A Press Release in 10 minutes (not 2-3 hours)
December 1, 2008
I recently conducted a number of Speed Thinking workshops with a major, international Public Relations firm. As a demonstration of the power of Speed Thinking we selected the task of writing a press release for their clients.
This activity would normally take this group of managers 2-3 hours but i suggested we could do it in 10 minutes with no drop in quality using a new way of thinking. I used my company as the client and the brief was to write a press release announcing the launch of a powerful new thinking system called Speed Thinking. The target audience was business leaders but in particular HR managers.
This is the process we went through:
Step 1. The 2 Minute Brief
I gave the group 2 minutes to ask me any question about me, my business, the benefits of speed thinking, client list, about me etc.
Step 2. Nine Headings in Two minutes
Working by themselves each team member had to write nine possible headlines in 2 minutes. The important point was to start and not to filter. I suggested to them that they should include a mixture of usual and radical headlines.
Step 3: Evaluate the best rational and emotional headlines
Working with a partner, the group then discussed each other’s headlines and agreed the best rational and emotional headline in a 2 minute period (I wanted the group to escape the left-brain, linear style of communication).
Step 4: Nine bullet points
Each pairing then selected their preferred emotional headline and were then asked to write the nine key support, bullet points under this heading (in 2 minutes).
Step 5: A workable draft
Each pairing were then given two minutes to convert these bullet points into a workable press release and then we read these out to the rest of the group. People were amazed at what they could do in such a short period of time.
An example of a press release from this process is given below:
‘A world first officially launches down under today, as Australian thought-leader, Dr Ken Hudson, introduces a brand new way of thinking to organisations across Australia, large and small.
The new home-grown speed thinking model has been endorsed by major leading global organisations whose productivity has noticeably increased since working with this thinking guru.
This will come as good news for Australian business as we enter a downturn, with clear business benefits which will come from a faster thinking workforce being very apparent.
Tipped as the new Malcolm Gladwell, next year Dr Ken also has plans to introduce his model to schools to embed this smart way of managing thinking time from the earliest age.’
How to enhance group problem-solving
September 11, 2008
It is a paradox but if you want the group to be more productive then you should start with the individual. In all my work with teams i start with the individual then a smaller group then up to the larger group.
Using the Speed Thinking Process this is how i would facilitate a group problem-solving session. Let’s imagine the problem was how to improve communication across the group. Firstly i would ask everyone for their nine responses to this in the next two minutes–this should be done individually. Then i would ask people to discuss their responses with a partner (chosen at random) in two minutes.
The next step is for the smaller groups to select one of the barriers to group communication and discuss how to address this in two minutes (by creating nine possibilities). The smaller groups would select their best response and present this to the larger group.
The advantages of this process are:
- it is shorter
- everyone is involved
- everyone is heard
- there is a greater divergence of solutions and problems highlighted
- the ultimate decision and agreed actions are more likely to be implemented because there has been more engagement in the process.
Ken Hudson
Are extroverts better at Speed Thinking?
May 27, 2008
This is such an interesting question. Sometime the key to more original responses is simply to ask more original questions.
So do extroverts make better speed thinkers? It is too early to judge just yet because the concept of Speed Thinking is still so new. But in some of the workshops I have given I have gained a few tentative insights:
- The concept of Speed Thinking seems to be more easily embraced by extroverts than introverts (extroversion is based on a self-scoring scale from 1-10). They seem to enjoy the concept, it energizes and excites them.
- They also consider themselves to be better at Speed Thinking (on average) than introverts when they first start out.
- Introverts not surprisingly feel slightly uncomfortable with the concept of reacting quickly. They like to consider, internalize and deliberate on their responses. However I have found that for these people a little encouragement to stay with the process can pay dividends. One person yesterday for example came up to me after the workshop and said that she felt extremely uncomfortable with the concept but she was glad that she persevered because she felt empowered at the end of the Speed Thinking session.
- Interestingly based on a small sample of my graduate students it has to be admitted the improvement felt by introverts (51%) was higher than extroverts (39%).
- There is some support for this finding in the literature. For example David Rawlings and Debbie Carnie found that on measures of Intelligence, extroverts performed better than introverts under timed task conditions (Personality Individual Differences Volume 10, Number 4, pp453-458, 1989).
- It may well be in the future that I experiment with separating extroverts and introverts at the beginning of a speed thinking session so that each group can play to their strengths (e.g. extroverts might be louder, more impulsive, talkative etc).
Ken Hudson
The Speed Ball
May 22, 2008
One of my favourite and most powerful speed team building exercises is called The Speed Ball. It is fun, energising and is surprisingly effective.
Firstly divide a bigger group up into a number of smaller groups. Then agree upon a problem that both teams must solve. Have each team stand opposite one another a few yards apart.
One person starts and throws the ball to another person on the opposite team. They must catch the ball and then add one new idea or possible solution to the problem at hand. They should do this quickly and then throw the ball back to another person on the other team. Each person must catch the ball and add a new idea. This goes back and forth until one team wins (if you drop the ball, cannot think of an idea immediately or throw a bad pass you are out).
Another team records the ideas.
People are amazed at their responses. Because you have to concentrate on the ball and think quickly you have no time to filter or censor your ideas. Your rational mind is distracted which seems to free up your imagination to create new ideas at will. I have seen literally fifty or so new ideas created in minutes at the same time as people are having fun and enjoying a friendly competitive environment.
Ken Hudson