Decision Making and Problem Solving

John Adair
Break Through Barriers and Banish Uncertainty at Work

Introduction

What’s in it for me? Strengthen your decision-making,

problem-solving, and creative thinking.
Have you ever been told you’re more logical than creative? Or maybe you’ve been assigned the
label “creative” but at the same time “bad at math.” Why is it that we often separate logic and
creativity? Can’t someone be both logical and creative?

Think about it – without creativity, an engineer couldn’t design a more efficient engine. Without logic,
an artist couldn’t match the correct type of paint to a painting surface. And where would that leave
us? Stuck with inefficient engines and never-drying paint – that’s right, the wrong combo of paint and
surface material can leave a sticky, tacky result that no one wants to deal with.

Okay, but what if it feels like you really are bad at creative or critical thinking? Don’t worry. There are
concrete, actionable steps you can take to strengthen both abilities. And it helps to first explore the
concept of thought overall, which is what John Adair does in .

In this Blink, we’ll cover the basics of how our minds work – not our physical brains, but our thinking
minds. You’ll learn what decision-making, problem-solving, and creative thinking are and how they
relate to each other. We’ll also focus on you and your potential for practical thinking. Along with a
clearer understanding of the different types of thinking, you’ll walk away with guidelines for practicing
and strengthening your own abilities.

Unfortunately, we can’t include the visual puzzles Adair provides, but after learning about
decision-making, problem-solving, and creative thinking, we know you’ll be more than capable of
looking those up if you want to find them.

So let’s get started!

Key idea 1

Types of Practical Thinking and Your Mind’s

Metafunctions
Have you ever stopped to think about thinking?
The ability to think, to string together thoughts, to make conscious decisions – this sets humans
apart from most of the animal kingdom. But how do we do it?

Yes, of course, we have physical brains in our heads with cells that send electrical signals. But that’s
the mechanical system behind the actual thoughts. According to the author, John Adair, there are
three types of applied thinking we use: decision-making, problem-solving, and creative thinking.
They do have a lot in common and overlap a bit, but we can distinguish between them.

Decision-making involves choosing to take a certain action, often selecting from a few options-
Problem-solving involves coming up with solutions or answers to obstacles. And creative thinking
involves generating ideas, whether entirely new ones or different variations of existing ideas.

For common or routine actions, we might not need to think at all. When was the last time you
consciously thought about your everyday commute to work? Or how to brush your teeth? Unless
something unexpected crops up – an accident that forces you to drive a different route, a toothbrush
that tumbles into the toilet – you probably don’t really have to think about how to complete these
familiar actions. But whenever we face something new or unexpected, anything involving a choice,
we often end up using one or more of the three types of thinking.

But how do we actually employ our thinking when dealing with something unfamiliar? How do we
make a decision or solve a problem?

This is where the metafunctions of the mind come into play. Adair’s model of the mind includes three
metafunctions: analyzing, synthesizing, and valuing. When we consciously think, we use at least one
of these three functions.

When analyzing, we break down a thing or idea into its component parts to see how they work
together. This doesn’t involve a complete separation though – imagine loosening a knot only enough
to be able to trace how the rope loops around itself.

Synthesizing, on the other hand, is putting things together to get something whole. Imagine
assembling Lego to build a castle. Or putting together the ideas of feathers, a warm body, wings, a
beak, and a long neck to assemble a full understanding of a swan.

Valuing involves judgment. If we’re making informed valuations, we use valuing alongside synthesis
and analysis to judge things. For example, you might use the first two metafunctions to come up with
possible solutions to a problem, then use valuing to determine which solutions to cut and which to
pursue.

Key idea 2

The Depth Mind

The last concept to explore when we think about how we think is what Adair calls the Depth Mind.
You’re probably familiar with this idea if you’ve heard of conscious and subconscious minds. The
Depth Mind is your subconscious, and it’s also the conscious use and cultivation of your
subconscious.
Have you ever struggled with a problem only to wake up in the middle of the night with the answer
clear in your mind? Or maybe you stop thinking about the issue while you shower and a solution
pops into mind as you wash your arms. These are common examples of your subconscious mind at
work.

Your subconscious is often more powerful than your conscious abilities. The human consciousness
can only truly focus on a handful of things at once. So, making a decision about something with
many complex parts can be difficult for your conscious mind to handle.

