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A Short Guide to Building Your Team’s Critical Thinking Skills

• Matt Plummer

Critical thinking isn’t an innate skill. It can be learned.

Most employers lack an effective way to objectively assess critical thinking skills and most managers don’t know how to provide specific instruction to team members in need of becoming better thinkers. Instead, most managers employ a sink-or-swim approach, ultimately creating work-arounds to keep those who can’t figure out how to “swim” from making important decisions. But it doesn’t have to be this way. To demystify what critical thinking is and how it is developed, the author’s team turned to three research-backed models: The Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment, Pearson’s RED Critical Thinking Model, and Bloom’s Taxonomy. Using these models, they developed the Critical Thinking Roadmap, a framework that breaks critical thinking down into four measurable phases: the ability to execute, synthesize, recommend, and generate.

With critical thinking ranking among the most in-demand skills for job candidates , you would think that educational institutions would prepare candidates well to be exceptional thinkers, and employers would be adept at developing such skills in existing employees. Unfortunately, both are largely untrue.

• Matt Plummer (@mtplummer) is the founder of Zarvana, which offers online programs and coaching services to help working professionals become more productive by developing time-saving habits. Before starting Zarvana, Matt spent six years at Bain & Company spin-out, The Bridgespan Group, a strategy and management consulting firm for nonprofits, foundations, and philanthropists.  

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The Link between Critical Thinking and Organizational Performance

The Ultimate Guide to Soft Skills for Managers wouldn’t be complete without a look at the links between critical thinking and organizational performance. Like most soft skills, critical thinking is difficult to quantify and define. But you admire it when you see it, and you recognize the gap when it’s missing. Because it’s often easier to spot the gap, consider these indicators that you might need to brush up your critical thinking skills: 

The Indicators You Might Need to Brush Up On Your Critical Thinking Skills

• Forming opinions and taking positions based on feelings vs. facts
• Justifying decisions with a single anecdote vs. a body of evidence
• Relying on ideology vs. individual thought and your own independent views
• Rejecting input due to a closed mind vs. soliciting input with an open mind
• Reciting the indoctrinated “party line” vs. pursuing new options inquisitively
• Proceeding aimlessly or with uncertainty vs. striving for clarity and knowing the purpose
• Making unilateral decisions vs. collaborating to include everyone impacted by decisions
• Protecting the status quo with rigidity vs. adapting to changes with agility
• Responding defensively when challenged vs. receiving critique graciously
• Having a narrow and short-term perspective vs. looking broadly, big picture, and long-term

 Here’s how it works. Let’s say you’re an HR executive who has seen the same situation over and over again throughout your career. You have a mental playbook for how to respond. You’re conditioned to do things a certain way. So, when yet another manager approaches you with a similar situation, you reflexively respond. You have your answers prepared before you hear the full situation. You give the playbook solution and expediently handle the matter.

 This happens to the best of us. We leapfrog over important details that are not immediately apparent. We’re blinded to them by our assumptions and lazy thinking. It happens even more when we are also swayed by our emotions and unconscious biases (we all have ‘em!). Critical thinking requires time, effort and discomfort. Lazy thinking, by contrast, is very tempting.  

Critical Thinking: What Is It Anyway?

  Critical thinking is generally defined as skillful analysis, assessment, evaluation and synthesizing of information. It requires objectivity, logic, openness, and a willingness to challenge your own and others’ biases, beliefs, and conclusions.

 Critical thinking goes beyond learning and remembering information . It’s about how you process and use the information you’ve been exposed to. Rather than automatically accepting what’s familiar and comfortable or rejecting what doesn’t fit your preconceived ideas, critical thinking kicks in when you ask questions before reaching a conclusion. That includes asking yourself introspective questions.

Critical thinking also goes beyond thinking. Routine thinking involves awareness, recollection, idea-generation, and reflection. When thinking critically, you’re also accessing objective judgment and analyzing your thoughts . This requires self-discipline and rationally considering more than what’s easy, familiar, comfortable, readily available, or emotionally gratifying.

Strong critical thinkers look for evidence to back information before they accept it. They appraise the quality of the evidence and seek diverse points of view to make sure they aren’t missing anything. They consider emotions but balance them with rational evaluation. They don’t favor a single source but consult multiple sources that provide opposing views.

 They know that confirmation bias – selecting sources and information that support your own views -- is the enemy of critical thinking. They remain vigilant to avoid lazy thinking that makes them less effective in their problem solving, decision making, and leadership. 

 There are three qualities that are essential for building critical thinking skills. They are: 

  Skepticism

 When you don’t accept things at face value, you probe by asking questions. You remain doubtful until you get enough information to confidently accept the information offered. Skepticism is a positive quality, so long as it doesn’t become cynicism. Healthy skepticism leads to new ideas, better understanding, and dialogue. Questions open the conversation when someone is skeptical and not overly eager to agree and move on. Cynicism shuts others down because, unlike skepticism, it comes with contempt, distrust, and disparagement. Cynics don’t ask questions, they pronounce judgments. 

 Skepticism is what enables you to recognize that there might be alternate ways (even better ways!) of solving a problem. It’s what launches critical thinking.     

  Curiosity

When you have a genuine desire to learn and know more, you’ll ask more questions and listen more carefully to the answers. You’ll explore possibilities you haven’t considered before. You’ll investigate options without dismissing them prematurely. 

 Curiosity is what enables you to take in more and different kinds of information for critical evaluation. 

  Humility

When you maintain a modest estimation of your own opinion, it’s easier to accept others’ input and ideas. This openness is a prerequisite for critical thinking. Without it, you’re inherently limited to what you already know. No matter how smart or experienced you are, you’re just one person. There’s a lot more out there that you don’t know! 

 Humility is what enables you to objectively weigh information and options without arrogantly favoring your own ideas and opinions. 

With an appropriate mix of skepticism, curiosity and humility, you will naturally want to know more. You’ll be asking questions like these and objectively evaluating the answers.

• What is the evidence to back your claim ? What is the source of that evidence?
• How do you know this is true?
• What role are feelings playing in this conclusion?
• What are the alternatives? How do others view this situation ?
• What are we missing? Who else could we consult for an entirely different perspective?
• What are the pros and cons for each option?
• Who is affected and how ? Who benefits? Are they presenting objective information?
• What has been done before and how is that relevant to this situation?
• What is the real, underlying problem that we’re trying to resolve?
• What are the ideal outcomes? How many of those ideals will this response provide?

  The purpose of critical thinking is to draw sound conclusions , make quality decisions, and solve problems effectively. It can also help you feel more confident about the choices you make while also building credibility as others become more confident in you, too. There’s also a myriad of benefits for an organization when managers and team members are strong critical thinkers. 

