Often, when making difficult decisions, we choose what is familiar and reject novelty. We favor the status quo because it is "within our comfort zone." This is a natural human tendency. However, new research reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences demonstrates that effective … [Read more...]
Open Your Feedback Loop
03/15/2010 By
Avoid defensiveness in receiving feedback. Defensiveness almost inevitably works against high quality problem solving. First, it blinds you to the problems in your problem solving. Second, it discourages others from offering feedback. Robert Sternberg, The Triarchic Mind: A New Theory of Human … [Read more...]
Solution Webs
03/05/2010 By
Good problem solving requires the exhaustive exploration of all available options. Most of us are not good problem solvers, however. We get lazy, quit too early and select the first solution that adequately meets our criteria. Psychologists call this error in thinking "premature closure." But, as … [Read more...]
Assumption Busting
03/01/2010 By
An idea that was useful at one time may no longer be useful today and yet the current idea has developed directly from that old and outmoded idea. It is historical continuity that maintains most assumptions -- not repeated assessment of their validity. --Edward DeBono, Lateral Thinking ____ W. E. … [Read more...]