But your subconscious mind can sort through numerous details, then present your consciousness
with a solution. You might not immediately see all the reasoning behind the decision. But if you start
using your Depth Mind in the process of decision-making, problem-solving, and creative thinking,
you’ll strengthen your subconscious and develop this important tool.

And can you use your Depth Mind? Great question!

To enhance your subconscious, you really just have to start relying on it more. Build in time for your
subconscious to work during your decision-making or problem-solving.

Take breaks, garden for a bit, go for a walk and purposely think about things other than the issue at
hand. Take a quick nap, or even a full night of sleep before coming back to the problem.

Of course, there’s not always time to allow a full night to pass before making a decision. But starting
to employ even little, conscious pauses – like a trip to the water fountain – when thinking things
through will start to develop your subconscious. Then, when a situation allows for it, layer in the
bigger pauses – like taking a shower, getting a full night’s rest, or going on a run.

Slowly but surely, you’ll strengthen your Depth Mind and begin to use it as an effective tool in
practical thinking.

Key idea 3

Improving Your Decision-Making Abilities

Alright, we’ve covered the basics of how your mind works. Now let’s dive into some strategies for
decision-making.

Do you remember the scientific method from middle school? Well, good decision-making follows a
very similar approach. Adair outlines a five-step method for any type of decision-making, big or
small.

First, define your objective. Second, collect any relevant information. Third, generate some feasible
options. Fourth, make your decision. And fifth, implement your decision and evaluate the results.

These steps aren’t a rigid process. Our minds are naturally pretty flighty and will often dart around
between these steps even if we aren’t consciously following this process.

But if you do consciously focus on completing all five of these steps – even out of order – you’ll
easily see if anything’s been missed or done without proper consideration.
Using this five-step process might seem a bit daunting at first. When you begin practicing it, consider
writing out all the steps and taking notes on your thoughts. Feel free to be as detailed as you like – it
can’t hurt!

Then, as you continue using this method as a decision-making tool, you’ll probably find it starts to
feel pretty intuitive and easy to follow. Your notes might become sparser. You might even be able to
follow the entire process in your mind. Just remember – your conscious mind can only keep track of
so many details. Taking notes is never a bad idea.

As you work to strengthen your decision-making skills, keep in mind that there’s a difference
between a wrong decision and a bad one.

A wrong decision only proves wrong in hindsight – perhaps you decide to park on a downtown street
where there are no signs for paid parking. But when you return to your car, you find a parking ticket!
The paid parking sign had been knocked down by the wind, so you didn’t have all the relevant
information needed when you decided to park there. So the decision proves wrong after the fact, but
at the time you made it, it seemed like a solid decision. In the future, you’ll be sure to check for any
knocked-down signs before you park!

A bad decision stems from a fault in the decision-making process. Perhaps not enough
consideration was given to all aspects of the problem, or known information was purposely ignored
before the decision was made. For example, you might decide to park somewhere with a paid
parking sign and not pay because you’re only going to be there for a few minutes while you buy a
coffee. But you return to your car to find a ticket for ten times what you would have paid had you only
paid the parking fee. In this case, ignoring the knowledge that you’d parked in a paid parking section
means the decision to park there and not pay was a bad one.

As long as you diligently work through the five steps of this decision-making method, you’ll be on
track to avoid bad decisions. Any wrong decisions will just help improve your process for the next
decision you make.

Key idea 4

Enhancing Your Problem-Solving Capacity

So what’s the difference between decision-making and problem-solving?

Well, in fact, they’re quite similar. Problem-solving can occur within the overall decision-making
process. But it can also stand on its own – which is why it has its own section here!

Decision-making, as we saw in the last section, involves choosing a certain action and taking it. The
choice involves the lead-up steps of gathering information and evaluating options, as well as the
follow-up steps of implementing the action of choice and evaluating the results.

The biggest difference between the two types of thinking is the action step. Problem-solving includes
only three steps.

First, define the problem or obstruction. Next, generate some feasible options. Finally, choose the
best option.
If, after following this problem-solving process, you chose to implement and then actually
implemented the solution, you’d have moved into the realm of decision-making.

