Quick snippets from our morning read on Friday, 11th December 2020
In our morning read today, we look at how to improve your critical thinking skills and how that plays into making better business decisions. An article by Nadia Goodman
As an entrepreneur, you make decisions every day that affect the success of your products, the loyalty of your employees, and the overall health of your business. To make the best decisions possible, you need to think critically and quickly to pick out any flaws in your processes that might harm your business.
How to Improve Your Critical Thinking Skills and Make Better Business Decisions
1. Identify your purpose.
Every time you face a decision, there is a purpose attached to that choice, or a goal that the decision will help you achieve. For example, if you are expanding into a new market, your purpose might be to choose the one with the greatest growth opportunity.
Once you identify your purpose, it should inform every step of your decision process.
2. Examine your biases.
When you face a problem, it’s common to view it from only your perspective and to overlook how your clients, customers, or co-workers might see it. Considering the situation from only one point of view, however, can lead to products that flop or unnecessary spending. The goal of critical thinking is to bring those biases to light so they don’t obstruct your decisions.
To do that, articulate your own viewpoint. Ask yourself, what do I believe about this situation? What is important to me? Next, look for any assumptions you might be making about others’ thoughts or behaviors.
3. Consider the implications of your options.
Every choice has consequences, and you can improve your decision-making by anticipating what those might be. To do that, approach the problem from many different viewpoints. Imagine yourself as each of the stakeholders, and consider how they might feel and act in response to each option.
If you do make a choice that backfires by upsetting clients or hurting sales, take a deeper look at which implications you failed to think through, and why.
Read the article here
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