Systematize your thinking

Perhaps the most crucial skill that a small business owner can possess is thinking skills. The ability to solve problems--often under stress--will often determine if a business will be successful or a statistic.

I am not speaking of formal logic, though logic is certainly beneficial. I am speaking of the ability to efficiently and accurately think through a problem or issue and reach a conclusion. A small business owner must make countless decisions everyday--what price to charge, what supplies to order, whom to hire or fire, what sale to run, and on and on. While many of these decisions can be made easier by having systems, issues or problems that require creative or fresh thinking can be much more difficult. If we have systems for dealing with these situations, then it can be much easier to find a resolution.

This may strike you as odd--a system for thinking? The fact is, there are correct ways and incorrect ways to approach a problem.

As an example, you have likely experienced "circular thinking". No matter how much time you spend on a problem, you just keep rehashing the same points. Your thinking literally goes in circles. If the solution did not occur the first time, it is doubtful that you will find it the tenth time around. Yet, it can be quite easy to get stuck in that mode of thinking.

This--and similar situations--is where thinking skills are beneficial. They help us identify why we are stuck, and provide tools or exercises to overcome the obstacles. As one example, I sometimes find myself unclear about some point I want to make in an article or blog post. In such situations, "thinking on paper" is very helpful. Rather than try to get every word perfect, I just write out everything that occurs to me. I allow myself to go off onto tangents, consider points that appear completely irrelevant, etc. In the process, I usually discover what particular point isn't clear to me, and I can then address it.

There are many causes--and solutions--for problems in our thinking. If you would like to learn more about thinking skills, click here to listen to an excerpt from an interview I conducted with Jean Moroney, President of Thinking Directions. The full interview is available for members of our web site.