APPLIED CRITICAL THINKING
“Thinking About Thinking”
Overcoming the challenges of analyzing problems and achieving significant results
Gene Brockmeier
APPLIED CRITICAL THINKING
“Thinking About Thinking”
Overcoming the challenges of analyzing problems and achieving significant results
Gene Brockmeier
APPLIED CRITICAL THINKING “Thinking About Thinking” Overcoming the challenges of analyzing problems and achieving significant results Copyright © 2020 by Gene Brockmeier All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written permission of the author. Cover design, book design and layout by Gene Brockmeier Library of Congress Control Number: 2020919130 International Standard Book Number: ISBN: 978-1-7358362-0-1 Printed in the United States of America by Mennonite Press, Newton KS 67114
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DEDICATION
To my dear wife Debbie who has loved me and supported all my business and outdoor adventures. I could not ask for a better companion. To my parents, Berylene and Herb, who sacrificed so much to raise my siblings, Kristy, Phil, Lovica and me and taught us countless lessons. To my children Gina, Lisa, Kara, and Jason. I love you more than words can convey. You are the reason I have little hair and few teeth.
Butler County Community College, 1971
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to sincerely thank the following people. Mr. John McVay. John had a profound influence on my thinking skills by helping to organize, expand and elevate them. My business partner and long-time friend Mr. Terry Johnson. Terry and I have worked together on many successful projects and he is a tremendous source of inspiration. Members of my Boeing Team: Ms. LuAnn Schaaf, Mr. Mike Kuhlmann and Mr. Steve Reichel—a solid team of software engineers and problem solvers. Thank you so much for your determination and expertise. Many thanks to Mr. Paul Noll and Mr. Oliver Wight. Your educational materials are excellent. They relay a down-to-earth thinking that has been invaluable to me. My co-instructor, Mr. Michael Cole. Michael and I traveled the world instructing materials management. The Foundation for Critical Thinking for their information and guidance. My deep appreciation for the editorial efforts of my dear sister, Ms. Lovica Logue, and dear friend Ms. Rhonda Nickel.
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FOREWARD
In the late 1970’s, I had the opportunity to be a part of an incredibly talented management team. Gene Brockmeier was our senior IT analyst that was to develop and implement systems for a complex manufacturing organization. A Fortune 500 corporation had acquired this family owned business that had limited systems in place to help manage the business. The challenge to our new team was to develop and install established corporate wide systems in a short time frame! Our team had expertise in the various manufacturing functions. I was involved in both accounting and material management, so Gene and I had a lot of interaction on systems. We challenged each other and I believe this was the start of our effective “critical thinking” as a team. Soon we realized that we needed more knowledge and in turn our team worked through a professional education certification program. As you will see in Gene’s book, gaining knowledge through education is one of the key elements of establishing effective critical thinking. Another key element is that each one of us had extensive prior “hands on” experience within our own management function. Probably the most important element was that each one of us had a “burning desire to succeed” regardless of how much time it required. We were truly a team that worked hard and played hard! Within three years we had developed and installed various systems and we were acknowledged as being the best vii
plant in our corporate group. This only happened because we had success in developing effective critical thinking and communications skills! During the next 20+ years, Gene and I continued to stay in contact while working for several different companies. We developed additional management skills in various industries, always facing new challenges that required each one of us to further develop our critical thinking skills. For the last 16 years, Gene and I have been business partners in an education, software, and operational consulting business. It has been interesting working with clients and seeing that what they “perceived” as the problem …. was not the “real” problem! Using critical thinking skills and tools that Gene has noted in this book, we have been able to help clients understand the real problem and help them develop effective solutions. I have highlighted how these critical thinking skills impacted our business lives; however, these same tools and skills can be effective with your personal life. In closing, I would highly recommend Gene’s book, as he is one of the most insightful, intelligent people that I have had the pleasure of knowing. Mr. Terry Johnson Executive Vice President Manufacturing Education & Systems, Inc. Upland, CA
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Successful software development must create failproof solutions to address all planned, but more importantly the unplanned situations. Gene relentlessly challenged our software team to consider, and visualize, all situations. His approach was for each of us to think not only as a typical user, but as the non-typical user. This thinking skill ensured our software responded to all potential outcomes. The ability to predict outcomes has greatly assisted all aspects of my career in program management implementing complex technology solutions and new program development. Decisions often must be made quickly with minimal information. Critical and key data must quickly be captured, and this data often determines the success or failure of the decision. Gene coached his teams to quickly identify key data to make decisions. He held �what-if� discussions on various topics. These team dialogues that appeared to be just a discussion would later be needed to resolve production issues. I have taken this thinking technique into all aspects of my work and personal life. As Gene taught me, be prepared for all situations, and take the time to think about how to eliminate problems, and your solutions will be successful. Ms. LuAnn Schaaf IT Sr. Manager Customer Engagement & Global Site Support Spirit AeroSystems
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PREFACE
My purpose in writing this book is to share my thinking skills to help you: •
Expand your thinking skills and develop a habit of self-reflection on the topic of thinking; more specifically, “Thinking about Thinking”
•
Develop critical thinking skills and hone them through frequent use to achieve significant results
•
Develop the ability to rapidly select and use the appropriate thinking skill for a given situation
