Lawrence Walter Ng

Thinking styles

The human mind can be very powerful when you make full use of it. Some of you may wish that you could think as fast as lightning, and be always full of ideas and creativity. But how can you do this? The Nine Lightning Speed Executive Thinking Styles is the answer. It is a whole-brain integration thinking system which makes full use of your left and right brain. It will make your ideas systematic, helping you become a Super Executive.

If your sales and marketing team, finance or administration department, product designer or production line practise the Lightning Speed Thinking Styles, their minds will be like the ocean, flowing with thoughts, wonderful ideas, creative marketing plans, strategies and a variety of solutions. This will grow your business and your personal success at a faster speed. Here, we introduce four types of thinking styles.

1 Forward Thinking

Forward thinking is about anticipating something before it happens and looking into the future. It involves planning for success and contingencies to ensure continuous accomplishments and evaluating the past and present so as to see the future. When you are exercising your mind with forward thinking during a meeting, you will be able to flow with the ideas of the person who is speaking, rather than daydreaming.

When you want to think of some creative ways to advertise a new product, you can look back into the past, analysing how your company had advertised and discussed the pros and cons and the making of the advertisement. Then only can you come out with a few possible scenarios of how it can happen. Always think ahead and plan for unexpected situations. When you are able to think one step ahead of what average people are doing, then you are in the extraordinary level because you are doing more and faster than the others.

2 Reflective Thinking

Review, rethink, reassess, refocus and reflect – all these actions are reflective thinking. It helps to take a second look and you will think of options to improve your work.

Do reflective thinking right after a meeting. Quickly summarise a few important points in your mind or in your diary. What are the issues pointed out? What are the next targets? What results does your boss hope to see before the next meeting? Reflective thinking is a great form of output understanding. With reflective thinking you can evaluate your daily and weekly performance – find out what works and what needs improvement.

After meeting your client for a presentation or a discussion, ask yourself a few questions; for example, what did you leave out during your presentation, or what else could you have added to be more persuasive. Then write them down. In order to create a process of continuous learning, keep doing reflective thinking, whether you produce the right or wrong results. You will constantly grow and build yourself, your potential and your future.

3 Creative Passion Thinking

Creativity is the ability to imagine or invent something new. It helps you generate new ideas by combining, changing or reapplying existing ideas. When you have a passion for creativity, you will think of new ideas. You may think, “I am a technical and logical person rather than a creative thinker ?” You might not be aware that there are certain negative systems in you that block you.

Recognise and unblock your negative system

In fact, your attitude towards creative thinking influences your abilities. When you tell yourself that it is impossible for you to think of a creative idea, then you are probably not able to do it.

Sometimes, when you have a creative idea, you dare not present it at a meeting because you are afraid people might laugh. The social pressure to conform and to be ordinary is so strong that you would rather choose not to be creative.

Mental blocks can also obstruct your thoughts and limit you to think small. At this point you may apply the other thinking styles such as: forward thinking, reflective thinking, visual thinking and so on to help you look for more information and develop creative thinking.

Build your passion for creativity

A creative thinker wants to understand the reason behind certain decisions, situations, solutions, events, facts, etc. Explore new knowledge because knowledge is necessary for creativity to flourish. Always challenge yourself with creative ideas and break the traditional mindset and come out with a new idea. Creative thinkers usually practise the ability to see the need for improvement. They like to question themselves, “How can I make it better?” That is how science and technology develop and revolve according to society’s need.

4 Solution Thinking

Your car is blocked by another car in the car park, and you are in a hurry to keep an important appointment. How will you react? If you get into your car and keep pressing your motor-horn, do something to the person’s car or keep grumbling without taking any action, then you are problem-focusing. When you walk around looking for the car owner, call your colleague to drive you to the appointment or take a cab, you are a solution thinker.

People with solution thinking always focus on ways to solve the problem. They usually ask themselves “how it can be done ?” and not tell themselves “why it cannot be done.” A problem is an opportunity for a positive act and improvement. When you fear problems, your reaction to a challenging situation is often the major problem rather than the challenge itself.

In the business world, many situations such as customers’ complaints, mechanism breakdown or insufficient resources can occur. It just depends on how you handle the situation. If you are willing to take it as a challenge, congratulations! You are on the right track to solution thinking. Develop this solution thinking attitude and it will lead you to success.

Article contributed by Dr Lawrence Walter Ng, chief master trainer and author of Passion for Extraordinary Performance. Lawrence Walter Seminars is at T092-093, 3rd Floor, Sungei Wang Plaza, Jln Bukit Bintang, 55100 KL.

For details, e-mail lwdirect@lwseminars.com or call 03 - 2141 6648 or 2144 4091.