Now You're Thinking!: Change Your Thinking...Revolutionize Your Career...Transform Your Life Read online

  Praise for Now You’re Thinking!

  “Your mind is your most powerful tool. This book can help you chart a course for sharpening your critical thinking skills so you can make better decisions in all areas of life.”

  —Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive and A Whole New Mind

  “Critical thinking is the #1 skill required to build the workforce of tomorrow. Now You’re Thinking! is a valuable and very useful book that provides the tools and techniques required to make better decisions. With a heart-lifting and inspiring true story, this book guides you through the process of becoming an extraordinary thinker. This one delivers!”

  —Ed Reilly, President and CEO, American Management Association, International

  “While writing The Speed of Trust it became clear to us that people would not trust others to lead them if they did not trust their thinking. If you read and apply the principles in this book, people will come to see you as a leader.”

  —Stephen M. R. Covey, author of The New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller, The Speed of Trust

  “A big part of being a leader is making decisions—but how often do we stop and think about our own decision-making processes? Using the unique backdrop of a real-life military, medical, and civilian team that effectively combined their intellect and courage to save a young Iraqi child’s life, the authors illustrate a five-step model we can all use to more effectively process our own thoughts toward successful decisions. This book is a must-read.”

  —Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager® and Full Steam Ahead!

  “If you are striving to be better, faster, and different in life, to have more fulfillment and success, you need this book. A great primer to increase and enhance your thinking skills and processes.”

  —Harry Paul, coauthor of FISH! A Proven Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results

  “Now You’re Thinking! will transform your thinking—and change your life!”

  —Marshall Goldsmith, author of The New York Times bestsellers, MOJO and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

  “With today’s shortened attention spans, texting, blogging, and instant gratification, the rational thinking skills in Now You’re Thinking! are more pertinent than ever. In the workplace, quick reactions and assumptions have resulted in industrial accidents. As a Navy veteran and lifelong learner, I believe this book has arrived at a critical time.”

  —Mike Miller, Vice President, Technology Transfer Services, Inc.

  “We are currently going through a major upheaval that is impacting all of our lives. We can choose to be ‘masters of our fate’ or simply get swept along by the tides of change. If the choice is the former, a substantial upgrade of our critical thinking skills will be required.

  “Now You’re Thinking! is a rewarding and understandable read. No matter how successful you may be, this book will sharpen your decision-making skills. For those who may question their abilities, you will find the thinking exercises practical and usable.

  “You will be richer for the reading.”

  —Arne Carlson, Governor of Minnesota (1991–1999)

  “This is a powerful book with a great message. It challenges the prevailing view that thinking skills can’t be developed, and it provides useful and practical guidance on how someone can improve the quality and effectiveness of their thinking.”

  —Stuart S. Crandell, Senior Vice President, Global Solutions, PDI Ninth House

  “Most people come and go in Hollywood. Some stay, become icons, and enjoy lasting success. These are the ones who think differently. This is a book about how to think differently and how you can enjoy lasting success for yourself. It is also a great read.”

  —Rob Guralnick, former Executive Vice President, Production, Warner Brothers

  “With its focus on enhancing critical thinking, Now You’re Thinking! is well timed to help students meet contemporary global challenges. Intensified labor competition requires improved intellectual preparation within a fully informed academic environment, and professors can respond with the tools offered within Now You’re Thinking! Everybody gains from the skills Now You’re Thinking! pinpoints. The more widely utilized this book becomes, the more the benefits will be widely distributed.

  “This is a book where everyone wins.”

  —Marcus Breen, Ph.D., Professor and Head of School, Communication, and Media, Bond University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

  “Now You’re Thinking! uses a compelling, real-life experience to highlight the tools each of us needs to become a better thinker. This book is a must-read for students of all ages!”

  —Bob Hipp, President, Pennridge Community Education Foundation, www.pennridgefoundation.org

  Now You’re Thinking

  Change Your Thinking...

  Revolutionize Your Career...

