Collins Business Secrets – Mind Power

Table of Contents

Cover Page

Title Page

Author’s note

Unlock the potential of your mind

Understand how your mind works

1.1 Know how your brain functions

1.2 Strengthen the right side of your brain

1.3 Strengthen the left side of your brain

1.4 Identify your learning style

1.5 Unleash your creativity

1.6 Draw a pattern diagram

1.7 Change your thinking

1.8 Develop as a whole person

Read and listen more effectively

2.1 Know your aims in reading

2.2 Read more quickly

2.3 Take in key information

2.4 Learn the SQ3R reading technique

2.5 Make sense of numbers

2.6 Interpret statistics on graphs

2.7 Listen more carefully

2.8 Evaluate what you listen to

2.9 Question the speaker

Think strategically

3.1 Take a step back

3.2 Use de Bono’s hats

3.3 Hold an Appreciative Inquiry

3.4 Apply random thinking

3.5 Take a PEST

3.6 Take a SWOT

3.7 Harvest your thoughts

Solve problems well

4.1 Generate fresh ideas

4.2 Examine causes and effects

4.3 Apply the Pareto principle

4.4 Evaluate the pros and cons

4.5 Respond creatively to problems

Develop your memory

5.1 Refresh your memory

5.2 Use mnemonics

5.3 Use the link system

5.4 Replace words with a picture

5.5 Imagine a journey

5.6 Think of a story

5.7 Remember key phrases in a talk

5.8 Remember names

5.9 Remember numbers

5.10 Remember dates

Focus your mind

6.1 Concentrate better

6.2 Become more confident

6.3 Build up courage

6.4 Take responsibility

6.5 Be positive

Inspire your mind

7.1 Balance the work-life ratio

7.2 Achieve in a team

7.3 Handle your boss better

7.4 Assert yourself

7.5 Make the most of your time

7.6 Keep an open mind

Jargon buster

Further reading

About the Author

Copyright

About the Publisher

Author’s note

The author would like to thank Hannah Murphy, Hannah Harris, Sara James and Roger Manser for their help and advice.

Unlock the potential of your mind

The mind in each one of us has the incredible capacity for thinking, understanding and decision making. This book explores how you can release the potential that is already within you.

In my working life, I’ve had to make many strategic decisions about which direction to take. Some decisions have been easy; others have come about only through much concentrated effort and creative problem solving. Some of the ways in which my work has developed have also arisen out of discoveries that have been made, it seems, by ‘chance’: being in the right time and the right place and having the right experience. Further, in the many presentations that I have given, I have had to expand my memory to remember, not only broad facts and important details, but also people’s names. So, in a way, I wish that I had had this book in my hands years ago – it would have helped me greatly!

I wish you all the best as you personally undertake one of life’s greatest journeys, to explore and use the resources of your mind. This book consists of 50 secrets, set out in seven chapters:

• Understand how your mind works. Knowing what kind of person you are is an important first step to challenging yourself and developing the full use of your mind.

• Read and listen more effectively. Improving your skills in the key perceptive areas of reading and listening will help you keep ahead of your competitors.

• Think strategically. It’s all too easy for your thinking to go round and round in circles and not make progress, so here are some practical tips to kick-start your thinking processes.

• Solve problems well. Here we apply various mindpower techniques to help you develop a wider range of ways for dealing with difficulties and making decisions.

• Develop your memory. Here is useful guidance to help you deal with the difficulties we all have in remembering information, names and numbers.

• Focus your mind. To work effectively in today’s business environment, you need to be focused, giving the tasks in hand your full attention and cultivating a positive outlook and attitude towards any problems that you face.

• Inspire your mind. You need to stimulate and nurture your mind to be able to manage – and if possible reduce – stress levels and become successful as you work with colleagues and manage your time effectively.

If you follow these seven secrets, you will be well on your way to making the best use of the vast resources that are already at your disposal in your mind.

This book will help you unlock the vast resources of your mind.

Understand how your mind works

First off, it is vital to know how your mind works best, so that you can decide which learning styles are best suited to you. In this chapter, we’ll address this, before exploring how you can develop methods for using your mind creatively for common tasks such as taking notes and researching a subject. It is all too easy to follow established ways of thinking, so you need to be challenged to change and develop as a whole person.

1.1 Know how your brain functions

If you are aware of the contrasting activities of the two sides of your brain – broadly, creative on the right, logical on the left – you will be able to work more effectively. Further, if you are working with colleagues in a team, make sure that the members’ skills complement one another.

Activities in the brain are commonly attributed to either the right side or the left, depending on their nature in the creative/logical divide. In some people, one side of the brain is more dominant than the other.

