ARE YOU KILLING YOURSELF

. . . OR SKILLING YOURSELF?

This beautiful catchphrase comes from my good friend, Dilip Mukerjea, which he uses to promote his innovative iCAPsule program in his latest Brainaissance product and service catalog.

To be able to survive and thrive in the 21st Century, you must be skilled. To be precise, multi-skilled.

Otherwise, at the end of the road, you will bump into 'Extinction', instead of making a 'Distinction' for yourself.

Drawing on my own personal and professional experiences, I like to share with readers what are some of the most important skillsets, toolsets, actionsets and even mindsets to master for the 21st Century.

i) MindMapping & Other Visual Tools:

Even though Mindmapping has its own limitations, it is still a good skill to learn and master.

You can pick up the learning journey with books from Tony Buzan, Joyce Wycoff as well as Nancy Marguiles.

Of course, you can also go and attend one of the MindMapping workshops available in the marketplace.

Besides MindMapping, learn to explore other visual tools and graphic organisers.

If you are techno-savvy, MindManager and/or SmartDraw (excellent for creating rich pictures) and/or Inspiration (great for flow charts and concept mapping) are other available learning possibilities.

ii) Creative Problem Solving:

The best skill set in this respect is the proven CPS methodology from Alex Osborne and Sidney Parnes.

You can learn more about it from the Creative Education Foundation as well as the Creative Problem Solving Institute (CPSI).

Several books have been written on this subject.

One good one that quickly comes to my mind: Min Basadur's 'Simplex'.

A recently released creativity book, 'Think Better', covering a slight variation of the original CPS method, by Tim Hurson is worth reading.

For the more adventurous explorers in problem solving, I reckon the Synectics approach is the real kingpin.

You can read about it from the classic works from the two masters (William Gordon and George Prince)', e.g. 'Synectics: The Development of Creative Capacity' and 'The Practice of Creativity', respectively.

Since the above two classics may be out of print, I would suggest reading 'Big Ideas: Putting the Zest into Creativity & Innovation at Work' by Jonne Ceserani and/or 'Creativity, Inc.,' by Jeff Mauz.

Also get hold, if available, Vincent Nolan's 'The Innovator's Handbook'.

iii) Lateral Thinking:

In the field of creativity, lateral thinking from the late creativity maestro Dr Edward de Bono stands out, undoubtedly.

I like lateral thinking because the techniques help to break your dominant patterns and enhance your perceptual sensitivity to the world.

The author's brilliant approach is to provoke and/or restructure insights, as opposed to the traditional approach of having sudden insights.

You can learn more about lateral thinking from Dr Edward de bono's earlier books, e.g. 'Uses of Lateral Thinking', 'Lateral Thinking for Management' and 'Serious Creativity'.

You can also attend one of his workshops available in the marketplace.

iv) The 7 Habits:

The skill sets as embodied in the '7 Habits' from productivity strategist Stephen Covey are worth acquiring, especially the first three that pertains to securing a personal victory, i.e. 'Be Proactive', 'Having the End in Mind' and 'Think Win-Win'.

First of all, learn to understand the paradigm shifting perspectives as explained and illustrated by him in the book, '7 Habits of Highly Effective People'.

In a nut shell, and at the end analysis, the quest for excellence boils down to embracing powerful habits.

v) The 7 Levels of Change:

I like the painstaking way which the author Rolf Smith had taken in breaking down the personal change process in terms of specific actionable routines.

He uses the mountaineering expedition as a metaphor.

The skill sets as embodied in the author's book, entitled '7 Levels of Change' are worth acquiring and emulating.

vi) Systems Thinking:

Peter Senge started the ball rolling with regard to his ground-breaking methodology, as originally embodied in his wonderful book, 'The Fifth Discipline'.

Besides understanding the systems thinking perspectives, I like the skill set under 'Personal Mastery', at least from the personal standpoint.

I reckon the rest of them will fall nicely if you are in an organisational setting.

