MentalWORKS®
Thinking for Results®

Why the same old results?

Thinking drives results. Our thinking about how we perceive the world and our place in it is what keeps us from seeing it differently. This aspect of our thinking is referred to as our “mental models,” or the internal concepts that comprise the stories, assumptions, and images we carry that impact what we see and what we do.

This is a time of hypercompetition, change, and increasing uncertainty. Never has there been a greater need to learn and think more effectively in making decisions and in solving problems. And yet, we tend to ignore or resist any thinking that does not closely conform to our own. The result is hopeless debate or divisive decisions decreed by whoever has the most power. Or worse yet, individuals refuse to make any decisions at all, hoping someone higher up the chain will do it for them. So much for initiative, risk, creativity, and innovation—say hello to cynicism, apathy, or non-participation.

More about the course:

The intent of the course is to make the process of our thinking more visible. Because we are often stuck in “the box” of our own thinking, we fail to discover other realms of possibilities outside our “reality.”

MentalWorks addresses the discipline of enhanced discovery and learning by introducing five critical thinking skills: Seek Feedback, Observe the Obvious, Clarify Assumptions, Transcend the Paradox, and Think the Unthinkable. Each section applies a set of critical discovery questions that allows participants to focus their thinking for more effective results.

Individuals explore the mental models that pervade their organizations, their teams, and finally their own views of themselves as they apply the critical thinking skills to a number of personal or professional challenges.

In summary, MentalWorks is about discovering and learning from our mental models to enhance professional and personal problem solving and effectiveness.

Course Objectives:

The program will show you how to:

• Understand the nature of your thinking
• Identify mental models
• Understand common brain traps
• Ask critical learning questions
• Clarify values underlying emotion
• Identify competing paradoxes
• Recognize patterns
• Hear incoming feedback
• Examine hidden assumptions
• Clarify thinking flaws
• Set goals to broaden perspectives
• Increase learning
• Improve decision making
• Generate more solutions

Learning Process:

The learning process mixes theory, practice of specific skills, experiential exercises, video examples, and self-assessment to provide participants with a multi-faceted approach to learning. Time is also allowed in an interactive format for participants to apply the skills they have learned to current business challenges.

Who Should Attend?

Anyone who wants to expand their intellectual capacity to think critically, be more open, improve their ability to learn, make better decisions, solve problems more efficiently, and manage performance more effectively.

Course Length:

Two days.