It is about this time when year 12 students (in
There is also a feeling (from talking to students) of ‘if only i had scored a few extra marks in ……….exam’. They would often say something like ‘I know that i could have finished that last essay but i ran out of time or if only i would have started the essays without searching for the perfect opening paragraph.’
The first of these laments are to do with content issues. Any school or university student simply has to be across the course (I taught at a university, part-time for ten years–you can tell straight away if the student know their stuff). This is where becoming better at subject revision and doing past papers can help.
But what about improving your performance in exams? Content is not the issue here but trying to get this content out, easily and simply.
This situation begs the question–does our education system and our teachers have the right skills and tools to help students to think quicker and better in a time-pressure situation like an exam. The answer I believe is no. This is where Speed Thinking can help.
I recently ran a pilot program with a private school in
Based on a survey of this survey, students they could immediately see the benefits of Speed Thinking and could apply it straight-away. Teachers also found this new approach fast, innovative and helpful. They found it easy to learn and communicate and this new skill can complement and enhance their existing tool-kit.
As one year 12 student commented, ‘you’ve only got one chance at the HSC so why not give it everything you’ve got?’
For a full copy of the Speed Thinking pilot results program send me an email: info [at] thespeedthinkingzone [dot] com
I am looking for any student, teacher or principal that would like to introduce Speed Thinking to their school. Speed Thinking was developed by me with and for business people but I believe this application is far more important.
Dr Ken Hudson
My eldest daughter is in her final year at school and she, like all her peers are struggling with the demands and expectations of themselves, teachers and parents. Talking to her made me realise that although the education sector does a good job of teaching content it does not equip her with the tools and techniques to think quickly under pressure which is exactly what she needs in an exam type situation.
This is where Speed Thinking may be able to help. Speed Thinking, with its emphasis on just starting, not filtering and making new connections might be very valuable to students in essay type questions. With Speed Thinking there is no right or wrong answers, the emphasis is just on getting things out as quickly as possible.
So here are my nine exam tips for essays type questions based on Speed Thinking:
1. Capture nine key points for your essay as fast as you can.
2. These should be captured in nine circles around the page. I call this template Speed Links.
3. Now select each one (in any order) and try and enhance and support each of these key points.
4. These should be recorded in an outer circle around the key point thought bubble.
5. Don’t agonise or edit or correct any of these points–just get them down.
6. Now select a few of the key points at random and try and make a connection with another key point. What new aspects of the essay might emerge?
7. After trying to get as much content out of your head onto the page (remember the content is there you just have to access it) you should now order the points from one to nine. Each key point (and support points) can be a paragraph.
8. This entire process should take more than ten minutes. In this speed downloading stage your aim is to get all you remember down and try and make some new connections which will give your essay perhaps a new range of insights.
9. Write the essay based on your speed thinking key point plan.
Let me know how it goes.
Ken Hudson
I love creating new ideas, solutions or perspectives. One or two of these are amazing, most are run of the mill and the rest quite rightly are destined to the great idea garbage bin in the sky. But you know the biggest complaint of people who create ideas is not that these are rejected but they are not heard. Actually having people really listen to your ideas and discuss the merits of them is rare indeed.
Most people make up their mind before you have time to present your idea or they have already begun finding fault with it before hearing it in its entirety. If this is part of your culture then i suggest you try the following.
Have each person work with a partner. Take it in turns to present an idea to one another. The challenge is that you must communicate your idea in one minute or less. This discipline will force you to sharpen up your main pitch. The other person must listen to your idea (it is only for one minute) and in the next 60 seconds try and develop nine ways to make your initial thought better.
This exercise is fun, energising and helps the presenter of the idea to become more focused and the receiver to become a better listener because without listening there is no way you can add nine improvements. In two minutes you will have built with your partner a stronger concept.
Ken Hudson
People often ask me how does Speed Thinking compare with Traditional Thinking? A good way of visualizing the answer to this question is the Yin-Yang symbol.
Yin-Yang in Chinese Philosophy is used to describe how seemingly opposing forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, giving rise to each other in turn (Wikipedia). In a similar way Speed Thinking (yang) provides energy, movement and acceleration whilst Traditional Thinking (yin) encourages a more disciplined, critical and reflective approach. For example, have you ever been struggling with a problem (yin) and in an instant a new solution emerges (yang)?
Both are useful, both are needed and together make up an effective total thinking approach. You can select either approach depending on the situation, time available and the your preference. You can use these in combination much like going for a run where you can walk, jog or sprint in any order.
My suggestion is to give Speed Thinking a go today. Make a decision, create an idea or solve a problem. You will feel better and you can contemplate all you want after you have acted.
