Thinking for a Change

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Thinking for a Change

• Dr. John C. Maxwell

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The Value of Good Thinking

• Good Thinking Creates the Foundation for Good
  Results
• Good Thinking Increases Your Potential
• Good Thinking Produces More Good Thinking IFYou
  Make It a Habit

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Thinking Quality of Results

• Poor thinking produces negative progress
• Average thinking produces no progress
• Good thinking produces some progress
• Great thinking produces great thinking

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Potential to be a Great Thinker

• Unsuccessful people focus their thinking on
  survival
• Average people focus their thinking on
  maintenance
• Successful people focus their thinking on progress

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Why Change Your Thinking?

• Changed Thinking Is Not Automatic
• Changed Thinking is Difficult
• Changed Thinking is Worth the Investment
• Changed Thinking is the Best Gift You Can Give
  Others

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The Responsibility to Change

• Changing your thinking changes your beliefs
• Changing your beliefs changes your expectations
• Changing your expectations changes your attitude

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The Responsibility to Change

• Changing your attitude changes your behavior
• Changing your behavior changes your performance
• Changing your performance changes your life

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Finding the Right Place to Think

• Find a place to think your thoughts
• Find a place to shape your thoughts
• Find a place to stretch your thoughts
• Find a place to land your thoughts
• Find a place to fly your thoughts

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Becoming a Good Thinker

• Expose yourself to good input
• Expose yourself to good thinkers
• Choose to think good thoughts

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Becoming a Good Thinker

• Act on your good thoughts
• Allow your emotions to create another good
  thought
• Repeat the process

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Skill 1

• Acquiring the Wisdom of Big-Picture Thinking

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Big-Picture Thinkers

• Learn continually
• Listen intentionally
• Look expansively
• Live completely

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Wisdom of Big-Picture Thinking

• Big-picture thinking allows you to lead
• Big-picture thinking keeps you on target
• Big-picture thinking allows you to see what
  others see

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Wisdom of Big-Picture Thinking

• Big-picture thinking promotes teamwork
• Big-picture thinking keeps you from being caught
  up in the mundane
• Big-picture thinking helps you to chart uncharted
  territory

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Important Things Leaders Do

• See the vision before their people do
• Size up situations, taking into account many
  variables
• Sketch a picture of where the team is going
• Show how the future connects with the past to
  make the journey more meaningful
• Seize the moment when the timing is right

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Big-Picture Strategies

• Dont strive for certainty
• Learn from every experience
• Gain insight from a variety of people
• Give yourself permission to expand your world

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Skill 2

• Unleash the Potential of Focused Thinking

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Benefits of Focused Thinking

• Focused thinking harnesses energy toward a
  desired goal
• Focused thinking gives ideas time to develop
• Focused thinking brings clarity to the target
• Focused thinking will take you to the next level

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Where to Focus Your Thinking

• Identify your priorities
• Discover your gifts
• Develop your dream

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Staying Focused

• Remove distractions
• Make time for focused thinking
• Keep items of focus before you
• Set goals
• Question your progress

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Setting Goals

• Clear enough to be kept in focus
• Close enough to be achieved
• Helpful enough to change lives

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To do well at a few things, give up many things.
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Give Up to Go Up

• I cant know everyone
• I cant do everything
• I cant go everywhere
• I cant be well-rounded

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Skill 3

• Discover the Joy of Creative Thinking

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Characteristics of Creative Thinkers

• Creative thinkers value ideas
• Creative thinkers explore options
• Creative thinkers embrace ambiguity

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Characteristics of Creative Thinkers

• Creative thinkers celebrate the offbeat
• Creative thinkers connect the unconnected
• Creative thinkers dont fear failure

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The Potential of Creative Thinking

• Creative thinking adds value to everything
• Creative thinking compounds
• Creative thinking draws people to you and your
  ideas
• Creative thinking helps you learn more
• Creative thinking challenges the Status Quo

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Discover Creative Thinking

• Remove creativity killers
• Think creatively by asking the right questions
• Develop a creative environment
• Spend time with other creative people
• Get out of your box

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Creative Environments

• Encourage creativity
• Places a high value among team members and
  individuality
• Embraces those who are creative

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Creative Environments

• Focuses on innovation, not just invention
• Places a high value on options
• Is willing to let people go outside the lines
• Appreciates the power of a dream

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Skill 4

• Recognize the Importance of Realistic Thinking

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Importance of Realistic Thinking

• Realistic thinking minimizes downside risk
• Realistic thinking gives you a target and game
  plan
• Realistic thinking is a catalyst for change
• Realistic thinking provides security

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Importance of Realistic Thinking

