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Speed Thinking for Students

Dr Ken Hudson — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 07:44:25 +0000

Speed Thinking at its essence is the ability to create, solve, decide or collaborate quickly. The benefits of working at an accelerated pace are that you can become more productive and efficient (hence freeing up more time for yourself) and you can often unlock new, surprising possibilities that you would otherwise filter. This makes it an innovative way of handling time-pressure situations.

Q. And what is one of the most time-pressure situations we all face in our life?

A. Sitting for exams.

If you ever need to be able to think clearly and quickly it is in an exam type situation. That is why I have been working in schools and universities to show students my new speed thinking system (i.e. 2 minute-9 possibility mechanic, 4 step process and a SpeedLinks tool). Recently I taught all the year 11 English students at one of the best private schools in Sydney. My theme was, How to improve your exam results using speed thinking.

According to the students and teachers the benefits of this new approach are:

- It helps you to get started and not to procrastinate.

- Speed Thinking enables you to get out your content and then you can play around with it (students are amazed at what they actually have retained).

- It allows you to better connect and organise your thoughts and

- Speed Thinking helps you to become more flexible, just in case the exam question varies from what you have studied in past exam papers.

‘I like the way it makes you think under pressure which is what you need for exams‘ highlighted one student.

Another suggested, ‘I enjoyed speed thinking and I believe it will be of great use during exams as I find it difficult to formulate ideas when put under pressure.‘

The message?

If you are a part-time or full-time student then Speed Thinking can help you improve your results. This new life-skill can be used in exams and many other situations from making group-work more productive, solving problems, setting goals, revising and getting started.

Why not give it a try.

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The 24 Hour Business-Building Process

Dr Ken Hudson — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 21:16:22 +0000

We need to think differently about time and how to make the most of what limited time we have. To that end I have developed the 24 hour Business Building Process.

The idea is as follows:

A key manager briefs the rest of the organisation about a challenge they would like some help on (this could be done once or twice a week). The brief should be tight, focused and actionable.

It is much better to say we would like some new ideas on how we could reduce customer waiting times in the next 30 days at a cost of less than x dollars rather than we are looking for some customer service ideas. Being focused begets creativity.

It might be say at 9.00am on a Tuesday. By Wednesday 9.00am anyone (or any team) in the organisation can respond with their ideas or possible solutions.

By 9.00am the following day (Thursday) the leader must have responded to all participants and publicly recognised the three best ideas. These could win a dinner for two for example. This stage addresses the main problem with employee suggestion schemes–they take too long to give people feedback.

The benefits of this process are as follows:

•      You generate a range of new, exciting business ideas when you need them. This stops people from procrastinating.
•      Everyone has an opportunity to contribute their creativity.
•      A sense of focused creativity energy is created.
•      It is a chance for new team members to shine and develop new skills.
•      If the process works in one division or team it can be rolled out to the rest of the organisation
•      It helps to build a more innovative organisation.

I would love to hear from anyone that gives this process a try. I have used it with groups when we have gone away for a 2 day conference and it works!

Yours at Speed.

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How to build a better work-life balance

Dr Ken Hudson — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 09:24:31 +0000

Designing a work-life balance is one of the healthiest, happiest set of decisions you can ever make.

A work-life balance that is out of kilter might mean:

- that you go to the doctor more often

- you are more likely to be depressed

- have poorer relationships with your family and friends

- you are more likely be over-weight and

- suffer from heart-disease

So the next time you decide to prioritise your to-do list so that work comes ahead of life consider these factors (who put work ahead of life anyway?).

How to achieve a better work-life balance

There are 5 quick and simple things you can do immediately.

1. Just Start. Much like trying to lose weight means that you need to start doing some exercise right now–you must want to change your life and change it now.

2. Delegate. Agree upon a mutual challenge and when and what it to be delivered but then leave the how to the person. They will enjoy the creativity and freedom to do the job their own way and you can judge them on what they produce not how they do it.

3. Live your values. If you tell others and yourself that your family is important than this should be reflected in your life decisions. Sometimes working longer cannot be helped but for the most part living your values will make you feel more happier and more authentic.

