Elements of Critical Thinking

This week, I discovered a very interesting logic model discussing the elements of critical thinking.

The Foundation for Critical Thinking created an excellent resource and reference representing the elements of critical thinking. They maintain “Eight basic structures are present in all thinking: Whenever we think, we think for a purpose within a point of view based on assumptions leading to implications and consequences. We use concepts, ideas and theories to interpret data, facts, and experiences in order to answer questions, solve problems, and resolve issues.” The italics are my addition and highlight the eight elements of critical thinking described in the article.

I encourage readers to explore this link. The design and ability to hover over a topic to get more information is clean, clever and useful. The content is even better.

The eight elements mentioned above are essential to think well and provide a systematic model to problem solving and approach to decisions. The model also suggests “intellectual standards” such as accuracy, breadth, clarity, depth, fairness, logic, precision, relevance, significance, and other standards “that may be applied to the eight elements on a contextual basis.”

Philosophy.hku.hk maintains:

“Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally about what to do or what to believe. It includes the ability to engage in reflective and independent thinking. Someone with critical thinking skills is able to do the following:

·       understand the logical connections between ideas

·       identify, construct and evaluate arguments

·       detect inconsistencies and common mistakes in reasoning

·       solve problems systematically

·       identify the relevance and importance of ideas

·       reflect on the justification of one's own beliefs and values”

Critical thinking, and the capacity for independent thought is a valued skill for global leaders. As I reflect on my own communications, learn more of best practices, and develop plans to improve my own communications, understanding and applying the elements of critical thinking is a key component of my communication improvement plan.  

References:

https://www.criticalthinking.org/ctmodel/logic-model1.htm

http://getcollegecredit.com/blog/article/critical_thinking_what_is_it_and_why_is_it_so_important

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/critical-thinking

http://philosophy.hku.hk/think/critical/ct.php

6 B2B Meeting Styles of CEOs of Apple, Facebook, Google & Others

As the subject line suggests, this article describes the meeting style and format of business leaders. The contents of the article is copied below and provides a link for reference.

"Ever wondered how CEOs manage to accomplish so much in 24 hours whereas we struggle to accommodate everything? From meetings to strategy building, they usually have it all, planned out by the minute. Perhaps they attend way more meetings in a day than we do in a week. Data reveals that companies spend around $37 billion on meetings every year in US alone, and managers attend more than 60 meetings per month. (Source: A network MCI Conferencing White Paper. Meetings in America: A study of trends, costs and attitudes toward business travel, teleconferencing, and their impact on productivity (Greenwich, CT: INFOCOMM, 1998)

What’s more important than meetings is conducting effective meetings. Fast paced decision making using shorter and fewer meetings is the success mantra for many small companies. On the other hand, larger organizations tend to get plagued by bureaucratic processes and many pointless meetings that result in few concrete conversations. A look into the working style of top CEOs and leaders reveal that all of them insisted on making meetings count.

Here we take a look at smart meeting styles of world’s best leaders from top companies.

1) Steve Jobs, Apple: The undisputed stalwart of minimalism, Jobs applied the same principles to his meetings as well. Top three from the Apple stable include:

• Only people who are absolutely needed attend the meeting.
• No meeting should last more than 30 minutes. If the agenda is not completed in this time, it’s probably a drag.
• Add a productive task to your day to make up for the time spent in meetings.

2) Larry Page, Alphabet (previously Google): When Larry Page took over as Google’s CEO in 2011, his first action was to send out the famous company wide email “How to run meetings effectively”. Key pointers from it:

• Every meeting must have one decision maker at least
• No more than 10 people should attend. Amazon Chief Jeff Bezos famously said : “Don’t plan a meeting in which two pizzas aren’t enough to feed everyone.” 
• Decisions shouldn’t be dependent on meetings. Meetings should be scheduled immediately when a decision needs to be made

3) Sundar Pichai,Google: Sundar Pichai’s rise to the CEO of Google isn’t a miracle. Industry insiders reveal that Pichai is a taskmaster and patient listener, who rarely interjects people in meetings. Once everyone is done putting their points forward, he delivers an idea that works for all. He is incredibly good at diplomacy and avoiding conflicts; as he believes that time spent in resolving conflicts can be put to better use.

4) Alfred Sloan,General Motors: America’s original CEO and legendary organizational thinker, Sloan would announce the meeting agenda, listen to varying views quietly, and followed up with a detailed memo and action items. He would then keep a track of the execution and measure progress from each meeting.

5) Sheryl Sandberg,Facebook: One of this generation’s most feminist leaders, Sandberg belongs to the same school of thought as Sloan. Her top goals include : Ruthless prioritisation and female participation. She carries a spiral notebook with strict agenda and action items for each meeting. As the meeting proceeds, she ticks off each item. If all items are checked off in the first 10 minutes of an hour long meeting, it gets over.

