This text is a tribute to the idea that strategy should be practised in ways that fuel our minds by engaging our bodies. When we do strategy rather than think strategy we engage our senses in ways that pure intellectual reasoning cannot. This book considers ideas that can help leaders transform strategy into imaginative and responsible practice.
A new theory proposes that thinking is a learned action. In this remarkable monograph, Derek Melser argues that the core assumption of both folk psychology and cognitive science—that thinking goes on in the head—is mistaken. Melser argues that thinking is not an intracranial process of any kind, mental or neural, but is rather a learned action of the person. After an introduction in which he makes a prima facie case that thinking is an action, Melser reviews action-based theories of thinking advanced by Ryle, Vygotsky, Hampshire and others. He then presents his own theory of "token concerting," according to which thinking is a special kind of token performance, by the individual, of certain social, concerted activity. He examines the developmental role of concerted activity, the token performance of concerted activity, the functions of speech, the mechanics and uses of covert tokening, empathy, the origins of solo action, the actional nature of perception, and various kinds and aspects of mature thinking. In addition, he analyzes the role of metaphors in the folk notion of mind. While intending his theory as a contribution to the philosophy of mind, Melser aims also at a larger goal: to establish actions as a legitimate philosophical given, self-explanatory and sui generis. To this end, he argues in the final chapter against the possibility of scientific explanation of actions. The Act of Thinking opens up a large new area for philosophical research.
The classic book on systems thinking—with more than half a million copies sold worldwide! "This is a fabulous book... This book opened my mind and reshaped the way I think about investing."—Forbes "Thinking in Systems is required reading for anyone hoping to run a successful company, community, or country. Learning how to think in systems is now part of change-agent literacy. And this is the best book of its kind."—Hunter Lovins In the years following her role as the lead author of the international bestseller, Limits to Growth—the first book to show the consequences of unchecked growth on a finite planet—Donella Meadows remained a pioneer of environmental and social analysis until her untimely death in 2001. Thinking in Systems is a concise and crucial book offering insight for problem solving on scales ranging from the personal to the global. Edited by the Sustainability Institute’s Diana Wright, this essential primer brings systems thinking out of the realm of computers and equations and into the tangible world, showing readers how to develop the systems-thinking skills that thought leaders across the globe consider critical for 21st-century life. Some of the biggest problems facing the world—war, hunger, poverty, and environmental degradation—are essentially system failures. They cannot be solved by fixing one piece in isolation from the others, because even seemingly minor details have enormous power to undermine the best efforts of too-narrow thinking. While readers will learn the conceptual tools and methods of systems thinking, the heart of the book is grander than methodology. Donella Meadows was known as much for nurturing positive outcomes as she was for delving into the science behind global dilemmas. She reminds readers to pay attention to what is important, not just what is quantifiable, to stay humble, and to stay a learner. In a world growing ever more complicated, crowded, and interdependent, Thinking in Systems helps readers avoid confusion and helplessness, the first step toward finding proactive and effective solutions.
Creativity is paramount if you are to thrive in times of accelerating change or crisis. Learn how to foster the creative mindset that will help you overcome missed opportunities and stay ahead of the competition. In this audio course, Luc de Brabandere and Alan Iny, bestselling authors of Thinking In New Boxes and strategic innovation experts at The Boston Consulting Group, offer a revolutionary framework for sustainable business creativity. Their short lessons teach you ingenious ways to challenge your current perspectives, explore and generate exciting new ideas and solution, and then select and implement the best ones that will drive breakthrough results. This audiobook was created by Penguin Random House. We are pleased to host this content in our library.
The question of how to improve organizational effectiveness through better people management is always top of mind. This book challenges incorrect and oversimplified assumptions and much conventional management wisdom - delivering business commentary that helps business leaders make smarter decisions.
First published in 1967, this remarkable title from one of history’s greatest minds remains a must-read in the world of creative thinking. Based on the tenet that an error can lead to the right decision, de Bono guides the reader through a series of non-mathematical problems and puzzles, all designed to help us analyse our personal style of thinking, work out its strengths and weaknesses, and to consider the potential methods that we never use. There are three courses, each five days long and each created to focus on a different style of thinking, featuring: The Bottles Problem The Blocks Problem The L-Game The End Game A true life-changer, this book will have you thinking in ways that you never thought were possible.
Effective strategic thinking requires a clear understanding of one's external environment. Each organization has a unique environment, but as Ross Harrison explains in Strategic Thinking in 3D, any environment-whether in the fields of national security, foreign policy, or business-has three dimensions: systems, opponents, and groups.
Cutting-edge skills for twenty-first-century learners and educators. Designed to transform teaching practice, this book provides the tools to understand thinking patterns and how learning actually happens. It empowers teachers to structure learning in the most meaningful way, helping students explore new paths to knowledge.
What exactly is involved in using particular case histories to think systematically about social, psychological and historical processes? Can one move from a textured particularity, like that in Freud's famous cases, to a level of reliable generality? In this book, Forrester teases out the meanings of the psychoanalytic case, how to characterize it and account for it as a particular kind of writing. In so doing, he moves from psychoanalysis to the law and medicine, to philosophy and the constituents of science. Freud and Foucault jostle here with Thomas Kuhn, Ian Hacking and Robert Stoller, and Einstein and Freud's connection emerges as a case study of two icons in the general category of the Jewish Intellectual. While Forrester was particularly concerned with analysing the style of reasoning that was dominant in psychoanalysis and related disciplines, his path-breaking account of thinking in cases will be of great interest to scholars, students and professionals across a wide range of disciplines, from history, law and the social sciences to medicine, clinical practice and the therapies of the world.
"Explores the history of deficit thinking in higher education. Discusses pedagogical models that recognize students' prior knowledge and experiences. Provides a series of principles for anti-deficit teaching. Explores practical application of these principles in various academic library environments"--