The Thinking Effect: Rethinking Thinking to Create Great Leaders and the New Value Worker

by Michael Vaughan

In a rapidly changing world there is an increasing need for critical, creative, and systems thinking. These abilities, though, are only gained through a virtuous circle of trying, reflecting, learning, and trying again; despite this, most organizations are still trying to develop these skills through linear approaches. The Thinking Effect by Michael Vaughan redefines smart thinking and effective learning — teaching how rather than what to think. Vaughan has spent his career teaching smart thinking to Fortune 500 companies and government agencies around the globe. By adopting this new thinking, leaders will learn how to develop “neural leadership” — understanding and engaging with the psychology of their team — while employees at all levels will learn how to: develop patterns of thought that differentiate top performers from those who merely do their jobs, increase productivity, improve problem-solving, and influence profitability, and become Value Workers who generate value for growth and a sustainable future. The Thinking Effect offers learning solutions, individual practices, and real-world applications to help companies break free from institutional processes that hinder fresh and innovative thought. The result is an engaged, valuable workforce that rethinks established practices — and thinking itself.

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 16, 2013

About the author

Michael Paul Vaughan OBE is a retired cricketer who represented Yorkshire and England. A classically elegant right-handed batsman and occasional off-spinner, Vaughan was ranked the best batsman in the world following the 2002/3 Ashes, in which he scored 633 runs, including three centuries. Vaughan was an opening batsman and forged a successful England opening partnership with Marcus Trescothick, although he had often batted in the middle order for England. He was the captain of the England team when it regained the Ashes in 2005, eighteen years after having last won the trophy.

Reviews

[Dane Cobain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: While I aim to be unbiased, I received a copy of this for free to review.

The Thinking Effect is yet another excellent publication by Nicholas Brealey, one which is of immense value to business leaders and their subordinates alike. In it, Vaughan tackles the age-old problem that’s plagued managers since they first invested in training – too many courses try to teach people what to think. Vaughan believes that those courses should focus on how to think instead, and I think that’s a noble idea.

Instead of teaching people using stale methods, Michael Vaughan is a proponent of systems thinking and in-depth simulations as a way of deciding how best to act in any situation. Vaughan and his team at The Regis Company found that when people are taught using traditional methods, they revert to their old ways of thinking because reality doesn’t often correspond to what they’re taught in the classroom.

It’s an intriguing concept, and Vaughan does a great job of explaining it – he backs his argument with convincing research that will have you on-side by the end of the book. Now you just have to get management buy-in and get him in to your office!