Often, problems can arise as a result of making a decision. For example, you might face the decision
of what to do for a holiday. After defining your goal to be having fun, you ultimately choose and
implement the decision to drive to your friend’s house to celebrate. Once on your way there, though,
you drive into a big storm. This is a problem. A clear obstruction to your goal and the decision you’re
trying to implement.

This is where your problem-solving skills come into play.

First, you define the problem – a storm is making travel to your friend’s house difficult.

Next, you generate some feasible options – you could turn around and go home, drive somewhere
else, or keep trying to reach your friend’s house.

Finally, you choose what seems like the best option based on your personal valuation. If you turn
around, you won’t have fun, but you’ll be safe. If you continue on, you might be late or even crash.
For the sake of this example, let’s say you elect to continue to your friend’s house as the best option.

Once you’ve solved the problem, you’ll return to the decision-making process to decide exactly what
strategy to take in your goal of reaching your friend’s house.

The difference between problem-solving and decision-making may be small but it’s a difference
nonetheless. Keep working to strengthen both skills, and you’ll find both processes growing more
enjoyable and rewarding.

Key idea 5

Strengthen Your Creative Thinking

And so we arrive at the third type of practical thinking – creative thinking. Though some might claim
they haven’t got a creative bone in their body, the truth is anyone can strengthen their
creative-thinking skills.

Although it might seem counterintuitive, there’s actually a process you can use to activate your
creative thinking. The four-step process involves preparation, incubation, insight, and validation.

That’s right, preparing actually helps you think more creatively!

Preparation involves gathering and sorting information relevant to whatever it is you’re trying to think
creatively about. After all, creative thinking isn’t just coming up with completely new ideas from
scratch – though that can sometimes seem to occur if you don't understand the Depth-Mind
principle. The biggest part of creativity is seeing connections. For example, can you think of a way
pipe organs and farming might be related?

Well, in the early eighteenth century, Jethro Tull saw a connection between the principle of the organ
and the process of sowing seeds. This led him to develop a drill that allowed farmers to mechanically
sow seeds during planting. He was both an organist and an agriculturalist and his creative thinking
helped him see a connection between the two which allowed for innovation in the field of agriculture.

This is a perfect example of the creative-thinking process. First, you gather any relevant information,
which can come from any field. Start looking for connections between things – ideas, fields of work
or study, people, places, and so on.

You might find the preparation phase of creative thinking comes easier if you start to widen your
knowledge base. Do you only read nonfiction in your downtime? Why not try picking up a novel
every once in a while? Fictional stories can provide some pretty creative problem-solving by
characters!

Or maybe try taking a dance class if you’ve never done so. Or ask your siblings or cousins about
their work if it’s different from your own. There are so many areas of knowledge in our world, learning
about those outside your immediate comfort zone can really stretch your creativity and help you start
seeing connections where you might not have expected them before.

Once you’ve prepared the relevant information, it’s time to incubate, to let your Depth Mind go to
work. Remember this idea from earlier? Your subconscious is super powerful.

Your Depth Mind is much more creative than your conscious mind, seeing connections that you
might not have thought of while awake or consciously focusing on a problem or decision.

Give your subconscious time to analyze and synthesize the information you gathered in the
preparation phase. Then, soon enough, you’ll move to the insight step.

Insight is the moment of eureka. It’s the seemingly instantaneous moment of realization, of an idea
springing into your conscious mind.

Once you have the idea, move on to the fourth step in the creative process – validation. Here, you’ll
want to judge your idea, to fully consider and value it before moving on to either choosing to pursue
it or ignore it and starting the creative process over.

As your creative-thinking skills grow stronger, you might find yourself more easily generating ideas.
The four-step process might become purely subconscious, but you can also purposely use it to
practice and strengthen your creative-thinking abilities.

Final summary
By now, you have a solid understanding of the basic ways you think and the metafunctions of your
mind – remember, those are synthesizing, analyzing, and valuing. You’ve learned a five-step
decision-making method, a three-step problem-solving framework, and a four-step process for
creative thinking.

As you start to practice with these tools, keep in mind that your thoughts can often be messy. It’s
entirely natural to bounce around between steps, even circling back to repeat steps as you engage
in decision-making, problem-solving, and creative thinking. The tools presented in this Blink are
meant to be just that – tools, not rigid requirements.

Keep practicing and thinking about thinking. Before you know it, you’ll find decision-making,
problem-solving, and even creative thinking to be a breeze.