The Critical Thinker
PURE & SIMPLESM Critical Thinking Tips Used By Winners
Issue 5/09
Clarity. The First Step
To Success
Clear thinking is like travelling: you have to know your
destination, only then can you plan your route.
Unfortunately, while most people seem to know where to go
for their vacation, the same cannot be said of the array of issues
and concerns they have to contend with in their daily lives.
Most of us lump all the issues which confront us as
“problems”. What’s wrong with that? Well, two things:
1. Not all “problems” are problems after all
2. Problem is an inherently negative phrase, which doesn’t always
engender the right mindset
Let’s explore the first point. Consider the following scenarios:
a) When I was a Sales Director, one of my team came to me and
said: “Boss, I’ve got a problem. The client wants to buy – it’s a
done deal – but they need the proposal by tomorrow”
b) My wife comes to me and says: “We’ve got a problem. It’s
Mum’s birthday on Saturday and we need to decide the
restaurant for dinner”
c) My boss comes to me and says: “There’s a problem. Sales are
below target. Find out why”
All three are different categories of issues, but each makes
use of the word problem. As each requires a different “way of
thinking” it’s not helpful to lump all of them as a “problem”.
More on this later.
Returning to the second issue of the use of the word
“problem”, ask yourself: when you hear the word “problem”
what does it conjure up in your psyche? Positive waves or
negatives waves? For most, it would be the latter.
And yet, we know that some of these “problems” are clear-
cut opportunities. Unfortunately, the typical human condition is
such that the presence of a “problem” makes us address the
issue as we perceive it. Which is — a problem! Here’s an old
but still highly relevant marketing story to illustrate the point:
Two shoe salesmen were sent to assess the market
potential in two different parts of Africa. Shortly after
the first one arrived, he sent a cable to the office with
the following message: “No potential here
whatsoever. Nobody wears shoes”. His colleague also
sent a cable but with a very different message. It
read: "Tremendous potential. Nobody wears shoes."
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The first step to clear thinking, and therefore clarity, is to
recognize that all issues and concerns can be categorized into
three types — problems, decisions and planning issues:
• Problem issues are those where things have not gone the way
they should, and you must know why. Scenario “c” falls into
this category and, by the book, is the only “problem” issue
• Decision issues are those where you have a choice to make,
and you have to choose from the options available. E.g. the
restaurant decision in Scenario “b”
• Planning issues are those in which a decision has already been
taken and you have to make sure that it turns out right, say, to
submit the proposal on time in Scenario “a”
In a fast-paced, action-oriented society, the tendency is to
move it, move it, move it. However, frenzied motion is not
necessarily getting you anywhere and may make things worse.
Gaining clarity on the issue(s) prevailing in a given situation
is half the answer. A case of being able to see the woods from
the trees. Take, for example, the generic "sales problem". Upon
closer inspection it may involve the following sub-issues:
1. A new competitor has entered your marketplace
2. Sales have gone down in territory A since the last quarter
3. The sales representative in territory B has resigned
Examine each of the three issues critically. You would realize
that a different thought process is required to resolve each one.
• The first issue may well impact on your strategic plans for that
marketplace and you probably want to examine the possible
impact of that new entrant on your plans
• In the second issue, you must find the cause in order to take
corrective action. In the meantime an interim measure might
have to be taken, while you find the cause of the problem
• Finally, the third issue would be a clear decision issue, if you
know the cause of the resignation
The first step to clear or clearer thinking does not entail
complex spreadsheets or glitzy presentations. It merely requires
to you to ask a few insightful questions such as
• What specifically is happening?
• What are the sub-issues?
• What specific item, thing, person is involved?
If you don’t know where you are, or where you want to go,
then one thing is certain. You will end up nowhere!