Think out of the Box & Problem Solving

Effective thinkers and decision makers are exceptional individuals who are capable of determining and selecting the best choice from numerous alternatives. They don’t hide from issues, they thrive in finding solutions where others struggle.

Thinking, problem solving and decision making are essential skills for every industry at all career levels from entry-level associates to top executives. Each day we are faced with a range of problems and decisions that need a thoughtful and rational reaction. Most types of work require some sort of thinking and problem solving skills whether thinking outside the box or analytical skills.

Excellent thinkers and problem solvers can work both independently and with others to solve problems in areas of process inefficiencies, production, planning, communication, management, finances, customer service, sales and marketing.

With this training course, you’ll learn skills like how to identify options, conducting research, weighing options, applying problem-solving steps and tools, identifying appropriate solutions and making rational decisions based on facts and good judgment.

After completing this course participants will be able to:

• Learn how to use different types of thinking skills in tackling a problem and making decisions
• Recognise problems and understand the creative problem solving process and to use these techniques to search for solutions by maximising idea generation, participation and creativity
• Identify types of information to investigate and key questions to ask and ascertain the importance of correctly defining a problem
• Be able to classify, sequence, compare and contrast data and information
• Get a roadmap to improve skills in data analysis, rational thinking, comparative analysis, recognizing patterns, reflecting skills, inductive and deductive reasoning
• Assess potential solutions against criteria of cost/benefit analysis and identify the tasks and resources required to implement the solutions
• Analyze Cause and Effect to identify the best opportunity -5Whys, 5W1H, Root Cause Analysis, Affinity Diagrams
• Generate most rational solutions and alternatives with a variety of tools and techniques
• Plan to implement solutions by scheduling, analysing critical parts of the plan, managing resources and carrying out a requirements analysis
• Evaluate your decisions and identify improvements with tools like Decision Trees and Six Thinking Hats

All managers, executives, supervisors, all support staff, admin personnel, sales, marketing, customer service, front desk, PR, technical staff, engineers, production staff, QA staff - ALL staff who wants to learn to be a solution provider for their companies and to be able to apply various thinking techniques to solve problems and make decisions at the workplace
To learn to utilize different thinking approaches at different times to yield better results and apply different types of thinking for improved analysis and problem solving

DAY 1: 9.00AM - 5.00PM
MODULE 1: NEED FOR EFFECTIVE THINKING COMPETENCIES
• Understanding brain dominance and thinking paradigms
• Evaluating the different types and styles of thinking in companies
• Obtaining the benefits and need for analytical and critical thinking
• Discovering the characteristics and mindset of analytical and critical thinker
• Learning about the applications, tools and techniques for analytical and critical thinking
• Group discussion and presentation

MODULE 2: THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX AND ESSENTIAL STEPS TO STIMULATE CREATIVITY
• Asking questions, assessing bias and challenging unsubstantiated assumptions
• How to avoid group think and “same old ideas”
• Key to spurring creativity - practicing flexibility and adaptability
• Explore and identify the 12 key requirements to trigger imagination and spark thinking outside the box
• Provocation technique, the only way to think outside the box - automatically leads to Blue Ocean Strategy
• 5 key techniques will be mastered through a series of activities, games, group work and presentation
• Experiential Activity: a combination of visualization, guided imagery, imagination, pictures, colors, subliminal music and movement to think outside the box

MODULE 3: PRACTICES AND TOOLS FOR CRITICAL THINKING
• Recognize and separate facts from hearsay, opinions and suggestions
• Recognize important data through data mining - focus on facts and evidences
• Identify the key issues
• Learning the skill of comparative analysis
• Dissect and diagnose based on various symptoms
• Examine correlations to determine causal relationships
• Investigate and check on accuracy to solve an issue/challenge
• Group project and challenge

MODULE 4: DEVELOP KEY CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS
• Asking questions and active listening
• Assess bias and challenge unsubstantiated assumptions
• Make inferences and fill in the gaps - rationalizing, reasoning, induction, deduction, extending logic to come up with plausible options/outcomes, judge an argument and determine its merits
• Reflect and look at the bigger picture to consider what you’ve learned from your observations and experience - Gibbs Reflective Cycle
• Verify the evidences and arguments to reach and support the well reasoned conclusion
• Group project and challenge

MODULE 5: ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS - IDENTIFYING CAUSE AND EFFECT, TESTING PROBABLE CAUSES
• Investigating and checking on root causes/s to solve a problem
• Camelot/Benchmarking - analyze the environment and determine the deviation/gap
• 5 Whys, 5W1H, What-If - master questioning techniques
• Reframing Matrix - understand connections and relationships
• SWOT Analysis - learn to compare and contrast
• Classifying, sequencing, shifting through data and grouping ideas using Affinity Diagrams and Chunking
• Pareto Analysis (80/20 Rule) - choose the most important changes to make through
• Team Projects - Excellent Techniques To Help You Identify, Pinpoint, Confirm Problem Areas And Where The Problems Are Coming From

END OF DAY 1

DAY 2: 9.00AM - 5.00PM

MODULE 6: GENERATING SOLUTIONS AND ALTERNATIVES
• Generate alternatives, implement solutions and control results with the following techniques
• Back to the Customer - solve the various issues that relates to your customers in terms of product. Then identify solutions for each of these issues
• SCAMPER - using triggers to generate new and different ideas; a checklist that helps you to think of changes you can make to an existing product to create a new one
• Lotus Blossom Technique and Storyboarding - find patterns, recognize trends, examine correlations, determine causal relationships to see inter connections,d how one idea related to another and how all the pieces fit together
• Attribute Listing
• Group Project: Excellent Techniques To Help You Generate Solutions And Alternatives
• Group Projects - Brainstorming, Discussion And Presentation

MODULE 7: ASSESSMENT, EVALUATION AND DECISION MAKING
• Assess potential solutions against criteria of cost/benefit analysis
• Appraise situations, decision making and weigh options
• Identify the tasks and resources required to implement the solutions
• Cost Benefit Analysis - process used to measure the benefits of a decision or taking action minus the costs associated with taking that action (involves measurable financial metrics such as revenue earned or costs saved as a result of the decision to pursue a solution)
• Decision Trees - decision support tool that uses a tree-like model of decisions and their possible consequences including chance event outcomes, resource costs and utility
• Group Project - Techniques For Decision Analysis And Decision Making

MODULE 8: DE BONO’S SIX THINKING HATS METHOD
• Reflect and look at the bigger picture to consider what you’ve learned from your observations and experience
• Verify the evidences and arguments to support the well reasoned conclusion
• Applications of 6 Thinking Hats
• Group Work And Project

END OF 2 DAYS WORKSHOP

To Make The Training Engaging, Participative, Interactive, Lively, Interesting & Relaxing In Between Intensive Sessions, the following techniques/exercises/activities/games are included.

• Expert Input, Demonstrations and Presentations
• Practice Sessions and Role Play (Breakout Rooms)
• Group Discussion, Brainstorming and Sharing Sessions
• Quizzes, Challenges and Competitions
• Question-And-Answer Session
• Group Exercises
• Visualization and CD Experience
• Practical Hands On Sessions - Think Outside The Box Activities, Visualization, Guided Imagery, Stress Busters