How to think Creatively

Creative thinking techniques and tools for success

Tune in if you want creative thinking techniques and tools for success.

If you want to boost your creative thinking to help you solve problems and achieve smart goals, then we probably have the simplest and most effective creative thinking tool!

Creative thinking is an essential skill, whether you are working on a project, pursuing a personal smart goal, or solving a problem. It is about thinking differently and getting outside the box.

The secret to this comes with three key components

Context, a focus or a problem statement. Of course, it could be all three.
Purpose – reason to want to do something about it.
Imagination comes from asking the right questions, and for this, you need context and purpose.

O ideas is one of our most powerful mental models, tools, or techniques, depending on how you want to describe it.

O ideas provide a cognitive shortcut. We’ve taken some of the most commonly asked questions when problem-solving, goal-setting or tackling a project.

The principles are consistent. So to save time and make people more effective and productive, we created o ideas to help.

Creativity is about asking the right questions and freeing your mind to allow it to find solutions, but creative thinking is not about judgment, qualifying and committing. Not yet, at least.

First, open your mind, explore the superhighway of your imagination, and wander through the after of the possible.

We have many critical thinking tools (check the link) to use after, but only after you’ve wandered into the creative sphere ( yes, I made that up), but it is a real place we all have tucked away in our brains.

Downloadable Templates

Posted On January 6, 2022 By Ricky Muddimer In Creative Thinking, Engagement, High Performing Teams, Leadership, Management, Metacognition, Mindset, Motivation, Productivity, Video /

What to do When SMART Goals Don’t Work

Try the Benchmark Method

New Year’s resolutions will be on the minds of lots of people; if that’s the case, if you’re serious, you need to get goal setting.

A lot of the time, New Year’s resolutions focus on feelings and confidence, and SMART goals don’t work for something subjective, not until now, that is. SMART goals are great for goal setting, when you know how to set goals using SMART they’re awesome, but what do you do when the subject of your goal is a feeling, a perception or a judgement, something subjective, well we have the perfect solution with benchmark goal setting.

You can take something that is hard to measure and turn it into something that will work with a SMART goal. SMART goals are essential to the Thinking Focus Toolkit for Team Leaders and Managers.

Thinking Focus Toolkit

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Posted On December 30, 2021 By Ricky Muddimer In Coaching, Goals, High Performing Teams, Leadership, Management, Metacognition, Mindset, Motivation, Performance Management, Productivity, Video /

SMART goals; are you doing them right?

Need to define Smart goals? – before you do, are you doing them right? if you want to achieve what you want that is!

Smart goal-setting works, which is probably why no one has managed to reinvent them. Smart goals are the staple diet for team leaders, managers and leaders. Without smart goals, you have no idea what you’re working on, what your people are working on, or what your organisation is working on. Your future is at risk and left to chance.

In this video, Graham walks you through the smart goals process and gives a practical example. We also shared why we think most are getting it wrong, at least the order that is.

Thinking Focus Toolkit

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Posted On December 28, 2021 By Ricky Muddimer In Confidence, Engagement, Goals, High Performing Teams, Leadership, Management, Metacognition, Mindset, Motivation, Performance Management, Productivity, Video /

How do leaders create a productive workforce?

This is the last of our podcasts around our leadership model. This time we explore the leader’s role in process.

Leadership creates stability and change, and this dichotomy shines through when it comes to process. How do leaders deal with the dual roles of creating efficient and consistent approaches, while at the same time continually improving to make them better, or occasionally transforming them to create competitive advantage?

Doing both of these is something many leaders find difficult; Rob and Paul consider why this is and what you can do about it.

This podcast is part of a series about the role of leaders, exploring the nuts and bolts of what leaders need to do. It is based on a model (we created) to help aspiring leaders work out what it means to be a leader.

You can find the model, and details of all the areas at www.thinkingfocus.com/what-is-leadership

Posted On December 20, 2021 By Paul Hutchinson In Leadership, Podcasts, Productivity, The question is /

How to Define More Robust Goals

SMART – What each letter really means!

The SMART goals technique is arguably the most well-known of all goal-setting techniques. How to set goals is really important if you want to be more productive, have success, and ultimately achieve your goals.

