Decision Making and Problem Solving - John Adair

Flashcards of vocabulary

Decision Making

Deciding what action to take, typically involving choices between options.

Problem Solving

The process of finding a solution, answer, or conclusion to an issue.

Creative Thinking

Generating new ideas and innovations.

Intellectual Leadership

Providing the intellectual guidance necessary for effective decision making, problem-solving, and creative thinking within a team or organization.

Practical Thinking

The processes behind effective decision making, problem-solving, and creative thinking.

Brain

The physical structure composed of cells and circuits; analogous to the hardware of a computer.

Mind

The dynamic processes occurring, such as thoughts and applications of knowledge; analogous to what appears on a computer screen.

Technical Knowledge

Knowledge about a subject and the ability to apply it in unforeseen situations.

Professional Knowledge

Knowledge about a subject and the ability to apply it in unforeseen situations.

Generic Skills

Transferable skills applicable across various areas.

Transferable Skills

Skills applicable across various areas.

Thinking

The characteristic function of the mind.

Analysing

Separating a whole into its constituent parts.

Synthesising

Putting things together to make a whole.

Valuing

Establishing success criteria, evaluating, appraising performance, and judging.

Deduction

Inferring from the general to the particular.

Induction

Inferring a general law or principle from particular instances.

Holism

Nature’s way of creating wholes by ordering or grouping various units together.

Subjective

Existing in the mind; relating to one's own thoughts, opinions, emotions, etc.; personal, individual, based on feelings.

Objective

Not influenced by personal feelings or opinions; representing or based on facts.

Values

Principles or standards of behavior; one's judgment of what is important in life.

Depth Mind

The dimension that plays a vital part in our thinking unconsciously.

Intuition

An all-important sixth sense derived from the Depth Mind.

Decision Making - Define the Objective

Clearly defining what you are trying to achieve to guide the decision-making process.

Decision Making - Collect Relevant Information

Gathering facts and data necessary for making an informed decision, while distinguishing between available and relevant information.

Information Overload Syndrome

Inability to cope with incoming data leading to mental stress and physical illness.

Decision Making - Generate Feasible Options

Creating a range of possible courses of action to consider, going beyond simple alternatives.

Alternatives

A common term for decision making; generating a range of possible courses of action to consider, going beyond simple alternatives

Decision Making - Make the Decision

Choosing a course of action based on established selection criteria and assessing potential risks and consequences.

Selection Criteria

Established guidelines by which a choice is made, with multiple levels of priority (Musts, Shoulds and Mights).

Risk Assessment

Calculating the potential risks involved in decisions by defining the worst downside and attempting to reduce potential risks.

Manifest Consequences

Consequences which are foreseeable when making a decision.

Latent Consequences

Consequences which are less probable; unexpected knock-on effects.

Wrong Decision

An explicit choice that leads to an undesirable outcome due to the method or process rather than the decision itself.

Bad Decision

An explicit choice where the method or process of decision-making was deliberately ignored or irresponsibly put aside.

Decision Making - Implement and Evaluate

Putting the decision into action and assessing its effectiveness, with an understanding of the Point of No Return.

Point of No Return (PNR)

The point at which it costs you more in various coinages to turn back or change your mind than to continue with a decision that you now know to be an imperfect one.

Leadership

The qualities of personality and character; the group, the followers: their needs and values.

Task Need

The need to accomplish a common work group or organization task.

Team Maintenance Need

The need to create and promote group cohesiveness.

Individual Needs

Psychological needs individuals bring into a group.

Action-Centred Leadership

Providing leadership functions called for by task, team and individual needs.

Planning Continuum

The consideration of the area of freedom for team members that balances the use of authority by the leader.

Problem

Something thrown in front of you; a solution in disguise.

Obstacle

Difficulties in the path ahead caused by decision making.

Obstacle-Type Problems

The majority of problems that leaders encounter; 80%.

Systems Problems

Deviations from the norm; 20%.

Problem Solving - Asking the Right Questions

A key skill for understanding a problem; questions are the spanners that unlock the mind.

Unified Model - Defining the Aim/Problem

Analyzing tasks in order to clearly define current & desired states.

Unified Model - Generating Feasible Options

Synthesizing multiple solutions by mixing multiple elements into one.

