Synopses & Reviews
“I don’t have time to think!”. This cliché is at the core of troubled and underperforming workplaces around the globe. In reality, thinking is the most important driver in problem-solving, decision-making, and creativity, and no business can do without it. In daily life and at all levels of an organization, the ability to think critically sets us apart from those who struggle to problem solve. As seasoned critical thinking consultant Michael Kallet explains, solving difficult problems isn’t magic—it’s a skill we can all learn by using the simple techniques in
Think Smarter.
For the past decade, Kallet has been training people to think critically. In Think Smarter, he reveals the techniques that lead to higher quality and outside the box results. Contrary to popular belief, critical thinking does not take a lifetime to master. You can quickly learn how to get better results from your thought processes. The problems that really matter are the ones with no obvious solution. To move forward in life and in business, you need to meet these challenges with stronger decisions and more creative solutions. Thanks to the exercises and examples in Think Smarter, this is a goal you can achieve starting today.
No one has time for neuroscience when there are important goals that need to be achieved. The world won’t stop turning while we wade through theory, so innovations and improvements need to happen fast. Think Smarter is not a book of theory. It’s a clear, easy to read set of over 25 concrete tools that you can put to use right away. Solving technical problems, allocating resources, managing teams, working with customers, optimizing risk—critical thinking can revolutionize all of these areas. No matter who you are or what you do, your decisions make a difference. The quality and magnitude of that difference depends on one thing—critical thinking.
Thinking drives absolutely everything we do. It’s the first step toward critical decisions that determine the winners and losers in every industry, and it even influences what we get out of life. In Think Smarter, you’ll learn that if you aren’t thinking critically, you might as well be letting someone else live life for you. The bottom line is, if you want to maximize your chances for success in the areas that matter, and take control of the results, you need to learn to Think Smarter.
Synopsis
Critical thinking is a process that lets your brain do more for you as you make decisions, solve problems, make plans, and execute them. Much of the current content on this subject is academic focused.
Think Smarter, Not Harder focuses instead on applying critical thinking techniques to everyday business issues. This application results in higher quality problem solving and decision making, more innovation, faster decisions, opportunity recognition, mistake avoidance, and higher productivity. The skills learned in this book can be applied to:
- New product ideas and creation
- Short and long term business strategies
- Improved operational efficiency
- Crisis management
- Customer care improvement, and
- Revenue generation and cost reduction strategies
Synopsis
Train your brain for better decisions, problem solving, and innovationThink Smarter: Critical Thinking to Improve Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Skills is the comprehensive guide to training your brain to do more for you. Written by a critical thinking trainer and coach, the book presents a pragmatic set of tools to apply critical thinking techniques to everyday business issues. Think Smarter is filled with real world examples that demonstrate how the tools work in action, in addition to dozens of practice exercises applicable across industries and functions, Think Smarter is a versatile resource for individuals, managers, students, and corporate training programs.
Thinking is the foundation of everything you do, but we rely largely on automatic thinking to process information, often resulting in misunderstandings and errors. Shifting over to critical thinking means thinking purposefully using a framework and toolset, enabling thought processes that lead to better decisions, faster problem solving, and creative innovation. Think Smarter provides clear, actionable steps toward improving your critical thinking skills, plus exercises that clarify complex concepts by putting theory into practice. Features include:
- A comprehensive critical thinking framework
- Over twenty-five "tools" to help you think more critically
- Critical thinking implementation for functions and activities
- Examples of the real-world use of each tool
Learn what questions to ask, how to uncover the real problem to solve, and mistakes to avoid. Recognize assumptions your can rely on versus those without merit, and train your brain to tick through your mental toolbox to arrive at more innovative solutions. Critical thinking is the top skill on the wish list in the business world, and sharpening your ability can have profound affects throughout all facets of life. Think Smarter: Critical Thinking to Improve Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Skills provides a roadmap to more effective and productive thought.
Synopsis
From the mind behind HeadScratchers, a guide to getting more out of thinkingWe often hear about the importance of thinking critically and acting strategically. And yet, there are few resources that provide a business-focused, non-academic, practical approach to doing just that. Thankfully, Mike Kallet has come to our rescue. Mike has a very conversational tone in his writing on this critical subject, thereby making what can potentially be a very dry subject an interesting read. More importantly, the examples of how to use the process of critical thinking and the key “takeaways” help the reader apply the content appropriately. In our business, we rely on rapid and accurate decision making, with little margin for error. The concepts in Think Smarter are easy to implement quickly, realizing great results.
—Jacqui Bellini-Murray, Senior Training Manager at Genentech
Intelligence can be found, knowledge can be acquired, but critical thinking can only be developed. Finally, Mike Kallet delivers a guide for honing this much-needed skill in decision making. Practical and simple, yet profound. Every leader, every decision maker, needs this guide!