The acronym S.M.A.R.T. is well used across the world. But knowing what it stands for is only the start, you need to understand the individual components to make it work for you and improve your productivity and effectiveness.

Anyone can set a goal, but if it ain’t specific, you’re saying you don’t care what you achieve or if you achieve it. Denzel Washington said, “Dreams without goals are just dreams”.

So if it’s important to you and you want it, get specific and go for it. In this video, we explore the types of measures and how to make them work for you. SMART goals are essential to the Thinking Focus Toolkit for Team Leaders and Managers. Watch this video to find out.

Thinking Focus Toolkit

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Posted On December 2, 2021 By Ricky Muddimer In Coaching, Goals, High Performing Teams, Leadership, Management, Metacognition, Mindset, Video /

How to think different and get unstuck!

We are all subject to the insanity loop from time to time, that feeling when we seem to keep doing the same thing yet expecting a different result.

We get stuck! To get unstuck, we need to change our thinking; in this video, we explore why you get stuck and offer three easy ways to free yourself from Einstein’s insanity loop. Thinking skills are essential to the Thinking Focus Toolkit for Team Leaders and Managers.

Thinking Focus Toolkit

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Posted On November 18, 2021 By Ricky Muddimer In Confidence, High Performing Teams, Leadership, Management, Metacognition, Mindset, Productivity, Video /

How to make your self talk work for you!

Learn how to make your self-talk work for you. In this video, I share with you how to change how you think so that you can achieve your goals more easily.

By Self-talk, we mean those inner voices that determine your mood, confidence, emotions and appetite to want to do something – or not. We are often our own harshest critic, yet rarely are we our own best friend.

Ethan Kross talks deeply about how your inner dialogue affects your performance in his book, Chatter. At Thinking Focus, we help people get out of their own way by providing practical tools they can use for themselves; after all, thinking is one of the crucial tools you have in your arsenal for success. Thinking skills are essential to the Thinking Focus Toolkit for Team Leaders and Managers.

So whether you’re focused on personal goals, like losing weight, making more money, or achieving your work goals, this video is a great way to start changing your self-talk and achieving your goals!

Thinking Focus Toolkit

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Posted On November 11, 2021 By Ricky Muddimer In High Performing Teams, Metacognition, Mindset, Video /

How do leaders create engagement?

Another podcast exploring the role of a leader.

This time we dive into engagement. How do leaders create engage followers?

To us, engagement is more than just making sure people like working here. It is the way that leaders connect people to purpose, the team and the plan. This is an ongoing role, constantly needing updating and resetting as the team gets buffeted by day-to-day challenges.

You can find the model, and details of all the areas at www.thinkingfocus.com/what-is-leadership

Posted On November 8, 2021 By Paul Hutchinson In Leadership, Podcasts, Productivity, The question is /

Why do leaders build psychological safety for their people to perform?

This is another podcast in our series about the actual things that leaders do.

This time Richard, Rob and Ricky talk feelings! In particular, they discuss the leader’s role in managing feelings; dealing with conflict, smoothing over loss when difficult decisions need to be made and most importantly creating a psychologically safe environment where people can flourish.

Leaders who ignore the people elements of the role risk damaging their own productivity and put their underlying purpose at risk.

You can find the model, and details of all the areas at www.thinkingfocus.com/what-is-leadership

Posted On October 25, 2021 By Paul Hutchinson In Culture, Leadership, Podcasts, Productivity, The question is /

How do I re-engage my people?

This time on the podcast, we ask a very relevant question for the last quarter of 2021, as we work through this strange lull in the pandemic, trying to act like it is over yet without being really sure that it is.

This leads to a feeling that we should be getting back to normal, yet for many going back to what they were doing still feels a way off. As leaders, how do we engage people who have lost their sense of purpose, or are having to do something slightly different as their organisation adjusts and repositions?

However, this is not just an issue that is pandemic related. Any time an organisation experiences significant change, a high proportion of people will find their purpose, their reason for being there, impacted. It may be put on hold, or changed completely, and it is the leaders who need to engage them back into the business, helping them find new meaning and motivation so that they can continue to perform.

Posted On September 27, 2021 By Paul Hutchinson In Change, Culture, Leadership, Podcasts, Productivity, The question is /