  Transform Your Life

  Judy Chartrand

  Stewart Emery

  Russ Hall

  Heather Ishikawa

  John Maketa

  Vice President, Publisher: Tim Moore

  Associate Publisher and Director of Marketing: Amy Neidlinger

  Editorial Assistant: Pamela Boland

  Senior Marketing Manager: Julie Phifer

  Assistant Marketing Manager: Megan Graue

  Cover Designer: Alan Clements

  Managing Editor: Kristy Hart

  Project Editor: Betsy Harris

  Copy Editor: Karen Annett

  Proofreader: Sheri Cain

  Senior Indexer: Cheryl Lenser

  Interior Designer: Nonie Ratcliff

  Compositor: Nonie Ratcliff

  Manufacturing Buyer: Dan Uhrig

  © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc.

  Publishing as FT Press

  Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

  FT Press offers excellent discounts on this book when ordered in quantity for bulk purchases or special sales. For more information, please contact U.S. Corporate and Government Sales, 1-800-382-3419, [email protected]. For sales outside the U.S., please contact International Sales at [email protected].

  Company and product names mentioned herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Printing August 2011

  ISBN-10: 0-13-269013-6

  ISBN-13: 978-0-13-269013-3

  Pearson Education LTD.

  Pearson Education Australia PTY, Limited.

  Pearson Education Singapore, Pte. Ltd.

  Pearson Education Asia, Ltd.

  Pearson Education Canada, Ltd.

  Pearson Educación de Mexico, S.A. de C.V.

  Pearson Education—Japan

  Pearson Education Malaysia, Pte. Ltd.

  Library of Congress Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Now you’re thinking : change your thinking— revolutionize your career— transform

  your life / Judy Chartrand ... [et al.].

  p. cm.

  ISBN 978-0-13-269013-3 (hbk. : alk. paper)

  1. Critical thinking. 2. Problem solving. 3. Decision making. I. Chartrand, Judy Marie.

  BF441.N69 2012

  153.4’2—dc22

  2011012752

  Dedicated to the men and women of
the armed forces

  at home and abroad, with thanks for their commitment

  and sacrifices...and their sound and careful thinking

  in trying situations.

  Contents

  Introduction

  Amenah’s Story

  What Is a Miracle?

  Chapter 1 How Your Mind Works—Some Assembly Required

  Dreams

  Feelings

  Thinking

  Summary

  Endnotes and References

  Chapter 2 A New Way of Thinking

  Five Steps to New Thinking

  1. Stop and Think

  2. Recognize Assumptions

  3. Evaluate Information

  4. Draw Conclusions

  5. Develop a Plan of Action

  Summary

  Endnotes

  Chapter 3 Take Stock of Your Style

  Understanding Your Thinking Styles

  Analytical Style

  Inquisitive Style

  Insightful Style

  Open-Minded Style

  Systematic Style

  Timely Style

  Truth-Seeking Style

  Making the Best Use of Thinking Styles

  Summary

  Chapter 4 Change Your Thinking...Revolutionize Your Career...Transform Your Life

  Getting Started

  My Thinking Styles

  Use This Checklist to Improve Your Thinking

  Tips for the Five Steps to Develop Your Thinking Skills NOW

  Stop and Think

  Recognize Assumptions

  Evaluate Information

  Draw Conclusions

  Plan of Action

  Let Yourself Experience Success

  Summary

  Appendix A Characters

  Appendix B Cognitive Biases: Common Mental Mind Traps

  Grabbing Glory and Pushing Blame (Step 2: Recognize Assumptions)

  Asking the Wrong Questions (Step 3: Evaluate Information)

  Curious Conclusions (Step 4: Draw Conclusions)

  Endnote

  Appendix C Resources

  Online Resources and Social Media

  Blogs

  eBook

  Facebook Groups

  Videos

  Articles

  Assessments

  Books for Professional Development

  Resources for Students

  Training

  Index

  Foreword

  It has taken me a long time to understand that creating success in your life, and maximizing your potential, is about knowing who you are. This takes being clear about what your values are and what deeply matters to you. It involves knowing what you are passionate about, what you love to do, and developing your talent, skills, and abilities. It means knowing that you first have to get good before you can become great as you work to develop your talent and build your skills.

