Structured Thinking & Communication

Ice Breaker

Human Thinking Process

What do you know?

Overview on Human Thinking Process

Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is the purposeful and reflective judgement about what to believe or what to do in response to observations, experience, verbal or written expressions, or arguments. It involves determining the meaning and significance of what is observed or expressed, or, concerning a given inference or argument, determining whether there is adequate justification to accept the conclusion as true. Thinking is often casual and informal, whereas critical thinking deliberately evaluates the quality of thinking.

Creative Thinking
Creative thinking and innovation are particularly useful during Strategic Planning (when strategizing) and in Product and Service Management (when designing new products and services.)

Structured Thinking
Structured Thinking is a structured, problem-solving methodology for finding innovative solution concepts to engineering-design type problems. The goal of Structured Thinking is to enable a problem solver to invent multiple solution concepts in as short a time as possible

The Pyramid Principle

Grapes Milk Potatoes Eggs Carrots Oranges Butter Apples Sour Cream

If you try to visualize this process, you will see that you have created a set of pyramids of logically related items

The Need to State The Logic

All mental processes (e.g; thinking, remembering, problem solving) apparently utilize this grouping and summarizing process, so that the information in a persons mind might be thought of as being organized into one giant conglomeration of related pyramids. If you thing about communicating that to mind , you can see that the problem is one of ensuring that what you say will fit somewhere into the existing pyramids.

Case Study-1

LUNCH!!!

Structuring The Thought Process Before Communicating

Ordering ideas from top down
Controlling the sequence in which you present your ideas The reader or listener can only take the sequences in one at a time

How to get your ideas across?

Clear Reports Analyses Presentations Memos Meetings

SCQA Framework
S = Describe the situation C = Identify the complication (trigger for the question) Q = Clarify the question in the readers mind A = Develop the Answer (/solution, the over-riding point)

Creative Thinking
The Ps:

Person: what attributes of your people may help or hinder idea generation and/or implementation.
Process: what tools, techniques and/or methods do you use for working together to optimize your creative and critical thinking? Product: what do you want to do better? Be creative around product, service, processes, other? The clearer the need the better the focus. Press: what is the team, departmental, divisional, organisational climate that 'presses' upon people and their work, helping and hindering idea flow?

Creativity Game
The Manufacturer

SCAMPE R

SCAMPER stands for Substitute - use of high tech materials for niche markets, such as high speed steel? Carbon fiber? Plastics? Glass? Non-reactive material? Combine - integrate nut and bolt? Bolt and washer? Bolt and spanner? Adapt - put Allen key or Star head on bolt? Countersink head? Modify - produce bolts for watches or bridges? Produce different shaped bolts (e.g. screw in plugs)? Pre-painted green bolts? Put to another use - bolts as hinge pins? As axles? Eliminate - Eliminate nuts, washers, heads, thread, etc. Reverse - make dies as well as bolts, make bolts that cut threads for themselves in material, etc.

Mind Mapping
The Mind Map is a method of recording information or ideas in a dynamic way that mirrors the brains processes. Developed in the 1960s by Tony Buzan to help students make notes by using keywords and images. Non-linear thinking and associative memory Visual brainstorming tool Use connections between keywords to map knowledge to help improve understanding and recall Aids high level of critical thinking

Let Us Play Mind Mapping Game keyword and Identify the central theme via a suggestive
image Brainstorm associated keywords for 5-10 minutes Organize the keywords in categories (general to specific) Map the keywords according to the rules Expand your map. Think freely and quickly. Free associate.

Analytical Thinking
Process
I. II. III. IV. V. VI. Overall Process Defining the Problem Formulating the Hypothesis Collecting the Facts Conducting the Analysis Developing the Solution
Problem

Solution

Hypothesis

Analysis

Facts

Brainstorming A Method for Identifying Issues and Formulating Hypotheses in Analytical Thinking Brainstorming is useful when there is a wide range of possible issues and solutions Brainstorming is not appropriate for testing an idea; it is used to generate ideas There are numerous brainstorming techniques, which include group brainstorming, individual brainstorming, and storyboarding Individual brainstorming is usually not recommended unless time is too tight, participants are rarely available, group is too large, etc. Brainstorming can be useful for Force Field Analysis identifying all forces impacting the problem

Problem Solving
A problem becomes known when a person observes a discrepancy between the way things are and the way things ought to be. Problems can be identified through: Comparative/benchmarking studies Performance reporting - assessment of current performance against goals and objectives SWOT Analysis assessment of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats Complaints Surveys Etc.

Solving Problem using Fish Bone Diagram

Find out the best solution for the following problem using Fish Bone Diagram

Managerial Thinking
Thinking creatively, reason lucidly, and express ideas with clarity Define complex problems and establish the objectives of any document Assess your ideas and recognize their relative importance Structure your reasoning into a coherent and transparent argument Analyse your argument to confirm effectiveness

Case Study-2

End of the Day