•
Develop the ability to rapidly visualize a solution to a problem or develop the vision of a new solution and to formulate a solution in your mind
During my 40-year career, I have had the opportunity to work with many highly intelligent people on extraordinarily complex and difficult projects. Because of the success we had, I began reflecting on these projects and the key aspects that enabled them to be successful. I looked for the thinking skills that enabled us to analyze, design and develop successful solutions to many complex problems. During a 10-year period of self-reflection, I looked back at events and thought, “How did we manage to pull that off? What thinking skills did we use? What did we do to acquire and enhance those thinking skills?” During this time, I kept countless notes and files of projects, training xi
materials, books, and discussion notes. As I approached retirement, I decided that I would gather this accumulated information and write this book to share with others. I have become attached to the term “Thinking about Thinking” thanks to the Foundation for Critical Thinking. It truly does describe what I want to convey in this book: to instill in others a desire to acquire additional thinking skills and improve or “hone” the thinking skills that they already possess. I believe that almost everyone possesses thinking skills that they use daily. What I desire is for people to realize that they can think at a higher, more complex level using their existing skills and seek, acquire, and use new skills, via reading, listening, or interacting with others. From my perspective, I tend to believe that people need to be very aware of the company that they keep. Intelligence rubs off on a person.
Summertime in Kansas, 1970 xii
Table of Thinking Topics INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1 APPLIED CRITICAL THINKING OVERVIEW ...................................... 7 Critical Thinking Definition .................................................................... 9 Structured Thinking............................................................................... 10 Higher Level of Thinking ...................................................................... 13 KNOWLEDGE, SKILL & AMBITION “KSA” ...................................... 15 Skills ...................................................................................................... 19 Ambition and Initiative ......................................................................... 20 Application of Knowledge, Skills and Ambition .................................. 22 Application of Knowledge .................................................................... 25 ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACT OF CRITICAL THINKING ................ 27 Decision-making ................................................................................... 32 Thinking Deeply .................................................................................... 34 Thinking Quickly .................................................................................. 36 Critical Interviewing ............................................................................. 38 DESIGNING & ACHIEVING EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS .................... 45 Achieving Solutions .............................................................................. 47 Conceptualizing the Needs of Others .................................................... 48 Solution Analysis .................................................................................. 49 What is a Successful Solution? ............................................................. 55 Getting Back to Center .......................................................................... 61 Solution Monitoring and Support.......................................................... 63 THOUGHTS ON THINKING .................................................................. 67 The Process of Thinking ....................................................................... 69 Proactive vs. Reactive Thinking ........................................................... 73
Advance Your Thinking Skills.............................................................. 75 Input, Process, Output Thinking ........................................................... 80 Thoughts on Change: Add, Change, Delete .......................................... 81 Deliverable Based vs. Task Based Thinking ......................................... 86 Thinking Beyond the Vision ................................................................. 89 THINKING SKILLS ................................................................................ 91 Your Thinking Skills Catalog ............................................................... 93 Hierarchical Decomposition (HD) ........................................................ 94 SIPOC Analysis................................................................................... 103 Rule of 7 +/- 2 ..................................................................................... 108 Warnier–Orr Diagram ......................................................................... 110 Solution Based Thinking ..................................................................... 113 The Design of Solutions ...................................................................... 115 The Perceived Need to Improve .......................................................... 116 ENTITIES, ATTRIBUTES & MEASUREMENTS ............................... 123 Entities................................................................................................. 125 Attributes of Entities ........................................................................... 127 Measurements and Measurement Processes ....................................... 128 Degree of Criticality ............................................................................ 133 Event Management .............................................................................. 135 Understanding the “Event Horizon” ................................................... 136 Packets of Work .................................................................................. 138 Triggers ............................................................................................... 139 Monday Morning Thinking ................................................................. 142 Document Parsing ............................................................................... 144 DEVELOPING VISION ......................................................................... 149 Output Driven Analysis and Design ................................................... 154 Environmental Factors that Influence a Solution ................................ 157
