3 Simple Habits to Improve Your Critical Thinking
Part (a) Summary
According to the article ‘3 Simple Habits to Improve Your Critical Thinking,’ by Helen Lee Bouygues, one of the main reasons why organizations get themselves into trouble is because they have, to a great extent, been mismanaged. At other times, these organizations have failed to stay in front of evolving technologies, or those individuals that make up the senior team were simply negligent. As the author argues, all these different organizational problems tend to always have what is described as a shared root cause, and that is a lack of critical thinking. It is worth noting that too many business leaders are simply not posing to examine a topic from all sides, and they also do not reason through pressing issues. As stated here, it is not a good idea for leaders to often jump to the first conclusion, regardless of the evidence (Bouygues, 2020). There are those leaders that make a mistake by choosing the evidence that, in one way or another, support their prior beliefs. It is proper to remember that a lack of metacognition happens to be yet another main driver that ends up making individuals overconfident. However, as illustrated in the article, there is hope as critical thinking is, to a great extent, a learned skill. The author has indicated three simple steps that one can consider when it comes to enhancing their critical thinking skills, and they include question assumptions, reason through logic as well as diversify thought.
One of the significant things considered when working to turn around a business revolves around questioning the organization’s assumptions. For instance, it is essential to realize that there are dozens of retail stores that highly presume that their consumers have more disposable income. Such erroneous beliefs tend to make these businesses overprice their commodities hence failing to make millions more every year if they had considered selling their products at a lower price. However, when it comes to questioning assumptions, it becomes imperative to realize that the first step is figuring out when to question assumptions, and part of this includes considering alternatives. One question that one might ask here is, what if our suppliers went out of business? The kind of question considered should enable one to gain new as well as significant perspectives that aid hone our thinking.
It is also a great thing to reason through logic if one is to turn around an organization. When it comes to this approach, it is always proper to ensure that business decision-makers do not base their actions on limited or insufficient evidence. It is to say that enhancing the way of reasoning can highly help an organization to improve its bottom line dramatically. The formal practice of logic, which dates back to Aristotle, has illustrated its merit by reaching what can best be identified as sound conclusions. As the author states in the article, it is always essential to pay close attention to the ‘chain’ of logic at an organization that is, to a great extent, constructed by a specific or, in other terms, a particular argument (Bouygues, 2020). This requires one to consider whether the argument is in any way supported at every point by evidence. It is also significant to be aware of common fallacies as these make it possible for business leaders to think more logically.
The other thing, as illustrated in the article that is worth noting, is seeking out diversity of thought as well as collaboration. Simply put, business leaders must get out of their personal bubble. It is to say that it is a great idea to interact with other people from different backgrounds and allowing them to give their opinions independently, and this is without the influence of the group. Collaborating with these individuals tend to result in better insights and conclusions.
Part (b)
I firmly concur with the article, especially based on how the author has presented ways to enhance our critical thinking. Part of emerging as good critical thinkers requires one to ask basic questions. It is worth noting that in order for one to improve their questioning when problem-solving, it becomes proper for them to ensure that they break questions down, and as Bouygues argues, part of this includes being sensitive to when to question assumptions (Bouygues, 2020). It is also imperative to discover that logic happens to be the science of how to examine arguments as well as reasoning. It implies that critical thinking is a method of examination that, to a great extent, utilizes logic as the means to separate truth from falsehood and also reasonable from unreasonable beliefs (Salmon, 2012). It is proper to remember that valid logic equals truth as well as a sound argument. As such, reasoning through logic plays a tremendous role when it comes to making sound conclusions. As studies illustrate, critical thinking happens to be part of a lifelong learning process, and when it comes to this, collaboration highly fosters its development, especially through discussion, classification of ideas as well as evaluation of ideas raised by others. Improving this process requires to consider having people from different background.
Part (c)
Groupthink refers to a phenomenon that takes place when a group of people reaches a consensus without critical reasoning or examination of the consequences or even alternatives. As far as this is concerned, it becomes significant to remember that groupthink is established on a common desire not to fail or, in other terms, upset the balance of a group of individuals (Janis, 2008). Such a desire generates a dynamic within a group whereby creativity, as well as individuality, tends to be stifled as the means to prevent conflict. When it comes to the business world, groupthink can cause workers as well as supervisors to overlook potential challenges, and this is in the pursuit of what is identified as consensus thinking. According to the article, one excellent way of preventing people from engaging in groupthink is by asking team members to give their opinions (Bouygues, 2020). This means that one has to withhold their own preferences as much as possible and seek opinions from others.
Part (d)
I do agree that creative thinking is the opposite of critical thinking, and this is based on various reasons. It is worth noting that creative thinking follows no set of rules. Numerous ideas tend not to be realistic and might, to a great extent, be a little farfetched, but this is the essence of creative thinking. As such, it taps into that part of the brain. Additionally, there are no steps as it is open as well as unbridled. On the other hand, critical happens to be vastly different. For instance, critical thinking is carried out in a set process. By definition, it becomes of great significance to logically assess the quality of one’s thinking, including the thinking of others as the means to consistently get to a greater understanding and realize intelligent judgments (Baker, Rudd, & Pomeroy, 2001). In addition, it is proper to note that creative thinking does not need someone to establish the reliability or significance of the information. An individual who is in creative thinking about the challenge of global hunger may think of a garden with never-ending food. However, when it comes to critical thinking about the same challenge, one would assess and consider the consider. Additionally, one would highly consider the ability to implement the solution as well as cost-benefit analysis.