4. Have shorter meetings or better still reduce the number of them in the first place. Ask yourself constantly, why am i having or attending this meeting? If you are not sure-don’t go.

4. Learn to think, create, solve and decide quicker by learning how to use and apply Speed Thinking. Increasingly we are becoming time-poor and time-pressed, it is a fact of life–a recent study by the University of South Australia, for example, found two-thirds of women working full time and half of all the men said they were frequently rushed and pressed for time. Seven out of 10 working mothers reported almost always feeling rushed and under pressure.

This report can be found here: http://www.unisa.edu.au/hawkeinstitute/cwl/default.asp

This situation will only get worse as you are asked to do more and more with less and less resources. Learning how to think quicker will free up more time for yourself so that you can achieve your work or study goals and lead a balanced life.

The next Speed Thinking Session:

To learn more about Speed Thinking why not attend a half-day session I am running at the University of Technology, Sydney on the 22nd of September, 9.00am to 12.30pm. For more details click here: http://www.gsb.uts.edu.au/edu/10_SpeedThinkingHalfDay_broch.pdf

Yours in Speed

Dr Ken Hudson.

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9 ways you can be more productive

Dr Ken Hudson — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:08:22 +0000

I recently visited Singapore to run a number of workshops with Intel and to present at Asia’s largest HR conference. When i was there i noticed that the Singapore Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong issued the following challenge to the country–we must improve our productivity by 2-3% annually for the next 10 years.

I imagine every manager and leader will be thinking along the same lines. To continuously deliver more and more results with less and less resources means that you have to become more productive with your time.

As with any change program it should start with you. So exactly how can you personally achieve an improvement in your productivity.

Here are nine initial thoughts:

1. Reduce the time of your meetings by 15 minutes. Try it–i have tested it with a large company and we achieved the same outcomes but in 25% less time.

2. Don’t drive–catch a train, taxi or bus. This is a simple but powerful suggestion. It may cost you more in fares but suddenly you have extra time to think and work whilst someone else worries about delivering you to your next destination.

3. Try and reduce or get rid of at least one activity that wastes your time. It could be a meaningless report or set of statistics that no-one reads.

4. Set your self a time limit to work on a project e.g. this work-out is always written in 30 minutes or less.

5. Just start. If you want to be more productive you have to stop procrastinating. Even if you start a project (ideally using Speed Thinking) for a few minutes you will have focused and engaged your mind. Even when you are working on another project your unconscious mind is still trying to solve the original problem.

6. Don’t multitask. This does not run counter to the previous point. When you work on a project you should be totally committed to that activity and not trying to do ten things at once. There is more and more research that suggests that multitasking adds time to your projects.

7. Start with the easy things first. From a Speed Thinking point of view you want to create momentum and energy. So just start, get some early wins and move on.

8. Make quick decisions. Unless it is a life-changing decision, most decisions are better being made quicker than not. In a fast-moving environment there is research that suggests that that this leads to higher performance as you can take advantage of opportunities and it speeds up your learning.

9. Conduct or ask for ten minute approval meetings. Say to your boss you need literally 10 minutes to discuss say 2 decisions. as long as you are prepared, your boss will love you as they can keep projects on track and be more productive in the bargain.

What are some of your ways of becoming more productive? I would love to hear from you.

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What is your elevator pitch?

Dr Ken Hudson — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 09:41:01 +0000

If you run your own business and offer any type of service to a large company in particular you better have a tight, simple but compelling elevator pitch. By this I mean a short description of what you do and why you do it.

This is easier said than done but after playing around with different versions my elevator pitch is as follows:

I can show you and your team how to unlock breakthrough results in minutes!

This elevator pitch promises a benefit, it is intriguing and perhaps most importantly, I can actually deliver it.

The reason why I do what I do is that helping people to improve their performance in time-pressure situations (e.g. an exam, solving a customer problem, running a shorter or a better meeting so that time is saved) can make a real difference to people’s lives.

This is my elevator speech–what is your’s?

best wishes,

Ken Hudson

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The insight behind Speed Thinking

Dr Ken Hudson — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 21:24:55 +0000

Did you know the insight behind Weight Watchers? In case you have missed it, there were some 50,000 Weight Watcher meetings in 30 countries last year with a turnover of $4billion. What’s more, it actually works according to recent research by the Medical Research Council. Weight Watchers it seems is an effective way of taking and keeping off excess weight.