People whose left side is more dominant:

• Process information in a linear sequence easily, taking different elements and arranging them logically.

• Process words and numbers relatively easily.

• Enjoy analysing details and making lists.

People whose right side is more dominant:

• Process information as a whole more easily. First of all they see the big picture, and then look at the details.

one minute wonder Think about yourself: which side of your brain is more dominant? If you know this, it will help you realize that you may need to develop the unused potential of your less dominant side (see the next two Secrets for more on this).

• Process information creatively and intuitively, using their imagination relatively easily.

• Are aware of spatial dimensions.

• Enjoy learning that involves doing, feeling, touching objects and drawing illustrations in colour.

We tend to have one side of the brain that is more dominant than the other, though great scientists tend to be very well-balanced in these terms. Einstein, for exampled, enjoyed activities such as sailing, art and playing the violin.

The significance of this is:

• If you are undeveloped on one side of the brain, work at strengthening and nurturing the unused potential of the less dominant side, so that it becomes more effective. If you do this, you will find that, rather than being weakened in the area in which you are currently stronger, you will actually become stronger in both areas, and the overall performance of your mind will be improved.

• Make sure that a team of colleagues working together has a balance of those who enjoy logical, analytical thinking and those whose style is more intuitive and creative.

Work at developing your brain’s unused potential.

1.2 Strengthen the right side of your brain

If the left side of your brain is more dominant, then it’s time to strengthen the right side so that you become more balanced.

There are many ways in which you could strengthen the right side of your brain. They include:

• Dream dreams. Remove yourself from your cold analysis and use your imagination. You could even write down your dreams.

• See the big picture. Go beyond the details in which you are immersed and see the widest possible dimensions.

case study By personality, the left side of my brain is more dominant. After leading seminars on writing clear English, I realized that I needed to branch out as the market place was becoming saturated. I wrestled with this problem for some time, trying logically to think through ways of dealing with it. One day, when I was not thinking about this problem, the thought struck me: I should intentionally target managers who had deliberately chosen a career that didn’t initially involve writing. In particular, I focused on accountants and engineers. The success lay in being open to fresh, ‘outside-the-box’ thinking and then being proactive: actively deciding a new strategy and formulating a plan to capture a new market.

• Take risks. Don’t always be cautious and play it safe (but don’t be reckless!). Do something you usually do differently – go a different way to work; experiment with different foods or ways of cooking.

• Change your perspective. Be on the lookout for positive ways of grasping new opportunities, rather than seeing them as a threat.

• Be creative. Think of imaginative ways of expressing a problem you are currently dealing with. Draw it, or something that could represent it. What colour would it be? What shape and dimensions?

• Take a break from work. Do something physically active – go to the gym, go dancing. A healthy body will develop a healthy mind.

• Develop your intuition. When random thoughts occur to you when you are doing something that is unrelated to work, such as having a shower or driving home from work, don’t ignore them. Give them your attention: these thoughts come from your subconscious.

Take something you usually do and do it differently.

1.3 Strengthen the left side of your brain

If the right side of your brain is more dominant, then it’s time to strengthen the left side to achieve that elusive but rewarding balance.

Again, there are many ways in which you could strengthen the left side of your brain. Here are a few:

• Delve into the details. Go beyond the big picture to fill in details. If you’re not sure what details to think about, answer the following question words: ‘who?’, ‘where?’, ‘when?’, ‘what?’, ‘how?’ and ‘why?’

• Become more organized. Make a list of things you need to do. Make notes.

one minute wonder Give yourself dates for achieving goals. Break the goals down into manageable and timed tasks so that you have clear and definite scheduled tasks. Commit yourself to doing that, and tell a friend or colleague to contact you a day after the set time to make sure you have done it.

“He that cannot reason is a fool. He that will not is a bigot. He that dare not is a slave.”

Andrew Carnegie, Scottish-born industrialist and philanthropist

• Plan ahead. Think of a task that you need to do. Work out all the steps that you need to take to achieve that aim. Then put all those stages in the most logical order to fulfil them most effectively.

• Think in the long term. Set yourself long-term goals and then analyse those goals, working out intermediate steps that are realistic and achievable. It’s important to write them down: putting them down on paper will help you visualize and concentrate on the goals.

• Take firm decisions. Switch off the television earlier than usual to get more sleep. Resolve to develop new, beneficial habits, such as walking more, going to the gym or playing chess. Get friends to help you if necessary, or use local clubs.

• Train yourself to become more logical. Work at solving puzzles, such as Sudoku or crossword puzzles, however easy or difficult they are.