6) Marissa Mayer,Yahoo: Yahoo’s CEO strongly believes in the tenet of preparation. She never goes to a meeting without solid preparation and being extremely thorough with the agenda, and background information of the people she’s meeting.

The meeting best practices adopted by these inspiring leaders underline the importance of:

• Setting effective meetings with strict agenda
• Inviting only those people who can be contributors
• Ending a meeting with a list of action items
• Measuring progress

If these tips have worked for such leaders, they are probably good ideas for us all to imbibe."

A personal observation after reading this article is that while interesting to read of effective leadership styles, this is not new information. Sometimes a focus on the basics is a good foundation.

References:
https://www.jifflenow.com/blog/6-b2b-meeting-styles-ceos-apple-facebook-google-yahoo/

How to Build More Productive Teams

I read an article this week titled Google searches itself to build more productive teams

The essence of the article is this statement, how teams work together is more important than who is on a team.

The entire article is referenced below, however some of the key takeaways for me include the following:

•  "nothing is more important than having a goal that inspires and organizes people's efforts."
•  “Google's study, based on data analysis, found that teams work best when their members feel like they can take risks, can count on each other, have clear goals and believe their work matters.”
• "The social aspect of teams is very important because many times people are just not motivated to work for money alone," Hu says. "They want to have the opportunity to achieve a positive impact on the lives of others."
• "Team work matters, and if you want to have the best team of employees possible, you will manage them intelligently," said Lindy Greer, who teaches at Stanford University's business school. "If you just put people together they're going to crash and burn unless they have conflict resolution training, a manager who can coordinate roles and opportunities to learn with one another."

I am seeking examples in my growth to understanding effective communications. These examples offer a great way to inspire toward a shared vision, connect social needs and develop an environment for success.

Reference:

http://phys.org/news/2015-11-google-productive-teams.html#jCp

Week 5 - Leading Like Jeff Bezos: Words Are More Important Than Numbers

The title of this week’s blog references a 2013 Forbes.com article of the same name.

Amazon.com recently asked our group how we would help them deliver a new service. When recruited to this team, I learned of the no PowerPoint as pitch practice. With a bit of research, I was able to learn more of the reasoning for this practice. I can also share my experience.

The bullet points that follow, summarize the article (also referenced below), and include:

• “Amazon often begins its staff meetings with 30 minutes of silent reading.”
• “The company also forgoes PowerPoint, Bezos says, which is ‘easy for the presenter, but difficult for th­e audience.’ Bezos noted that slides generally communicate very little real information—primarily bullet points and numeric data—but the necessity to communicate thoughts in full sentences and paragraphs requires presenters to think more deeply and ‘forces a deeper clarity,’ he maintains.”
• “The company structures its meetings around a six-page memo. Whereas executives tend to interrupt a PowerPoint presentation, the memos are thoroughly read. In many cases, they don’t need to ask questions because the answers are plain to see in the memos.”
• “Another benefit of the memos, Bezos says, is that they force presenters to go beyond the numeric facts of an issue or statement to include the story around it.”
• “A numeric report tempts executives (both presenting and receiving) to gloss over the complexity of a business scenario. It also leads executives to focus on figuring out what they want to say while in the midst of their presentation. However, it is much harder work—and a much more meaningful message that is shared—when a presenter has prepared the material well enough to ‘speak simple.’” 

I was pleasantly surprised to learn this communication dynamic. Fortunately, I was also prepared. My primary tool in defining the scope of a project is a creative, or marketing brief. I use MS Word, and had already prepared an outline in bullet form. Team brainstorm sessions added more bullets to the mix. We each had to re-write our bullets into a narrative. Personally, it takes effort to consolidate the meaning and tell a succinct, credible, memorable, and compelling story. I understand the value of this philosophy, and get to see this communication dynamic first-hand.

I also had the good fortune to speak with classmates and colleagues. Each helped me gain a greater understanding of this practice. My key insights are this: the practice of preparing a clear, compelling description of a quest, is better that a bulleted PowerPoint deck.  Particularly when your client will communicate this business imperative to executive stakeholders (hoping they will remember the nuance in my bullet points, and detail in the speaker notes). More importantly, the practice of everyone reading a document is an excellent way to literally and figuratively get everyone on the same page. In my experience, this practice added a level of focus, efficiency, and support.

References:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidkwilliams/2013/09/04/leading-like-jeff-bezos-words-are-more-important-than-numbers/

Week 4

I used to be a conflict avoider. I believe one should "pick their battles", but as I learn more about myself, discover, and practice tools to help deal with conflict, I find conflict is where understanding, change, and growth happen.

(Nelson & Quick, 2008) define conflict as any situation in which incompatible goals, attitudes, emotions, or behaviors lead to disagreement or opposition between two or more parties. They maintain "managers spend 21% of their time dealing with conflict, and conflict management skills are a major predictor of managerial success." (p. 12-5)

Twenty-one percent of one's time is significant. Additionally, and in my opinion, globalization will keep this trend alive and well. Consider the following statement: "An organization whose workforce consists of multiple ethnicities and cultures holds potential for many types of conflict because of the sheer volume of individual differences among workers." (Nelson & Quick 2008, p. 12-13)

Therefore, given the inevitability of conflict, what are the attitudes, behaviors and actions to successfully resolve conflict?