This is a considerable business based one one insight by the founder Jean Nidetch in the early 1960’s. The insight? Losing weight is easier if you are not doing it alone. This one insight led to her meeting with a group of friends all with the aim of supporting one another as they tried to lose weight. An amazing new business was borne.

Similar to Jean i have had a similar insight although in a quite different field. I noticed in my business or innovation workshops that when i gave managers less time than they were used to or expected they often produced high quality work and they felt more energised.

I became fascinated with this insight and through trial and error and a dollop of imagination I created an entire new thinking system which i have called Speed Thinking. Now I may not have anywhere near the success of Weight Watchers but you can dream. My aim is to build a business but bring my insight to the teachers, trainers, students, managers and coaches of the world because it believe I can make a difference to people’s lives by improving their results in time-pressure situations.

What insights have you noticed? Can you build a business around it?

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What is the biggest problem facing everyone today?

Dr Ken Hudson — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 22:07:29 +0000

Everyone will have their own opinions on this topic but from my experience working with managers, teachers and students I believe the biggest problem is this:

How can we consistently deliver a higher quality and quantity of result (e.g. exam marks, sales, profits) with ever decreasing resources (e.g. people, dollars and time)?

At the moment the only way everyone seem to be coping is by working harder and longer but is this sustainable? People are under pressure and feeling the pinch. They are tired, stressed and risking burn-out.

And who believes the situation will get better? In the UK where I am at the moment, for example, the government has just announced it will cut its department budgets by 40%.

The issue that I am most interested is how we are adapting to this changing environment and in particular how can we be more productive in less time. Time for many people is their most treasured resource.

I believe their are 4 key strategies. We all need to become better at:

1. Managing our Time

Makes perfect sense. We all need to be skilled at organising, prioritising, planning etc.

2. Reduce those practices and behaviours that waste time.

Set yourself a challenge to identify one time wasting policy, proceedure or habit and try and reduce it in the next 30 days. Be ruthless. If something wastes your valuable time and does not add value to your life or to others then stop it.

3. Creating Time

We can create more time for ourselves by working smarter, being more efficient, reducing any tendency to procrastinate and living simpler lives.

4. Performing in Time Pressure situations

Again this makes sense. Because time is short we will face an increasing number of time-pressure situations e.g. exams or solving a customer problem.

My message is this. Relying on time management is not enough. It is a basic starting point. We have to learn a new type of thinking skill which I have called Speed Thinking–it provides a simple, practical tool kit and a 4-step process. It will help you and your team (or group) to become better at the other three time strategies.

This will mean that you will become more energised, creative and have more time for yourself.

I invite you to try it–now, don’t procrastinate just start (this is the first step in the speed thinking cycle).

Yours in Speed,

Dr Ken Hudson.

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Why speed wins

Dr Ken Hudson — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 21:51:11 +0000

In a recent book by Jocelyn Davis, Henry Frechette and Edwin Boswell called Strategic Speed-Mobilize People, Accelerate Execution (Harvard Business Press, 2010) they outline in quite a compelling fashion some reaserch which suggests that :

Faster companies (when compared to similar but slower companies) had on average a 40% higher sales growth and a 52% higher operating profit.

Whilst this is not causal there is a strong correlation, indicating that speed to market is a key driver of business success. In a fast-moving world this makes perfect sense.

What I like about their book is their identification of the three major generations of speed and efficiency.

According to the authors, First Generation speed efforts concentrated on improving efficiency through practices such as lean manufacturing etc.

Second Generation speed focuses on people. In particular, on mobilizing people and teams, leadership and building a climate of trust.

The Third Generation speed efforts they suggest are more outward focussed by encouraging customers (and suppliers/partners?) to accelerate. We are already seeing this with the introduction of Express Service lanes in supermarkets for example.

I believe the Fourth Generation movement will be around building a Speed Thinking as a capability across all the organisation. Imagine the energy and value that could be created if every member of the organisation could solve a customer problem faster and better or could conduct a more productive meeting in half the time.

What generation of speed is your organisation at?