• Train your memory. Deliberately set yourself to learn phone numbers or spellings that you find difficult to remember.

Go beyond the big picture and begin to fill in the details.

1.4 Identify your learning style

People learn in different ways. If you want to use your mind effectively, you will need to know the best way in which you learn. There are three main styles of learning, which are allied to our senses.

• Visual learners. Such people like to see information in pictures, diagrams, charts, tables and in writing.

• Auditory learners. They like to listen to information and then discuss it, listening to what others say to help them learn.

• Kinesthetic learners. These people like to be active and learn by doing. They are attuned to the feel and movement of things.

case study The original working group that met to develop a new marketing strategy was made up of three academically inclined graduates, Stephen, Andrew and Greta, who were very gifted at logical and verbal arguments. They loved to discuss the detailed wording of the strategy and tactics, but never made any real progress on the main part of the campaign. When Ros joined the committee, everything changed. Her skills were on the creative and visual, ‘thinking outside-the-box’ side. She quickly enabled the whole group to move on, as she drew pattern diagrams and flow charts of the work involved. This new way of working resulted in fresh ideas that stirred the whole committee into action to tackle the campaign.

Personal learning

Knowing where your preferences lie is the first step. You can then use that knowledge as a basis to challenge yourself to extend your range of learning styles. The aim is to be balanced and well-adjusted so that you learn in ways that are less familiar to you and are not your preferred style. Seek opportunities to practise a different style.

Team development

If you work in a team, make sure that other members of the team have different learning styles so that you complement one another.

Presentations

If you are presenting information to others, you should be aware that people learn in different ways. Good presenters use a multi-sensory approach to include different styles of learning so that every member of the audience is able to take in the presentation effectively. This means that you should provide visual aids that illustrate your argument, give headings to support it, and provide opportunities for discussion and further expression through stories and role play.

If you work in a team, make sure that its members have different learning styles to complement one another.

1.5 Unleash your creativity

The American inventor Thomas Edison said, “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration”. You develop your creativity by hard work…and also by allowing room to receive and harness inspiration, when it comes.

Here are five steps to help you develop your creative thinking.

1 Change your way of doing things. Read more widely; pick up a magazine on a subject that you don’t normally look at or read a novel by an author unfamiliar to you. Take up a new hobby – you don’t have to be the best in the world; just enjoy it. It’ll help you develop your personality.

case study The music market in around 2001 was in a mess: CDs were expensive and were difficult to transport; MP3 players were poor quality and short on memory; and it was difficult to get hold of MP3 files legally and easily. The creative combination of Apple’s iPod and iTunes solved all these problems and also gave the company 75% dominance of the digital music market in both hardware and software.

2 Be open to fresh ideas. A new thought or solution to a problem may suddenly occur to you, especially when you are not thinking directly about the problem. Evaluate the insight that has come to you, and test it to see if it is useful and worth pursuing. For more on thinking creatively, see Secret 3.4.

3 Prepare. If you are giving a presentation, there is no substitute for working hard on research to make sure you have all the relevant facts. Perhaps you don’t know where to start? A mind map may help you (see Secret 1.6).

4 Analyse the facts. Think them through and examine them from different angles. Challenge assumptions and distinguish between facts and opinions. Explore weaknesses and find gaps in an argument. Think through the reasons why something has developed as it has. Uncover the background causes of an event. Analyse all data critically.

5 Put the facts together (synthesize them). Evaluate different options. Think of new ways of putting things together. For example, you may think of developing better systems at work: a combination of logic and creativity will help you do this.

Give yourself space to be imaginative and come up with exciting new ideas.

1.6 Draw a pattern diagram

A pattern diagram is a creative drawing that captures what you judge to be the main aspects of a central thought that you want to consider.

Many people find drawing a pattern diagram (also called a mind map, pattern notes or a spider diagram) helpful to see all the parts of a subject and how they fit together. It can be useful for taking notes, brainstorming a topic or researching a subject. Here’s how to prepare a pattern diagram in seven steps:

1 Take a blank sheet of A4 paper and place it on the table in a landscape format.

2 Write with a pencil your central subject (a word or a few words, not a whole sentence) in the middle of the paper.

case study In order to plan a course on Report Writing, I used a pattern diagram to write down all I knew about the audience: their needs, what they already knew and the level of proficiency I wanted them to achieve. I broke down the major points that I wanted them to learn into manageable chunks. During the seminar, it really helped to have a clear summary that I could refer to on one sheet of paper.

3 Write around that central word other key words that relate to it; let your imagination move you. Think of subdivisions of that subject, or facts that relate to the subject.

