Entrepreneurs, Jason and Lakisha Williams present an overview summarizing recent research findings from an article published in the Harvard Business Review. This presentation includes a 3-step framework for how to identify your own thinking.

1. HowTo KnowWhat Kind of
ThinkerYou Are
Presentation by Jason and Lakisha Williams

2. The advancement of new
technology has been taking
place since the beginning
of human history.

3. Each new development
ultimately changes the
way people communicate,
connect, and discover.

4. Today,
✤ We live in a golden
age of technological,
medical, scientific,
and social progress.

5. But there is a
problem….
✤ New technologies for
collaboration are
improving faster than
people’s ability to
learn to use them.

6. “Digital
Darwinism”
✤ This has been commonly
referred to as, “Digital
Darwinism” - an era where
technology and society are
evolving faster than businesses
can naturally adapt. Source: http://www.wired.com/insights/2014/04/digital-darwinism-
disruptive-technology-changing-business-good/

7. Additionally, widespread adoption of new
technologies in the workplace has
significantly changed customer and
employee behavior, values, and expectations.
Source: http://www.wired.com/insights/2014/04/digital-darwinism-
disruptive-technology-changing-business-good/

8. ✤ Because consumer behavior is evolving as a result of
technology, businesses either compete to get ahead of
it, they perpetually react to it, or they belittle it.
Source: http://www.wired.com/insights/2014/04/digital-darwinism-
disruptive-technology-changing-business-good/

9. But in today’s marketplace,
the smartest companies
aren’t those that
necessarily out-produce
the competition.
Source: https://hbr.org/2015/11/what-kind-of-thinker-are-you

10. Instead, it’s the
organizations that
outthink them.
Source: https://hbr.org/2015/11/what-kind-of-thinker-are-you

11. So, how do you do that?
✤ A year ago, two researchers from the Harvard
Business Review (HBR) set out to find the answer,
drawing on the collective experience of dozens of
collaborative communities and learning organizations.
✤ Their findings are included in a recent HBR article
titled, “What Kind of Thinker Are You”

12. Here’s what they found:
Source: https://hbr.org/2015/11/what-kind-of-thinker-are-you

13. 1.There are frameworks for how
you personally think or how you
influence others one on one.
Source: https://hbr.org/2015/11/what-kind-of-thinker-are-you

14. In most organizations, there’s a
standard set of tools we use to
form, lead, and manage teams.
✤ We normally think of roles as being
about what people do, such as
team leader, project manager, or
researcher.
✤ When you need a decision, you go
to the team leader.
✤ When you want a status update,
you go to the project manager.
✤ When you need something
investigated, you go to the
researcher. Source: https://hbr.org/2015/11/what-
kind-of-thinker-are-you

15. However, it is ultimately how teams think together
that most determines their performance.
Source: https://hbr.org/2015/11/what-kind-of-thinker-are-you

16. So after a lot of co-creation and trial-and-error, HBR
says, the researchers developed a three-step method
that delivers practical and meaningful results.
Source: https://hbr.org/2015/11/what-kind-of-thinker-are-you

17. How to evaluate how
you and your team
members think:
A 3-Step Method developed by Mark
Bonchek and Elisa Steele from the
Harvard Business Review

18. 1. Focus
✤ The first step is to identify the
focus of your thinking in a
particular context or setting.
✤ Do you tend to pay the most
attention to ideas, process,
action, or relationships?
Source: https://hbr.org/2015/11/what-
kind-of-thinker-are-you

19. 2. Orientation
✤ The next step is to notice
whether your orientation in
that setting swings toward the
micro or the macro — the big
picture or the details.
Source: https://hbr.org/2015/11/what-
kind-of-thinker-are-you

20. ✤ A good way to identify this orientation is by thinking
about what tends to bother you in meetings. Are you
more likely to complain about getting dragged into
the weeds or about things being too general and not
specific enough?
✤ These dimensions are complementary to personality,
skills, and traditional roles.
Source: https://hbr.org/2015/11/what-
kind-of-thinker-are-you

21. 3. Combine
✤ The third step is to combine
these two dimensions and see
the thinking style at work in
whatever context or setting
you chose.
Source: https://hbr.org/2015/11/what-
kind-of-thinker-are-you

22. For example, on the big picture or
macro orientation:
✤ Explorer thinking is about generating creative ideas.
✤ Planner thinking is about designing effective systems.
✤ Energizer thinking is about mobilizing people into
action.
✤ Connector thinking is about building and
strengthening relationships.
Source: https://hbr.org/2015/11/what-
kind-of-thinker-are-you

23. Across the micro or detail
orientation:
✤ Expert thinking is about achieving objectivity and insight.
✤ Optimizer thinking is about improving productivity and
efficiency.
✤ Producer thinking is about achieving completion and
momentum.
✤ Coach thinking is about cultivating people and potential.
Source: https://hbr.org/2015/11/what-
kind-of-thinker-are-you

24. In conclusion:
✤ “Just as team members today have assigned doing
roles, there should also be thinking roles.”
✤ “By knowing how other members of your team and
organization think — and by others knowing how you
think — everyone can be more energized, more engaged,
more creative, and more productive.” - Mark Bonchek
and Elisa Steele, HBR
Source: https://hbr.org/2015/11/what-
kind-of-thinker-are-you

25. For more information covering
important business-related topics, visit
Jason and Lakisha Williams’ website
below:
landjwilliams.com
@landjwilliams