The Passion Meter
August 21, 2008
One powerful way of making a decision is to use what i have called the passion meter. This is a meter which measures how passionate you feel about a particular course of action or option.
Passion, I believe is the most important aspect in making and implementing a decision. Passion gives you energy which is what is needed to get anything up and running. If an option makes rational, logical or financial sense it still will flounder without someone, somewhere saying that ‘give it to me i will give it a go and make it happen.’
In the decision-making process, after you have created a number of options than ask yourself: how passionate do I feel about option one on a scale of 1-10? Then repeat for option two, three etc.
In a very short time you will have ranked the options according to passion. Go with the highest scoring ones. You will have a greater chance of making it a success and because you care about it you will do better work.
Try the passion meter and let me know how you go.
Can you think too much?
August 16, 2008
I, like of millions of others, have been captivated by the Olympics. There is something about having our finest sportspeople and athletes compete fiercely then shake hands at the end that stirs the imagination.
In flicking through the reports of the
‘China’s New Jersey Net power forward Yi Jianlian blamed the loss on hesitant play down the stretch, saying his team-mates were thinking too much. We started thinking too much and when you start thinking too much you start making mistakes,’ Yi said.
This is such an interesting comment the idea that you can think too much. Presumably what Yi meant what that by thinking too much you ignore your natural instincts, you procrastinate and become hesitant. Suddenly you become overwhelmed with the pros and cons of every option. This feeling reminded of Julia Cameron’s (Author, The Artists Way) insight, thinking is not the enemy, but overthinking is.’
This is one reason why Speed Thinking is a very effective process to help in the decision-making process. In giving little time and perhaps a speed thinking tool you often become focused on the task at hand and sometimes the decision becomes crystal clear. The limited time seems to encourage you to listen to your emotional or unconscious brain and avoid the endless loop of rational analysis. I have also found in my workshops that when you ask people for a decision and in fact demand that they make one in two minutes they always can. They have to rely on their own instincts and not wait for the crowd.
Speed Thinking works on a four step process of Start, Build, Evaluate and Do. The first and last stages are the most important. You have to start and not procrastinate and you eventually have to ‘Do’ something — it could be to research the concept, test the decision or keep doing what you are already doing. But the important point is to do something.
As Goethe told us, ‘whatever you think you can do, or believe you can do, begin it, because action has magic, grace and power in it.’
The One Dollar A Minute Rule
July 18, 2008
An interesting way of making decisions in a time-poor world is to imagine that every working minute of your day is worth one dollar to you. If you work for say nine hours then you have $540 worth of potential time each day that you can utilize or 2700 dollars each working week!
Now i know that not everything can be equated to a dollar figure. For example if i spend 20 minutes helping my kids do their homework then that should not have a dollar value. But what this rule of thumb provides you is but one way of having a single measure of your time and to remind you that your time is valuable.
Thinking this way might just help you to make better, quicker decisions in your everyday life. For example, the other day i spent about ten minutes deciding which pen to buy — this was just a garden variety pen but i agonized over color, brand, ink width etc. Under the dollar a minute rule i would have spent at that most five minutes because that was the entire pen was worth.
Try it next time you are faced with a decision. For example if i had to decide whether to go to a meeting. Ask yourself is it worth more to me than the 60 minutes i will spend there (i.e. is it worth more than $60 to me). If the answer is yes than go for it. If not, politely say no.
The one dollar a minute rule might just help you make better, faster decisions.
Ken Hudson
Head & Heart Decisions
May 22, 2008
There are two key beliefs in decision making. One is that the more important the decision the longer that you take in making it. The second is the belief that by taking a longer time you make better decisions.
But is this the case? Recent research by A Dijksterhuis & L Nordgren from the
However, what is the most important financial decision many people make in their life? To buy a house you might say. But how many people have carefully drawn up a list of house attributes with some form of rating (e.g. it must be close to a school) and when they walk into a house simply say this is it. I must have it even if many of the attributes are missing!
This behaviour reminds us that we are human and that we when we make decisions it is a rational and emotional conversation. That is why we have designed the ‘head and heart’ tool. In two minutes we ask participants to list all the rational factors (e.g. price) they might consider then in the next two minutes what are the emotional features of a decision (e.g. pride). By having these ‘out on the table’, these can be discussed and people can often make better and faster decisions.
Ken Hudson
The Two Minute Challenge
April 26, 2008
In 1982, Kenneth H Blanchard and Spencer Johnson wrote a book called The One Minute Manager. This became a classic and has sold millions of copies and is still widely read today. The accessible, practical style of the book invited readers as well as the potency of its three core practices for managers. These are
- The One Minute Goal
- The One Minute Praise
- The One Minute Reprimand
I would like to update these concepts for today’s manager in what I have called The Two Minute Challenge. The aim with this challenge is to select a problem, opportunity or issue and give yourself two minutes to create at least nine different responses. Do not attempt to filter your ideas—just let them flow. No idea is a silly one as it could provide a bridge to another more practical one.
