Mastering Creative and Critical Thinking
The Three D’s of Open Thinking
Open thinking, as defined by leadership strategist Dan Pontefract, is a cyclical process involving three stages—Dream, Decide, and Do—that fosters creativity, critical thinking, and action to achieve positive results through iterative improvement.
Dream with Creative Thinking
Dan Pontefract emphasizes that organizations must prioritize creative thinking over mere productivity metrics, as fostering a culture that encourages dreaming and ideating is essential for generating innovative ideas and achieving meaningful benefits.
Decide with Critical Thinking
Incorporating critical thinking into the idea development process is essential, as demonstrated by Samsung's hasty Galaxy Note 7 launch, which prioritized speed over safety, resulting in a flawed product and costly recall.
Do with Applied Thinking
Leadership strategist Dan Pontefract outlines a three-step process for open thinking—creative, critical, and doing—emphasizing the importance of flexibility and focus during the doing phase, while offering best practices for individuals and organizations to enhance applied thinking and productivity.
Four Strategies for Taking Back Your Time
In a video lesson, leadership strategist Dan Pontefract outlines four strategies—time cushioning, situational capacity, outsourcing, and realism—to help individuals reclaim hidden hours in their workweek for better productivity and personal fulfillment.
It’s easy to assume a hard worker should always be in motion, springing into action and plowing through task after task. But leadership strategist Dan Pontefract maintains that truly effective workers stand still too. They make time for reflection and introspection, identify mistakes and how to correct them, and prioritize what to do and how. In other words, the best workers don’t just do—they also think.
Learning Objectives
- Identify the types of thinking necessary for each stage of a project.
- Generate ideas by practicing creative thinking.
- Fine-tune ideas by practicing critical thinking.
- Outline strategies for putting ideas into action by practicing applied thinking.
- Prioritize your responsibilities to create time for open thinking.