Critical Thinking and Organizational Performance – Links and Benefits

  Group think and unproductive conflict are equally damaging to a team and organization. Critical thinking helps managers avoid both. 

Group think is a trap that teams fall into when everyone wants to preserve harmony or avoid the conflict that comes from offering opposing views. When there is a dominant figure in the group, other voices may be suppressed as people withhold input because they believe it won’t be valued. Group think discourages idea generation and innovation. 

 Unproductive conflict is a trap, too, that teams succumb to when there are competing interests (or the perception of them). Infighting, undermining, sabotaging, personalizing, and refusing to collaborate all stem from issues that could be addressed with a rational approach. Unproductive conflict saps morale and impairs overall effectiveness .

 Healthy conflict is another matter. When team members respectfully engage in open discussion and two-way dialogue, they feel more committed to the eventual outcomes. They feel dignified because their opinions were heard and valued. They are more willing to offer ideas and challenge existing processes with an toward incremental improvement.

 A manger’s critical thinking unleashes a team’s unrestrained contributions.

 Critical thinking generates new ideas and explores them when they’re offered. Critical thinkers don’t reflexively or defensively respond with conversation-enders like “we always do it this way” or “we’ve never done it that way.”  When more new ideas bubble up, innovation naturally occurs. In an era of disruption and rapid change, long-term organizational performance depends on innovation.

 Critical thinking fosters teamwork, too, and strengthens inclusion. Employee engagement increases when people feel a sense of belonging and emotional commitment. By bringing in all voices and remaining open to truly consider others’ input, managers create cultures where everyone listens more, respects others more, asks more questions, and understands others’ needs better. The research that demonstrates how engagement affects every aspect of organizational performance is compelling.

 When a manager exhibits good critical thinking, it also sets a standard for others. Employees who see quality decision making and effective problem solving are more likely, themselves, to develop and use these skills. That means you’ll be able to trust others with decision authority. It means team members will solve their own problems instead of bringing them to you. No more need for managers to constantly “put out fires.”

 The obvious benefits of improved decision making and problem solving also boost organizational performance . No more endless meetings to admire the problem but never solve it. No more backtracking on decisions once unintended consequences emerge or because team members revolt. No more clash over how conclusions were reached. No more people feeling disenfranchised by decisions that affect them but they had no part in making.

 Obviously, bad decisions negatively impact business results. That’s why one AMA/CMCS study found that critical thinking was the single most important skills of senior leaders . The same study also found that most executives believe there will be even more need for critical thinking skills in the workplace in the future.

  Numerous studies validate that organizations with strong critical thinkers outperform those with a deficit in these skills. Unfortunately, the same research shows that there are critical gaps in critical thinking abilities in the leadership ranks and in mid-management (the future senior leaders).

The good news is that critical thinking skills can be learned, practiced and mastered.

How You Can Build Your Mental Might and Eradicate Lazy Thinking Habits

If you’d like to set yourself apart from others who lack critical thinking skills, there are three things you can do .

 First, you can measure your critical thinking skills. The Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal is an excellent assessment that measures your ability to recognize assumptions, evaluate arguments, draw conclusions, and view a situation critically, objectively, and logically.  It’s available through organizations. For a free test you can access individually, check out this one that assesses you abilities in argumentation, interpretation, and drawing conclusions.

 Second, you can take a course that will help you identify your gaps in critical thinking and work on those. The No More Lazy Thinking course from PFPS focuses on helping managers build their mental might . Organizations interested in learning more about this 2-day workshop can contact PFPS directly .

 Finally, for an introduction to the skills you can build and the mindsets you may need to address, subscribe to the PFPS YouTube Channel and view the 40-part video series in this playlist . This is a free, low-risk way to begin thinking differently and to build your mental might.

In addition to any of the learning strategies you choose, remember that critical thinking is a choice and a discipline. You’ll have to step outside your comfort zone and challenge your own assumptions, biases and perceptions. Doing this alone will make you a stronger critical thinker .

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How to build critical thinking skills for better decision-making

It’s simple in theory, but tougher in practice – here are five tips to get you started.

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Have you heard the riddle about two coins that equal thirty cents, but one of them is not a nickel? What about the one where a surgeon says they can’t operate on their own son?

Those brain teasers tap into your critical thinking skills. But your ability to think critically isn’t just helpful for solving those random puzzles – it plays a big role in your career. 

An impressive 81% of employers say critical thinking carries a lot of weight when they’re evaluating job candidates. It ranks as the top competency companies consider when hiring recent graduates (even ahead of communication ). Plus, once you’re hired, several studies show that critical thinking skills are highly correlated with better job performance.

So what exactly are critical thinking skills? And even more importantly, how do you build and improve them? 

What is critical thinking?

Critical thinking is the ability to evaluate facts and information, remain objective, and make a sound decision about how to move forward.

Does that sound like how you approach every decision or problem? Not so fast. Critical thinking seems simple in theory but is much tougher in practice, which helps explain why 65% of employers say their organization has a need for more critical thinking. 

In reality, critical thinking doesn’t come naturally to a lot of us. In order to do it well, you need to:

• Remain open-minded and inquisitive, rather than relying on assumptions or jumping to conclusions
• Ask questions and dig deep, rather than accepting information at face value
• Keep your own biases and perceptions in check to stay as objective as possible
• Rely on your emotional intelligence to fill in the blanks and gain a more well-rounded understanding of a situation

So, critical thinking isn’t just being intelligent or analytical. In many ways, it requires you to step outside of yourself, let go of your own preconceived notions, and approach a problem or situation with curiosity and fairness.

It’s a challenge, but it’s well worth it. Critical thinking skills will help you connect ideas, make reasonable decisions, and solve complex problems.

7 critical thinking skills to help you dig deeper

Critical thinking is often labeled as a skill itself (you’ll see it bulleted as a desired trait in a variety of job descriptions). But it’s better to think of critical thinking less as a distinct skill and more as a collection or category of skills. 

To think critically, you’ll need to tap into a bunch of your other soft skills. Here are seven of the most important. 

Open-mindedness

It’s important to kick off the critical thinking process with the idea that anything is possible. The more you’re able to set aside your own suspicions, beliefs, and agenda, the better prepared you are to approach the situation with the level of inquisitiveness you need. 

That means not closing yourself off to any possibilities and allowing yourself the space to pull on every thread – yes, even the ones that seem totally implausible.

As Christopher Dwyer, Ph.D. writes in a piece for Psychology Today , “Even if an idea appears foolish, sometimes its consideration can lead to an intelligent, critically considered conclusion.” He goes on to compare the critical thinking process to brainstorming . Sometimes the “bad” ideas are what lay the foundation for the good ones. 