  As you put these pieces together, you establish your identity. This matters because your identity is your passport to freedom. However, your identity has to be your identity. There are a lot of folks out there trying to tell you what should matter to you, what you should care about, what you should be when you grow up (no matter what your age!), along with how you should get there and what you should wear for the journey.

  With the expansion of global opportunities and the explosion of technology, we are inundated with so many opportunities to think that we have to be like somebody else without realizing that being ourselves is where our influence and opportunity to grow really lies.

  It is very difficult to be yourself today if you get stuck in a box with a label. You end up doing the same things over and over every day, often for the rest of your life. The missing piece is we may never think about how to take the education we have, the information available to us, and make it relevant to our identity and who we are. Additionally, the educational system teaches us to memorize, take tests, repeat back information and labels us with a grade—and all while we forget most of what we learned. So what is the missing piece in most of our lives? We forget how to think. We forget how to take information and make it relevant to growing and developing our lives in the 24 hours that we have every day—which is the only thing that makes us all equal. Everybody has 24 hours.

  True happiness is about doing things that we love and doing things that we want to be successful at. This starts with building from the inside out, as opposed to having the world define us, when we should be working on defining ourselves. We are often programmed to believe that the labels we are given are ours. We often can’t get past our environment, we can’t get past our circumstances, we can’t get beyond our race or gender or our parental programming. If we buy into all these external forces and addictions, we will never find our core and we will miss building our authentic lives. We may look great on the outside and we all have the moves down, but we will be empty on the inside. And we will never reach our God-given natural potential as human beings.

  All that we’re talking about here takes some work and sacrifice. We have to pay attention to our own experience. We have to learn to integrate our mind, body, spirit, and emotions so we can live in the world authentically and be engaged. We have to work to become comfortable in our own skin. We have to work to consistently define ourselves as opposed to having other people define us. This is the process for innovation and creativity. When we do this, people will describe us as people who know who we are. They will say that we are comfortable in our own skin. They will like themselves more when they are in our presence.

  In our world today, it is important to learn the art of critical thinking. It takes critical thinking to cut through the noise of other people’s opinions swirling around you like the fog of darkness threatening to engulf your soul. Surrounded by pundits and pitchmen purveying mostly ungrounded assertions, you need a disciplined thought style to establish your own authentic identity. Sifting through experiences for the dream of a future uniquely yours is a task for critical thinking and development. When everybody has access to an avalanche of information, becoming a master thinker is very important in your life-long security.

  You can master the art of thinking. This book can be your guide and show you how.

  —Stedman Graham

  Author, Educator, and Entrepreneur

  Acknowledgments

  The authors wish to thank all the participants in the story for sharing their time and memories. We also thank the folks at the FT Press for their support and encouragement: Megan Colvin, Betsy Harris, Timothy C. Moore, and Amy Neidlinger, as well as Karen Chiang, Chad Fife, Ray Blom, John Trent, and Breanne Potter-Harris from the Pearson TalentLens Group.

  About the Authors

  Judy Chartrand is a recognized thought leader in the areas of critical thinking and career development. Chartrand works as a consulting Chief Scientist with Pearson. As a psychologist, Chartrand has helped hundreds of clients increase their personal and career satisfaction. She frequently speaks at national and international conferences and has published more than 50 articles and books. Chartrand lives in Minnesota with her husband and has two grown children.

  Stewart Emery is coauthor of the international bestsellers Success Built to Last and Do You Matter?: How Great Design Will Make People Love Your Company. He has a lifetime of experience as an entrepreneur, creative director, corporate culture consultant, and executive coach. He has led workshops and seminars and delivered keynotes all over the world.

  Russ Hall is author of fourteen books and coauthor of numerous other books. He has also had short stories, essays, and articles published in a wide array of media and has received several awards.

  Heather Ishikawa is the National Sales Director for Pearson TalentLens. Ishikawa has extensive experience in architecting corporatewide, assessment-based leadership development initiatives. Ishikawa has delivered workshops to hundreds of leaders on the topics of critical thinking, leadership, teambuilding, communication, and change management. She lives in California with h
er husband and two children.