Thinking Critically!

"Critical Thinking entails the integration of three dimensions: being idealistic (capable of imagining a better world); realistic (seeing things as they are); and pragmatic (adopting effective measures for moving toward our ideals." - Linda Elder Head of The Foundation for Critical Thinking

Most people think they are thinking critically the fact is we aren't.

We always tend to think the other just needs to change their minds to think like them. In reality this is the viciousness of all circles. Most people are not capable of pausing and imagining the semantics or contexts of the other perspectives either at all or long enough. Structured Visual Thinking™ enables us to ask people to question everything.

Applying a Design Mindset in Structured Visual Thinking™

Being a Structured Visual Thinker: Design as a 'mindset' means having a particular approach – an attitude to how to approach the Exam Question and the needs of those before you.

1. Openness. So that you are impartial and an empty vessel when it comes to 'listening' to the answers to your questions.
2. Empathy. Being on the same page and caring sufficiently about the frustration and ambition of this with a different context to yours.
3. Intrinsic motivation. Wanting the outcome to be as good as you can possibly make it for everyone involved in the session and beyond.
4. Mindfulness. Awake and alert to everything that’s emerging – wherever it may come from. Every thought and idea is valid – recognise it.
5. Adjustment. Changing as new thoughts and ideas emerge. Adopting and adapting to the input as it arrives and changes the preceding 'frame' or circumstance.
6. Optimism. Knowing and appearing that there is a far better outcome beyond the barriers that will inevitably be put in the way. It may seem tough at times but the framework will liberate breakthrough at some point and I some way.

These competencies - if recognised, owned and applied are the key steps to being ready to design.

Doing Structured Visual Thinking™: Bringing Structured Visual Thinking™ method to the madness. The need for the tactical agility to deliver.

1. Multi-Disciplinary Collaboration. Co-creation and collaboration means working well with teams and individuals recognising that alignment and consensus are not always possible or desired.
2. Understanding and Need-Finding. Getting very forensic with root cause and drilling for the truth. Detection and then articulation of the issues that are driving the conditions.
3. Iterative developing and experimentation. Working each module at different depths and through the sequences as we build context and logic against the Business Equation™  
4. Systems mapping and thinking. Understanding the line of sight, dependencies and implications as each sequence unfolds
5. Story-telling. Working the framework as a story is vital. Knowing the Business Equation™  means to be able to tell the story – recognising that different audiences are interested in differing things.
6. Co-creation. Ideation and creativity within the context of each module within the frameworks.

Thinking Thinking: Developing the well-rounded capacity for convergent and divergent thinking.

1. Emotional Intelligence. The capacity to think and process – conscious - reasoning and discernment.
2. Systems Thinking. The art and science of recognizing the vital patterns emerging or inherent in all situations.
3. Visualization. Thinking visually and being creative is central to the method. Mastering the art of symbolisim and the language of the configurable assets is the essence here.
4. Abductive Reasoning. Discernment, surafcing the logical outcomes of sequenced questioning – the vital art of those practicing Structured Visual Thinking™
5. Synthesis. Distilling and precising all the context, insight and data is to master the art of quality thinking – emerging with the correct answer given the Exam Question.
6. Intuition. Knowing, from experience and appropriate learning, what is the right way. Being present and instinctive around all the above.

Structured Visual Thinking™ calls for convergent and divergent thinking together with adaptive doing, enabling a constant toggling between a variety of ways of thinking and doing. This agility is the raw material required for innovation and for mastering the application of the method.

"Creativity requires a 'perfect storm' of high choice, high prior experience and explicit instructions to be creative." - Sheena Iyengar

Posted via email from Just Thinking!