Dr Ken Hudson.

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Improving your results by 1% every week

Dr Ken Hudson — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 20:44:37 +0000

I have just read Tom Peter’s new book called ‘The Little Big Things-163 ways to pursue excellence (John Wiley and Sons, 2010). As with all Tom’s books it is challenging and thought provoking.

One of his best ideas i thought was also one of the simplest. He calls it the 1% drill (pg. 407) and basically he asks each manager to try and cut 1% off their budgets. This simple, quick and relatively painless way to manage might be a good way to try and ensure that a business loses its fat and continue its pursuit of greater efficiency.

There is something about the idea of 1% that seems to generate buy-in from all leaders and managers–after-all no-one could really miss a 1% cut.

But why not take it further?

I suggest the following challenge for each manager, each week:

- How can i make this process 1% faster?

- How could we this week make our customer service 1% better?

- How could we make our advertising dollars work 1% harder?

- How can we make it easier for people to do business with us by 1%?

- How can we make our products 1% simpler?

You get the picture. It all sounds so easy to do. So why don’t you accept teh 1% challenge (every week) and let me know how it goes.

Dr Ken Hudson

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How Speed Thinking can improve your job interview success rate

Dr Ken Hudson — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 06:08:34 +0000

Speed Thinking is the ability to think better, faster. It is a skill that with practice anyone can improve. It is the ideal way of thriving in a time-poor , fast moving world that will enable you to perform at a high level when you find yourself under time-pressure. For instance, going for a job interview you need to be able to perform at your best despite sometimes crippling nerves. So how can the principles of speed thinking help you?

Speed Thinking before the interview

Speed Thinking is built around a 2 minute and 9 possibility structure. By this I mean that you must create 9 new ideas or raw thoughts in 2 minutes or less. This challenging target ensures that you do not filter or restrict your thinking.

Try these two exercises before the interview:

1) What are nine interesting questions I could ask the interviewer about their company or organization – do this in two minutes and see what happens, you might surprise yourself.

When I was a senior manager at American Express I was always impressed when the job applicant asked me a question that made me think about my business in a new way. Good, insightful questions impress.

2) Another exercise is to create nine new ways that might benefit the organisation . It could be a new product or process to enhance its customer service. It is not enough just to know what the organisation does. You need to stand out with fresh ideas and observations.

The aim of Speed Thinking is to get out your initial thoughts or ideas as quickly as possible (i.e. nine in two minutes) and then to evaluate these ideas. This is the second step of the Speed Thinking process.

Speed Thinking during the interview

This is the real crunch. Your resume might get you in the door but how you perform in the interview will usually determine if you get the job. So how can Speed Thinking help you be better prepared for those tricky questions in an interview? One way is to work with a colleague and in two minutes have each of you create nine usual or typical question that you are likely to be asked. For example, what are your strengths and weaknesses?

In a few minutes you will identify 18 or so questions to enable you to prepare a range of answers in advance.

Next, list nine unexpected or surprising questions that you might be asked. Try working with a colleague and see who can create the most surprising question. Remember to do these quickly so that you do not filter or restrict any of your thoughts e.g. who are your heroes and why? These types of questions are sometimes asked by interviewers to see if you can ‘think on your feet’ – an increasingly valued skill given the fast-paced world in which we live. These speed thinking exercises will ensure that you are both better prepared and more confident.

If you are working by yourself repeat the same process. Ask yourself nine usual questions then nine unexpected ones. Practice answering them in a crisp, confident manner.

Speed Thinking after the interview

Applying for a new role is a stressful process but you can also use it as a learning experience even if you miss out. Again Speed Thinking can be helpful in the aftermath:

What are nine things that I have learned from this interview? Again, this should only take a few minutes. Try to reflect on what you have learned from the process. Perhaps it was the way you answered a question or the way you were dressed? Then try this exercise: what are nine things in the interview that I would do differently?

In summary, Speed Thinking is a time-efficient, fun and creative way to prepare yourself before an interview and to help you perform in a more decisive and confident manner. It will also ensure that every interview is a learning experience to help you develop and grow regardless of whether or not you are successful.

Dr Ken Hudson,

Founder and Chief Starter,

The Speed Thinking Zone

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