—Tess Reynolds, CEO at New Door Ventures
Bringing critical thinking and innovation into a company is a worthy goal, but a very difficult and elusive task. Mike Kallet’s Think Smarter is a stimulating, practical guide that expands the thinking processes to embrace new concepts while keeping a focus on what is success. This is a book developed through years of working with leaders and teams to move them to new levels of problem solving and performance. I have both participated and overseen teams who have been coached by Mike’s critical thinking. The improvements in the subsequent product developments and intra-team dynamics were impressive, breaking historical patterns of thinking processes. The exercises in Think Smarter are especially helpful in bringing clarity to the use of the tools and techniques introduced. Think Smarter is a must read for leaders who are challenged with solving the everyday problems of a business while finding approaches that step up the innovative capabilities of their teams.
—Dan Yost, Managing Partner at Dankat and former EVP at Qwest Communications
About the Author
MICHAEL KALLET founded HeadScratchers in 2004 to train business professionals and leaders in critical thinking, problem solving, decision making, and creativity. Through workshops, webinars, and keynote speeches, he teaches people to apply critical thinking techniques to real world business challenges. Mike has held leadership positions in business environments ranging from ten-person startups to a $500 million public company.
www.headscratchers.com
Table of Contents
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Foreword
Section I: Introduction and the Framework for Critical Thinking
Chapter 1: What is Critical Thinking?
Benefits of Critical Thinking
Chapter 2: When to Use Critical Thinking
Chapter 3: The Framework and Tools
Clarity
Conclusions
Decisions
Section II: Clarity
Chapter 4: Empty Your Bucket
The Bucket
Getting Started with Emptying Your Bucket
Chapter 5: Inspection
Inspection
Getting Started with Inspection
Chapter 6: Why?
Why Why?
Ask why to get to I don’t know
Getting Started with Why
Chapter 7: So What?
So What?
So What: Your Company or Product
YOUR So What?
Getting Started with So What
Chapter 8: Need
What is the Necessity?
Great Teams and Need
Need and Survival
Getting Started with Need
Chapter 9: Anticipatory Thinking
What’s Next?
Getting Started with Anticipatory Thinking
Chapter 10: What Else?
What Else Could This Be?
Getting Started with What Else
Chapter 11: The Ingredient Diagram
Ingredients of Your Headscratcher
Getting started with the Ingredient Diagram
Chapter 12: Vision
What is Your Vision?
Getting Started with Vision
Chapter 13: The Thinking Coach
The Role of a Thinking Coach
Why Be a Thinking Coach?
Examples of a Thinking Coach
If You Have the Experience, Why Not Communicate That?
Ten Rules of a Thinking Coach
Getting Started with Being a Thinking Coach
Section III: Conclusions
Chapter 14: Summary of Clarity
Clarity - Getting Clear about Your Headscratcher
Getting Started
Practice
Clarity - Not About Solving the Problem, but Generates Solutions
When Am I Done with Clarity?
Can I Use Critical Thinking by Myself and Not with a Group?
Chapter 15: It’s all about The Premise
Deduction
Induction
It’s All About the Premise
Chapter 16: Facts
Facts are Absolute Truth
Use so what with facts
Fact or Not Fact
Chapter 17: Observations
Observations are Abundant
Chapter 18: Experiences
Your Experiences
So What?
Chapter 19: Beliefs
Beliefs - Your Value System
When Beliefs Are Different
Chapter 20: Assumptions
Assumptions are Key
Chapter 22: Credibility
How Credible is the Premise?
Credibility of Facts and Observations
Why Do People Lose Credibility?
Getting Started with Credibility
Chapter 23: Consistency
The Consistency of Your Premise Components
Getting Started with Consistency
Chapter 24: Triangular Thinking
Triangular Thinking: Estimating the Unknown
Getting Started with Triangular Thinking
Chapter 25: Change
The Premise and Change
Helping People Get Over Change
Getting Started with Change
Chapter 26: Influencing and Persuading
Influence and Persuasion
Using the Premise to Influence
Using the Premise to Persuade
Maybe you need to be persuaded?
Getting Started with Influencing and Persuading
Section: IV Conclusions and Innovation
Chapter 27: Outside-the-Box Thinking
Ask What If and What Other
Getting Started with Thinking Outside-the-Box
Chapter 28: Abductive Thinking
Abductive Thinking
Old Dog Thinking
Knowledge with No Experience
Old Dog Thinking Cures
Getting Started with Abductive Thinking
Chapter 29: Impossible Thinking
Thinking How to Accomplish the Impossible
Getting Started with Impossible Thinking
Exercises for Impossible Thinking
Chapter 30: Summary of Conclusions
Conclusions – Creating Solutions
Getting Started
Conclusions – Sorry, You’re Not Quite Done!
Section V: Decisions
Chapter 31: Who, Need and When
Whose Decision Is This, Anyway?
Need, Again!
When Does This Decision Need to Be Made?
Getting Started with Who, Need and When
Chapter 32: Criteria
Without Criteria, Nothing Is Decided
Getting Started with Criteria
Chapter 33: Risk
Eleven Risk Factors
Using the Eleven Factor Model
What Is Too Risky?
Getting Started with Risk
Chapter 34: Summary of Decisions
Decisions – Taking Action
Getting Started
Are we done yet?
Chapter 35: Critical Thinking: Summary and Suggestions
Critical Thinking Summary
Critical Thinking – Let’s Begin