Think Well & Prosper

How we think determines if we succeed in life, even how happy we are. Yet, how many of us have studied how to think better? Think Well & Prosper is good for managers, for people wanting to perform better at work or school, and for parents to teach their kids…remarkably, they don’t learn this until graduate school! Many people equate thinking with intelligence; they are not the same. Some intelligent people don’t think well, and some people with average IQs think very effectively. It’s better to have an average brain with Porsche thinking skills than a Ferrari brain with AMC Gremlin thinking skills. This book breaks the thinking process down into understandable sequences, steps anyone can follow. Incredibly, most people just don’t know what the parts and steps are because thinking isn’t taught in our school systems—but it should be! If you understand what just these six words really mean, how to do them, and do them habitually, your thinking effectiveness will soar: interpret, analyse, reason, infer, logic, synthesize. There are more word prompts involved in superior thinking systems, and all, once understood, will make a dramatic difference in your life. Chapters cover memory and how it works, level 6 questions (most people don’t even know there are levels), strategic life planning, problem solving, a decision making model, how to make better judgments using 14-steps (hugely important); 8C Thinking that is comprehensive, conscientious, candid, creative, constructive, critical, connective and correct, organizational patterns that help make you better understood, how to be more persuasive, how to make better inferences, and more. Think Well & Prosper is written by Steve Bareham, a college instructor who has taught critical thinking to management students for more than 12 years using this unique approach. If you find yourself regretting decisions that you make in life, or have trouble planning solid courses of action to achieve goals you set, this book can help.

Few people devote time to think about, or to improve, their thinking processes, preferring, instead, to focus on outcomes—decisions, plans, conclusions, and judgments—that so preoccupy the North American psyche. This fixation on the latter stages of thinking is backwards and responsible, in large part, for results that are not always optimal. Think Well & Prosper provides insights into the structure of thinking. It breaks down—analyses—the thinking process into understandable steps and sequences that each of us can easily follow if we so choose. And the steps and sequences aren’t particularly complicated. The trouble with thinking better is simply that most people don’t really know what is involved to do it more effectively. Many people think thinking just happens organically and that we can do it better by bearing down or by thinking harder (whatever that means). A very important point, right from the start: thinking is not the same as intelligence. Thinking well is a skill that can be learned, practiced, and improved. It’s comparable to getting your body in shape. No one doubts that physical conditioning requires time to learn routines; it’s the same with thinking, except they are mental routines. But, if you don’t know what you don’t know, you can’t really do them. Many of us learn the thinking processes and routines as we progress through life, or if we pursue higher education where educators nudge us to develop higher order thinking skills. But, why wait until later, if obtaining these skills sooner will help now? Readers can quickly learn how: • the thought process works when it’s well managed (and when it’s not) • improved understanding of our thinking sequence/process brings about much improved outcomes that benefit us in all walks of life • to systematically audit your thinking to ensure that none of the components of higher order thinking are overlooked and that exploration of the parts is comprehensive and done conscientiously to produce detailed analysis, coherent synthesis, defensible reasoning, logical inference, creativity, sound judgment, constructiveness, and connectiveness • to employ personal candor about psychological landmines that often derail us • to ask better questions; our brains are questioning machines, but we often ask questions subconsciously and without critical analysis of their depth or quality. You’ll learn that there are six levels to question sophistication so you can ask better questions routinely. Einstein said questioning skills were the secret to his success. • memory works and how to make yours better • to make better plans, decisions, and judgments (and do these better AFTER employing the thinking “parts” in the right sequence • to create a strategic life plan using a process similar to that employed by successful corporations (works for life, too!) • to be more persuasive by expanding your persuasion arsenal with 21 specific tactics and strategies (this is hugely beneficial) • organizational patterns can improve your communication power Thinking is the most important thing we do in life. Our thinking determines our levels of competency in the work world and, to a great degree, the way we think determines if we succeed or fail in life, or if we are happy and fulfilled, or frustrated and overwhelmed. Many people equate thinking with breathing; they do it, but assume it’s a natural process and not something that can be orchestrated or deliberately structured. Rather than questioning the adequacy of specific thinking skills and approaches in challenging situations, many people believe that they face difficulty simply because they lack information. It is very often true that more information is needed, but making better use of information is just as important.

Steve Bareham worked in management capacities in journalism, public relations, and marketing for 25 years before joining the teaching staff at Selkirk College, Nelson, B.C. In the late '80s, he was asked to develop a critical thinking course for Selkirk College, and this began his research in the area. In the early '90s, he published a book titled The Business of Thinking that was used for some years as a course text. At the time of writing, he is the administrator of the Golf Club Operations Online Certificate Program (GCOOL) and teaches human resources, business communication, critical thinking, and marketing to resort/hotel, ski, and golf management students enrolled in Selkirk's School of Hospitality and Tourism. Steve has published 12 books to date, including The Last Resort, Harper Collins, Don't Get Caught in Risky Business, McGraw-Hill Ryerson, Meta-Marketing, EduServ, and the recent HR in a Nutshell and PROGENETER I & II, Summa Publishing