Lawsagna

"The Opposable Mind" by Roger L. Martin

If you like to think about how you think, you may want to read Tim Milburn’s review of "The Opposable Mind: How Successful Leaders Win Through Integrative Thinking" by Roger L. Martin.  The book discusses the concept of integrative thinking:

The ability to face constructively the tension of opposing ideas and, instead of choosing one at the expense of the other, generate a creative resolution of the tension in the form of a new idea that contains elements of the opposing ideas but is superior to each.

For lawyers who are used to fighting out the opposing ideas, this book may offer a refreshingly new perspective.  I imagine, mediators may find it useful too.  I've just added the book to my Amazon wishlist.

Shorten your learning curve!

Orientation Series: 21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner

Step 20:  Learning to learn

What distinguishes best lawyers, doctors, architects, etc. from the rest of the crowd?  What do they know or do that others don't?  One possibility is that they are very proficient in using certain meta-skills that can be applied to multiple tasks and contexts and supercharge whatever these experts do.  Effective learners invest time and effort in developing the skills that help them learn and perform to their best potential.  What could those meta-skills be and how can we develop them?  Here is what I've brainstormed so far:

Extracting only relevant information. Being able to zero in on the essential elements saves time and brain power.   

       What to do: 

1. Learn the basics well.  Applying meta-skills takes up working memory, which is very limited.  When you have to think about the basic content and try to use your meta-skill, your working memory gets overloaded.  You have to know the foundations well in order to filter any additional information.
2. Clarify and simplify.  If you have clutter on your desk and somebody leaves an important piece of paper there for you, you may not see it.  But if you have a clean and well-organized desk, anything new will jump out at you.  The same applies to your head.
3. Practice "selective ignorance."   In this day and age, we consume much more information than we really need.  It's not always better to read and learn more.  Making sure you pick the best in the ocean of information is important, so become selective.  Each piece of information you consume should have a purpose and application.
4. Learn to prioritize.  Prioritizing forces you to make decisions about the relative importance of things.  The ability to see the essential will strengthen with this practice.
5. Use effective reading strategies that allow you to get to the important information quickly.

Recognizing patterns easily.  If we can connect pieces of information into a pattern, we are able to use our previous knowledge and experience more effectively.  Once something falls into a familiar pattern, we know what to do because we encountered a similar situation before and we can draw from the past experience. 

       What to do: 

1. Compare and contrast things.  You will teach yourself to notice important differences and similarities. 
2. Reflect on your past experiences.  As you do so, look for patterns in actions and outcomes. 

Memorizing. Working with our memory means being selective about what we need to memorize and why.  It is also about choosing the right strategy to retain information. 

        What to do:

1. Learn how memory works. 
2. Find memorizing strategies that work best for you.
3. Ask yourself why you need to remember something.
4. Choose the appropriate strategy and give your full attention to the material you need to memorize.

Analyzing and comprehending information.  We constantly rearrange our knowledge base to integrate new information.  How do we know that we truly comprehended something?  It fits into our big picture of how things work. 

        What to do:

1. Summarize and synthesize what you have learned.  Make sure you know how the concepts fit together.
2. Ask questions.  Questions help to reveal blind spots in your knowledge, challenge assumptions, expand your thinking.  Opt for open-ended questions, which start with what, who, how, why, when, where.
3. Teach what you have learned to others.  It will help you master the subject matter. 

Occasionally, we analyze something incorrectly, hence the next point…

Verifying and testing the knowledge.  Effective learners are able to test and adjust their mental maps continuously.  They are not afraid to put themselves out there because that is how they receive feedback and make improvements.   

       What to do:

1. In the ideal world, you encounter a problem and ask yourself what you need to know to solve it.  Then, you go and learn what you need in the easiest and fastest way.  It is called "just-in-time" learning.  It ensures that your learning is relevant and valuable.  You apply it right away and gain competence in the process.  In the "learning-in-advance" scenario, look for opportunities to practice what you have learned.  If it is a skill, try transferring it to a different context and use it there. 
2. Learn collaboratively.  Share your ideas with others.  Talk through your thought process. 
3. Capture your ideas in writing.  Writing makes things clearer.  If somebody reads it, you may get feedback as well. 
4. Be adventurous and get out of your comfort zone.      

