Transcript No Slide Title

Critical Thinking 101
For Project Managers
Bill Richardson - 416-867-4776
[email protected]
Handout Version
Thinking..The Big Bang of
Business.
”Thinking is the nucleus of business…it
drives not only what gets created and launched,
but also what lives on.
It’s the big bang that sets everything else in
motion.
If you want to change your results, you must first
change your thinking.”
Marcum and Smith - businessThink
“ Good To Great”
Jim Collins
Top leaders tendencies:
Who Can
Think
Critically!
• Right people on the bus
• Wrong people off the bus
• Right people in the right seats
• Then figure out where to drive the bus
The Painful Reality…..
…is that project managers, leaders and
companies don’t pay people to think they pay ( hope, pray,expect) people to
agree -----with them!
And…..luck is not a method!
Tonight- On Critical
Thinking!
• Remind you about being human!
• Refocus your skills
• Introduce your “Other Half” into a new
model
• Road test in the project life cycle
• Help you take home the right 30%
A Road Map
Need
P
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Humanity
Desired
Result
Model
Habit
Habits can be your best friend or your
VERY worst enemy
> Form them 1 strand at a time
> Break them 1 strand at a time
> Your habits are a product of environment
> Good news is they are breakable
> Bad news it’s simple but not easy
“Auto-Pilot Navigation”
Learning Context
Not
Competent
Competent
21 days then
Conscious
2
3
Not
Conscious
1
4
Egocentricity
A tendency to view everything in
relationship to oneself…...
> Memory……convenient and selective
> Myopia……narrow point of view
> Righteousness…..only we know the truth
> Hypocrisy……do as I say, not as I do
> Blindness…..to contradictory facts.
“Empowered Beyond Reason”
A Perfectly Good Strength
When multiplied by ego:
> Confidence
becomes sense of Infalibility
> Dedication
becomes Workaholism
> Courage
becomes Foolhardiness
becomes Coercion
> Ambition
> Perseverance becomes Resistance
To Change
Fear
A painful emotion excited by expectation of evil
or apprehension of impending danger…..
> Its an emotion put in place to
protect us
> Its hormonal and neurochemical
> Conquering fear does not mean
destroying it”
> Fictitious Events Appearing Real
“Self Inflicted Paralysis”
So, What Are
Critical Thinking
Skills?
….a set of skills for resolving problems
and maximizing opportunities, which
affect organizations and their
customers.
The Skills
Situational Assessment
What is or could be happening?
We jump to resolution!
Problem Solving
Why is it happening?
We jump to cause!
Issues
Action Planning
How do we do it?
We jump to action!
Decision Making
Which is the best course of action?
We jump to solution!
Critical Thinking Process
Left Brain
Right Brain
Gather
Generate
Evaluate
Agree
IQ
EQ
Integration and Balance
IQ
EQ
Ask the hard questions in a soft way!
From “businessThink”
The Model
Situation Assessment
Identify
Issues
Anticipate
Issues
Issues
Clear?
No
Clarify
Issues
Priority
Known?
No
Set
Priority
Yes
Yes
Cause
Known?
No
Yes
Solution
Known?
Yes
No
Describe
Problem
List
Objectives
Draft
Plan
List
Causes
Generate
Alternatives
Anticipate
Changes
Test
Causes
Evaluate
Alternatives
Revise
Plan
Gain
Support
Seek
Agreement
Gain
Support
Problem Solving
Decision Making
Action Planning
Road Test
Project Life Cycle
Process
Goal
• Situation Assessment
• Clarity?
• Priority?
• Costs?
Feasibility
• Decision Making
• Best Choice
• Gain Commitment
Planning
• Action Planning
• Baselines!
Initiation/
Feasibility
• Risk?
Execution
Evaluation
• Situational Assessment
• Problem Solving
• Decision Making
• Action Planning
• Status
• Correction
• Quality
• Client Satisfaction
• Situational Assessment
• Problem Solving
• Learning?
• Client Satisfaction
Take Home Summary
Leverage Your
Other Half
Learn To
P
Identify
Need
Learn Where
To Start
Don’t Jump!!!
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K
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Habit
Ego
Fear
Pay Attention &
Stay Off Auto Pilot
Harness And Keep
On A Short Leash
Let Go Of “Fear Is
Bad”
Teach To Learn
Model
Desired
Result
Focus on clarity,
priority and root
cause and getting
agreement
The Value Proposition
Better critical thinking will help you:
• Better manage expectations
• Better manage - functional vs project dimensions
• Deal more effectively with imposed constraints
• Become more influential
• Have more fun in your work life
Tomorrow?
Start
• ego on a
short leash
• find the cause
Stop
• jumping
• focus on clarity • ignoring
your other
half
• hugging the
coastline
Continue
• think
• feel
• act
The Buddha on
Mindfulness
Non-judgment
Patience
Beginner’s Mind
Trust
Non-striving
Acceptance
Letting Go
How They Catch
Monkeys