دانلود کتاب تصمیم گیری و حل مسئله

There are three forms of applied thinking that we all need:

• decision making = deciding what action to take; it usually involves choice between options
• problem solving = usually finding a solution, answer or conclusion
• creative thinking = generating new ideas

These overlap considerably but they can be distinguished.

Any leader such as yourself who aspires to excellence obviously has a vested interest in seeing that the best decisions are taken, that problems are solved in the optimum way and that the creative ideas and innovations so necessary for tomorrow’s business flow freely. Of course, everyone in the team or organization should be engaged in meeting these essential requirements. But you are the one who is called to provide the intellectual leadership that is needed. Are you willing to do so? One step towards that end that you should definitely take is to become master of the processes of practical thinking, the processes that lie behind all effective decision making, problem solving and creative thinking. You cannot guarantee outcomes – for luck or chance play a part in all human affairs – but you can at least make sure that you use the well tried-and-tested processes of thinking to some purpose. You own that responsibility. For my part, the aim of this book is to equip you with the necessary knowledge of those processes and to help you to acquire skill in using them. One further word. Forget the idea that thinking is somehow a painful and laborious feeling in the mind, a kind of headache that is best avoided if possible. Thinking is fun. By fun here I do not really mean a diversion that affords enjoyment. For the word also means an activity that engages one’s interest or imagination, an activity that may prove to be more than a diversion and may involve challenge and hard work but is still a source of enjoyment. If you come to love thinking for yourself, you will learn naturally to do it well. As Roy Thompson, one of the greatest businessmen of our time, once said, ‘If I have any advice to pass on, as a successful man, it is this: if one wants to be successful, one must think; one must think until it hurts.’ He added that, ‘From my close observation, I can say that there are few people indeed who are prepared to perform this arduous and tiring work.’ Are you one of them? In the following pages we shall explore some practical ways in which you can improve your skills in this key area.