Open-mindedness is challenging because it requires more effort and mental bandwidth than sticking with your own perceptions. Approaching problems or situations with true impartiality often means:

• Practicing self-regulation : Giving yourself a pause between when you feel something and when you actually react or take action.
• Challenging your own biases: Acknowledging your biases and seeking feedback are two powerful ways to get a broader understanding. 

Critical thinking example

In a team meeting, your boss mentioned that your company newsletter signups have been decreasing and she wants to figure out why.

At first, you feel offended and defensive – it feels like she’s blaming you for the dip in subscribers. You recognize and rationalize that emotion before thinking about potential causes. You have a hunch about what’s happening, but you will explore all possibilities and contributions from your team members.

Observation

Observation is, of course, your ability to notice and process the details all around you (even the subtle or seemingly inconsequential ones). Critical thinking demands that you’re flexible and willing to go beyond surface-level information, and solid observation skills help you do that.

Your observations help you pick up on clues from a variety of sources and experiences, all of which help you draw a final conclusion. After all, sometimes it’s the most minuscule realization that leads you to the strongest conclusion.

Over the next week or so, you keep a close eye on your company’s website and newsletter analytics to see if numbers are in fact declining or if your boss’s concerns were just a fluke. 

Critical thinking hinges on objectivity. And, to be objective, you need to base your judgments on the facts – which you collect through research. You’ll lean on your research skills to gather as much information as possible that’s relevant to your problem or situation. 

Keep in mind that this isn’t just about the quantity of information – quality matters too. You want to find data and details from a variety of trusted sources to drill past the surface and build a deeper understanding of what’s happening. 

You dig into your email and website analytics to identify trends in bounce rates, time on page, conversions, and more. You also review recent newsletters and email promotions to understand what customers have received, look through current customer feedback, and connect with your customer support team to learn what they’re hearing in their conversations with customers.

The critical thinking process is sort of like a treasure hunt – you’ll find some nuggets that are fundamental for your final conclusion and some that might be interesting but aren’t pertinent to the problem at hand.

That’s why you need analytical skills. They’re what help you separate the wheat from the chaff, prioritize information, identify trends or themes, and draw conclusions based on the most relevant and influential facts. 

It’s easy to confuse analytical thinking with critical thinking itself, and it’s true there is a lot of overlap between the two. But analytical thinking is just a piece of critical thinking. It focuses strictly on the facts and data, while critical thinking incorporates other factors like emotions, opinions, and experiences. 

As you analyze your research, you notice that one specific webpage has contributed to a significant decline in newsletter signups. While all of the other sources have stayed fairly steady with regard to conversions, that one has sharply decreased.

You decide to move on from your other hypotheses about newsletter quality and dig deeper into the analytics. 

One of the traps of critical thinking is that it’s easy to feel like you’re never done. There’s always more information you could collect and more rabbit holes you could fall down.

But at some point, you need to accept that you’ve done your due diligence and make a decision about how to move forward. That’s where inference comes in. It’s your ability to look at the evidence and facts available to you and draw an informed conclusion based on those. 

When you’re so focused on staying objective and pursuing all possibilities, inference can feel like the antithesis of critical thinking. But ultimately, it’s your inference skills that allow you to move out of the thinking process and onto the action steps. 

You dig deeper into the analytics for the page that hasn’t been converting and notice that the sharp drop-off happened around the same time you switched email providers.

After looking more into the backend, you realize that the signup form on that page isn’t correctly connected to your newsletter platform. It seems like anybody who has signed up on that page hasn’t been fed to your email list. 

Communication

3 ways to improve your communication skills at work

If and when you identify a solution or answer, you can’t keep it close to the vest. You’ll need to use your communication skills to share your findings with the relevant stakeholders – like your boss, team members, or anybody who needs to be involved in the next steps.

Your analysis skills will come in handy here too, as they’ll help you determine what information other people need to know so you can avoid bogging them down with unnecessary details. 

In your next team meeting, you pull up the analytics and show your team the sharp drop-off as well as the missing connection between that page and your email platform. You ask the web team to reinstall and double-check that connection and you also ask a member of the marketing team to draft an apology email to the subscribers who were missed. 

Problem-solving

Critical thinking and problem-solving are two more terms that are frequently confused. After all, when you think critically, you’re often doing so with the objective of solving a problem.

The best way to understand how problem-solving and critical thinking differ is to think of problem-solving as much more narrow. You’re focused on finding a solution.

In contrast, you can use critical thinking for a variety of use cases beyond solving a problem – like answering questions or identifying opportunities for improvement. Even so, within the critical thinking process, you’ll flex your problem-solving skills when it comes time to take action. 

Once the fix is implemented, you monitor the analytics to see if subscribers continue to increase. If not (or if they increase at a slower rate than you anticipated), you’ll roll out some other tests like changing the CTA language or the placement of the subscribe form on the page.

5 ways to improve your critical thinking skills

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Think critically about critical thinking and you’ll quickly realize that it’s not as instinctive as you’d like it to be. Fortunately, your critical thinking skills are learned competencies and not inherent gifts – and that means you can improve them. Here’s how:

• Practice active listening: Active listening helps you process and understand what other people share. That’s crucial as you aim to be open-minded and inquisitive.
• Ask open-ended questions: If your critical thinking process involves collecting feedback and opinions from others, ask open-ended questions (meaning, questions that can’t be answered with “yes” or “no”). Doing so will give you more valuable information and also prevent your own biases from influencing people’s input.
• Scrutinize your sources: Figuring out what to trust and prioritize is crucial for critical thinking. Boosting your media literacy and asking more questions will help you be more discerning about what to factor in. It’s hard to strike a balance between skepticism and open-mindedness, but approaching information with questions (rather than unquestioning trust) will help you draw better conclusions. 
• Play a game: Remember those riddles we mentioned at the beginning? As trivial as they might seem, games and exercises like those can help you boost your critical thinking skills. There are plenty of critical thinking exercises you can do individually or as a team . 
• Give yourself time: Research shows that rushed decisions are often regrettable ones. That’s likely because critical thinking takes time – you can’t do it under the wire. So, for big decisions or hairy problems, give yourself enough time and breathing room to work through the process. It’s hard enough to think critically without a countdown ticking in your brain. 

Critical thinking really is critical

The ability to think critically is important, but it doesn’t come naturally to most of us. It’s just easier to stick with biases, assumptions, and surface-level information. 

But that route often leads you to rash judgments, shaky conclusions, and disappointing decisions. So here’s a conclusion we can draw without any more noodling: Even if it is more demanding on your mental resources, critical thinking is well worth the effort.

