thinking Archives - Adam Kirk Smith

The three priorities of leadership are thinking, deciding, and communicating. Let’s focus on leadership thinking. People are not born good thinkers, but taught and trained. My observation is that the primary limitations leaders need to work on are (1) getting rid of distractions, and (2) developing habits that promote good thinking. It is possible to develop more powerful thinking practices and models, but only after we’ve established basic practices.

Consider this: You can’t make yourself go to sleep, but you can put yourself in an environment where you’re more likely to sleep well. Likewise, the first step is to adjust your environment and your habits so that better thinking is possible. You can build habits that steer you away from situations where clear thinking is more difficult.

Here are six suggested practices:

This is a guest post from Erik Tyler. He is an author, speaker, blogger, mentor, family advocate, educator, people lover, creative force, conversationalist, problem solver, chance-taker, noticer, and lover of life. He has been teaching language and communication skills in innovative ways for more than 25 years, and lives in the Boston area of Massachusetts.

I’ve kept my own personal blog for years now. But being my first guest post with Adam’s team here, I thought I’d start with something deceptively simple and fundamental – and yet utterly mind blowing. In fact, I’d be willing to bet good money that most people have never considered what I’m about to say. This means that you are in for a potentially life-altering shift in perception. And that excites me. In all honesty, I get excited every time I think about the truth of what follows.

I trust you will be excited right along with me by the time we’re done here.

EXPLORATION

Before you continue reading, I’d like you to actually pause and answer a question. If circumstances allow, I’d even encourage you to write down your response to this question. Why? Because exploration is the first step to discovery. Studies prove without a doubt that learners who are allowed to explore a topic – to try solving it based on what they already know or believe – experience deeper learning and memory. And in order to really grasp and master a skill, we have to define terms and understand core purposes and goals.

Here’s my question:

What is the purpose of language and communication?

Take a moment to answer this foundational question now. Then continue reading.