Thinking is invisible and none of the actions we undertake can ever take place without it, yet we don’t pay thinking the serious attention it requires. The quality of our performance is determined by the quality of our thinking.

Think Quick can help your organisation improve the quality of its thinking, and in doing so the quality of its performance.

We can help build your organisation’s ability to adapt and perform at their best in a world that is complex and shifting. Accelerating change is now the norm and the familiar ways of doing things are not always sufficient to address our current issues.

We require new thinking methods to develop improved service offerings, generate savings, increase revenue and ensure ongoing viability.

No business is easy these days. Increasing demand and shrinking budgets mean we must do more with less. If we are to continue to survive and thrive, our thinking must adapt to keep pace with the world around us. In addition to keeping pace we face the additional challenge of doing so in a sustainable manner.

At Think Quick we liken ourselves to river-navigators that help guide your people’s thinking “back upstream to the river’s source” where they can generate their own, improved downstream outcomes. This is done with a unique blend of methods to utilise and build upon the current knowledge and expertise of your people.

We focus on the practical application of the new and different thinking to current issues and on generating a return on investment to the client. Think Quick has three primary foci:

We will also assist in the design and implementation of projects where new perspectives, new insights and new ideas are required. These include Evaluations, Knowledge & Change Management, Strategy, Planning, and initiatives to positively impact Workplace Culture.

Permalink|Comments(0) | ->

It has always been frustrating how these two words have been ill-defined and interchanged in the workplace. The confusion over their definitions has added to the cynicism with which they are greeted and acts as an impediment to their beneficial application.

While differing contexts and needs determine variations in definition, complicated definitions are ultimately unhelpful and only serve to confuse people. Simple definitions with clarity and are most likely to elicit action.

Accordingly, I’d like to distill multiple definitions into simple, broad terms and add a few simple rules of thumb.

“Creativity is somehow bringing something new into being.”

“Innovation is applying that creative something to add value.”

It is only through application and value adding can creative output become an innovation.

Not all creative output will add value, so creativity is not a guarantee of innovation. Organisations needs “idea-creativity” because the development of new ideas and concepts that are developed for “a purpose” have objective value.

Depending on our industry it is important to differentiate between “artistic” creativity and the harder-edged “idea” creativity. I can do some wonderful finger-painting and sit around a team-building campfire singing kumbaya, but is it going to add any form of business value? Artistic creativity may have a subjective place in organisations but when seeking to add value to service delivery and the bottom-line, a far greater focus and objectivity is required.

To spend time arguing about definitions beyond this is often little more than a mental form of punishing that proverbial primate. Argument about strict definitions is counterproductive for two reasons:

1) It wastes time and stops people from moving to action in the form of the experimenting, proto-typing and probing required to uncover new value, and 2) the very nature of creation indicates whatever is produced is new, so how therefore can it be appropriately categorised with any foresight?

Many people argue endlessly about the definitions of creativity and innovation and when this happens more mental energy goes into this, than into the generation of value adding ideas. Debate on the exact definition is unhelpful and acts as a fallback position that simply provides an excuse for a lack of action.

Organisations should take the hint, “Create” and “Innovate” are both verbs and if you’re still talking about them, you’re not doing them.

Permalink|Comments(0) | ->

The Direct Attention Thinking Tools (DATT) make up a suite of tools for directing attention and helping to develop a broader and more inclusive view of a given topic. If we wait for things to come to our attention will will miss things and notice others too late. If however, we deliberately direct our attention we will see much more. Our perception will be improved.

DATT provides a scaffold for our thinking and perception.

Each of the tools carry out a defined function, and collectively provide a strategic framework for a wide range of thinking including, consequential, problem solving, assessment, evaluation, exploration, analysis, prioritising and pathways to action.

The tools provide 10 simple pathways for making thinking more strategic, more comprehensive and to assist in forming a framework for defining problems and situations, thereby improving capacity to move forward with considered and effective action.

The DATT tools can be learned, practiced and applied in a deliberate fashion in much the same way as a carpenter selects certain tools to undertake a specific function.

Drive your thinking in the right direction. In this 2 x half day training session you will learn 10 thinking tools that will help you to be a sharper, more direct thinker. The tools will enable you to solve problems with greater ease and make the best possible decisions, quicker.

For more information on the DATT training contact Frank on 0400 109727 or at think.quick@me.com

Permalink|Comments(0) | ->

Thinking is the ultimate human resource but how much effort do we put into developing it, nurturing it and using it to its fullest potential?

People, communities and organisations are seeking improvement and quality in most areas except in the most important of areas – the quality of our thinking. If we can improve the quality of our thinking, the actions that follow that thinking will also improve.

It is often assumed that intelligence goes hand in hand with thinking. Often however, intelligent people are in danger of becoming poor thinkers. This is what is known as the intelligence trap. That is, they use their intelligence to entrench themselves in support of one point of view. Even though you have a great sports car you may be a poor driver. Similarly those with excellent minds may use them inadequately.

The Six Thinking Hats is a thinking technique used to look at things from a number of different perspectives. It forces us to move outside our habitual thinking style and develop a more rounded view of a given situation. The Hats promote fuller input from more people and significantly reduce argument from those with divergent points of view. With this adversarial approach removed the amount of time taken to conduct a meeting can be significantly reduced. People can contribute under any Hat even though they initially support the opposite view. The Six Hats encourage co-operation, exploration and innovation by getting everyone thinking in parallel.

The methods can be effectively applied individually to improve one’s own thinking and in any community or organisational setting in which getting the most out of the collective intelligence of your people is paramount.

“Think Quick” can train your people in these thinking methods to significantly enhance your capacity to:

• Make better decisions and improve problem solving
• Improve team productivity & Communication
• Share and collaborate more freely
• Generate new and creative ideas
• Run focused, outcome oriented and shorter meetings, and
• Empower your people with a thinking toolset that adds value not only in the workplace, but in private life.

Alternatively, if you have that important meeting coming up where you simply must capitalise on the knowledge of your participants, Think Quick can facilitate such a session whether it be with 5 or 500 people.

For more information contact Frank on 0400 109727 or at think.quick@me.com

Permalink|Comments(0) | ->