Reviewing. Assessing past actions is a crucial step if we want to achieve mastery.  We need to figure out what worked and what didn’t and adjust the behavior.

        What to do: 

1. Develop a habit of looking back at your actions and evaluating how well they served you.  Did you get the outcome you wanted?  Can you think of a better and faster way to achieve the same result? What would you do differently in the future?
2. Always search for ways to simplify, speed up and improve the process.
3. Ask people for feedback and once you’ve received it, consider it carefully.

Self-monitoring. Here, we have to assume the roles of the doer and observer at the same time.  We assess the performance in the moment, react, predict, and make adjustments as we go.  Such self-regulation offers a big learning advantage because we are attuned to instant feedback and can correct our course of actions accordingly.

        What to do: 

1. Practice mindfulness.   
2. Think about your thinking.
3. Pause and reflect on what you are doing.  Eventually, you will be able to monitor yourself without having to stop what you are doing.  It will be like a second layer of awareness that will allow you to stay attuned to the relevant clues in the context and adjust your actions as needed.

Maintaining the right attitude. Cognitive skills are important but they are not everything.  Emotional intelligence is needed as we navigate through our lives.  Think about how much information is encoded in people’s emotions and attitudes.  We have to be "emotion detectors" to succeed.  Read my earlier post on "How to develop your emotional intelligence" for more tips and resources. 

How do you develop your meta-skills?

Orientation Series:  21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner:
Step 1:  Setting your learning objectives
Step 2:  Taking an inventory of your skills
Step 3:  Taking an Inventory of Your Learning Tools
Step 4:  Finding opportunities for cognitive apprenticeship
Step 5:   Determining the "IIQ" of what you read
Step 6:  Choosing helpful books for law students
Step 7:  “The Three 'P's of Performance” in Action
Step 8:  Tapping into your social networks
Step 9:  Identifying your learning barriers
Step 10:  Finding your sources of motivation
Step 11:  Managing your energy
Step 12:  Focusing on how you think
Step 13:  Mastering informal learning and professional development
Step 14:  Asking Good Questions
Step 15:  Condensing your knowledge
Step 16:  Memorizing
Step 17:  Becoming a reflective learner
Step 18:  Establishing rhythms, rituals, and routines
Step 19:  Learning holistically

Shorten your learning curve!

Mind on a Diet

"If we want to simplify and deepen our lives, we must simplify and deepen our minds. When we become more centered, clear, spacious, caring, and open, there is suddenly much more room in our frenetic lives for both others and ourselves."
—Lama Surya Das

This is the season when many people talk about losing a few pounds here and there.  As you decide what to feed your body, take time to think about what you feed your mind.  Here are a few things to consider.

1. Avoid empty information calories.  Just like junk food is harmful to our bodies, junk information dulls our minds.  (Here's the link to the post about my "Information Impact Quotient" approach).
2. Look for fresh ideas that forge new pathways in the brain.  Try new approached to old problems.  Evaluate situations from different perspectives.
3. Appreciate diversity.  Develop a curious mind that wants to wander and explore.
4. Make healthy thought choices.  Ban toxic thoughts.  Cherish positive, invigorating ideas.
5. Look beyond the packaging to discover the essence of things.
6. Don't feed on spoiled leftovers.  Let go of the notions that don't work for you anymore.  Release the attachments.
7. Be mindful as you consume information.  Slow down.  Take time to reflect on the meaning and usefulness of what you read and hear and integrate it into your existing knowledge base.

Shorten your learning curve!

