Think Better: An Innovator's Guide to Productive Thinking

There are thousands of books about thinking. But there are very few books that provide clear how-to information that can actually help you think better. 
 Think Better is about Productive Thinking ― why it’s important, how it works, and how to use it at work, at home, and at play. Productive Thinking is a game changer ― a practical, easy-to-learn, repeatable process that helps people understand more clearly, think more creatively, and plan more effectively. It's based on the thinking strategies that people we celebrate for their creativity have been using for centuries. Tim Hurson brings Productive Thinking out of the closet and presents it in a way that makes it easy for anyone to grasp and use ― so you can think better, work better, and do better in every aspect of your life. 
Think Better demonstrates how you can start with an intractable technical problem, an unmet consumer need, or a gaping chasm in your business strategy and, by following a clearly defined, practical thinking process, arrive at a robust, innovative solution. Many companies use the Productive Thinking model to generate fresh solutions for tough business problems, and many individuals rely on it to solve pressing personal problems. 
The principles you'll find in Think Better are straight-forward: separate your thinking into creative thinking and critical thinking; stay with the question; strive for the “third third” by generating lots and lots of ideas; and look for unexpected connections. The model consists of six interlocking steps: Step 1:What's Going On? Explore and truly understand the challenge. Step 2: What's Success? Envision the ideal outcome and establish success criteria. Step 3: What's the Question? Pinpoint the real problem or opportunity. Step 4: Generate Answers List many possible solutions. Step 5: Forge the Solution Decide which solution is best. Then make it better. Step 6: Align Resources Create an action plan. Tim Hurson starts by explaining how we all build inner barriers to effective thinking. He identifies our habits of thinking that severely limit our behavior, from “monkey mind” to “gator brain.” Then he demonstrates how to overcome these barriers. More than anything, productive thinking is an attitude that will let you look at problems and convert them into opportunities. At the end of this disciplined brainstorming process, you'll have a concrete action plan, complete with timelines and deadlines. The book is filled with many of Hurson's original brainstorming tools that will empower you to generate, organize, and process ideas. For example, you can identify your best ideas using the five C's: Cull, Cluster, Combine, Clarify and Choose. And you can transform an embryonic idea into a robust solution with POWER, which stands for Positives, Objections, What else?, Enhancements and Remedies. To create the future, you first must be able to imagine it. Productive thinking is a way to help you do that.

Hurson, Tim

Reference

McGraw=Hill

Success isn’t about what you know. It’s about how you think.
Building a great career and an enriching life isn’t rocket science. It’s about understanding more clearly, thinking more creatively, and planning more effectively. This guide to productive thinking will help you do exactly that. 
Whether you need to solve business problems, create new opportunities, or improve your personal life, Think Better offers the principles and tools you need. Author Tim Hurson takes you through the critical steps you need to:
• Commit to Change: Discover how what’s working often blinds us to what’s possible. Recognize that every frustration is an opportunity in disguise. Imagine a future of creative possibilities.
• Integrate the Principles of Productive Thinking: Don’t just think outside the box. Recognize that for productive thinkers there is no box. Unlock the creative ideas in the “third third” of your consciousness―ideas that are always there, but often hovering just out of reach. 
• Take Active Steps to Focus on and Solve Problems: Use the thinking tools in this book to make the unexpected connections that are at the heart of all creative ideas and implementable solutions. 
It's a myth that people are either born productive thinkers or not. Productive thinking is a skill that can be taught, learned, practiced, and mastered―by anyone.
Thinking better leads to doing better, and ultimately to being better―in business and in life. With productive thinking, you can take on challenges in ways you never dreamed possible.

Business & Money

Business Culture

Everyone knows that the first rule of sales is �always be closing.� But what if the less time you spend trying to close, the more time you can devote to helping people solve problems and seize opportunities? And what if following the new rule of sales, �always be useful,� results in more business?If you sell and if you aim to sell better, you need to know about the stranger's dilemma. A stranger doesn't have the leverage of instant credibility. So it's not surprising that a wide range of sales tactics, tools, and closing techniques have been developed as a substitute for credibility. Their purpose is often to wrangle a commitment to buy, even when buying may not be in the best interests of the client.The approach advocated in Never Be Closing is designed to overcome the stranger's dilemma, but in a very different way. This book isn't just a catalog of techniques to wrestle money out of a client's pocket. It's a comprehensive strategy that starts with a well-researched process for identifying and solving problems. It shows you how to access your creativity to establish and maintain relationships that will be truly useful for both you and your clients over time. In a very real sense, this book will show you how to become less of a stranger.Never Be Closing expands on the principles of Tim Hurson's first book, Think Better, by offering a simple and repeatable Productive Selling framework to make the most of new opportunities. From getting your foot in the door to delivering the perfect sales pitch to debriefing after a meeting, Hurson and Dunne have an all-encompassing plan to improve your sales results, including:Eight Paths to Credibility, proven methods that establish your authority to ask key questions that reveal your client's issues, challenges, and goals.Q-Notes, a powerful strategy to make your notes doubly useful-to both record and guide your sales meeting.Three-Act Structure, a creative way to design the sales conversation to explore client needs, offer solutions, and deliver value.Hurson and Dunne show that outstanding selling isn't just about mastering the art of persuasion. Instead, the most successful selling comes from a sincere interest in your clients and their needs. These methods will enable you to sell more effectively than ever before.

Never Be Closing

Dunne, Tim

Marketing & Sales

Gildan Media

Speaker and consultant Tim Hurson presents 12 techniques that benefit both the seller and the client Never Be Closing expands on the principles of Tim Hurson's first book, Think Better, to teach salespeople how to improve their strategy and sell anything to anyone using a simple, repeatable framework. This isn't a book full of mundane tactics for cold-calling or techniques for closing a deal. This is a problem-solving approach that is more beneficial for both the seller and the client. Selling better isn't just a one time thing; it's a way to become a more valuable long-term partner. With their "Productive Selling Model," Hurson and Dunne offer business people a set of 15 tools to pull apart their current techniques, analyze them, and re-assemble them in a dynamic way. The authors include practical advice mixed with helpful anecdotes to build mutually productive relationships between seller and client, including: * The Rashomon Effect, which teaches readers how to bridge the gap between different perspectives. * The Hitchcock Method, which offers readers strategies on developing a script about themselves, their company, and their products. * The Sales Conversation, a three step structure to explore the client's needs, establish credibility, and deliver value. Tim Hurson is the founding partner of Manifest Communications, one of North America's leading social marketing agencies. He launched ThinkX Intellectual Capital in 2004 and is the author of Think Better: An Innovator's Guide to Productive Thinking. Tim Dunne is a consulting partner with ThinkX, KnowInnovation, and New &amp; Improved, firms that offer leadership, innovation, and sales training to companies worldwide.

Never Be Closing: How to Sell Better Without Screwing Your Clients, Your Colleagues, or Yourself

Portfolio

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hurson, Tim. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Hurson, Tim

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hurson, Tim. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Think Better: An Innovator's Guide to Productive Thinking

Think Better: An Innovator's Guide to Productive Thinking

Never Be Closing

Never Be Closing: How to Sell Better Without Screwing Your Clients, Your Colleagues, or Yourself