Ken Hudson
I just came back from a HR SUMMIT in Hong Kong where i was one of the speakers and i was surprised that the issue of Work-Life balance was never mentioned. From all recent research among managers (particularly women) work-life balance is one of their major goals yet among HR managers at this coference it did not seem to rate a mention. Why is this so?
Perhaps the answer lies in these difficult times that simply having and keeping your job is the first and only priority. With retrenchments and down-sizing leaders are trying to reduce their cost base so that an astute manager will not want to raise an issue when simply having a job is a bonus.
The emphasis at the conference seemed to be on the measures that leaders go do to retain their all their staff, reduce their cost base and keep retrenchments at a minimum e.g. for example one company has asked every one of their leaders to take a 5% permanent cut in remuneration, another has offered a 12 month sabbatical for any employeee without pay.
But is this enough? It reminds me of the climate change debate, many initiatives have been put on hold because of the current financial crisis but shouldn’t we expect more from our business leaders. Why can’t we expect that work hard to maintain employment that offers some form of work-life balance. If you are an employee why would you expect anything less?
So lets no let our leaders (particularly in HR) off the hook. They keep telling anyone that will listen that people are our best asset yet what they are really saying is people are our best asset when it suits us and for most leaders, today it does not suit them at all.
Ken Hudson
I have just returned from Hong Kong where i attended and presented at the HR SUMMIT which is the largest HR conference in Asia.
Some of my impressions of the event were as follows:
- Leaders are trying very hard to minimise retrenchments by finding more creative ways to reduce costs e.g. cutting back on the number of expats, offering one year sabbaticals for people without pay but have a guaranteed job when they return, having all the leadership team accept a permanent 5% pay cut etc.
- Speed Thinking can work across cultures. People in my workshops although slightly uncomfortable found that Speed Thinking is a powerful yet safe way to create new ideas, solve problems or make decisions.
- This finding confirms an earlier trip i had in Singapore where i conducted a number of Speed Thinking workshops at Nokia and Intel.
- In my entire time in Hong Kong i never heard the phrase Work/Life balance at all among any of the HR managers. Perhaps in these tough times people are just happy to keep their jobs. But should this be the case? Shouldn’t we design new ways of working that are smarter and more sustainable?
Love to hear from you.
Ken hudson
Remember when time management courses were all the rage?
It seemed to make perfect sense. There were courses on managing staff, managing projects, managing budgets so the idea of a course on managing time was the next logical step. You apply the same rational approach that you do to every other business activity. You plan, control, prioritise, review etc. But is this the way that we should be thinking about time?
Have we entered a new era where so much (e.g. work, growth, sales, information etc) is expected from so few resources (e.g. time, people, dollars) that trying to become better at managing time will not be enough?
Can you really manage time in the first place?
Don’t we need to think differently about time? As Einstein said we need new thinking to solve new problems.
My aim with Speed Thinking is to help everyone create more time for themselves by becoming more efficient and productive with everyday problems, ideas and solutions. By doing so you actually feel better and you often do better work. It also means that you can free up more time to invest in other activities that have meaning to you.
The thrust of Speed Thinking is that everyday problems can be resolved by paradoxically not over-thinking these. By keeping it simple and by thinking quicker. All you need is two minutes and the courage not to filter your responses.
It is not about managing time but creating more of it for you to spend it how you wish to.
So start thinking quickly right now!
Ken Hudson
After spending a wonderful week in
After the usual ratings of the course (these can be difficult on the ego at times–in this case these were all pleasing) the company conducting the evaluation asked participants what are three things that you liked about today’s course?
The highest rated features in order were as follows:
- It was fun
- Interactive
- Think fast
- Simple
- Lively
This result surprised me. Why would fun be the most popular feature of a speed thinking session? Then it hit me. Teaching people to think for most of our educators is a serious business. Critical thinking which is what is taught in our schools relies on analysis, the use of logic, there is a belief that there is one best or correct answer, it should be conducted in a measured, time consuming way and above all, it should be objective way. It is what separates the most intelligent from the rest. Critical thinking when viewed from this perspective does not sound like a great deal of fun to me.
But critical thinking is just one thinking system. Creative or lateral thinking (developed by Edward De Bono in particular) is another one. This system is more open, exploratory, imaginative, generative and divergent . The aim is to create new possibilities rather than trying to win an argument. Being stuck in one position that has to be defended is the complete opposite of creative thinking where the aim is to create movement.
My aim is to help people create a third way of thinking — to think differently, faster. I have found that everyone can be taught to do this in an interactive, engaging way that creates energy and movement (both of ideas and physical). It is energy creating rather than energy sapping. No wonder people find Speed Thinking fun.
In a fast-moving, ever-changing world that expects people to do more with less the critical type of thinking is not enough. Both lateral and speed thinking can complement the traditional approach and help you thrive. What’s more it is fun!
Dr Ken Hudson
Chief Starter,
The Speed Thinking Zone