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Building Your Team’s Critical Thinking Skills for Success

• August 15, 2023
• Teamwork & Collaboration

In today’s complex and rapidly changing world, the ability to think critically is crucial for individuals and teams seeking success. Like a sturdy foundation, critical thinking skills provide the necessary support and structure for problem-solving, decision-making, and innovation. However, the cultivation of these skills often falls short in educational and professional settings. This article explores the importance of building critical thinking skills and offers methods for their development, along with the benefits that can be reaped. By empowering teams with critical thinking, they can navigate challenges with agility and achieve desired outcomes.

Table of Contents

Key Takeaways

• Critical thinking skills are highly valued in job candidates and are essential for problem-solving and innovation.
• Educational institutions and employers often do not adequately develop critical thinking skills.
• Lack of critical thinking skills can lead to poor decision-making and decreased productivity and efficiency.
• To develop critical thinking skills in your team, provide specific instruction and guidance, offer training programs and resources, encourage open-mindedness, and foster a culture that values and rewards critical thinking.

The Importance of Critical Thinking Skills for Success

The importance of critical thinking skills for success is evident in the improved decision-making abilities, enhanced creativity and innovation, increased efficiency and productivity, better communication and collaboration within teams, and adaptability and resilience in the face of challenges that it brings. Critical thinking plays a crucial role in problem-solving and decision-making processes, as it enables individuals to analyze situations, evaluate options, and make informed choices. It helps in identifying biases, assumptions, and fallacies that may hinder effective problem-solving. To foster critical thinking in the workplace, organizations can implement strategies such as providing specific instruction and guidance, offering training programs, encouraging open-mindedness, fostering a culture that values and rewards critical thinking, and providing opportunities for practice and application of critical thinking skills. By developing these skills, individuals can enhance their problem-solving abilities and contribute to the overall success of the organization.

Understanding the Definition and Components of Critical Thinking

Execution, one of the measurable phases of critical thinking, involves the effective execution of tasks. Understanding critical thinking assessment is crucial in evaluating an individual’s ability to execute tasks and perform well in critical thinking. Bloom’s Taxonomy plays a significant role in critical thinking by providing a framework for understanding the different levels of thinking and the cognitive processes involved. It helps in assessing and developing critical thinking skills by categorizing thinking into six levels, ranging from basic knowledge to higher-order thinking skills such as analysis, evaluation, and creation. By using Bloom’s Taxonomy, educators and evaluators can assess the depth and complexity of critical thinking skills and identify areas for improvement. Incorporating Bloom’s Taxonomy into critical thinking assessment can guide the development of effective instructional strategies and promote higher-level cognitive thinking.

The Role of Execution in Developing Critical Thinking Skills

One of the measurable phases of critical thinking, execution, plays a crucial role in the development and enhancement of critical thinking skills. Execution refers to the ability to carry out tasks effectively. In the context of critical thinking, execution involves the application of problem-solving strategies and the implementation of plans or actions to solve a given problem or achieve a specific goal. Effective execution requires individuals to apply their analytical thinking, evaluate potential solutions, and make informed decisions. The impact of critical thinking on problem-solving is significant, as it enables individuals to approach problems systematically, consider multiple perspectives, and generate innovative solutions. By honing their execution skills, individuals can improve their problem-solving abilities and enhance their overall critical thinking prowess.

The Power of Synthesis in Critical Thinking

Synthesis, a fundamental component of critical thinking, involves the integration and combination of information to generate new perspectives and ideas. In problem-solving, synthesis plays a crucial role in developing critical thinking in the workplace.

Integration of Information: Synthesis requires the ability to gather and analyze information from various sources, such as research studies, reports, and expert opinions. By integrating this information, individuals can gain a comprehensive understanding of the problem at hand.

Generation of New Perspectives: Through synthesis, individuals can go beyond the surface-level understanding of a problem and generate new perspectives and ideas. This creative process allows for innovative solutions and approaches to problem-solving.

Problem-Solving Efficiency: Synthesis improves problem-solving efficiency by enabling individuals to identify patterns, connections, and relationships between different pieces of information. This holistic view helps in identifying the most appropriate course of action and avoiding potential pitfalls or biases.

Methods for Providing Instruction and Guidance in Critical Thinking

To effectively provide instruction and guidance in critical thinking, it is important to implement specific training programs and resources focused on the development of this skill. Methods for critical thinking instruction include providing specific instruction and guidance to team members, offering training programs and resources, encouraging open-mindedness and exploration of different perspectives, fostering a culture that values and rewards critical thinking, and providing opportunities for practice and application of critical thinking skills. These methods have numerous benefits for individuals and organizations. Developing critical thinking skills leads to improved decision-making and problem-solving abilities, enhanced creativity and innovation, increased efficiency and productivity, better communication and collaboration within teams, and adaptability and resilience in the face of challenges. Therefore, organizations should prioritize the implementation of these methods to cultivate critical thinking skills and reap the benefits of their development.

Training Programs and Resources for Developing Critical Thinking

Training programs and resources are essential for the development of critical thinking skills in individuals and organizations. These programs provide structured and systematic approaches to enhance critical thinking abilities. To measure the effectiveness of training programs in developing critical thinking skills, the following methods can be employed:

Pre- and post-training assessments: Before and after the training, individuals can be evaluated using standardized tests or assessments specifically designed to measure critical thinking skills. This allows for a quantitative comparison of skill improvement.

Performance evaluations: Observing participants’ performance in real-world scenarios can provide insights into their critical thinking abilities. Evaluating decision-making processes, problem-solving strategies, and the application of logical reasoning can help determine the effectiveness of the training.

Feedback and self-reflection: Gathering feedback from participants regarding their perception of their own critical thinking skills can provide qualitative data on the impact of the training. Self-reflection exercises can also help individuals identify areas for improvement and gauge their progress over time.

Encouraging Open-Mindedness and Exploring Different Perspectives

Encouraging open-mindedness and exploring different perspectives is a valuable approach in fostering critical thinking abilities. By exposing individuals to diverse viewpoints, they are prompted to challenge their own assumptions and beliefs, leading to a deeper understanding of complex issues. This process allows for the exploration of various angles and considerations, ultimately enhancing critical thinking skills. Creating a fostering critical thinking environment necessitates creating opportunities for individuals to engage in dialogue and debate, where they can listen to and learn from differing opinions. Additionally, it involves promoting a culture of respect and tolerance for diverse perspectives, encouraging individuals to actively seek out alternative viewpoints. By incorporating these practices, organizations and educational institutions can cultivate a critical thinking environment that nurtures the development of well-rounded individuals capable of thoughtful analysis and decision-making.

