This text argues that in decision-making a focus should be placed on the bottom-line objectives that give it its meaning. It states that through recognizing and articulating fundamental values, better decision opportunities can be identified, thereby creat

'As soon as you start thinking about the living sphere, you have to make the thought itself mobile. The thought must begin to gain inner mobility through your own power.' – Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Steiner divides these absorbing, previously-untranslated lectures into three sections, opening with 'The Value of Thinking'. Here, he discusses the quality of thinking itself, contrasting 'dead physical cognition', 'living imaginative cognition', 'inspired cognition', and the latter's connection with previous periods of human and planetary development. He clarifies how 'visionary clairvoyance' can relate to individual intelligence, and also speaks of the submergence of ideas – the effects of sad or joyful experiences and feelings – into the unconscious. These can be 'life-promoting' or 'life-inhibiting'. In the second section he speaks about 'The Relationship between Spiritual Science and Natural Science', using a contemporary publication as a case study for how texts can be fruitfully analysed. He characterizes the spiritual-scientific method as allowing facts or personalities to speak for themselves, rather than making personal judgements. Finally, he deliberates on 'Episodic Observations about Space, Time, Movement' – kinetic formula and concepts such as the speed of light – introducing, directly from his spiritual observations, notions such as 'light ether'. The lectures are supplemented with an introduction, comprehensive notes, line drawings and an index. Eleven lectures, Dornach, Aug.–Oct. 1915, GA 164

Discover the essential thinking tools you’ve been missing with The Great Mental Models series by Shane Parrish, New York Times bestselling author and the mind behind the acclaimed Farnam Street blog and “The Knowledge Project” podcast. This first book in the series is your guide to learning the crucial thinking tools nobody ever taught you. Time and time again, great thinkers such as Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett have credited their success to mental models–representations of how something works that can scale onto other fields. Mastering a small number of mental models enables you to rapidly grasp new information, identify patterns others miss, and avoid the common mistakes that hold people back. The Great Mental Models: Volume 1, General Thinking Concepts shows you how making a few tiny changes in the way you think can deliver big results. Drawing on examples from history, business, art, and science, this book details nine of the most versatile, all-purpose mental models you can use right away to improve your decision making and productivity. This book will teach you how to: Avoid blind spots when looking at problems. Find non-obvious solutions. Anticipate and achieve desired outcomes. Play to your strengths, avoid your weaknesses, … and more. The Great Mental Models series demystifies once elusive concepts and illuminates rich knowledge that traditional education overlooks. This series is the most comprehensive and accessible guide on using mental models to better understand our world, solve problems, and gain an advantage.

Resource-management decisions, especially in the area of protecting and maintaining biodiversity, are usually incremental, limited in time by the ability to forecast conditions and human needs, and the result of tradeoffs between conservation and other management goals. The individual decisions may not have a major effect but can have a cumulative major effect. Perspectives on Biodiversity reviews current understanding of the value of biodiversity and the methods that are useful in assessing that value in particular circumstances. It recommends and details a list of components-including diversity of species, genetic variability within and among species, distribution of species across the ecosystem, the aesthetic satisfaction derived from diversity, and the duty to preserve and protect biodiversity. The book also recommends that more information about the role of biodiversity in sustaining natural resources be gathered and summarized in ways useful to managers. Acknowledging that decisions about biodiversity are necessarily qualitative and change over time because of the nonmarket nature of so many of the values, the committee recommends periodic reviews of management decisions.

"In a world where short-term thinking has taken hold for too many managers and investors, Value Creation Thinking provides a much needed perspective on the key drivers of long-term value. ?Madden unites the fundamentals of financial valuation with a unique emphasis on corporate purpose, culture, and knowledge. Based on decades of research and practice, Value Creation Thinking sheds light on enduring sources of competitive advantage and exposes how traditional business thinking and accounting practices often distract managers and investors from sustained performance. ?By speaking the language of both shareholders and stakeholders, Madden provides an important contribution to our understanding of capitalism at a critical moment, and an illuminating roadmap for the future of business."?Dominic Barton, Global Managing Director, McKinsey & Co.

An engaging introduction to data science that emphasizes critical thinking over statistical techniques An introduction to data science or statistics shouldn’t involve proving complex theorems or memorizing obscure terms and formulas, but that is exactly what most introductory quantitative textbooks emphasize. In contrast, Thinking Clearly with Data focuses, first and foremost, on critical thinking and conceptual understanding in order to teach students how to be better consumers and analysts of the kinds of quantitative information and arguments that they will encounter throughout their lives. Among much else, the book teaches how to assess whether an observed relationship in data reflects a genuine relationship in the world and, if so, whether it is causal; how to make the most informative comparisons for answering questions; what questions to ask others who are making arguments using quantitative evidence; which statistics are particularly informative or misleading; how quantitative evidence should and shouldn’t influence decision-making; and how to make better decisions by using moral values as well as data. Filled with real-world examples, the book shows how its thinking tools apply to problems in a wide variety of subjects, including elections, civil conflict, crime, terrorism, financial crises, health care, sports, music, and space travel. Above all else, Thinking Clearly with Data demonstrates why, despite the many benefits of our data-driven age, data can never be a substitute for thinking. An ideal textbook for introductory quantitative methods courses in data science, statistics, political science, economics, psychology, sociology, public policy, and other fields Introduces the basic toolkit of data analysis—including sampling, hypothesis testing, Bayesian inference, regression, experiments, instrumental variables, differences in differences, and regression discontinuity Uses real-world examples and data from a wide variety of subjects Includes practice questions and data exercises

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.

Thinking styles, defined as one’s preferred way of using abilities, have been considered as an important factor in explaining human performance. However, is it worthwhile to pay attention to thinking styles in addition to traditional constructs in individual differences, such as personality? Are there good styles or bad styles? Can thinking style be cultivated? Which thinking styles should we aim to cultivate? And how to cultivate these styles? This book answers these questions and more by addressing three major controversial issues in the field of styles: namely, whether thinking styles are distinct from, or are part of, personality traits; whether or not thinking styles can be changed; and whether or not thinking styles are value-laden. Based on a comprehensive review of previous literature and the analyses of results from a mixed-method, longitudinal study, the book provides solid and intriguing research evidence to the discussion of the above issues. Both academics and graduate students who wish to do research in the field of styles will find the book useful for its insights into the nature of thinking styles.

This book advances our theoretical understanding of the human experience. By overcoming dualities such as the relationship between reflection and action, it allows a more in-depth analysis of how concepts constitute complementary parts of the complex human thinking to be developed. Presenting texts written by leading philosophers and psychologists, it provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of theoretical elaboration, which is then used to discuss the place and value of reflection in moral and epistemic scenes. These topics are accessible to experts and young scholars in the field alike, and offer scope for further reflections that could improve our understanding beyond the existing models and “-isms”. The novelty of the book is in the dialogue established between several perspectives (e.g. philosophers and psychologists; Europe, America and Asia; etc.). The contributions of philosophers and psychologists establish a fruitful dialogue, so that readers realize that disciplinary divisions are overcome through dialogue and the common object of inquiry: the way human beings reflect and act in their everyday experiences.