Analytical Thinking, Problem Solving & Decision Making

In today's complex and fast-moving business environment, effective problem-solving is not just the job of senior leadership. It is everyone's responsibility. Analytical thinking and problem-solving are foundational cognitive skills that involve systematically breaking complex situations down into their component parts, applying deductive reasoning, drawing sound conclusions from available evidence and assumptions, and making well-informed judgments that hold up under scrutiny.

This seminar introduces you to a rigorous and accessible set of thinking processes that will equip you to analyze and solve a wide variety of business problems with greater confidence and precision. Developing these analytical thinking and problem-solving skills now will give you a significant and lasting competitive advantage in your career.

Who Should Attend:

Any business professional who wants to be better equipped to face today's complex organizational challenges by developing a clear, transferable process for reasoning, problem solving, and decision making.

How You Will Benefit:

• Develop substantially greater clarity about available solutions and the conditions under which each is most appropriate
• Recognize and avoid the emotional triggers that cloud judgment and impede high-quality thinking
• Generate and systematically test potential solutions to atypical, ambiguous, or novel problems
• Interpret and work with probability to increase your confidence in consequential decisions
• Navigate effectively among competing variables, constraints, and conditions
• Recognize the critical distinction between rationality of purpose and rationality of process

What You Will Cover:

• Assessing patterns in data and information, recognizing underlying probabilities, and sharpening your ability to think hypothetically
• Using counterfactual thinking to stress-test conclusions and increase the likelihood that the decision you reach is the right one
• Clearly distinguishing between problem solving and decision making, and knowing which mode you are in at any given time
• Understanding how uncertainty and risk tolerance shape and influence the way decisions are made
• Reducing groupthink and interpersonal conflict in collaborative decision-making processes
• Applying a structured toolkit of techniques for sharpening both the analytical and intuitive dimensions of decision making
• Drawing more deliberately and strategically on personal experience when facing complex decisions under genuine uncertainty

Course Outline:

Learning Objectives

• Use the A.R.T. and A.I.D. skill bundles to analyze complex situations and make better, more defensible decisions
• Refine your ability to assess patterns, recognize probabilities, and think hypothetically across a wide range of business contexts
• Apply counterfactual thinking to test your conclusions and increase confidence that you have identified the right solution
• Distinguish clearly between problem solving and decision making in order to recognize and address true decisions when they arise
• Recognize how your personal feelings about uncertainty and risk shape the way you approach and resolve decisions
• Identify the personal characteristics that inform your perception of what makes a decision the right one, in order to reduce conflict and groupthink in team settings
• Apply a structured set of tools and techniques for sharpening both the analytical and intuitive aspects of decision-making
• Draw more deliberately and strategically on personal experience when navigating complex decisions under conditions of uncertainty

Components of Thought

• Describe what neuroscience has established about how the brain processes and evaluates a typical decision
• Recognize the central importance of analytical thinking in effective, high-stakes business decision making
• Define the three core analytical reasoning skills: assessing patterns, recognizing probabilities, and thinking hypothetically

A.R.T.: Assess Patterns

• Identify the three subskills associated with the analytical reasoning skill of assessing patterns
• Distinguish among three common information patterns and understand how each should influence your interpretation
• Explain how the ability to recognize patterns quickly and accurately increases the efficiency and quality of decision-making

A.R.T.: Recognize Probabilities

• Identify the three subskills associated with the analytical reasoning skill of recognizing probabilities
• Examine how your personal judgments about the likelihood of different outcomes may influence your ability to solve problems objectively
• Identify implicit probabilities in a given situation to assess the level of risk involved
• Assess the frequency of specific occurrences and use that information appropriately in your reasoning
• Apply probability judgments to work effectively within multiple competing constraints when solving complex problems

A.R.T.: Think Hypothetically

• Distinguish clearly between inductive and deductive thinking and understand when each is more appropriate
• Construct a well-formed hypothesis that generates useful and testable decision alternatives
• Apply counterfactual thinking to test and stress-test your hypothesis before committing to a conclusion
• Recognize when you do not yet have sufficient information to form a complete and defensible hypothesis

Applying A.R.T. to Real-World Situations

• Apply all three bundles of analytical thinking skills, Assess Patterns, Recognize Probabilities, and Think Hypothetically, to realistic and challenging business scenarios
• Strengthen your ability to see the relevance of analytical reasoning skills in your day-to-day professional work
• Build greater facility with analytical reasoning by applying the skills repeatedly in structured practice contexts

Connecting the Dots: Analytical Reasoning and Decision Making

• Define what a decision is and articulate the relationship between analytical reasoning and effective decision making
• Distinguish between simple and complex decisions and understand how each calls for different analytical approaches
• Develop familiarity with three powerful decision analysis tools: Decision Worksheets, Decision Trees, and Force Field Analysis

Personal Decision-Making Preferences

• Recognize how your values, background, and accumulated experience shape your perceptions and judgments
• Identify your own dominant personal decision-making preferences and tendencies
• Recognize the decision-making preferences of others and understand how to work productively across different styles
• Explain how group decision-making differs structurally and psychologically from individual decision-making

Psychological Factors That Influence Decision Making

• Identify your personal attitudes toward decision making, including comfort with ambiguity and tolerance for risk
• Articulate the most common reasons professionals engage in decision avoidance and how to overcome them
• Understand the role of overconfidence as the primary driver of premature or poorly considered decisions
• Apply specific techniques to avoid the most common and costly cognitive pitfalls in high-stakes decision making

Personal Judgment and Decision Making

• Describe the dual-process model of decision making and what it reveals about how we actually think
• Define personal judgment, or heuristics, and understand how rules of thumb form and function in professional decision making
• Identify your own key personal heuristics and assess when they serve you well and when they may lead you astray
• Apply four targeted techniques for sharpening personal judgment and reducing bias in high-stakes situations
• Understand the impact of emotional state on personal judgment and learn to account for it in consequential decisions

The Organizational Context for Analytical Reasoning and Decision Making

• Understand your organizational culture and structure, and how they directly shape the decisions available to you
• Apply interpersonal and communication skills to convey your decisions with maximum clarity, credibility, and impact
• Anticipate and prepare for the specific pitfalls you are most likely to encounter in applying analytical thinking in your professional context
• Create a concrete, actionable personal development plan for continuing to build your analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making capabilities beyond the seminar