We Must Be Able to Effectively Question Others!............................. 158 Don’t Overlook the Details ................................................................. 162 ANALYSIS SKILLS .............................................................................. 165 Cause and Effect Analysis................................................................... 167 New vs. Modify ................................................................................... 168 New Technology and New Processes ................................................. 170 Points of Failure .................................................................................. 174 Thinking in Extremes .......................................................................... 175 Non-Valued Added Activities (NVA)................................................. 177 Process Flow Chart.............................................................................. 179 Questions of Volume ........................................................................... 180 Impact Analysis ................................................................................... 183 Lifecycle Considerations ..................................................................... 186 Linear and Non-Linear Analysis ......................................................... 187 Guaranteed Delivery ........................................................................... 189 Entity Grouping ................................................................................... 190 Add, Change, Delete ........................................................................... 191 Entities of a Solution ........................................................................... 193 Entity Relationships ............................................................................ 196 Span of Affect and Span of Control .................................................... 197 THE LOGISTICS OF CHANGE............................................................ 203 The Perceived Need to Improve .......................................................... 210 “POINT B – THE FUTURE STATE” .................................................... 213 The Solution Owner ............................................................................ 217 Indicators of a Successful Improvement Effort................................... 219 Conceptual View of Making an Improvement .................................... 220 Entities of the Vision ........................................................................... 222 How Will We Know When We are Successful? ................................. 223 Post-Accomplishment Vision.............................................................. 224
The Impact of a Poorly Defined Point B ............................................. 226 POINT A - THE CURRENT STATE ..................................................... 229 What If There is No Point A?.............................................................. 232 Analyzing Processes - “A Structured Approach to Analysis” ............ 235 TRANSITION TO THE VISION ........................................................... 239 Transition Prerequisites “Getting Started” .......................................... 241 The Path to Outstanding Solutions ...................................................... 242 Conceptual Design .............................................................................. 244 Logical Design .................................................................................... 246 Physical Design ................................................................................... 248 Sanity Check ....................................................................................... 249 Transition - Achieve the Solution! ...................................................... 256 Signs of a Poor Transition Plan ........................................................... 257 Gaining Momentum for Transition ..................................................... 261 Organizational Transition .................................................................... 262 Post Achievement Problem Resolution Plan....................................... 264 CHANGE ENABLERS .......................................................................... 267 Leadership ........................................................................................... 270 Knowledge .......................................................................................... 271 Discipline ............................................................................................ 272 Teamwork............................................................................................ 275 Resources ............................................................................................ 276 Decision Making ................................................................................. 277 Measurements...................................................................................... 279 Project Planning and Scheduling......................................................... 281 Problem Solving .................................................................................. 283 Technology .......................................................................................... 285 RESPONSIBILITY................................................................................. 287
FINAL THOUGHTS .............................................................................. 293 REFERENCES ....................................................................................... 302
INTRODUCTION
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APPLIED CRITICAL THINKING For over 20 years, I have been interested in the concept of critical thinking and its application to achieving significant improvements. In years gone by, much analysis and work were done to design, develop and achieve solutions. Much training was developed to improve our understanding of functional thinking and analysis methods and how to change the current environment to achieve better results. Analytical skills were needed to design improvements and their interrelations to external entities to support the improvement. However, it seems to me that with the rapid growth of technology, people and organizations have purchased and installed solutions to many of their problems. We no longer are required to analyze the current situation, then design and develop an improved state and implement a significant solution. It is simply a matter of downloading software or purchasing hardware and voila`, everything is going to be better. I fear that the general ability to think critically in order to achieve significant improvements has been set aside and in its place, we spend a great deal of time and mental effort in fighting the battle of the day by attempting to put a square peg in a round hole. I originally titled this book “Critical Thinking.” As I pulled together years of notes from my experiences, I soon realized that what I was documenting was the application of critical thinking: “Thinking about Thinking.” I spent time reflecting on thought processes converted into action to accomplish significant results. What techniques did we use, what skills did I acquire, how did I acquire them, when did I use them, and what results did they produce? So, I added “Applied” to the title, for I suppose one could sit in a library or office and spend days pondering on “Thinking 3|Page
