Problem Solving

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Problem Solving

• One can alter his life by altering ones mind.
• -L. J. Beardman

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The Power of the Brain

• Sitting on top of your shoulders is one of the
  greatest computers ever created!
• But, even as powerful as it is, if you want to
  get it to work for you, if you want it to be
  really strong, just like every other muscle in
  the body, it needs exercise.
• That exercise is called THINKING!

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Problem Solving can be DEFINED by . . .

• The lawyer who found the loophole to free his
  client
• The doctor who searched deeply enough and ordered
  the correct tests and found the cancer that had
  been missed by three other physicians
• The computer repair technician who found the one
  tiny circuit problem in your computer
• The auto repair person who found the faulty
  wiring in your car
• The nurse who sensed something was wrong and
  noticed the error in the medication chart
• The teacher who finally found a way to teach
  Johnny to read with pictures
• The homemaker who discovered a way to reduce the
  household debt load each month
• The marketing expert who developed the winning
  campaign for Mountain Dew
• The student who discovered that reading the
  material before class made listening easier

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CHARACTERISTICS OF Problem Solvers

• Are open-minded and objective
• Are non-ethnocentric
• Are honest with themselves and others
• Do not manipulate other people
• Seek truth in all matters
• Use credible sources
• Question situations and assumptions
• Are not judgmental
• Are willing to change
• Make their own decisions
• Are creative
• Use a variety of research for evaluation
• Are skeptical

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THINK about how Problem Solving can help you . .
.

• With RELATIONSHIPS
• With GOAL SETTING
• With FINANCES
• With DECISION MAKING
• With PROBLEM SOLVING
• With ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
• With CIVIC DUTIES

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Did you know?
75 percent of employers say problem solving
skills are ESSENTIAL in the workplace
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Problem Solving has rules

• Fifth, am I looking at all the evidence do I
  have enough information?
• Sixth, do I understand what ideas are involved
  do I know the concepts?
• Seventh, what inferences am I making what are my
  conclusions?
• Eighth, what are the implications of my question
  what will be the consequences?

• First, what do I want to figure out what is my
  question?
• Second, why do I want to figure it out what is
  my purpose?
• Third, what am I taking for granted about it
  what are my assumptions?
• Fourth, how am I looking at my question what is
  my point of view?

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How the Mind Works . . .

• Recall
• Similarity
• Difference
• Cause and Effect
• Example to Idea
• Idea to Example
• Evaluation

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A PLAN FOR Problem Solving

• Restraining Emotions
• Looking at Things Differently
• Analyzing Information
• Asking Questions
• Solving Problems
• Determining Fact from Opinion
• Seeking Truth in Argument and Persuasion

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STEPS TOEMOTIONAL RESTRAINT

• Listen to all sides
• Make an effort to check emotions
• Dont let emotions turn you off
• Dont let yourself engage in Im right, youre
  wrong
• Work to understand the other side
• Notice the physical effect of negative emotions
• Determine whether emotions are irrational

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FACT vs. OPINION(According to The American
Heritage Dictionary)

• FACT Something that has been objectively
  verified something having real, demonstrated
  existence
• OPINION A belief held with confidence, but not
  sustained by positive knowledge or proof

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Use of creative thinking in problem solving . . .
.
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Seeing from Another Perspective

• Increases your flexibility
• Very important in the workplace
• Increases ability to work with many different
  people.
• Enables you to learn something new
• Increases creativity

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Enhancing Your Creativity

• Take the broadest perspective.
• Choose the best atmosphere.
• Give yourself time.
• Gather varied input.
• Know theres not just one right answer.

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Enhancing Your Creativity

• Dont always be logical.
• Break the rules sometimes.
• Be impractical.
• Let yourself play.
• Let yourself go a little crazy.
• Dont fear failure.
• Always consider yourself creative.

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Quotations

• A man can grow only as much as his horizon
  allows. -John Powell
• Imagination has always had power that science
  can not match. -Ingrid Bengis
• Vision is the art of seeing the
  invisible. -Jonathan Swift

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THINKING BEYONDTHE OBVIOUS

• (Determine the real meaning of these quotes)
• His tombstone should read Died at 30, buried
  at 65!
• In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is
  king.
• There is a landscape larger than the one you
  see.
• That which does not kill us makes us stronger.

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