Ms. Career Girl

Top Menu

  • Home
  • Media
  • About
    • Terms of Use & Copyright Notice
    • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise
  • Contact
    • PR and FTC Disclosure
  • Subscribe

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Careers
    • Productivity
    • Career Confessions
    • #SideHustle
    • Job Search Advice
    • Resume Optimization Tool
    • Job Board
  • Lifestyle
    • Life After College
    • Health & Beauty
    • Style
    • Money
    • Travel & Leisure
    • Product Reviews
  • Relationships
    • Dating
    • Marriage
    • Working Moms
  • Specials
    • Real Career Girls
    • Style Your Life
    • Book Club
    • Giveaways
  • Home
  • Media
  • About
    • Terms of Use & Copyright Notice
    • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise
  • Contact
    • PR and FTC Disclosure
  • Subscribe

logo

  • Home
  • Careers
    • Productivity
    • Career Confessions
    • #SideHustle
    • Job Search Advice
    • Resume Optimization Tool
    • Job Board
  • Lifestyle
    • Life After College
    • Health & Beauty
    • Style
    • Money
    • Travel & Leisure
    • Product Reviews
  • Relationships
    • Dating
    • Marriage
    • Working Moms
  • Specials
    • Real Career Girls
    • Style Your Life
    • Book Club
    • Giveaways
Productivity
Home›Work›Productivity›How Critical Thinking Skills Set You Apart in Business

How Critical Thinking Skills Set You Apart in Business

By Maria Bashi
Apr 14, 2018
16259
0
Share:

As Oscar Wilde once said, “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.”

We live in a world where very few people actually think for themselves. By learning to think critically, you can put yourself on the fast track for success in a competitive business world that’s largely devoid of logic and prudence.

What is Critical Thinking?

You’ve probably heard the term used before, but most people are largely unaware of what critical thinking is and why it’s important – especially in business.

In essence, critical thinking is reasoned thinking with a purpose. Dr. Winston Sieck, cognitive psychologist and founder of Global Cognition, explains core critical thinking skills as being able to:

 

  • Appreciate that your own opinions may be wrong;
  • Accept statements as true even when they conflict with personal views;
  • Temporarily adopt positions with which you disagree.

 

There’s obviously more to it than that, but these core skills at least provide a good baseline understanding of what it means to think critically. And once you’re aware of the significance of sharpening these skills, it becomes more obvious where you’re coming up short.

When you start to analyze yourself, and those around you, you’ll also realize that critical thinkers are extremely rare in your department, business, and industry. And those that do think critically tend to gravitate towards high-ranking positions of leadership. In other words, they end up being successful.

How You Can Use Critical Thinking

Being a critical thinker requires that you reject laziness, embrace dissonance, and put forth energy and effort in areas where others simply flip on mental cruise control. But what does it look like to use critical thinking in the business world? Well, here are a few examples:

 

  • Stop Confusing Correlation With Causation

 

There’s a troubling trend in modern society where people confuse correlation with causation. In other words, when two things happen in succession, people automatically assume that the first thing caused the second. However, in many cases, this isn’t true. In order to make more educated decisions, you have to seek out more evidence.

 

  • Always Explore Alternatives

 

Whenever you think you’ve found a good option right away, chances are you haven’t done enough research and critical thinking yet. One helpful practice is to come up with a list of alternatives and explore each of them in detail. You may very well end up selecting your initial choice, but you’ll feel better knowing you invested in thorough research.

 

  • Don’t Follow the Crowd

 

As humans, we’re social creatures. Somewhere along the line, we’ve been conditioned to believe that being in agreement with others is a good way to build healthy relationships. So oftentimes, against our better judgment, we’ll simply reject our own beliefs and opinions and go along with the crowd.

In a business setting, this can be troubling. For example, let’s say your boss stands up and goes around the conference table asking people whether they like Option A or Option B. You like Option B, but the three people before you say Option A is the best. While you’ll be tempted to follow their lead, stick to your guns and choose Option B. Otherwise, you risk influencing other people in the room towards an outcome they don’t believe.

 

  • Question Basic Assumptions

 

How many times have you just gone along with a rule, procedure, or strategy, simply because it’s the way things have always been done? Well, maybe you need to start asking questions. (Even if it means confronting your boss!)

As writer Ransom Patterson explains, “Some of the greatest innovators in human history were those who simply looked up for a moment and wondered if one of everyone’s general assumptions was wrong. From Newton to Einstein to Yitang Zhang, questioning assumptions is where innovation happens.”

Learn to Think for Yourself

Learning to reject your brain’s inbred laziness and complacency is hard, but you must force yourself to swap out mental heuristics for critical thinking – especially when important decisions are on the line. By learning to think for yourself, you’ll actually end up commanding attention and showing your peers and superiors why you’re worth listening to.

Previous Article

Things to Consider When Starting Your Own ...

Next Article

Our Top Ten Spring Reading Roundup

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0

Maria Bashi

Related articles More from author

  • FeaturedGoalsLife After CollegeProductivityuncategorized

    How to Go From Employee to Boss

    Mar 28, 2014
    By Ms. Career Girl
  • FeaturedProductivityWork

    6 Tips to Tackle Any Meeting

    Apr 3, 2014
    By Akshaya Vardhan
  • Productivity

    Why Business Cards Are Timeless

    Apr 14, 2014
    By Ms. Career Girl
  • FeaturedJob SearchProductivityuncategorized

    Spring Clean your Career

    Apr 21, 2014
    By Akshaya Vardhan
  • FeaturedHomepage FeaturesProductivityuncategorized

    Communication styles in the workplace

    Apr 28, 2014
    By Amanda Kocefas
  • ProductivityWork

    Why You Should Avoid Colloquialisms in Business Writing

    May 19, 2014
    By Amanda Kocefas

  • Career ConfessionsLife After CollegeSelfWork

    A Tale of High Achieving Career Ladies

  • work in sales
    Life After CollegeSelfWork

    Why an entry level sales job is a great way to kickoff your career

  • Find a Career
    #SideHustleLife After CollegeSelfWork

    Get a Modern Day Career Path Dream Catcher

Subscribe

Job Search

As seen on

career advice blog badge oriel badge

Featured On

  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Resume Optimization Tool
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
© Copyright 2021 Ms Career Girl