Learn the skills and habits needed to think your way around difficult, complex and multifaceted issues
What does it mean to think critically, and why is this important? Without critical thinking skills, complex problems become harder to solve. Critical thinking is a valuable tool that enables business leaders to use research, facts, and available data to arrive at solutions for their organizations. In this course, you’ll learn more about what critical thinking involves and you’ll assess your own level of critical thinking by walking through a short simulation exercise. Finally, you’ll gain an understanding of the five most important aspects of critical thinking skills and why each of these is required for critical thinking in a business environment.
Learning Objectives
- Learn the definition of critical thinking and why it is important
- Assess your own ability to think critically through a simulation exercise
- Discover five of the most valuable skills involved with critical thinking
Skills you’ll gain
Analytical ThinkingCritical ReflectionCritical ThinkingStrategic ThinkingBusiness SimulationCritical ReadingWhat You'll Learn
- Define critical thinking and explain why it is important
- Assess your own ability to think critically through a simulation exercise
- Discover five of the most valuable skills involved with critical thinking
- Verify facts and communicate effectively as part of the critical thinking process
- Apply open-mindedness and note different perspectives when solving problems
- Recognize the impact of biases on critical thinking in a business environment
Key Takeaways
- Critical thinking enables business leaders to use research, facts, and available data to arrive at solutions for their organizations.
- Without critical thinking skills, complex problems become harder to solve.
- The course covers five of the most important aspects of critical thinking skills and why each is required in a business environment.
- A short simulation exercise lets learners assess their own level of critical thinking.
- Verifying facts, communicating effectively, being open-minded, noting different perspectives, and understanding the impact of biases are key elements of the critical thinking process.
Frequently Asked Questions
What will I learn in this course?
You'll learn the definition of critical thinking and why it is important, assess your own ability to think critically through a simulation exercise, and discover five of the most valuable skills involved with critical thinking.
Who is this course for?
It is geared toward business leaders, as critical thinking enables them to use research, facts, and available data to arrive at solutions for their organizations, and it includes critical thinking skills for managers.
Why is critical thinking important?
Without critical thinking skills, complex problems become harder to solve; critical thinking is a valuable tool that lets business leaders use research, facts, and available data to arrive at solutions.
Does the course include any hands-on practice?
Yes. You'll assess your own level of critical thinking by walking through a short simulation exercise.
What skills does this course build?
It builds analytical thinking, critical reflection, critical thinking, strategic thinking, business simulation, and critical reading skills.
Transcript
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What is Critical Thinking? Before we dive into critical thinking, let's take a moment for a brief scenario. Imagine that you are an extreme rock climber harnessed and safely bolted to the side of a large scenic rock face. You look over the rock ledge, enjoying the panoramic landscape in all directions. Suddenly, you see a storm pattern gathering from the west with threatening clouds forming and moving in your direction. You look down and realize the path to safety is actually up, and you have to keep climbing to reach the security of shelter and a firm ledge. As you move up the rope, you quickly assess your situation, determine the best path to take, identify and reject poor handles in the cliff face, and move quickly upwards to avoid the impending storm. Now let me ask you a few questions. Did your heart begin to race? Did your mind start to search for more clues to resolve your situation and avoid a dangerous outcome? Did you find yourself unconsciously working to develop a plan that would lead you to safety even though you were sitting safely in your office watching this lesson? If you experienced discomfort but rose to the occasion to solve this rock climbing problem, congratulations. You're a born critical thinker. In an emergency, everyone's senses, thoughts and conscious thinking skills are at a heightened state of awareness. This helps the critical thinker to find the best and most effective solution to a problem and fast. Critical thinking is a process, and it's practically guaranteed to help business leaders, managers and business owners, as well as employees tasked with problem solving, to find real answers to business-related issues. Now that you know you can climb any mountain, figuratively speaking, you are more than ready to learn about the process of critical thinking for managers.
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