Think It Through

Thinking about how you think – maybe for the first time

Hindsight can be a harsh way of judging the wisdom of a decision in light of information that either was not taken into consideration, not available, or not thought through when the decision was made. Hindsight bias has been demonstrated experimentally in a variety of settings, including business, politics, games and medicine. Obviously great decisions do not just happen. They require careful consideration to detail during development and to possible outcomes during/following implementation. Let’s say for example, you were sure you had the greatest idea of your career. Everyone loved it. It met all the criteria established by your team of experienced and knowledgeable professionals. Approvals were easy. Then it was time for the implementation. Things went wrong, really wrong. Looking back from your small room with bars you say “if only I had thought it through.”

Problem Solving

Problems do not solve themselves and quick fixes don’t necessarily address the root cause of problems. A magic solution may seem to solve your problem, at least for a while; but, if you do not find the real cause and remove it, you are only treating the effects. Is that what you wanted to do, keep applying a quick fix? Think your problem through.

Resolving business issues is a thinking enterprise, it requires thinking skills. What would happen if you knew exactly what to do next in a new (or old) situation? If you knew exactly what questions to ask when and what to do with the answers? What if you knew how to organize the information so you and others could consistently arrive at better solutions than you have in the past? Most people develop thinking skills through experience, identifying solutions that work, discarding those that do not, basically through trial and error. Why wait?

Applied Thinking Skills will help anyone and everyone by training people to understand the processes of decision making, problem solving, and problem prevention. Think it through!