Working smarter, not harder

It is a common refrain that we (or our teams) should work smarter, not harder. It's hard to disagree, we’d all like more time to do things outside work.

It is just that reality doesn’t seem to agree, especially after the tumult of 2020. More than 53% or worker 18-34 are working harder for the same money according to a recent survey[1].

Given that many of us work as knowledge workers, where working harder or doesn’t always lead to more productivity[2], this disappointing result isn’t great for individuals or business.

Clearly part of the solution is searching for productivity gains that mean you can do more in less time. See this article for some examples[3]. But that doesn’t seem to be enough.

Perhaps we don’t always give people the things they need that allow them to work smarter. The way to do this is to help people to think better.

The 6 valuable types of thinking skills

Thinking is not just one thing; its many. The six main types of thinking that knowledge workers use are set out below:

• Critical thinking: this is essentially the way to think logically about issues, conduct analysis, consider potential solutions, and then make decisions.
• Creative thinking: creative thinking is generation of new ideas, and sifting those ideas into those that are the most workable. A specialized form of this is called design thinking, which harnesses the creative process in the delivery of business innovation.
• Persuasive thinking: persuasive thinking is how you use tools of influence (reciprocity, authority, coercion, social proof, emotion, and so on) to get people to agree with you.
• Executive thinking: this style of thinking transform decisions into plans and then to action and follow through.
• Emotional thinking: this style of thinking manages the emotional content of interactions. This type of thinking is exemplified by Emotional Intelligence as popularised by Daniel Goleman.
• Meta-thinking: this is thinking about thinking, and reflecting on how that thinking can be improved over time. 

How you can use these thinking types to work smarter

It's not just enough to know what these types of thinking are, its important to think about how they can be utilised better:

1. Build the thinking toolkit: Recognise that most knowledge work involves each type of thinking, so build all round skills, or a team that has all those skills at the table. We each have a natural home amongst the thinking skills. Having a broader view at the table brings the right skill in to deal with the right issue.
2. Use the right tool for the job: Understand what part of the process you are in at the moment and bring those skills to the fore. Most big problems have different phases: diagnosis, decision, design, deliver, deploy, drive and develop. Different types of thinking skill are more useful at different stages eg critical thinking is especially useful in the diagnosis and decision making phase, and meta-thinking most useful in the post implementation development stage.
3. Watch out for thinking on autopilot: Recognise that our brains are lazy and the don’t like to think. We prefer automatic thinking or reflexive to deep consideration[4]. For familiar problems, automatic thinking is easy, quick, familiar and effective. For unfamiliar problems, it’s almost the same: easy, quick, familiar, but potentially catastrophic. Use meta-thinking to observe whether you are thinking automatically and whether you should be. Even if automatic thinking works well, it is worth pausing the reflect on how it could be tweaked over time.
4. Polish the tools: Review your thinking in each stage for completeness and effectiveness. There are dozens of tools that can help each phase be more efficient or effective, se below for some examples.
5. Refresh: You can't spend all your time thinking. Taking a break will keep your thinking fresh.

Some really useful thinking tools:

If you want to improve the effectiveness of any aspect of your thinking, you can use thinking tools to good effect. Here are some of my favourites:

• Mindmaps: Mind maps allow you to group and organize ideas. I find them especially useful in diagnosing a problem and persuading others. For example, as you can see from the picture below, I used it to structure this article (NB: they don't have to be pretty to work!).

• Influence diagrams: Many organisations exist in complex systems, whether they be a business existing within an economy. Influence diagrams are really good for understanding these complexities, and modelling them. I find them particularly useful to understand the context of a problem and also how you might design a solution and understand its implications. Here is a simple example of an unexpectedly complex decision we face every day, what to wear given the weather (because how we feel depends on the weather and what we wear and the interaction between them):

Source: Solving Ramified Optimal Transport Problem in the Bayesian Influence Diagram Framework, Conference Paper, Apr 2012 Michal Matuszak, Jacek Miekisz,Tomasz Schreiber

• Perspective shifts: Sometimes we get lost in our own viewpoint but often solutions to problems become obvious with another perspective. Here are three ways to shift your aspect on an issue:

1. Thinking hats: Pioneered by Edward de Bono[5], the thinking hats of different colours help you exaggerate particular thinking traits. This is a really good way of introducing thought diversity in a group and breaking down entrenched positions.
2. Chunking up or down[6]. this type of perspective shift moves from one of detail to the macro or vice versa. A bit like how physics works differently at different scales (Newtonian versus quantum for example), thinking does too. Shifting the level of detail at which you look at a issue can often help you to break thinking deadlocks and build common ground with your co-workers or adversaries.
3. Adopting a different profession’s mindset: I saw an interesting paper[7] recently that cataloged the way that certain professions tend to think through issues, and encouraged readers to switch to another professions viewpoint to unlock a different perspective. A fascinating idea.

No, these aren’t the only thinking tools that can help you work smarter and not harder, but they’ll certainly help. If you do want to see an excellent collection of all types of thinking tools, check out mindtools.com.

Takeaways

We’d all love to work smart and not hard. But we can’t seem to. Its time we worked it out. The first, and well trodden, step is to coach our teams on how they can enhance their productivity, but that’s not enough. The only way to shift the situation is to refocus on the skills, tips and tools that help our people to work smarter – not just exhorting that our teams do so.

In this article, we have talked about the five thinking skills that make the most difference in organizational life, outlined four major tips to enhance the use of these skills.

On top of that the skills themselves can be improved by using thinking tools that refine the processes behind the thinking skills. 

By embracing these elements of thinking technology, we can radically reshape our workdays and the outcomes we deliver from them.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Richard Stewart OAM is a Corporate Value Advisory partner with PwC. He has been with them for 35 years in Australia, Europe and the USA, doing his first valuation in 1992. He has helped his clients achieve great outcomes using his value skills in the context of major decisions, M&A, disputes and regulatory matters. His clients span both the globe and the industry spectrum. He holds a BEc, MBA, FCA, FCPA, SFFin, FAICD and is an accredited Business Valuation Specialist with CAANZ. He has written two book, Strategic Value, and Hitting Pay Dirt, and is an Adjunct Professor at UTS. The opinions in this article are his own and not necessarily PwC's.

[1] https://www.equipsme.com/blog/47-of-employees-working-harder-for-the-same-money/

[2] https://www.theatlantic.com/sponsored/xerox-working-better/more-hours-less-time-the-curse-of-todays-knowledge-worker/699/

[3] https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/your-five-minute-guide-being-more-productive-richard-stewart/

[4] This topic is explored with great effect in https://www.amazon.com.au/THINKING-FAST-SLOW-DANIEL-KAHNEMAN/dp/0374533555

[5] See https://www.debonogroup.com/services/core-programs/six-thinking-hats/

[6] See here https://www.emotionalintelligenceatwork.com/resources/chunking/

[7] https://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2018/12/04/25-thinking-tools/