GENE BROCKMEIER about Thinking,” Structured thinking butwill to what require benefit; you totochange come back your the decision-making next day and do process. a focus thinkingcoupled differently. on “What are the same?Adapt I much preferonthinking with Spend action;time learning from the my application thinkingofskills? thinking How skills, can Ihoning improve them, my thinking improving skills?” them, Itand will applying require athem personal commitment andsolutions. to do so, visualize positive and outstanding to achieve significant results and desire to think more deeply and more frequently to consistently This book was written primarily from a “project” point of view; however, achieve those results. Your effort will build character, gain knowledge, it should not be thought of as a “business” or “project” book. A project and establish confidence in your thinking skills. can be any number of topics, such as business, medical, military, governmentIor The focus here will the development of with Personally, dopersonal. not get bogged down with thebedetails when presented and skills and application thinking to achieve aknowledge problem because almost everything of is possible; if not, that successful should be solutions.very quickly. Use visioning skills to see the desired solution. Do apparent not worry about the details at the beginning, except in a life or death Conceptually, the achievement of a solution or vision has a beginning, a situation. Read difficult books and work hard to understand them. process, and an end. A vision or solution is comprised of entities, attributes, measurements, processes, andno responsibilities. Growing up on a farm, I had inputs, absolutely exposure to There are decisions to be madeThe andonly results be analyzed. My intent is for you to philosophy. two to things I knew when I left for gain andcollege use significant thinking no matter the and diverse nature of the were: John Deereskills tractors are green angus goal youcattle wishare to accomplish. black. I was required to take a philosophy course at Kansas State University. Introduction to Ethics was the One of the struggles I had writing this book was that much of the content hardest course I ever had. It was a love hate relationship. I is non-linear. Unlike a biography or how to make a cake, it contains many had to study with the course book in one hand and the topics which are independent from each other but can be selected and used dictionary in the other. I knew nothing of the concept and collectively to provide a solid foundation for increasing your desire to few of the five syllable words contained in the subject improve your thinking and problem-solving ability. matter. But I somehow managed to receive an A for the course and I will never forget how difficult that course was. While I do not recall the name of my professor, I will 412| P | Pa agge e
APPLIED CRITICAL THINKING I wrote this book for two primary reasons. First, to encourage you to “Think about Thinking.� Examine your thinking skill set through self-reflection and work toward expanding and improving it. What skills do you have and what level of expertise do you have with them? Make personal commitments to hone your thinking ability, seek out intelligence, and read difficult subjects to understand and build a desire to improve your thinking capability. Second, to teach you how to use the many independent thinking skills contained in this book as may be required to solve problems. Read this book, come back to it from time to time and review its myriad of topics so that you might acquire and hone your thinking skills. Find two or three thinking skills this year and learn to use them to reach a higher level of thinking performance.
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APPLIED CRITICAL THINKING OVERVIEW
“The level of knowledge that created the current condition will not be sufficient for its resolution”
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APPLIED CRITICAL THINKING
Critical Thinking Definition Critical thinking is that mode of thinking — about any subject, content, or problem — in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully analyzing, assessing, and reconstructing it. Critical thinking is self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking. It presupposes assent to rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use. It entails effective communication and problemsolving abilities, as well as a commitment to overcome our native egocentrism and sociocentrism. The Foundation for Critical Thinking I chose this definition of critical thinking because it presents concrete attributes of critical thinking. It identifies critical thinking as a “mode of thinking,” a way thinking occurs. This provides a foundation on which to build your thinking processes, i.e., a mode or method of thinking or something that we use to guide our thinking process, like a mode of travel. If you are interested in increasing your thinking skills, this short definition provides a basis upon which to build a new mode of thinking. To add knowledge, skills, and ambition to this “mode” will vastly increase the application of your thinking skills.
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GENE BROCKMEIER My self-reflection and note-taking on projects are forms of critical thinking, as is my analysis, assessment and reconstruction of the thinking processes used during problem-solving and solution construction. My effort has been to understand, “Which thinking skills did we use to make an effort successful?” Like other desires in life, success does not just fall out of trees. Success takes a great amount of thinking and effort. My position is we must take time to deeply reflect on success, learn from its achievement and elevate those concepts that contributed to it. A person thinks about many things during an average day. To improve your problem-solving abilities, critical thinking must be one of those topics that you think about consistently and frequently. It is an interest to be pursued. Just like any other interest you might have, from bowling to gardening to music, if you are going to genuinely appreciate and improve thinking, then you must adopt the process of “Thinking about Thinking”.