   

Cognitive Fitness

From "Cognitive Fitness" by Roderick Gilkey and Clint Kilts, Harvard Business Review (need subscription, you can preview the summary of the article on the order page):

…advances in neuroscience suggest that there is no reason why your brain at 60 can’t be as competent as it was at 25. That would not have been news to thinkers such as Socrates, Copernicus, and Galileo, who were all still at the peak of their intellectual powers in their sixties and seventies. Nor would it surprise business leaders such as Alan Greenspan, Warren Buffett, and Sumner Redstone. These icons and others like them have intuitively understood that the brain’s alertness is the result of what we call cognitive fitness—a state of optimized ability to reason, remember, learn, plan, and adapt that is enhanced by certain attitudes, lifestyle choices, and exercises. The more cognitively fit you are, the better you will be able to make decisions, solve problems, and deal with stress and change. Cognitive fitness will allow you to be more open to new ideas and alternative perspectives. It will give you the capacity to change your behaviors and forecast their outcomes in order to realize your goals. You can become the kind of person your company values most. Perhaps more important, you can delay senescence for years and even enjoy a second career.

The article goes on to suggest steps you can take to stay cognitively fit and discusses some implications of the brain research to learning.  For example, the study of mirror neurons, which "aid the speed and accuracy of our perception by mentally simulating objects and actions in our environment," helps us understand how we can learn better through observation and indirect experience. 

The authors encourage play at work because play "engages the prefrontal cortex…nourishing our highest-level cognitive functions – those related to incentive and reward processing, goal and skill representation, mental imagery, self-knowledge, and memory, just to name a few."  They suggest playing games, such as bridge, chess, sudoku, solving challenging crossword puzzles, doing improvisation, reading funny books.

Searching for patterns is another way to maintain your cognitive fitness:  "First and foremost, challenge your existing mind-set, enlarge it, and make it more complex."  The authors encourage executives to "[l]isten to different viewpoints, read new kinds of articles and books, and visit places with a focused set of learning objectives."

Those who seek novelty and innovation through continuous learning benefit from neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to change and enhance its performance.  The article suggests learning a new language, musical instrument, or new technology.

Achieve sustainable personal efficiency!

VizThink Conference '08

VizThink Conference '08 will take place on January 27-29, 2008 in San Francisco.  Even if you cannot attend, you may want to visit the conference website and check out a number of available podcasts and webinars on the topic of visual thinking.  They also have a blog and a wiki with additional content.   

"VizThink is gathering visual thinkers from all corners of the world to create the first global community dedicated to the use of visualization in all forms of learning and communication."

“Innovate Like Edison” Podcast from Theater of the Mind

If you are interested in creative thinking, you may want to check out the podcast “Innovate Like Edison” from Theater of the Mind.  In this podcast, Kelly Howell, founder of Brain Sync, interviews Michael Gelb, the author of “How to Think like Leonardo DaVinci:  Seven Steps to Genius Every Day,” about his latest book "Innovate Like Edison: The Success System of America's Greatest Inventor" co-authored with Sarah Miller Caldicott, the great grand niece of Thomas Edison:

"This show discusses how you can use the creative principles of Thomas Edison to bring your ideas into reality."

Claim your best life now!

My wellness mindset newsletter

I have some exciting updates to share with you.  I’ve been busy cooking up a few new things for 2008.  One of them is the launch of my weekly wellness mindset newsletter “Well-Aware.”  I publish this newsletter for my coaching clients and other busy professionals who want to create a healthier lifestyle by building a wellness mindset.  The focus is on effective thinking.  Some of the topics I’ll be exploring are:

• How to develop a mindset for health and well-being.
• How to overcome limiting patterns of thinking and behavior.
• How to maintain a positive mental attitude.
• How to generate more “A-ha” moments and better insights.
• How to listen to your body and your intuition.
• How to discover your unique sources of wellness and vitality.
• How to limit negative thoughts.
• How to get yourself unstuck and moving in a powerful new direction.
• How to use your mind for effective self-regulation.
• How to persevere and reach your wellness goals.
• How to leverage the power of proven methods for managing stress.
• How to use mindfulness to change unhealthy patterns in your life.
• How to figure out and focus on what’s important to you.

