How to be a Brilliant Thinker: Exercise Your Mind and Find Creative Solutions Book

Foreword ix

1 The need for different thinking 1

2 Consider the opposite 6

3 Confront assumptions 10

4 Analyse problems 15

The path to the ideal 16

Why, Why? 16

Six serving men 8

Lotus blossom 9

Summary 19

5 Ask questions 21

6 Think in combinations 26

7 Parallel thinking 30

8 think creatively 35

9 Think laterally 39

10 Think what no one else thinks 44

11 Evaluate ideas 47

Selection criteria 47

Triage 49

Group evaluation methods 50

12 Make difficult decision 52

Pair rankings 54

3 Develop your verbal thinking 60

GEt a good dictionary and thesaurus 61

Read 62

Capture new words 63

Write, rewrite and edit 64

Play with words 64

Listen to yourself 65

Take the verbal intelligence questionnaire 64

14 Think mathematically 67

15 Get to grips with probability 73

16 Think visually 79

Questionnaire on visual thinking 82

answers to the questions 83

17 Develop your emotional intelligence 86

Self-awarencess 87

self-management 88

social awareness 89

Relationship management 91

18 Be a brilliant conversationalist 92

Ask questions 92

Listen 93

Give compliments 94

Use names 94

Keep up to date on topical issues 94

Be humorous 95

Speak clearly 96

Enjoy it 96

19 Win arguments 97

Dos, don'ts and sneaky tactics 97

Questionnaire 102

20 ponder 103

Listen 103

Slow down your life 104

Prioritize 105

Declutter 105

Delay some decisions 106

Incubate 106

Meditate 107

Allocate time for reflection 107

21 Maximize your memory 109

Memory pegging techniques 111

The virtual journey 114

Mnemonics 116

Remembering numbers 116

Remembering names 116

22 Experiment, fail and learn 119

Questionnarieon learning from mistakes 120

23 Tell stories 124

24 Think humorously 128

25 Think positively 131

26 Set goals 136

27 Priortize and focus 140

Handling your to-do list 142

28 Turn thinking into action 145

Why procrastination is dangerous 45

Ask yourself' Why am I stuck? 146

It is all right not to know 146

Don't wait for perfection 146

Phone a friend 147

Remind yourself of the benefits 148

Do something-get into motion 148

Set goals 149

Share your goals and actions 149

Pause, don't stop 149

Mentally rehearse and then act 150

Take the procrastination questionnaire 150

29 Common thinking errors 51

The Availability error 151

Mistaking the cause 154

The gambler'ls fallacy 155

The confirmation bias 156

Clustering illusion 156

Cognitive biases 156

30 Boost your brain 159

31 Games for brilliant thinkers 166

32 Summary-a checklist for the brilliant thinker 169

Appendix 1 Answers 173

Appendix 2 References and further reading 174

Index 176