Structured Thinking Embrace, learn and adopt the skill of “structured thinking.” Using the knowledge gained from reading this book and other sources, elevate the way you think on a day to day basis. Whether applied personally or professionally, change your thinking practices. Be aware of and work to improve and add structure to your thinking process and skills.
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APPLIED CRITICAL THINKING Develop rapid visioning skills. I am talking about the ability to conceptualize a solution within seconds. In its basic form, your structured thinking methodology can be developed by: 1. Making a personal commitment and desiring to increase your thinking skills. It requires work. No one else can do it for you. It does not cause any pain. It is a rewarding effort. Nothing worthwhile comes free. It takes time and effort, patience, and a plan. – “Think about Thinking.” What decisions have you made? What steps did you follow to come to a successful conclusion? What decisions did you make to come to a poor conclusion? How deeply did you think when making the decision? 2. Developing a rapid thinking process to envision a solution after it is achieved. – Develop a thinking methodology that you continuously work on, improve, and share with others. 3. Developing a vision of a solution is the top priority. – Without a well-defined, detailed vision of a solution, much of your thinking and work will be wasted. We only want to work on the tasks that get us to the vision. 4.
Envisioning the entities and attributes of a solution. – Mentally conceptualize 90% of the solution. – Share a conceptualized solution with others so that they can understand and support the vision. 11 | P a g e
GENE BROCKMEIER Structured thinking will require you to change your decision-making process. Adapt a focus on thinking differently. Spend time on “What are my thinking skills? How can I improve my thinking skills?� It will require a personal commitment and to do so, visualize positive and outstanding results and desire to think more deeply and more frequently to consistently achieve those results. Your effort will build character, gain knowledge, and establish confidence in your thinking skills. Personally, I do not get bogged down with the details when presented with a problem because almost everything is possible; if not, that should be apparent very quickly. Use visioning skills to see the desired solution. Do not worry about the details at the beginning, except in a life or death situation. Read difficult books and work hard to understand them. Growing up on a farm, I had absolutely no exposure to philosophy. The only two things I knew when I left for college were: John Deere tractors are green and angus cattle are black. I was required to take a philosophy course at Kansas State University. Introduction to Ethics was the hardest course I ever had. It was a love hate relationship. I had to study with the course book in one hand and the dictionary in the other. I knew nothing of the concept and few of the five syllable words contained in the subject matter. But I somehow managed to receive an A for the course and I will never forget how difficult that course was. While I do not recall the name of my professor, I will 12 | P a g e
APPLIED CRITICAL THINKING always remember that course. It taught me a life lesson in that I had to persevere throughout the course, and I had to work hard at thinking.
Higher Level of Thinking What is meant by a higher level of thinking and how might you achieve it? This statement is comprised of two parts: Desiring a higher level of thinking and achieving it. A higher level of thinking is possessing and using advanced thinking skills such as reasoning, visioning, listening or structured thinking, which are discussed in this book. Readers learn that gaining a higher level of thinking requires an interest in and a dedication to frequent reflection on your current catalog of thinking skills. How you have used those skills, i.e., how they did or did not work, which situation gave you problems and which thinking skills might have helped you. Achieving higher-level thinking is the development, use, and refinement of these techniques. Through study, investigation, experience, and plain “Thinking about Thinking,� you will acquire additional thinking techniques. Ambition and initiative are personal traits essential to critical thinking. You must have a desire to think better and the initiative to put that desire into action. People can have all the desire in the world, but it is meaningless if they do not possess ambition and initiative to excel.
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GENE BROCKMEIER How will you know if you are on track to higher levels of thinking? There are several indicators. Develop a desire to think better. Put ambition and initiative to work. Go to your local bookstore or shop on-line for books on critical thinking, reasoning, logic, structured thinking, ambition, and initiative. Realize that you are using one or more specific thinking skills during a discussion or problem-solving exercise (self-reflection). Be aware of your growth in thinking skills over time. Notes in a journal will help you document that you are developing your thinking skill inventory, its use over time, and whether decisions you have made are more effective and came more quickly and easily. During our lives, most of us have attended some type of training course. We have been to medical training, accounting training, cooking school or welding school. But have you ever been to “Thinking Training”? I am curious as to why thinking training is not on the educational menu. I would suggest an interest in gaining education in “problem solving” and “structured thinking” as a goal for personal knowledge growth. In summary, the only way to achieve higher levels of thinking is to acquire the skills, use them and perform frequent self-reflection to improve their use.
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