• Realistic thinking gives you credibility
• Realistic thinking provides a foundation to build
  on
• Realistic thinking is a friend to those in
  trouble
• Realistic thinking brings the dream to fruition

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Improving Realistic Thinking

• Develop an appreciation for the truth
• Do your homework
• Think through the pros and cons
• Picture the worst-case scenario
• Align your thinking with your resources

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Skill 5

• Release the Power of Strategic Thinking

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Benefits of Strategic Thinking

• Strategic thinking simplifies the difficult
• Strategic thinking prompts you to ask the right
  questions
• Strategic thinking prompts customization

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Benefits of Strategic Thinking

• Strategic thinking prepares you today for an
  uncertain tomorrow
• Strategic thinking reduces the margin for error
• Strategic thinking gives you influence with others

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Guidelines to Planning

• Break down the issue
• Ask WHY before HOW
• Identify the real issues and objectives
• Review your resources

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Guidelines to Planning

• Develop your plan
• Put the right people in the right place
• Keep repeating the process

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Skill 6

• Feel the Energy of Possibility Thinking

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The Energy of Possibility Thinking

• Possibility thinking increases your
  possibilities
• Possibility thinking draws opportunities and
  people to you
• Possibility thinking increases others
  possibilities

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The Energy of Possibility Thinking

• Possibility thinking allows you to dream big
  dreams
• Possibility thinking makes it possible to rise
  above average
• Possibility thinking gives you energy
• Possibility thinking keeps you from giving up

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Feeling the Energy

• Stop focusing on the impossibilities
• Stay away from the experts
• Look for possibilities in every situation

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Feeling the Energy

• Dream one size bigger
• Question the Status Quo
• Find inspiration from great achievers

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Skill 7

• Embrace the Lessons of Reflective Thinking

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Daily Reflection

• What did I learn today?
• What should I share?
• What must I do?

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The Lessons of Reflective Thinking

• Reflective thinking gives you true perspective
• Reflective thinking gives emotional integrity to
  your thought life
• Reflective thinking increases your confidence in
  decision-making

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The Lessons of Reflective Thinking

• Reflective thinking clarifies the Big Picture
• Reflective thinking takes a good experience and
  makes it a valuable experience

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Embracing Reflective Thinking

• Set aside time for reflection
• Remove yourself from distractions
• Regularly review your calendar or journal
• Ask the right questions
• Connect your learning through action

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The Right Questions

• Thinking Related to Values
• Thinking Related to Relationships
• Thinking Related to Experiences

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Skill 8

• Question the Acceptance of Popular Thinking

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Why Question Popular Thinking?

• Popular thinking sometimes means not thinking
• Popular thinking offers false hope
• Popular thinking is slow to embrace change
• Popular thinking brings only average results

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Questioning Popular Thinking

• Think before you follow
• Appreciate different thinking
• Continually question your own thinking
• Try new things in new ways
• Get used to being uncomfortable

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Skill 9

• Encourage the Participation of Shared Thinking

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Understanding Shared Thinking

• Shared thinking is faster than solo thinking
• Shared thinking is more innovative than solo
  thinking
• Shared thinking brings more maturity than solo
  thinking

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Understanding Shared Thinking

• Shared thinking is stronger than solo thinking
• Shared thinking returns greater value than solo
  thinking
• Shared thinking is the only way to have great
  thinking

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Encouraging Shared Thinking

• Value the ideas of others
• Move from competition to cooperation
• Have an agenda when you meet
• Get the right people around the table
• Compensate good thinkers well

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Do you Value Others?

• Am I emotionally secure?
• Do I place value on people?
• Do I value the interactive process?

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Skill 10

• Experience the Satisfaction of Unselfish Thinking

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Striving for Unselfish Thinking

• Unselfish thinking brings personal fulfillment
• Unselfish thinking adds value to others
• Unselfish thinking encourages other virtues

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Striving for Unselfish Thinking

• Unselfish thinking increases quality of life
• Unselfish thinking makes you part of something
  greater than yourself
• Unselfish thinking creates a legacy

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Cultivating Unselfish Thinking

• Put others first
• Expose yourself to situations where people have
  needs
• Give quietly or anonymously
• Invest in people intentionally
• Continually check your motives

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Skill 11

• Enjoy the Return of Bottom-Line Thinking

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Recognizing Bottom-Line Thinking

• Provides great clarity
• Helps you assess every situation
• Helps you make the best decisions
• Generates high morale
• Ensures your future

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Learning Bottom-Line Thinking

• Identify the real bottom line
• Make the bottom line the point
• Create a strategic plan to achieve the bottom
  line
• Align team members with the bottom line
• Stick with one system and monitor results
  continually