Creating a Culture That Values and Rewards Critical Thinking

Creating a culture that values and rewards critical thinking involves establishing systems and structures within an organization or educational institution that recognize and acknowledge individuals who demonstrate strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities. To promote critical thinking, organizations can implement the following strategies:

Implementing critical thinking in performance evaluations: Incorporating criteria that assess an individual’s ability to think critically and make sound judgments can incentivize employees to develop and display these skills. This can be done by including specific performance indicators related to critical thinking in the evaluation process.

Promoting critical thinking in team meetings: Encouraging open discussions and debates during team meetings can foster an environment where critical thinking is valued. By posing thought-provoking questions, encouraging different perspectives, and challenging assumptions, teams can collectively engage in critical thinking and generate innovative solutions.

Offering training and development opportunities: Providing training programs and resources focused on critical thinking can equip individuals with the necessary knowledge and skills to think critically. This can include workshops, seminars, or online courses that teach techniques and strategies for effective critical thinking.

Opportunities for Practice and Application of Critical Thinking Skills

One effective method to enhance critical thinking abilities involves providing individuals with practical scenarios and real-life situations that require the application of analytical and problem-solving skills. By offering practice opportunities that simulate real-world application, individuals can develop and refine their critical thinking skills. The utilization of practical scenarios allows individuals to engage in active learning, where they can apply their knowledge and skills to solve complex problems and make informed decisions. Through these practice opportunities, individuals are exposed to a range of challenges and are encouraged to think critically, analyze information, evaluate options, and generate innovative solutions. This hands-on approach to developing critical thinking skills not only enhances individuals’ ability to solve problems effectively, but also prepares them for real-world situations where critical thinking is essential. Ultimately, the integration of practical scenarios provides individuals with valuable experiences that strengthen their critical thinking abilities.

The Benefits of Improved Decision-Making and Problem-Solving

The previous subtopic discussed the opportunities for practice and application of critical thinking skills. Now, let’s delve into the benefits of improved decision-making and problem-solving that result from developing these skills.

Enhanced problem-solving techniques: Critical thinking enables individuals to analyze complex problems, identify underlying issues, and determine the most effective solutions. By developing critical thinking skills, teams can approach problems with a systematic and logical mindset, leading to more efficient and effective problem-solving processes.

Improved decision-making: Critical thinking plays a crucial role in decision-making by enabling individuals to evaluate information objectively, consider various perspectives, and weigh the pros and cons of different options. This helps teams make well-informed decisions that are based on evidence and reasoning rather than biases or gut feelings.

Increased effectiveness in complex situations: Critical thinking empowers individuals to navigate complex and ambiguous situations by providing them with the ability to analyze information, assess potential risks, and make sound judgments. This enhances their ability to adapt and respond effectively in dynamic environments.

Overall, the impact of critical thinking on decision-making and problem-solving is significant. By improving these skills, teams can make better decisions, solve problems more effectively, and ultimately achieve higher levels of success.

Enhancing Creativity and Innovation Through Critical Thinking

Enhancing creativity and innovation can be achieved by developing critical thinking abilities through the application of analytical and problem-solving techniques. Critical thinking in the workplace is crucial for fostering a culture of innovation. By honing critical thinking skills, individuals are able to approach challenges and problems with a more analytical mindset, allowing for the generation of new and creative ideas. This ability to think critically enables individuals to analyze situations from multiple perspectives, identify potential opportunities, and develop innovative solutions. Moreover, critical thinking encourages individuals to question assumptions, challenge existing norms, and explore alternative possibilities. By fostering a culture that values and rewards critical thinking, organizations can create an environment that encourages the generation of new ideas and supports innovation. Ultimately, enhancing critical thinking in the workplace is essential for promoting creativity and driving innovation forward.

Increasing Efficiency and Productivity With Critical Thinking

In order to increase efficiency and productivity in team settings, it is crucial to develop critical thinking skills in team meetings and integrate critical thinking into project management. This can be achieved through various strategies:

Encouraging active participation: Team members should be encouraged to actively engage in discussions and contribute their thoughts and ideas. This promotes critical thinking by fostering the exploration of different perspectives and the evaluation of various options.

Facilitating problem-solving exercises: Incorporating problem-solving exercises into team meetings allows members to practice critical thinking skills in a supportive environment. These exercises can involve analyzing complex scenarios, identifying potential solutions, and evaluating the pros and cons of each option.

Providing tools and frameworks: Equipping team members with tools and frameworks for critical thinking, such as decision-making models and problem-solving methodologies, can enhance their ability to think critically and make informed decisions. These resources can serve as a guide for approaching complex tasks and projects in a systematic and analytical manner.

Better Communication and Collaboration Through Critical Thinking

Better communication and collaboration within teams can be achieved by fostering an environment that promotes critical thinking and the exploration of diverse perspectives. When team members are encouraged to think critically, they are more likely to engage in open and meaningful discussions. Critical thinking allows individuals to analyze information, evaluate different viewpoints, and communicate their ideas effectively. By fostering effective collaboration, teams can benefit from the collective intelligence and diverse perspectives of its members. Team members who engage in critical thinking are more likely to actively listen to others, consider alternative solutions, and engage in constructive debates. This can lead to improved teamwork, as individuals are able to work together towards common goals and make informed decisions. In conclusion, improving teamwork through critical thinking and fostering effective collaboration can greatly enhance the overall performance and success of a team.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some common barriers to developing critical thinking skills.

Common barriers to developing critical thinking skills include lack of effective instruction and guidance, absence of training programs and resources, closed-mindedness, and a culture that does not value or reward critical thinking. Strategies for improvement include providing specific instruction, offering training programs, encouraging open-mindedness, fostering a culture of critical thinking, and providing opportunities for practice and application.

How Can Critical Thinking Skills Be Applied in Real-Life Situations Outside of the Workplace?

Applying critical thinking skills in everyday life enhances problem-solving abilities in personal situations. It allows individuals to analyze and evaluate information, consider different perspectives, and make informed decisions, leading to more effective problem-solving and decision-making in various contexts.

Are There Any Potential Drawbacks or Limitations to Relying Heavily on Critical Thinking in Decision-Making?

Potential drawbacks and limitations of relying heavily on critical thinking in decision-making include the possibility of overanalyzing, which can lead to decision paralysis. Additionally, critical thinking may not always account for emotional or intuitive factors that could influence outcomes.

Can Critical Thinking Skills Be Developed and Improved Over Time, or Are They Fixed?

The question of whether critical thinking skills can be developed and improved over time, or if they are fixed, is an important area of inquiry. This topic warrants further investigation to provide a comprehensive understanding of the nature of critical thinking skills.