If you’d like to subscribe, just complete the form in the right-hand column of this blog (under my picture) or on my Buddy-in-Law coaching page. 

I also plan to focus more on the issue of wellness in the legal profession this year.  It pains me to see that so many talented and highly motivated people, who are very good at serving their clients, have trouble making decisions when it comes to their own life and well-being.  I know the traditional law firm culture often makes it difficult for lawyers to take care of their own needs.  But the bottom line is that the change starts with individuals, and we all need to stay well in order to work and live well.

I’d love to hear what your biggest challenges are when it comes to wellness.

Claim your best life now!

 

Creative thinking in conflict resolution

I like thinking frameworks.  Even though they sound restrictive, I’ve found that in fact, they often help to generate more innovative ideas than the free-form brainstorming.  In his article “The Joke Model of Creative Thinking” at Mediate.com, John Cooley shows how the structure and formulas used to create a joke can be applied in conflict resolution: 

It is the quality and the timing of the punchline that comprise the creative act and speeds the joke to a satisfying resolution. It is this same kind of punchline -- specially selected new information -- that must be injected into the mediation process at the appropriate time in order to yield highly satisfactory, optimal, or even super-optimal, solutions. A point deserving special emphasis, which may indeed serve as the punchline of this article, is as follows: It is the mental process which occurs in joke processing in a microsecond--at the time of and just before surprise--that must be replicated in the mediation setting in order to achieve super-optimum solutions; it is as if that mental process of reframing be viewed under a microscope and in slow-motion to be effectively discerned and applied.

The substantive steps of reframing in the joke process may be replicated in mediation on a gross scale and at a cosmically decelerated rate of speed. Two questions present themselves: First, what are punchlines in mediation? And second, at what stage of the mediation process should they be introduced?

You can read the article here.

Claim your best life now!

Orientation Series: 21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner

Step 14:  Asking Good Questions

Questions are the power tool of learning.  They drill through the surface into deeper layers of meaning and understanding.  They shape and guide our thinking.  Asking good questions of yourself and others is an important skill of life-long learners.  It is even more valuable than knowing the answers because answers frequently change in our fast-paced world.   How do you make your questions more powerful?   

• Anticipate.  Use questions to propel yourself forward.  Look into the future and play with “What if” scenarios.   
  Example:  What if we did the impossible?  What would happen then? 
• Ask open-endedly.  Open-ended questions are more engaging.  They expand rather than limit your thinking.  Get comfortable with WH-questions:  Who, What, When, Where, How, Why.
  Example:  How can I do it differently?
• Change Assumptions. Ask questions to make a leap into the unknown and push yourself to the edges of your comfort zone.   Rebel against your own linear thinking.  Connect the opposites, flip the assumptions, mock the established theories.   
  Example:  How can we do the impossible?
• Seek relevancy.  Ask questions that are relevant to your life and your unique situation.  You want the knowledge gained from your questions to have a direct impact on you.
  Example:  What is the most important thing we should be addressing right now?
• Be authentic.  Ask authentic questions that reflect your values and aspirations.   When we connect to the subject matter on the emotional level, we feel more engaged, and as a result, we learn and remember better.   
  Example:  Why does it matter?
• Practice empathy.  Step into the shoes of someone affected by the question.  What are their fears and hopes?  Use questions to bridge the gap between the opposing points of view by revealing common interests, values, goals.  Questions promote collaboration while assertions may lead to unproductive conflicts. 
  Example:    How do you feel about...?

What are your favorite powerful questions?

Orientation Series:  21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner:
Step 1:  Setting your learning objectives
Step 2:  Taking an inventory of your skills
Step 3:  Taking an Inventory of Your Learning Tools
Step 4:  Finding opportunities for cognitive apprenticeship
Step 5:   Determining the "IIQ" of what you read
Step 6:  Choosing helpful books for law students
Step 7:  “The Three 'P's of Performance” in Action
Step 8:  Tapping into your social networks
Step 9:  Identifying your learning barriers
Step 10:  Finding your sources of motivation
Step 11:  Managing your energy
Step 12:  Focusing on how you think
Step 13:  Mastering informal learning and professional development

How do you create value?

