I have been running a series of 1 day Switch Thinking courses at the Australian Institute of Management over the past few months.
At the end of the course I ask for some written feedback from participants.
Here is a collection of comments:
‘I am more creative than I thought.’
‘I didn’t think you could teach thinking as a skill. You have changed my mind.’
‘I have realised that many of my barriers were self-imposed ones.’
‘Switch Thinking provides a fresh perspective and opens up your thinking.’
‘This approach challenges my traditional thinking. It gave me innovative ways to look at a problem.’
‘I am going to use Switch Thinking with my team tomorrow.’
‘Switch thinking can foster innovation.’
‘The main benefit of Switch Thinking is that it can open people’s minds so that you can create new ideas.’
‘It can help you adopt different perspectives.’
‘Switch Thinking can help you to think differently; look at different perspectives and put yourself in the shoes of others.’
‘Approaching issues or opportunities from alternative angles leads to better outcomes.’
‘The main benefit of Switch thinking is – OPEN MNDED PROBLEM SOLVING.’
‘It can increase my resume of opportunity.’
‘Switch Thinking helps you think outside your normal patterns.’
And lastly (I particularly like this one):
‘Switch thinking enables you and your team to break your thinking habits. Sometimes you don’t even realise that you’re always thinking in the same way but switch thinking feels like a simple way to break that subconscious habit.’
Note on the image:
At the beginning of the Switch Thinking course I often ask participants to draw on the whiteboard how they feel at the start of the course and how they would like to feel at the end. This is one example.
This group exercise is quick, fun and helps people to switch from words to pictures and from head to heart.
Their switch thinking journey has begun.