Nonetheless, for me, and to cut to the chase, personal mastery is the foundation of peak performance in any human endeavours.

It is pertinent for me to point out that the 'Fifth Discipline Fieldbook' gives more application possibilities.

vii) Strategic Thinking:

Readers will concur with me that thinking critically & strategically are the hallmarks of a business leader in the 21st century.

In other words, strategic thinking gives you the future competitive edge.

In this respect, and from the personal perspective, I choose the brilliant work of Stuart Wells, who wrote 'Choosing the Future'.

In the business arena, there are a few excellent authors, like William Rothschild and Rich Horwath.

viii) Strategic Exploration:

To me, strategic exploration is simply moving out of the comfort zone and venturing into new territories and/or exploring uncharted territories.

Author-filmmaker-futuirst Joel Arthur Barker has had outlined four powerful tools for strategic exploration in his pioneering book, 'Discovering the Future: The Business of Paradigms'.

Obviously, his four tools resonate beautifully with the those coming under 'Creative Problem Solving', 'Lateral Thinking', and 'MindMapping'.

I like Joel Arthur Barker's brilliant insights:

i) The three critical challenges facing all of us are:

- Anticipating the Future;

- The Pursuit of Innovation at all levels;

- The Quest for Excellence in whatever we do;

ii) The way to g about the above challenges is to embrace paradigm pliancy.

In simple language, adopt fresh, multiple perspectives and fluidity in our perception about the world.

Do you see the connection with Dr Edward de Bono's Lateral Thinking?

ix) Personal Strategic Planning:

Planning your life is the key to mastering yourself in the long run.

In this respect, there are many good books.

I would single out George Morrisey as he has excellent planning stuff that applies to both personal ('Getting Your Act Together: Goal Setting for Fun, Health & Profit' and/or 'Creating Your Future: Personal Strategic Planning for Professionals') as well as organisational settings ('Morrisey on Planning Trilogy').

Paul Levesque's 'Breakaway Planning' is another good one from the corporate angle.

Another good one is the one written by Simon Wootton, especially pertaining to the use of a series of provoking questions to probe your thinking behind your planning.

x) Opportunity Discovery:

The 21st century is actually the 'Idea Economy' from the standpoint of physical manifestations.

In other words, it is the ideas that make the difference in most respects, personally, professionally, organisationally as well as entrepreneurially.

The skill sets as embodied in Dr Edward de Bono's 'Opportunities' and Michel Robert's 'Innovation Formula' are definitely worth acquiring and emulating, as they provide the systematic methodologies to help you convert ideas into cash.

Don't forget to read Robert Tucker and Denis Waitley's 'Winning the Innovation Game' as they shared superb ideas on trend and/or opportunity spotting.

xi) Critical Thinking:

With so much wishy washy and mumbo jumbo stuff out there in the world, one also really needs the ability to think critically, analyse emerging issues, and make appropriate value judgments at the end of the day.

In this respect, I admire the work of the 'Foundation of Critical Thinking' and find many of their published thoughtwares very useful for learning, acquisition, mastering and emulation.

One quick way to understand critical thinking skill sets is to read the founders Richard Paul and Linda Elder's wonderful book for a start.

It's entitled 'Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Learning and Your Life'.

xii) Decision Making & Potential Problem Analysis:

As Anthony Robbins once said: "It is in your moment of decision that you destiny is shaped."

Unfortunately, our success coach did not offer a methodology to go about it.

One of the best skill sets I have picked up in the early years of exploration to help me make better decisions in life and business is the well-known Kepner-Tregoe Problem Solving and Decision Making methodology.

The pioneering book, 'The Rational Manager' by the two founders is worth exploring, as it details the methodology with crystal clarity for readers.

Better skill, you can also go and attend one of their many workshops available in the marketplace, and have the opportunity to test ride through some case studies with like-minded professionals.

Happy reading, exploring and assimilation!