How do you think about the value that you bring to your clients?  We often measure what we do in terms of numbers, projects accomplished, hours billed, etc.  But what is the real human value behind those numbers?  In the hustle and bustle of the day, it is easy to lose track of why we do what we do, and then we feel undervalued, unappreciated, insecure of our own abilities. 

How often do you remind yourself of the true value you create for the people around you?  How do you know your value?   

Optimists in Law School

Dave Shearon, whose work focuses on the application of positive psychology to law and education, wrote an interesting article about optimists in law school for Positive Psychology News Daily.  The article discusses Breaking Murphy’s Law by Susan Segerstrom, who examined the research on optimism and its effects on immune system.  Shearon writes:

Segerstrom studies future-oriented optimism. Such optimists hold more strongly to expectations of future good events than to expectations of future bad events. In general, optimists have stronger immune system functions than pessimists. However, Dr. Segerstrom found in her research, beginning with that for her doctoral studies, that this relationship was not nearly as strong for law students as in most other studies. On further investigation, she found that the optimists split into two groups, one that had the expected strong immune system, and one where the immune system was somewhat suppressed.

Read the article to find out more about the two groups of optimists.  One important lesson from the book is that it is not just your thoughts that count, but rather how your thinking causes you to act.

Orientation Series: 21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner

Step 12:  Focusing on how you think

Learning to see the structures within which we operate begins a process of freeing ourselves from previously unseen forces and ultimately mastering the ability to work with them and change them.
- Peter Senge, “The Fifth Discipline”

There is no learning without thinking.  Effective learners know how to engage different types of thinking and how to think systematically and strategically.  Thinking about your own thinking is a meta-skill: it enables you to use your other skills in a more productive way across different disciplines and subject areas.  The Thinking Portal at Wikipedia includes a long list of thinking-related topics:

Abductive reasoning, Abstract thinking, Analogy, Attitude, Calculation, Categorization, Cognition, Cognitive restructuring, Cognitive space, Cognitive style, Common sense, Consciousness, Concept, Conjecture, Concrete concepts, Convergent thinking, Critical thinking, Deductive reasoning, Definition, Divergent thinking, Estimation, Evaluation, Explanation, Gestalt psychology, Heuristics, Historical thinking, Holistic, Hypothesis, Idea, Identification (information), Inductive reasoning, Inference, Instinct, Intelligence, Intelligence amplification, Intentionality, Introspection, Intuition, Knowledge management, Language, Lateral thinking, Linguistics, Logic, Logical argument, Logical assertion, LogoVisual thinking, Meaning (linguistics), Meaning (non-linguistic), Meaning (semiotics), Mental calculation, Mental function, Metacognition, Mind's eye, Mindset, Multiple intelligences, Morphological Analysis, Multitasking, Nonlinear, Pattern matching, Personality, Picture thinking, Prediction, Premise (argument), Problem finding, Problem shaping, Problem solving, Proposition, Rationality, Reason, Reasoning, Reasoning event, Self-reflection, Sapience, Semantic network, Semantics, Semiosis, Semiotics, Six Thinking Hats, Speech act, Somatosensory, Stream of consciousness, Syllogism, Synectics, Systems intelligence, Systems thinking, Thinkabout, Thinking, Thought act, Thinking maps, Thinking Processes, Thought experiment, TRIZ, Visual thinking, Working memory, Writing

There is obviously a lot to learn about thinking.   To keep it is simple, let’s begin with just a few types:

Convergent thinking - This type of thinking is cognitive processing of information around a common point, an attempt to bring thoughts from different directions into a union or common conclusion.

Divergent thinking - This type of thinking starts from a common point and moves outward into a variety of perspectives. When fostering divergent thinking, teachers use the content as a vehicle to prompt diverse or unique thinking among students rather than a common view.