Are There Any Specific Industries or Job Roles That Prioritize Critical Thinking Skills More Than Others?

Certain industries and job roles prioritize critical thinking skills more than others. For example, professions such as law, medicine, engineering, and finance require individuals to analyze complex information, make informed decisions, and solve problems effectively.

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Why Critical Thinking Matters in Your Business

Table of Contents

Many professionals hope to pursue careers they’re passionate about so they can find joy and meaning in their work. Caring deeply about your work is vital for engagement and productivity, but balancing emotions with critical thinking is essential in the workplace. 

When employees engage in critical thinking, they use an independent, reflective thought process to evaluate issues and solve problems based on knowledge and objective evidence. 

Critical thinking skills can guide your organization toward success, but to truly maximize the problem-solving benefits of critical thinking, it’s crucial to teach this skill to your entire team. We’ll explore critical thinking skills and how to teach them in the workplace to help your business improve its decision-making and problem-solving. 

What is critical thinking?

Jen Lawrence, co-author of Engage the Fox: A Business Fable About Thinking Critically and Motivating Your Team , defines critical thinking as “the ability to solve problems effectively by systematically gathering information about an issue, generating further ideas involving a variety of perspectives, evaluating the information using logic, and making sure everyone involved is on board.”

This is a complex definition for a challenging concept. Though critical thinking might seem as straightforward as stepping back and using a formal thinking process instead of reacting instinctively to conflicts or problems, it is actually a much more challenging task.

Critical thinking’s ultimate goal is ensuring you have the best answer to a problem with maximum buy-in from all parties involved – an outcome that will ultimately save your business time, money and stress.

Why is critical thinking essential in the workplace?

A World Economic Forum report revealed that critical thinking is one of the most in-demand career skills employers seek when trying to attract and retain the best employees – and employers believe critical thinking skills will become even more necessary in the coming years. 

Critical thinking in the workplace guarantees objective and efficient problem-solving, ultimately reducing costly errors and ensuring that your organization’s resources are used wisely. Team members employing critical thinking can connect ideas, spot errors and inconsistencies, and make the best decisions most often. 

Employees with critical thinking are also more likely to accomplish the following:

• Analyzing information
• Thinking outside the box
• Coming up with creative solutions to sudden problems
• Devising thought-through, systematic plans
• Requiring less supervision

Critical thinkers are sure about the reasoning behind their decisions, allowing them to communicate with employees clearly. This level of communication enhances employee engagement .

What are critical thinking skills?

Critical thinking is a soft skill that comprises multiple interpersonal and analytical abilities and attributes. Here are some essential critical thinking skills that can support workforce success.

• Observation: Employees with critical thinking can easily sense and identify an existing problem – and even predict potential issues – based on their experience and sharp perception. They’re willing to embrace multiple points of view and look at the big picture. 
• Analytical thinking: Analytical thinkers collect data from multiple sources, reject bias, and ask thoughtful questions. When approaching a problem, they gather and double-check facts, assess independent research, and sift through information to determine what’s accurate and what can help resolve the problem. 
• Open-mindedness: Employees who demonstrate critical thinking are open-minded – not afraid to consider opinions and information that differ from their beliefs and assumptions. They listen to colleagues; they can let go of personal biases and recognize that a problem’s solution can come from unexpected sources. 
• Problem-solving attitude: Critical thinkers possess a positive attitude toward problem-solving and look for optimal solutions to issues they’ve identified and analyzed. They are usually proactive and willing to offer suggestions based on all the information they receive. [Related article: How to Develop a Positive Attitude in the Workplace ]
• Communication: When managers make a decision, they must share it with the rest of the team and other stakeholders. Critical thinkers demonstrate excellent communication skills and can provide supporting arguments and evidence that substantiate the decision to ensure the entire team is on the same page. 

What are the benefits of critical thinking in the workplace?

Many workplaces operate at a frantic tempo that reinforces hasty thinking and rushed business decisions, resulting in costly mistakes and blunders. When employees are trained in critical thinking, they learn to slow the pace and gather crucial information before making decisions. 

Along with reducing costly errors, critical thinking in the workplace brings the following benefits: 

• Critical thinking improves communication. When employees think more clearly and aren’t swayed by emotion, they communicate better. “If you can think more clearly and better articulate your positions, you can better engage in discussions and make a much more meaningful contribution in your job,” said David Welton, managing partner at Grove Critical Thinking.
• Critical thinking boosts emotional intelligence. It might seem counterintuitive to associate analytical rationality with emotional intelligence . However, team members who possess critical thinking skills are less prone to rash, emotion-driven decisions. Instead, they take time to analyze the situation and make the most informed decision while being mindful and respectful of the emotional and ethical implications. 
• Critical thinking encourages creativity. Critical thinkers are open to new ideas and perspectives and accumulate a significant amount of information when facing decisions. Because of this, they’re more likely to come up with creative solutions . They are also curious and don’t shy away from asking open-ended questions. 
• Critical thinking saves time and money. By encouraging critical thinking in the workplace, you minimize the need for supervision, catch potential problems early, promote independence and initiative, and free managers to focus on other duties. All this helps your company save valuable time and resources. 

Critical thinking skills are essential for dealing with difficult customers because they help your team make informed decisions while managing stressful situations.

How do you teach critical thinking in the workplace?

Experts agree that critical thinking is a teachable skill. Both Lawrence and Welton recommend exploring critical thinking training programs and methods to improve your workplace’s critical thinking proficiency. Here’s a breakdown of how to teach critical thinking in the workplace: 

• Identify problem areas. Executives and managers should assess workplace areas most lacking in critical thinking. If mistakes are consistently made, determine whether the issue is a lack of critical thinking or an inherent issue with a team or process. After identifying areas that lack critical thinking, research the type of training best suited to your organization. 
• Start small. Employees newly embracing critical thinking might have trouble tackling large issues immediately. Instead, present them with smaller challenges. “Start practicing critical thinking as a skill with smaller problems as examples, and then work your way up to larger problems,” Lawrence said.
• Act preemptively. Teaching and implementing critical thinking training and methodology takes time and patience. Lawrence emphasized that critical thinking skills are best acquired during a time of calm. It might feel urgent to seek critical thinking during a crisis, but critical thinking is a challenging skill to learn amid panic and stress. Critical thinking training is best done preemptively so that when a crisis hits, employees will be prepared and critical thinking will come naturally.
• Allow sufficient time. From a managerial perspective, giving employees extra time on projects or problems might feel stressful in the middle of deadlines and executive pressures. But if you want those working for you to engage in critical thinking processes, it’s imperative to give them ample time. Allowing employees sufficient time to work through their critical thinking process can save the company time and money in the long run.

How do you identify successful critical thinking?