(Nelson and Quick, 2008) suggest the key to managing conflict in a multicultural workforce is understanding cultural differences and appreciating their value. Additional tactics for creating a conflict-positive organization include: (1) valuing diversity and confronting differences; (2) seeking mutual benefit and uniting behind cooperative goals; (3) empowering employees to become confident and skillful; and (4) reward successes and learn from mistakes. 

Honestly, I am not always comfortable in the moments of conflict, but I am learning to appreciate the additional understanding and positive changes that results from resolving, rather than avoiding conflict.

References:

Nelson & Quick. (2008). Organizational Design and Structure In Understanding Organizational Behavior (Third Edition) 

Week 3

This communication journal began by stating effective communication skills are increasingly becoming an essential component to both individual and organizational success. It also considered important components to effective interactive communications, such as creative insight, sensitivity, vision, shared meaning, integrity and the importance of culture. The first entry concluded with my belief that there is no single most important element. Rather, each are important and must coexist for effective communications.

The second entry continued the theme of effective communications, offering seven behaviors of effective multi-cultural managers (Deresky, 2013) and sought personal examples or role models of individuals others thought had these characteristics.  

This week, I discuss the importance of emotional intelligence in organizational leadership and decision making.

According to a 2014 Forbes magazine article, "emotional intelligence is the foundation for a host of critical skills—it impacts most everything you say and do each day. Emotional intelligence is the single biggest predictor of performance in the workplace and the strongest driver of leadership and personal excellence." The article continues, by stating "emotional intelligence is the 'something' in each of us that is a bit intangible. It affects how we manage behavior, navigate social complexities, and make personal decisions that achieve positive results."

A 2010 article in The Harvard Business Review described a study of brain imaging. A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan of managers reacting to fictional strategic and tactical management dilemmas, summarized their findings by stating "Of course, IQ-based reasoning is valuable in both strategic and tactical thinking—but it’s clear that managers integrate their brain processes as they become better strategists."

Individuals are emotional beings. Moreover, leaders, managers and individuals work in teams. Emotional intelligence is a capacity I am still learning, and makes sense to cultivate, given the benefits of improved personal, organizational and team performance.

I don’t believe individuals are born as rock star communicators, rather qualities (IQ and EQ) can be learned. I observe the corporate world valuing hard IQ skills, such as financial, project, marketing, or engineering disciplines, but not the same emphasis on softer EQ skills.

My desire is to communicate effectively. An understanding of effective attitudes, characteristics, individual styles, and techniques assist in this challenging effort.

References:

Bradberry, T. (2014). Emotional Intelligence - EQ. Retrieved 5/19/2015 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/travisbradberry/2014/01/09/emotional-intelligence/

Caceda, R. Gilkey, R. Kilts, C. (2010). When Emotional Reasoning Trumps IQ., Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2010/09/when-emotional-reasoning-trumps-iq 

Week 2

Building on the theme of effective communications, I created the following discussion and question for my classmates:

(Deresky, 2013) suggested a model for effective intercultural communications, offering the following seven behaviors of effective multi-cultural managers:

1. Respect (conveyed through eye-contact, body posture, voice tone, and pitch)2. Interaction posture (the ability to respond to others in a descriptive, nonevaluative, and nonjudgmental way)3. Orientation to knowledge (recognizing that one's knowledge, perception, and beliefs are valid for only oneself and not for everyone else)4. Empathy5. Interaction management6. Tolerance for ambiguity7. Other-oriented role behavior (one's capacity to be flexible and to adopt to different roles for the sake of greater group cohesion and group communication)

Which women or men, in current or recent history, whom we all may recognize, have these qualities?

I asked this question because I believe in modeling behaviors we wish to see in others. However I also asked this question so that I could identify role models, and see specific examples of these behaviors in action.

The responses I received from classmates was rewarding. One of my favorite compliments was that of “looking out” (a reference to classmates as future business leaders, and examples to consider).  This was part of my intent in posing my question – I was hoping for relevance and something of value. Several classmates commented specifically on the importance of empathy, the distinction between the two, and their importance. Other classmates provided individuals they felt exhibited these qualities. The list (at the time of this blog post) includes: Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Elon Musk, and Richard Branson. I appreciate the diversity on this list, yet would like more examples. Specifically women. I have read quotes by Eleanor Roosevelt, and appreciate her words. I will make a point of searching videos of her delivery and communication style.

References:

Deresky, H. (2013), International management: Managing across borders and cultures (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Prentice Hall

Seymour, P, (2015), Retrieved from online class discussion Web site: https://courses.cityu.edu/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&forum_id=_1026226_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_142810_1&course_id=_110496_1&message_id=_7090363_1#msg__7090363_1Id