Inductive thinking - This is the process of reasoning from parts to the whole, from examples to generalizations.

Deductive thinking - This type of reasoning moves from the whole to its parts, from generalizations to underlying concepts to examples.

Critical thinking - This is convergent thinking. It assesses the worth and validity of something existent. It involves precise, persistent, objective analysis. When teachers try to get several learners to think convergently, they try to help them develop common understanding.

Creative thinking - This is divergent thinking. It generates something new or different. It involves having a different idea that works as well or better than previous ideas.

To hone your meta-skills and to bring more focus and clarity to learning through a structured thought process, try applying the above types of thinking to a topic you are studying.  Pay attention to how you think about the subject matter, as opposed to what you think about it. 

Do you have favorite thinking models?

Orientation Series:  21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner:
Step 1:  Setting your learning objectives
Step 2:  Taking an inventory of your skills
Step 3:  Taking an Inventory of Your Learning Tools
Step 4:  Finding opportunities for cognitive apprenticeship
Step 5:   Determining the "IIQ" of what you read
Step 6:  Choosing helpful books for law students
Step 7:  “The Three 'P's of Performance” in Action
Step 8:  Tapping into your social networks
Step 9:  Identifying your learning barriers
Step 10:  Finding your sources of motivation
Step 11:  Managing your energy

The brain of a leader

Thursday’s issue of The Wall Street Journal includes an interesting article entitled “This Is Your Brain on the Job” by Phred Dvorak and Jaclyne Badal.  It reports on the efforts of an Arizona State University management professor, Pierre Balthazard, and a neuroscientist and EEG expert, Robert Thatcher, to map the brain activity of visionary leaders.  They hope to use the data to train others in leadership skills:

Mr. Thatcher says preliminary analysis of 50 brain maps shows some big differences in activity between managers who rate high on a psychological test of visionary leadership, and those who rate low. The visionary leaders had more efficient left brains, which deal with logic and reasoning, and better connected right brains, which are responsible for social skills.

Maybe, the phrase “to think like a lawyer” will soon have its visual representation as well.  What do you think?

Foster your creativity

Many law students and lawyers have a creative bend, and it turns out, there are lots of good reasons to continue fostering your creativity.  Online Guide to Mediation offers an insightful review of the Boston Globe article "Art for our sake: School arts classes matter more than ever - but not for the reasons you think".   The article reports on a recent study indicating that art teaches a “specific set of thinking skills,” or what the researchers call the “studio habits of mind”: 

One of these habits was persistence: Students worked on projects over sustained periods of time and were expected to find meaningful problems and persevere through frustration. Another was expression: Students were urged to move beyond technical skill to create works rich in emotion, atmosphere, and their own personal voice or vision. A third was making clear connections between schoolwork and the world outside the classroom….

Each of these habits clearly has a role in life and learning, but we were particularly struck by the potentially broad value of four other kinds of thinking being taught in the art classes we documented: observing, envisioning, innovating through exploration, and reflective self-evaluation.

Art teaches us to look beyond our own expectations, which may cause inaccurate perceptions:

Seeing clearly by looking past one's preconceptions is central to a variety of professions, from medicine to law.

And for some, creativity can bring a big pay-off literally.   Just read the story of Scott Jordan, a lawyer-turned-entrepreneur who invented the Technology Enabled Clothing, designed to keep your favorite gadgets hidden but easily accessible when you need them.

Where do your thoughts live?

Thoughts come and go.  We may not like all that check in, but we surely don’t have the vacancy problem in our heads.  Some hosts attempt to screen their thoughts by turning away grumpy and disruptive guests.  Others welcome them all but hope that the good ones stay longer.  Still others are in danger of being overrun by a bunch of negative characters who move in, invite their friends and have a party in complete disregard of their hosts’ sensibilities.   

How do you enforce your house policies?   What kind of place would you want to run and what guests do you want to attract?  Do you like to engage in thinking that is formal, casual, modern, eclectic, or traditional?