Successful critical thinking happens during a crisis, not after.

Lawrence provided an example involving restaurants and waitstaff: If a customer has a bad experience at a restaurant, a server using critical thinking skills will be more likely to figure out a solution to save the interaction, such as offering a free appetizer or discount. “This can save the hard-earned customer relationship you spent a lot of marketing dollars to create,” Lawrence said. This concept is applicable across many business and organizational structures. 

You should also be aware of signs of a lack of critical thinking. Lawrence pointed out that companies that change strategy rapidly, moving from one thing to the next, are likely not engaging in critical thinking. This is also the case at companies that seem to have good ideas but have trouble executing them.

As with many issues in business, company leadership determines how the rest of the organization acts. If leaders have excellent ideas but don’t follow critical thinking processes, their team will not buy into those ideas, and the company will suffer. This is why critical thinking skills often accompany positive communication skills.

“Critical thinking doesn’t just help you arrive at the best answer, but at a solution most people embrace,” Lawrence said. Modeling critical thinking at the top will help the skill trickle down to the rest of the organization, no matter your company’s type or size.

To get your employees thinking critically, conduct employee surveys with well-designed questions to help them identify issues and solutions.

Critical thinking is the key to your business success

When critical thinking is actively implemented in an organization, mistakes are minimized, and operations run more seamlessly. 

With training, time and patience, critical thinking can become a second-nature skill for employees at all levels of experience and seniority. The money, time and conflict you’ll save in the long run are worth the extra effort of implementing critical thinking in your workplace.

Rebecka Green contributed to the writing and reporting in this article. Source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article.

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• The Need for Critical Thinking in Your Organization

May 2, 2017

by Todd Wallis

This post originally appeared on the Vail Centre blog .

In the world of academia, critical thinking skills are considered crucial to learning and development. In the workplace, little emphasis is placed on how critical thinking skills can aid in solving problems and working through organizational issues.

At the most basic level, critical thinking involves teaching employees how to think for themselves. However, critical thinking encompasses so much more than this. Critical thinking is about fostering an environment in which your team is actively thinking about solutions and viewing complicated situations critically — in both an analytical and objective manner.

Why More Companies Want Employees With Critical Thinking Skills

Critical thinking isn’t a new phenomena, but it is becoming a more popular concept in the workplace. According to the Wall Street Journal, mentions of “critical thinking” in job postings have at least doubled since 2009 . Employers now want to hire entry-level workers and college graduates with adept critical thinking skills — but some feel that colleges and universities aren’t teaching students to solve problems and “connect the dots on complex issues” often enough.

On the flip side, many bosses and managers struggle to define how “critical thinking” applies to their company or organization:

• How would an employee with strong critical thinking skills address specific issues tied to the business?
• Which questions should hiring managers ask to assess a candidate’s critical thinking abilities when applying for a position with the company?
• What are some indicators — outside of displaying general problem solving skills — that illustrate how well a new employee can apply critical thinking skills in their work environment?

Critical thinking has many definitions, but it’s important for those in leadership and management roles to take a step back and consider how exactly they want their employees to take an analytical and pragmatic approach to problem solving.

Developing a Business Model that Involves Critical Thinking

One of the main reasons businesses don’t adopt critical thinking as an essential component of their organization is that they’re simply too busy. Many companies are so focused on day-to-day operations, profit growth and getting things done, that they fail to see how critical thinking could help them develop more effective and efficient ways of working.

Business experts who’ve studied critical thinking patterns have discovered that critical thinking helps employees do the following :

• Research and gather all the necessary information before analyzing a situation.
• Brainstorm multiple solutions and answers to a single problem.
• Seek out feedback from several departments and managers prior to deciding on a course of action.

In academia, students are frequently required to illustrate and explain how they reached a certain conclusion. The scientific method ensures that data is measured, collected and interpreted in a way that’s intended to leave little error in a study’s findings. In the workplace, decisions aren’t always held to these same standards. By applying some of these critical thinking practices to their own business, companies may likely find that these methods are not only more effective, but also save time in the long run.

Strategic Thinking: Taking Critical Thinking to the Next Level

While the need for and benefits of critical thinking is clear, there’s another aspect to these skills that companies often don’t address. Some senior and executive-level professionals feel the next generation of business leaders lack the ability to implement strategic thinking , another component of critical thinking skills. These emerging leaders might have trouble visualizing the future of the company and understanding how different aspects of the business work together to create a unified whole.

Like critical thinking, encouraging employees to become “more strategic” in how they handle workplace and organizational issues sounds great in theory but can be hard to implement in concrete ways.

Each business may define “strategy” differently, but there are some easy ways to lay out exactly how you want employees to advance their strategic thinking skills:

Take Note of Organizational Trends — Instead of telling someone to try and see “the big picture,” ask workers to identify trends or patterns in their departments. Training people to always be on the lookout for inconsistencies or problems to be addressed helps them see how day-to-day operations affect the company on a large scale.

Foster a Curious-Minded and Question-Friendly Environment — Just like in school, some employees are afraid to ask questions because they fear looking stupid in front of their bosses or fellow employees. Instead of creating an environment in which there’s “no such thing as a dumb question”, companies should help workers practice asking “smart” questions, as in ones that are open-ended and don’t lead to only one answer .

Make Time For Strategic Thinking and Development — While in college, some employees might not have learned much about strategic thinking. Many degree programs are so focused on building skills that are directly applicable to a specific job, they fail to provide students with a broader perspective on how organizational systems work and function. Rather than seeing this as a negative, companies have the opportunity to teach employees how to speak using more strategic language and give them time to ponder questions and solutions before jumping to a decision.

Courses for Professionals that Focus on Decision-Making and Strategic Thinking

While many businesses are looking for ways to develop and enhance their employees’ critical thinking skills in the workplace, there can be few outside resources that target this specific need for companies. Vail Centre provides working professionals with educational opportunities to advance their leadership and management skills.

Vail Centre’s upcoming Yale School of Management Diversity and Inclusive Leadership course is designed to help executives and their companies improve innovation, accelerate growth and boost decision-making skills for future and continued success. Yale University’s School of Management is a top 10 business school and participants will have the opportunity to learn from a trio of Yale’s distinguished faculty members right here in Vail, Colo.

To enroll in the Yale School of Management Diversity and Inclusive Leadership course, register here . For more information on Vail Centre or other upcoming courses, contact Todd Wallis at [email protected] .

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Critical Thinking Case

Diverse teams hold court.

Diverse teams have been proven to be better at problem-solving and decision-making for a number of reasons. First, they bring many different perspectives to the table. Second, they rely more on facts and use those facts to substantiate their positions. What is even more interesting is that, according to the Scientific American article “How Diversity Makes Us Smarter,” simply “being around people who are different from us makes more creative, diligent, and harder-working.”

