Problem Solving & Critical Thinking

– #125 What Choice Architectures Am I Creating?

• Choice architecture is the design of the environment in which people make decisions.
• These architectures are ultimately intended to nudge people in particular directions.
• Think wine glasses in restaurants: What purpose do you think they serve?

– #126 What is the Goal of My Pricing Structure?

• The obvious answer is that the purpose of any pricing structure is to generate revenue.
• And yet is that all?
• Is that even the most important aspect?

– #131 Why Am I Asking This Question?

• Every time you ask a question you are in fact not asking an infinity of questions.
• So, why this one? Why now?
• Where in fact did the question come from?
• What question might I have asked instead?

– #133 Where Am I Not Looking for Ideas?

• We cannot see what we cannot see.
• How then can we open our eyes to fresh sights?
• Part of this may indeed be “seeing” what isn’t there.

– #173 How Might Poetry Help Me See Clearer?

• David Whyte the poet describes poetry as “language against which we have no defences“.
• The right poem at the right time can go deep, cutting through the noise to deliver the messages for which our deeper voices are waiting.
• It also radically simplifies our worlds, creating much needed clarity and pointing us to the steps we don’t want to take.
• Where might you benefit from clarity?

– #188 How Am I Curious?

• Being curious is not a binary experience.
• You can be curious in certain parts of your life and work and not so in others.
• It is therefore helpful to become curious about how we are curious and what limits we place on it.

– #189 What is Possible Now?

• Each day presents new learning opportunities.
• As a result, what may have seemed impossible yesterday may feel more attainable today.
• Adding this question to your daily arsenal acknowledges that you are not the same person today as you were yesterday, and that the current you has a whole array of fresh options.
• So, now that you know what you know, what is possible now?

– #191 Can I See Fresh Questions?

• For me, fun and excitement lie in finding ways to continually deepen conversations and find fresh questions.
• Life feels too short to keep answering the same questions.

– #192 Where Might I Go to Meet Inspiration?

• Meeting inspiration is about cultivating a curious, open and reflective attitude to the world and to oneself.
• It is about recognising that wisdom and inspiration are not merely acquired but uncovered from within. It is about the creating spaces in which inspiration can be heard.
• It is about the long game – one without end!

-#193 What Can I Learn from My Weaknesses?

• There is a natural tendency to put our best foot forward.
• Indeed, how many LinkedIn profiles or CVs showcase the author’s weaknesses?
• And yet, what if instead we embraced them?
• How might we turn them into strengths?

-#205 What Do I Know?

• We live in a culture that prizes knowledge.
• A culture that favours answers over questions.
• For example, when was the last time you met someone who was hired for what they question rather than for what they know?
• And yet, in this sea of information, what do we truly know?
• Isn’t it time we value the questions more than the answers?

– #210 How Can I increase the Psychological Value of Everything I Do?

• For humans, perception and meaning equals value (p + m = v).
• Value is therefore not intrinsic but rather continually created and re-created by each one of us.
• And yet, many feel as if this is cheating, as if the product or service must somehow be bought for wholly rational reasons.

– #226 What Role Does Social Proof Play in My Decisions?

• To what extent do you rely on others when making decisions?
• There are times when it makes sense to make quick and dirty decisions – when the cost of being wrong is low.
• Heuristics in the form of social proof (reviews, testimonials, reputation, ratings….) provide a sense of reassurance.
• They lighten the decision-making burden and almost allow us to crowd-source the decision.

– #235 How Does This Qualify as a Problem?

• What exactly is a problem?
• It feels like some form of challenge or impasse we have decided we need to overcome.
• Whilst there may be a literal problem (my car won’t start) how we frame it conceptionally (my car needs to be fixed, I need another means of transport, this really isn’t my problem, I have other priorities) will condition our next steps.

– #258 What If We Solved the Meta Problem?

• What class of problems does your problem sit within?
• Figure that out and solve the bigger problem instead.
• This way you may solve countless problems in one go.
• Fail to solve it and, whilst you may have mitigated some symptoms, how will you have changed the source problem?
• Think of a leaky dam. Rather than plugging each leak one by one, ask yourself why the dam is failing in the first place and address that.

– #287 What Is the Biggest Challenge My Clients Have?

• Many professionals and businesses build “solutions” and then search for people with problems.
• What if, instead, we truly listened to what challenges clients are facing?
• And then listen for and address the biggest challenges their clients are facing?
• This is serving first, selling later because by taking this approach you will serve the client regardless of whether you sell anything.