The Two Minute Challenge can be used by anyone, everyday, on most sorts of problems. When time is short it is an ideal way to create some movement or new starting points. Because the time is so short it means that you will have to access the power of your unconscious. It is the essence of Speed Thinking.
The Two Minute Challenge can also be used to make better decisions. In two minutes write down at least nine rational factors involved in selecting an alternative e.g. does it make money. Then in the next two minutes capture at least nine emotional considerations e.g. do I feel passionate about it? Then use both of these lists to help you make a more considered decision.
The Two Minute Challenge is a new way for you to thrive in a time-poor world. If you have Two Minutes you can make a difference!
Dr. Ken Hudson, Founder
The Speed Thinking Zone
Think Quicker - Want to Feel Better? Then Think Quicker!
April 26, 2008
Think Quicker - Want to Feel Better? Then Think Quicker!
Some fascinating research was conducted by Emily Pronin and Daniel Wegner from Princeton and Harvard University (Psychological Science, Volume 17, Number 9, 2006) which suggested that simply thinking quicker can have a positive impact on your mood.
They conducted research with undergraduates at Princeton University and divide the total students (144) up into four groups.
- Fast thought—elation statements
- Fast thought—depression statements
- Slow thought—elation statements and
- Slow thought—depression statements
They found that regardless of the content of the statements (i.e. either elation or depression statements) the participants who thought quicker felt in a better mood, improved self-esteem, more creative, powerful and energetic.
The research suggests that just as people feel better after aerobic exercise, for example, rapid thinking may induce a similar effect.
‘The results of this experiment suggest the intriguing possibility that during moments when people feel stuck having depressed thoughts, interventions that accelerate the speed of such thoughts may serve to boost feelings of positive affect and energy.’
One of the implications of this research is that if you are feeling a bit down or feel stuck then accelerating your thinking in and of itself can have a positive impact. And further, this has the potential to create a positive expectation cycle: because you know you are thinking quicker and you can feel yourself thinking quicker you will feel better (because you believe feeling better is what happens)! Again it is similar to a work-out session—you know you will feel better after it and when this happens it confirms your expectation.
The message? The end benefits of Speed Thinking I have found are things like new and better ideas and solutions but the process itself can be just as rewarding.
Dr. Ken Hudson, Founder
The Speed Thinking Zone
think quicker , Speed Thinking , Fast Thinking , Speed to Market
Speed Thinking - Discovering Speed thinking
April 25, 2008
Speed thinking - Discovering Speed thinking
This is my first blog in what I hope will be a fruitful and productive adventure. It is exciting and scary letting go of a successful creative thinking and innovation business I have run for the past five years called IdeaSpace (www.ideaspace.com.au). But I believe that I have discovered a new way of thinking that is perfectly adapted to the internet paced world that we live in. I have called this Speed Thinking.
The insight for Speed Thinking came from my workshops with business people and my graduate students. In attempting to work through more material I kept giving participants in my workshops less and less time to complete a task. Paradoxically it seemed to have no detrimental effect on the quality and quantity of their performance. In fact, if anything the originality of their responses appeared to be enhanced. I was intrigued by this phenomenon and wondered what the natural limit might be.
Through trial and error, I have discovered that if you set participants an everyday challenge, with a two minute time-limit and you ask them to create at least nine different responses then often magic happens. People are often amazed at their responses—‘where did that come from they exclaim’.
As the clock ticks away people are totally focused on the task at hand and are immersed in the challenge. They are right in the moment with no sense of evaluating their responses. New ideas, solutions or decisions pour out in a stream of consciousness. It appears that they enter their own zone of high performance (hence the name The Speed Thinking Zone) much like sportspeople who for the briefest of moments can do anything they want seemingly at will.
This Speed Thinking experience also tends to create a natural high. Participants talk about having a as their creativity is unlocked. This is consistent with the findings of Pronin & Wagner (Psychological Science, Volume 17, Number 9, 2006), for example, who found what they called Manic Thinking had a positive effect on respondent’s mood.
My vision of The Speed Thinking Zone is that together we can create a better understanding of the theory and practice of Speed Thinking so that we can all achieve more in less time and as a result lead happier and more rewarding lives.
Dr. Ken Hudson.
Founder & Chief Starter
The Speed Thinking Zone (www.thespeedthinkingzone.com)
Speed thinking , Think Quicker , Fast Thinking, Speed to Market