Guidelines for Good Thinking

+#2 See the situation clearly - Understand what you're dealing with.

Sometimes, we jump to conclusions about a situation before really understanding it. When we take the time to see, listen, and think—we begin to understand. When we understand, we can break things down into bite-sized pieces. Then, we can make progress.

+#3 Get accurate information - and pay attention to it.

There’s often a lot of information about a situation—if we take the time to find it. More is not necessarily better—the trick is to know what information we need. Then we need to get it, make sure it’s accurate, and use it well.

+#4 Know who to involve - and use them well.

For tough problems, we need help. Involving others and being a team player gives us access to all kinds of valuable information and perspectives. When we work with others to understand and resolve problems, our solutions are stronger and more effective.

+#5 Make sure you're focused on the right things.

If we get too focused on the wrong things, the right things don’t get done. We need to make sure we’re focused on what’s important—not just what is most urgent or interesting.

+#6 Develop an action plan - make sure things get done.

Change requires careful planning. In order to ensure things get done, we need to be specific about what needs to happen, by when, and who needs to do it.

+#7 Questions help you get necessary information - and involve others.

To be effective problem-solvers, we need to be effective questioners. No one has all the answers. Questions help us get and analyze the information we need. Questions help us stretch our thinking and the thinking of others.

+#8 Use a proven approach.

Good thinking is a skill. As with any skill, there are steps you can take to improve it. The SCAN process is a proven step-by-step approach to improving the good thinking skills you already have.