Critical and Strategic Thinking in Practice
Use critical thinking and the conceptual thinking framework to approach problems effectively and communicate your solutions.
2,992 enrolled on this course
Duration
4 weeksWeekly study
2 hours100% online
How it works
Critical and Strategic Thinking in Practice
Learn to solve complex problems with strategic thinking
Life and business are getting faster and more complex every day. The faster pace ramps up the pressure to act quickly but this complexity needs careful, strategic, conceptual thinking, which takes time.
On this four-week course featuring content from BigThink, you’ll learn from some of the brightest minds in conceptual thinking such as Alan Alda, Charles Duhigg, Leonard Mlodinow, and Nancy Duarte, to name a few.
You’ll discover the conceptual thinking framework and learn practical skills for how to apply it to problems and communicate your analysis in order to problem-solve efficiently and effectively.
Discover how to approach and define problem-solving
A common mistake companies make when tackling complex problems is failing to do the pre-work. This can waste time, energy, and money because either the team isn’t right or the goals are poorly defined.
This course will guide you through strategies for looking at the problem space with clarity, then assembling a team with the right balance of talents to think creatively and reach consensus.
Explore different critical thinking strategies
We have hardwired tendencies to think within our “comfort zones” which can often cause us to miss opportunities and perspectives that might lead to more creative solutions.
On this course, you’ll learn practical strategies for considering all stakeholders, seeing the problem through different eyes, evaluating potential risks, and connecting unlikely dots for inspiration.
Develop communication skills to get buy-in for your solutions
No matter how brilliant your idea might be, communication can mean the difference between success and failure.
You’ll learn how to transform your idea into a reality by improving your communication skills to get buy-in from other stakeholders and decision-makers.
Syllabus
Week 1
Approaching
A Competing Values Framework
What are the values of your organisation? Throwing you in the deep end, we begin the course by asking you to explore your Competing Values Framework.
Making complex decisions
Look at the problem space with clarity, by embracing truth.
The science of strategic thinking
Having a broad set of perspectives and voices is essential, but that alone can cause problems as well as solving them. Transient Diversity is the aim.
Risk mitigation
Learn from astronaut Scott Parazynski about situationally appropriate leadership.
Week 2
Defining
The science of productivity
“Everything happens for a reason” is comforting but actively investigating multiple future possibilities is the better approach to decision-making.
Lessons learned
Create a problem statement to define your direction.
Narrow your focus
To make meaningful progress on any complex problem, Erik Kandel, winner of the Nobel Prize in the field of neuroscience, advises a two-stage approach.
Systems thinking 101
Problem solve by combining reductionist thinking with “big picture” systems thinking.
Adapt to change with elastic thinking
In the final steps of this week, we introduce next week's theme 'thinking', by discussing cognitive flexibility.
Week 3
Thinking
Serve your purpose
NBA commissioner emeritus David Stern outlines how a reexamination of brand values can revitalise any organisation.
Viewing from all angles
Check your biases, and take on the point of view of a competitor or other opposing party to gain strategic insight.
Seeing around the curve
Astronaut Chris Hadfield offers a framework for risk mitigation, by predicting the consequence and probability of events.
Making associations
NBA player Shane Battier studied this competitors systematically, to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and more precisely outmanoeuvre them.
Week 4
Communication
The cleanest question
Mathematician Po-Shen Loh boils problems down to their essential elements.
Communicating to transform
CEO and author Nancy Duarte shares presentation techniques that will ensure your audience understands and buys into your message.
Unite your organisation
Chris Fussell outlines a battle-tested approach for efficient communication in an adaptable, networked modern organisation.
Final reflections
Lets bring together everything we have learned over the past four weeks.
When would you like to start?
Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.
Available now
Learning on this course
On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...
- Apply the conceptual thinking framework to a problem of your choice and structure your team to implement it.
- Define the problem you’re facing in clear and succinct terms.
- Apply critical thinking strategies to generate possible solutions.
- Explore how to communicate your analysis of the problem and your proposed solutions in ways that win buy-in from other stakeholders within and outside of your organisation.
Who is the course for?
This course is designed for professionals at any stage in their career, and will be especially useful for current or aspiring leaders currently in the earlier stages of their careers.
By completing this course, you’ll gain the skills to tackle complex problems, define goals clearly, and develop effective solutions; the perfect skillset for any leader.
Who developed the course?
FutureLearn
FutureLearn is jointly owned by The Open University and The SEEK Group and has been providing online courses for learners around the world over the last eight years.
Big Think
Big Think is a leading source of expert-driven, actionable, educational content with thousands of videos, featuring experts ranging from Bill Clinton to Bill Nye.
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Automatically renews
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- Access to this course
- Access to ALL eligible short courses
- Learn at your own pace
- Discuss your learning in comments
- Digital certificate when you're eligible
Buy this course
$44
One-off payment
Unlock your expertise
- Access to this course
- Learn at your own pace
- Discuss your learning in comments
- Printed and digital certificate when you’re eligible
Join with limited access
Free
Try before you buy
- Limited access to course content for 4 weeks
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Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)
Learning on FutureLearn
Your learning, your rules
- Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
- Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
- Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores
Join a global classroom
- Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
- Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
- Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others
Map your progress
- As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
- Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
- Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate
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