Making Optimal Business Decisions: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

Top 16 Essential Soft Skills for The Future of Work

Overview

“If you keep rushing to solve problems without considering the root problem, you’ll be fixing the same problems forever! Do you want to see the same problem every month?”

If you find yourself saying that often to the employees in your workplace, then they may be lacking critical thinking or problem-solving skills. Or maybe, you have countless brainstorming sessions which lead to endless complaints and zero conclusions or actionable plans.

Unfortunately, problems and crises are an inevitable part of business. When emotions and tensions are high, every successful organization must be able to rely on calm professionals who have mastered critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and can approach the issues systematically using the correct processes and tools such as the Thinking Roles.

In the face of pressure, the Thinking Roles and critical thinking skills help your employees ask the right questions, challenge assumptions and bias, and find the best strategies after considering different viewpoints. Good problem-solving skills help your leaders properly define and identify the problem and comprehensively gather higher quality solutions so that there is precision and clarity when it is time to make a decision or recommendation.

When applied together, the Thinking Roles, critical thinking and problem-solving skills help the employees in your workplace make informed business decisions and to conclusively fix problems with direction and strength.

Learning Objectives

This workshop seeks to inculcate into participants through interactive learning, re-writing exercises, and role-playing critical thinking and problem-solving skills so they can solve problems conclusively for the company. At the end of the workshop, participants shall hold in their hands' specific skills, concepts and experiences that can propel themselves and the company toward greater results.

Methodology

Think differently to alter direction.

The experience of learning to read and write for the first time is likely to remain vivid in your memory. The skill is ingrained and it stays. The primary objective of our training and workshop is to make your new knowledge and abilities as durable as the ones you've already accumulated. They foster fresh ideas. They enable great feats. Individual behaviour and attitude contribute to your organization's success is what we prioritise.

Combining experiential, instructional, and discovery learning with current coaching technology promotes profound transformations in attitudes and behaviour that enable sustainable change in your business. These adjustments improve results.

Our programmes involve with 12 unique learning methodology as below:

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, participants shall be able to:

Understand the importance of critical thinking and problem-solving in an organization and the dangers of using automatic thinking to make crucial business decisions

Adopt a structured method and process to problem solving, including practical application of the Thinking Roles

Develop important critical thinking skills, such as active listening, asking the correct questions, and considering consequences before making a decision

Identify the root causes of problems and achieve clarity by using the Thinking Roles and asking 6 powerful critical thinking questions

Analyse the context of a problem and consider the facts to accurately understand the underlying issues / root causes of a problem. Develop anticipatory thinking so future or knock-on problems can be identified and catered to well ahead of time

Generate and gather higher quality ideas and solutions using the Thinking Roles and brainstorming techniques. Participants will learn to achieve “Out of the Box” thinking

Using the Thinking Roles and a Solution Selection Matrix, to evaluate how effective each proposed solution is in addressing the problem

Plan ahead, anticipate and address / mitigate the potential shortfalls / risks of their proposed solutions, and how the business may be affected in the long run

Remain calm and focused when it is time to make decisions and to communicate their recommendations effectively

Influence or convince other people far more effectively, knowing that we make conclusions based on our individual premises (facts, observations, experience, assumptions)

Bonus: Change management – understand why are people so scared of change, and how to empathetically help them adapt to change

Learning Outline

Module 1: What is Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving and How Do They Help?

The dangers organizations face if its employees lack critical thinking and problem-solving skills
Understand the traits and thought processes of critical thinkers and problem-solvers. Understand how assumptions, emotions and past experiences can negatively impact our decision-making process
Understanding the shortfalls in the current decision-making processes of your organization

Module 2: A Systematic Approach to Problem-Solving and Introducing the 6 Thinking Roles

How a great problem-solving process actually looks like, and why most professionals are doing it absolutely wrong!
A mandatory introduction to the Thinking Roles, and how the Blue Role (Problem Solving Processes), White Role (Facts and Figures), Red Role (Emotions), Yellow Role (Optimism and Opportunities), Black Role (Risks and Consequences) and Green Role (Creativity and Brainstorming) fit into each stage of the problem-solving process

Module 3: Uncovering Root Causes of Problems and Achieving Clarity

The first step in the decision-making process - achieving clarity and getting to the root cause of problems. Participants will be trained to cycle through the Thinking Roles and ask 6 very powerful critical thinking questions so they fix the correct problems!
Analyze the context of a problem and the facts to accurately understand the problems, as well as prioritizing those problems by need and urgency. Understand how critical thinkers gather and analyze evidence
Listing down the underlying issues / root causes of a problem before brainstorming solutions (the cure must fit the diagnosis)
Fostering anticipatory thinking so future or knock-on problems can be identified and catered to well ahead of time
Using powerful Fishbone Diagrams, to identify gaps in knowledge and setting out a list of information to gather and analyze
Conduct Role-Playing scenarios so participants can apply the Thinking Roles in the clarity stage and learn effective questioning techniques (asking the correct questions to get to the underlying issues / root problems)

Module 4: Challenging Assumptions and Brainstorming to Gather Better Ideas / Solutions

The next step in problem-solving: Gathering higher quality solutions. Before that, we conduct a crucial discussion to understand how personal experiences, observations, assumptions and beliefs affect how people arrive at conclusions
Using the Thinking Roles, we understand how critical thinkers challenge assumptions and carefully consider varying viewpoints instead of jumping to conclusions
Using the Thinking Roles and brainstorming tools (emptying our bucket), to identify multiple possible solutions and carefully list down all consequences or potential roadblocks
What does “Thinking Out of the Box” actually mean, and how to achieve it!
Conduct Role-Playing scenarios so participants learn are able to apply the Thinking Roles in the brainstorming stage, adapt their perspective and incorporate multiple points of views in their decision-making process

Module 5: Selecting the Best Solution for the Specific Situation and Seeing the Big Picture

Finally, we adopt a methodical approach to evaluate how effective each proposed solution is in addressing the problem, and how the proposed solutions may affect the business in the long run by using:
- the Thinking Roles in idea analysis mode; as well as
- a Solution Selection Matrix
Critical thinkers must be able to plan ahead, anticipate and address / mitigate potential shortfalls / risks of their suggested solutions
Understand the importance of seeing the big-picture, and how the proposed solutions may affect the business in the long run
Prioritize the final recommendations in order to make an informed and optimal decision based on the organization’s goals and vision
Learn to avoid counter-productive approaches to problem-solving
Conduct Role-Playing scenarios so participants learn are able to apply the Thinking Roles and other tools learnt to shortlist the best solutions, taking into consideration the organization’s goals and objectives

Module 6: Using Critical Thinking to Communicate Effectively with Stakeholders

Learn to effectively communicate the shortlisted solutions to stakeholders so that a consensus may be reached
The best ways to influence, or convince other people, knowing that we make conclusions based on our individual premises (facts, observations, experience, assumptions)
Bonus: Change management – understanding why are people so scared of change, and how to empathetically help them adapt to change