4 Keep branching out various other aspects of the subject that come into your mind. These other aspects can cover a variety of points, such as facts relating to the subject, your feelings about a subject, and the advantages or disadvantages of following different courses of action. If you get stuck at any point, stimulate your thinking by answering the question words: ‘who?’, ‘where?’, ‘when?’, ‘what?’, ‘how?’ and ‘why?’

5 At this stage, do not reject any thoughts. (Use an eraser only sparingly to delete what you have written.)

6 You could colour in different key words to show which ones are related. You could also use symbols, images or pictures if you find that helpful.

7 You could also number the different key words to give them a hierarchy of importance.

Let your imagination stimulate you, and you will be able to draw a pattern diagram that captures the different aspects of a subject.

1.7 Change your thinking

It’s all too easy to think in the same way that we are used to – for our thoughts, feelings and habits to get stuck in a rut. This need not last, however: you can learn to think differently!

Ways to help you think differently:

• Try a new approach. Move on from the “we’ve-always-done-it-this-way” approach and rethink things, both logically and creatively.

• Think positively. If you tend to always raise objections about how and why something won’t work, stop yourself and try to view a situation constructively instead. If you combine your natural caution with a new optimism, you may be able to improve the plans.

• Reconsider yourself and your career. Look at your work situation from a fresh perspective. Is there room for improvement?

case study The British designer and engineer James Dyson challenged accepted ways of thinking when, in the 1980s, he launched the first bagless vacuum cleaner. He had been frustrated by the way that conventional cleaners lose power as the bags fill up with dust and dirt. Delivering more power to the vacuum cleaner may have been one (partial) solution, but instead, Dyson adopted a different way of thinking. He started from the premise that vacuum cleaners were no longer ‘allowed’ to have bags, and this led him to devise an entirely different approach – the cyclone system – which has proved remarkably successful.

• Think creatively. Change from narrow to original thinking. If you have trouble developing innovative, creative ideas, try using a device such as the pattern diagram (Secret 1.6) to help fire your imagination.

• Change your habits. It can help to learn new skills in order to give you a broader set of tools for tackling work and solving problems.

All of these ways of thinking differently involve taking risks. If you are naturally cautious, you may be unwilling to take risks. Think why this is. Here are some possible reasons:

• “I don’t want to make a fool of myself.” The response to this is simply, “does this really matter?”

• “It might not work out.” The response to this is to quote the saying, “a person who never made mistakes never made anything”.

• “It’ll take a long time.” Well yes, it may, but think how you learnt to drive or how you learnt a foreign language. Weren’t these incredibly worthwhile skills that took some time to learn?

Just because you have done things in a certain way in the past doesn’t mean you have to follow that way always. You can change your way of working.

1.8 Develop as a whole person

We are not just people who think. We are humans – sentient, emotional, physical beings. And as part of developing mind power, you need to develop yourself as a whole human being.

Here is a list to prompt and encourage your development.

• Break your normal routine. You can start in an easy fashion simply by watching different programmes on television; seek out a more diverse range of programmes than you usually watch.

• Read about current affairs. Devour your favourite website, a quality newspaper or periodical such as The Economist or Newsweek.

• Think. Don’t just read. Think about the big underlying issues to problems, news stories and other narratives. Take time to reflect. Schedule in time to relax your mind from concentrated action.

• Challenge yourself. Move out of your comfort zone. For example, I recently was a student for a four-week intensive course – I found the experience demanding as it was 35 years since I was last a student on an educational course!

• Jot and sketch. Carry a pencil and notebook, or electronic equivalent, with you to jot down or sketch fresh ideas as they come to you.

one minute wonder Rather than working through your lunch break, go out and look around you. Break your routine: buy sandwiches from a different shop, go to a different café or order different food. Look around you with a fresh pair of eyes, take in the sights, smells and sounds. Imagine you’ve just landed in your city as a tourist – what would you notice?

• Learn to listen. But don’t just listen…really listen. What are people saying and not saying? Reflect on what you’re learning. Talk with friends and colleagues. Discuss issues and ideas; express your latest thinking to gauge responses.

• Be alert to your different senses. Make yourself look up at the sky. Stop for a moment or two and listen to the sounds around you. Reflect on them. They are part of who you are. (Drinking Coca Cola reminds me of a family holiday in France, for example.)

• Absorb some culture. Go to an art gallery or museum. Or, if that doesn’t take your fancy, go to a trade exhibition.

• Care for others. Don’t become so absorbed with yourself that you neglect people around you, in your community and in the wider world. Engage in some practical action to be helpful.

