I recently watched an interesting webinar by Art Markman, PhD, explaining the highlights of his book “Smart Thinking.” I found the concepts interesting and thought they were worth sharing as they align with one of our core values of “Keep Smart” and my personal belief in thinking outside the box to find opportunities to innovate and solve problems. I believe that lifelong learning is essential.
4 Smart Thinking keys to solving problems, innovating and getting things done are:
1. Develop smart habits
2. Acquire high quality knowledge
3. Use that knowledge when you need it
4. Leverage expert generalists
We have the impression that only smart people can innovate, but in fact, the research shows that IQ scores, SAT scores, GMAT scores, etc. have very little influence on how intelligent an individual is. Causal knowledge is the key to smart thinking. Causal knowledge allows us to connect the facts, beliefs and knowledge through underlying and connective series called causal chains. This leads us to ask the question “Why” and allows us to solve new problems and gain new knowledge. We use the “5 Why” exercise often with clients to get to the root of a question or concept.
"What is Smart Thinking?" and why do I care? The author offers tips for improving our knowledge and promoting smart thinking. Smart thinking can be learned and it can help you and your company achieve its 3-5 year strategic plan.
The key takeaways from Smart Thinking are:
To summarize, the goal is to create a mindset of thinking, supported by your culture of accountability, and be prepared to use your knowledge when you need it. Smart thinking is something we learn, not something we are born with. Intellect is not the only predictor of success for solving problems and innovating. To think smart, we need to create smart habits, overcome our illusion of explanatory knowledge, maximize the quality of our knowledge and embrace the expert generalists in our organizations.
As a parting tip: Encourage your employees to spend 2-3 hours a week learning and allow them 4-7 days a year for outside learning events.
Good luck with your problem solving and innovation activities!
-Alan Gehringer
Additional Rhythm Systems Weekly Staff Meeting Resources:
How To Have Effective Weekly Staff Meetings (With Sample Agenda Template)
4 Easy Steps to Fix Your Weekly Staff Meetings [Video]
Download our weekly meeting agenda
Supercharge Your Meetings with This Effective Weekly Meeting Agenda
8 Ways to Make Weekly Meetings Strategic vs. Tactical (Video)
Weekly Adjustment Meetings vs. Weekly Status Meetings (Infographic)
Consider using Rhythm Software to run your weekly meeting, where the status and agenda are automatically created every week to keep you on track!