07. Problem Solving
08. Solving Strategies
09. Decision Making
10. Risk Management.
11. Intuitive Decisions
12. Leadership Thinking
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 8) – Management
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Critical Thinking process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Thinking Concepts
02. Types of Thinking
03. Thinking Process
04. Critical Thinking
05. Strategic Thinking
06. Positive Thinking
07. Problem Solving
08. Solving Strategies
09. Decision Making
10. Risk Management.
11. Intuitive Decisions
12. Leadership Thinking
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 9) – Marketing
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Critical Thinking process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Thinking Concepts
02. Types of Thinking
03. Thinking Process
04. Critical Thinking
05. Strategic Thinking
06. Positive Thinking
07. Problem Solving
08. Solving Strategies
09. Decision Making
10. Risk Management.
11. Intuitive Decisions
12. Leadership Thinking
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 10) – Production
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Critical Thinking process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Thinking Concepts
02. Types of Thinking
03. Thinking Process
04. Critical Thinking
05. Strategic Thinking
06. Positive Thinking
07. Problem Solving
08. Solving Strategies
09. Decision Making
10. Risk Management.
11. Intuitive Decisions
12. Leadership Thinking
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 11) – Logistics
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Critical Thinking process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Thinking Concepts
02. Types of Thinking
03. Thinking Process
04. Critical Thinking
05. Strategic Thinking
06. Positive Thinking
07. Problem Solving
08. Solving Strategies
09. Decision Making
10. Risk Management.
11. Intuitive Decisions
12. Leadership Thinking
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 12) – Education
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Critical Thinking process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Thinking Concepts
02. Types of Thinking
03. Thinking Process
04. Critical Thinking
05. Strategic Thinking
06. Positive Thinking
07. Problem Solving
08. Solving Strategies
09. Decision Making
10. Risk Management.
11. Intuitive Decisions
12. Leadership Thinking
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Program Benefits
Marketing
- Customer experience
- Sales support
- Effective communication
- Positioning power
- Market growth
- Increased ROI
- Increased productivity
- Competitive advantage
- Improved image
- Accelerated growth
- Cutting edge
Management
- Increased collaboration
- Leadership excellence
- Improved communication
- Happier team
- Empowered employees
- Positive environment
- Innovation
- Augmented skills
- Valued skills
- Increased productivity
- Increased engagement
Human resources
- Improved culture
- Happier workplace
- Greater retention
- High-impact teams
- Growth mindset
- Increased engagement
- Improved management
- Leadership excellence
- Improved skills
- Strong Communication
- Empowered employees
Client Telephone Conference (CTC)
If you have any questions or if you would like to arrange a Client Telephone Conference (CTC) to discuss this particular Unique Consulting Service Proposition (UCSP) in more detail, please CLICK HERE.