• Get physical. Take up a physical sport such as jogging, cycling or swimming. As well as the health benefits, it will help relax your mind.

• Express your artistic side. If you are creatively inclined, fit that into your regular schedule.

• Meditate. Spend time in a form of prayer or meditation to help you connect with more than the physical world.

We are whole people and need to develop different aspects of our lives.

Read and listen more effectively

Knowing your aims in reading and being able to read texts quickly are important skills. Taking in, thinking about and understanding what you read is also vital so that you can keep ahead of the game. We read not only words but also numbers in charts, graphs and diagrams, and there are techniques you can learn to improve how to read these. Listening, evaluating and then asking appropriate questions are also key skills that you need to cultivate.

2.1 Know your aims in reading

When reading a document, it is important to know the reasons why you are reading it. Are you reading to gain specific knowledge of certain details? Or are you reading to gain an overall grasp of a subject? Knowing your purpose will determine the approach you choose to follow.

Different reasons for reading include:

1 To get an overall idea of the text – this is known as skim-reading or gist-reading.

2 To gain a lot of detailed understanding of information in the text – this is known as intensive reading.

case study Depak was given the brief to research the background of moving into a new market for mobile phones. He quickly found the best websites and navigated to the appropriate pages, where he found summaries of the new market and was able to take notes and present them to his meeting.

“A capacity and taste for reading gives access to whatever has already been discovered by others”

Abraham Lincoln, US President 1861–1865

3 To find a specific piece of information – this is known as scan reading.

4 To understand the writer’s purpose in the text. Because the writer’s purpose may be implicit rather than explicit, this is known as reading to infer.

We use different reading techniques at different times. For example, to look at a job advertisement to see if we might apply for the job, we will gist-read to gain a general understanding of whether we want to take things further. In looking at a website for a phone number of a company, we will scan-read the company’s homepage to locate the ‘Contact us’ page and then find the phone number. If we have to conduct research in writing a background paper on a new product, then we will have to undertake intensive reading of texts and articles to gain a lot of detailed information.

Know your purpose in reading; that will determine the approach you follow.

2.2 Read more quickly

Build on the steps as outlined in the previous Secret by adding the element of speed. Having prepared to read by working out your aims, you are now ready to read through a text more quickly.

Here are some ways to help you read through a text more quickly. If you practise the techniques, your reading will speed up.

• Devour the text. Rather than reading in a strictly linear way, a single word at a time, aim to read groups of words.

• Put a clock on it. Set yourself a task of reading a text in a specified amount of time. If necessary, deliberately put yourself under slight pressure to read in a concentrated manner. This will mean that you should aim to reduce not only the time you spend reading each group of words but also the time you spend going back and rereading previous sections.

• Look for content words. Much of a text will be taken up with function words, such as ‘of’, ‘the’, ‘much’, ‘a’, ‘will’, ‘be’ (as in this sentence). Train yourself to look for the significant words or groups of significant words in a paragraph. These will probably be the strong nouns, adjectives or verbs.

one minute wonder Take a long and difficult text that you are not looking forward to reading. Discipline yourself on this occasion to read only the first line of each paragraph. When you have finished, pause and think about what you have read. Note any questions that your reading has raised.

• Aim for the top. Look especially at the first sentence at the top of each paragraph. If the text is well-written, the material contained in all the other sentences in the paragraph should in some way relate to the idea expressed in the paragraph’s first sentence, expanding on it, discussing it, illustrating it, commenting on it or arguing with it. A further significance of this structure is that, if you want to compile a summary of a text, you should be able to take the first sentence of each paragraph as a basis.

• Look at the road signs. Read any summary or conclusions that are provided, and use the signposts of chapter headings and subheadings for information on content and context.

• Keep a track of direction. Look out for signposts such as ‘furthermore’ or ‘in addition’, which are used to reinforce a point already made. And look out for ‘although’ or ‘alternatively’, which are used to introduce a difference or contrast. Words such as ‘consequently’ and ‘therefore’ indicate a result.

Read a text in groups of words; focus on the key content words.

2.3 Take in key information

One of your aims in reading will be to absorb the information in a text in order to relate it to other people. Here again, there are pointers to help you better absorb the text you are reading.

• Preparation. Before you begin, note down questions that occur to you and that you want answered about the subject. Read the text looking specifically for the answers to these questions.

• Read critically. As you read, evaluate both the key messages and the detail. Note the parts with which you disagree or strongly agree, and think specifically about them. (I did this once and found myself initially disagreeing with the author, but, after some thought, I revised my initial conclusions and was persuaded by the writer’s argument.)

case study

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