Critical Thinking to Improve Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Skills

In Hardcopy, Electronic and Audio Form.

by Michael Kallet
CEO and founder
HeadScratchers, LLC

published by Wiley and Sons, Inc.
ISBN: 978-1-118-72983-0

Overview

Critical thinking is a process that lets your brain do more for you as you make decisions and solve problems. Think Smarter, a critical thinking book, presents a pragmatic set of tools to apply critical thinking techniques to everyday business issues. This application results in higher quality and faster problem solving, decision making and innovation. Think Smarter is filled with real world examples that demonstrate how the tools work in action, in addition to dozens of exercises the reader can use to practice the techniques. Since thinking is the foundation of everything that everyone does, the tools presented in Think Smarter are applicable across industries and functions, from individuals to senior executives.

Think Smarter includes:

- A comprehensive critical thinking framework
- Details of over 25 “tools” to think critically
- Functions and business activities where critical thinking can be implemented
- Real world examples of how each tool can be used in business and personal situations
- Practice exercises

Table of Contents

Section I: Introduction and the Framework for Critical Thinking

Chapter 1: What is Critical Thinking?
Chapter 2: When to Use Critical Thinking
Chapter 3: The Framework and Tools

Section II: Clarity

Chapter 4: Empty Your Bucket
Chapter 5: Inspection
Chapter 6: Why?
Chapter 7: So What?
Chapter 8: Need
Chapter 9: Anticipatory Thinking
Chapter 10: What Else?
Chapter 11: The Ingredient Diagram
Chapter 12: Vision
Chapter 13: The Thinking Coach
Chapter 14: Summary of Clarity

Section III: Conclusions

Chapter 15: It’s all about The Premise
Chapter 16: Facts
Chapter 17: Observations
Chapter 18: Experiences
Chapter 19: Beliefs
Chapter 20: Assumptions
Chapter 22: Credibility
Chapter 23: Consistency
Chapter 24: Triangular Thinking
Chapter 25: Change
Chapter 26: Influencing and Persuading

Section: IV Conclusions and Innovation

Chapter 27: Outside-the-Box Thinking
Chapter 28: Abductive Thinking
Chapter 29: Impossible Thinking
Chapter 30: Summary of Conclusions

Section V: Decisions

Chapter 31: Who, Need and When
Chapter 32: Criteria
Chapter 33: Risk
Chapter 34: Summary of Decisions

Critical Thinking: Summary and Suggestions

Here's what some people are saying about Think Smarter

Think Smarter provides a business-focused, non-academic, practical approach of thinking critically and acting strategically. Mike has a very conversational tone in his writing on this critical subject, thereby making what can potentially be a very dry subject an interesting read.  More importantly, the examples of how to use the process of critical thinking and the key “takeaways” help the reader apply the content appropriately.  The concepts in Think Smarter are easy to implement quickly,  realizing great results.

 
Jacqui Bellini-Murray, Senior Training Manager, Genentech

Think Smarter will help your organization solve problems, make decisions, and achieve goals in a completely new way.   Within my organization, it gave individuals in a variety of roles the tools to be purposeful in how they approached problems.  The best part is that the tools can start to be used TODAY. 

Lisa Voleski, Vice President and Senior Business Training Manager (Top 20 Bank)

Intelligence can be found, knowledge can be acquired, but critical thinking can only be developed.  Finally, Mike Kallet delivers a guide for honing this much-needed skill in decision making.  Practical and simple, yet profound.  Every leader, every decision maker, needs this guide!

Tess Reynolds, CEO New Door Ventures

Mike Kallet’s Think Smarter is a stimulating, practical guide that expands the thinking processes to embrace new concepts while keeping a focus on what is success.   This is a book developed thru years of working with leaders and teams to move them to new levels of problem solving and performance.   I have both participated and overseen teams who have been coached by Mike’s Critical Thinking.   The improvements in the subsequent product developments and intra-team dynamics were impressive, breaking historical patterns of thinking processes.  The exercises in Think Smarter are especially helpful in bringing clarity to the use of the tools and techniques introduced.   Think Smarter is a must read for leaders who are challenged with solving the everyday problems of a business while finding approaches that step up the innovative capabilities of their teams.

Dan Yost, Managing Partner at Dankat and former EVP at Qwest Communications

Here are a few of the reviews found on-line

"Read Think Smarter and refer to it daily to help your team improve their decisions and grow your business faster and more profitably"

"Think Smarter is an unusual book about the process that moves from thinking to deciding to doing. Unlike most books, Kallet's book is accessible to most readers and the content is easy to apply. It's rare that a book about thinking critically causes you to examine your preconceived notions in any serious sense. This lays out a useful action plan to do that in every significant decision you're going to make"

Brilliant Work !!!! Michael Kallet has packaged the subject of critical thinking in a way that helps organize your approach to managing problems and identifying solutions"

"this book is my manual to critical thinking. it needs to be read and consulted until the skills are second nature. I give this book 7 out of 5 stars."

"Not your typical business book full of 'cheese', but instead, full of practical approaches to thinking about and solving real-world problems".