Unified Model - Choosing Optimum Course/Solution

Valuing proposed solutions by choosing the one that best fits a set of criteria.

Systems Problems Strategy

Find the point of deviation and then establish what caused it.

Normal Performance

How the system is supposed to work.

Active Performance

What is actually happening within the system.

Systems Problems- W5H

Who?, What?, Where?, When?, Why? and How?; method for pinpointing deviation from normal working.

Problem-Solving

Remove the cause of the problem; if not, mitigate the effects of the problem on the performance of the system as a whole.

Brainstorming

A creative thinking technique of generating ideas by suspending judgement.

Functional Fixedness

A fixed idea that a thing has only one function.

Suspend Judgement

Give imagination the green light by withholding the critical evaluation of ideas until later; brainstorm principles.

Welcome ideas

Take off the brakes in your mind and go with the free-wheeling flow of your ideas; brainstorm principles.

Strive for Quantity

The greater the number of oysters, the more likely you are to find some pearls in them; brainstorm principles.

Combine and Improve

Listen to the ideas of others and see if you can build on them; brainstorm principles.

Do not edit

Ideas should not be elaborated or defended, just quickly stated and recorded; brainstorm principles.

Brainstorming - Warm Up

Have a brief warm-up session, using a common problem or object.

Defining the problem

Use analytical and briefing skills to define the problem.

Lateral Thinking

Abandoning the step-by-step approach and thinking, as it were, 'to one side'.

Thinking Outside the Box

Spotting assumptions that are widely and uncritically accepted but have no basis in truth.

Preparation

The hard work phase of creative thinking; Collecting, sorting and exploring solutions.

Incubation

The Depth Mind phase of creative thinking; continues on the problem in your subconscious mind.

Insight

The 'Eureka' moment of creative thinking; A new idea emerges into your conscious mind.

Validation

The valuing faculty phase of creative thinking; A new idea, insight, intuition, hunch or solution needs to be thoroughly tested.

Self-Development

The road to take in order to develop your thinking skills.

Practical Thinker

Forming a clear picture of the kind of thinker you would like to be.

Learning Strategy- Core Process

It is when sparks jump between generic and situational information that learning occurs.

Effective Decision Making

A five-step approach that can be very helpful, but shouldn't be followed blindly.

Relevant Information

Data points which aid in decision making.

Feasible Options

Possible choices that can be done and are attainable.

Selection Criteria

Standards to follow when determining what choice to make.

Implementing & Evaluating

Carrying our the choice made and gauging its usefulness.

Leaders

People that share decisions with team members or colleagues.

Task need

When an organization comes into being because there is a task to be done that is too big for one person.

Team maintenance need

The creation and promotion of group cohesiveness.

Individual needs

Needs that an individual brings into a group.

Applied Thinking

There are three forms, which include decision making, problem solving, and creative thinking.

Analyze

Comes from a Greek verb meaning to loosen, and it means separating a whole into its constituent parts.

Logic

Has two main parts: deduction and induction.

Synthesizing

Another Greek word - Putting or placing things together to make a whole. It is the reverse process of analysing.

Depth Mind

The mind that you can, as it were, analyse, synthesise and value in your sleep or when you are consciously doing something quite different, like gardening or washing the dishes, it's the source of intuition - that all-important sixth sense.

Values

Value comes from a market metaphor: it is what you have to give in order to receive something across the counter.

Decision Making

A classic five-step approach that you should find extremely helpful.

Leaders

Is defined by the three circles of need: task, team, and individual.

Function

One of a group of related actions contributing to development or maintenance, just as each part of the body has its function in relation to the whole. It comes from a Latin word meaning performance.

Unified Model

Covers both decision making and problem solving because the mental framework you must use is so similar to the decision-making process.

Creative Thinking

Requires creative imagination - to raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle.

Lateral Thinking

Means abandoning the step-by-step approach and thinking, as it were, 'to one side'.

Learning

Is when sparks jump between these two poles that learning occurs, core process of learning.

Information

A lot more to running a business than making one life-or-death decision.

Relevant

The next skill is concerned with collecting and sifting relevant information.

Imagination

Called into play when synthesising.

Evaluating

The last step in the five step process: Sense effects & monitor consequences.