We use models to help us think.
Watch a sports superstar; they have a model of the court or the pitch in their head. At any point in time, they know where they are on the model and where everything else is on the model. They can use this model to imagine and strategize the future.
We can spend years building these mental models of the world, but the best ones are often handed down or learned. It is these models that help us to be more productive and more successful.
Over a combined 40 years of working with organisations, teams and individuals the Thinking Focus team have observed the same mistakes being made time and again. We have seen people repeatedly struggle with a lack of clarity, creativity, structure and planning. We recognised a need for some simple yet effective mental models to help people in everyday situations whether at home or work, from managing and leading people to delivering projects to achieving objectives.
Drawing from the leading experts in the fields of behavioural economics, change, productivity, organisational culture and neuroscience; we have blended our experience with the theories of these thought leaders to develop a range of powerful mental models.
Thinking is underrated and undervalued.
Helping people to understand the importance of thinking is vital to unlock productivity and realise potential in the modern workplace. It is surprisingly easy to go into autopilot and get stuck in a loop of doing the same old things, yet somehow expecting different results.
To help solve this we have developed a model to help people understand a little more about what is happening inside their heads, which in turn helps them understand what is going on in the minds of those around them. This understanding creates opportunities for people to make different choices; becoming better communicators, more productive and overall better leaders.
And then there are the models to help people get things done.
The Results Model helps leaders think clearly about how key factors come together around any strategic aim. The 5C’s help to relate the desired outcome to the organisation capability and capacity, understanding how to engage others and achieve more buy-in. The 5C Model has a variety of applications: a planning tool; a diagnostic tool to identify where things are off track; a review tool to validate progress.
The Actions Model, affectionately known as FoooDo, helps you think about the different areas of getting things done. FoooDo will help you develop an approach for big aspirations, everyday tasks or overcoming the stickiest of problems. The models’ simplicity allows you to break down your approach, working on each area to define what action you need to take.
Irrespective of what you are doing, understanding how people react to change is important in modern leadership. Using a series of models, structured around the psychology of change, we help leaders and managers embrace the change process and take control of the transition that they and their teams need to work through.
Under each area of these models we engage people with a series of tools, giving them the ability to quickly make progress. You don’t have to use our tools exclusively though, with each area offering a range of different ways to achieve an outcome, the Thinking Focus approach supports a range of techniques and methodologies. From lean manufacturing to target account selling, supplementing these with better thinking will lead to unlocking productivity and greater results.