One case in point is the example of jury decision-making, where fact-finding and logical decision-making are of utmost importance. A 2006 study of jury decision-making, led by social psychologist Samuel Sommers of Tufts University, showed that racially diverse groups exchanged a wider range of information during deliberation of a case than all-White groups did. The researcher also conducted mock jury trials with a group of real jurors to show the impact of diversity on jury decision-making.

Interestingly enough, it was the mere presence of diversity on the jury that made jurors consider the facts more, and they had fewer errors recalling the relevant information. The groups even became more willing to discuss the role of race case, when they hadn’t before with an all-White jury. This wasn’t the case because the diverse jury members brought new information to the group—it happened because, according to the author, the mere presence of diversity made people more open-minded and diligent. Given what we discussed on the benefits of diversity, it makes sense. People are more likely to be prepared, to be diligent, and to think logically about something if they know that they will be pushed or tested on it. And who else would push you or test you on something, if not someone who is different from you in perspective, experience, or thinking. “Diversity jolts us into cognitive action in ways that homogeneity simply does not.”

So, the next time you are called for jury duty, or to serve on a board committee, or to make an important decision as part of a team, remember that one way to generate a great discussion and come up with a strong solution is to pull together a diverse team.

• If you don’t have a diverse group of people on your team, how can you ensure that you will have robust discussions and decision-making? What techniques can you use to generate conversations from different perspectives?
• Evaluate your own team at work. Is it a diverse team? How would you rate the quality of decisions generated from that group?

Sources: Adapted from Katherine W. Phillips, “How Diversity Makes Us Smarter,” Scientific American , October 2014, p. 7–8.

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Critical Thinking Case

Vinyl records make a comeback.

The music industry has seen a series of innovations that have improved audio quality—vinyl records sales were eventually surpassed by compact discs in the 1980s, which were then eclipsed by digital music in the early 2000s. Both of the newer technologies boast superior sound quality to vinyl records. Vinyl should be dead . . . yet it’s not. Some say this is simply a result of nostalgia—people love to harken back to older times. However, some audiophiles say that vinyl records produce a “warm” sound that can’t be reproduced in any other format. In addition, a vinyl record is a tangible product (you can feel it, touch it, and see it when you own the physical record) and is more attractive, from an aesthetic perspective, than a CD. It is also a format that encourages listening to an entire album at once, rather than just listening to individual tracks, which can change the listening experience.

Whatever the reasons, vinyl is making an impressive comeback. Sales growth has been in the double digits for the last several years (over 50% in 2015 and again in 2016) and is expected to exceed $5 billion in 2017. Sony, which hasn’t produced a vinyl record since 1989, recently announced that it is back in the vinyl business.

One of the biggest challenges to making vinyl records is that most of the presses are 40+ years old. In the record-making process, vinyl bits are heated to 170 degrees, and then a specialized machine exerts 150 tons of pressure to press the vinyl into the shape of the record. About a dozen new vinyl record manufacturers have sprung up in the last decade in the United States. Independent Record Pressing, a company based in New Jersey, began producing vinyl records in 2015 using old, existing presses. Their goal upon starting up was to produce over a million records a year. Even at that level of production, though, demand far outstrips the company’s capacity to produce because of the limited number of presses available. They could run their machines nonstop, 24 hours a day, and not catch up with demand.

The big question is what the future holds for this industry. Will this just be a passing fad? Will the vinyl record industry remain a small niche market? Or is this the renaissance, the rebirth of a product that can withstand the test of time and alternative technologies? If it’s a rebirth, then we should see demand continue to grow at its recent rapid pace . . . and if demand remains strong, then investing in new presses may well be worthwhile. If this is just a short-lived nostalgic return to an outdated media, however, then the large capital investment required to purchase new presses will never be recouped. Even with the recent growth, vinyl records still accounted for only 7% of overall music industry sales in 2015. That may be enough to get old presses running again, but so far it hasn’t been enough to promote a lot of investment in new machines. The cost of a new press? Almost half a million dollars.

At least one manufacturer is optimistic about the future of vinyl. GZ Media, based in Czechoslovakia, is currently the world’s largest producer of vinyl records. President and owner Zdenek Pelc kept his record factory going during the lean years when vinyl sales bottomed out. He admits that the decision was not wholly logical; he continued in part because of an emotional attachment to the media. After demand for vinyl records practically disappeared, Pelc kept just a few of the presses running to meet the demand that remained. His intention was to be the last remaining manufacturer of vinyl records. Pelc’s emotional attachment to vinyl records seems to have served him well, and it’s a great example of why basing decisions on pure logic doesn’t always lead to the best results. Consumers make purchasing decisions in part based on the emotional appeal of the product, so it shouldn’t be surprising that consumers also feel an emotional attachment to vinyl records, as Pelc did.

When demand for vinyl records was low, Pelc stored the company’s presses that were no longer in use so that they could be cannibalized for parts as needed. When sales began to grow again in 2005, he started pulling old machines out of storage and even invested in a few new ones. This has made GZ Media not only the largest vinyl record producer in the world, but also one of the only ones with new factory equipment. GZ Media produces over 20 million vinyl records a year, and Pelc is excited to continue that trend and to remain a major manufacturer in what is currently still considered a niche market.

• Why do you think vinyl records are appealing to customers?
• Do you think the sales growth will continue to be strong for vinyl sales? Why or why not?
• What research would you want to conduct prior to making a decision to invest in new presses?

Sources: Lee Barron, “Back on record – the reasons behind vinyl’s unlikely comeback,” The Conversation , April 17, 2015, https://theconversation.com/back-on-record-the-reasons-behind-vinyls-unlikely-comeback-39964. Hannah Ellis-Peterson, “Record sales: vinyl hits 25-year high,” The Guardian, January 3, 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jan/03/record-sales-vinyl-hits-25-year-high-and-outstrips-streaming. Allan Kozinn, “Weaned on CDs, They’re Reaching for Vinyl,” The New York Times , June 9, 2013. Rick Lyman, “Czech company, pressing hits for years on vinyl, finds it has become one,” The New York Times, August 6, 2015. Alec Macfarlane and Chie Kobayashi, “Vinyl comeback: Sony to produce records again after 28-year break,” CNN Money , June 30, 2017, http://money.cnn.com/2017/06/30/news/sony-music-brings-back-vinyl-records/index.html. Kate Rogers, “Why millennials are buying more vinyl records,” CNBC.com, November 6, 2015. https://www.cnbc.com/2015/11/06/why-millennials-are-buying-more-vinyl-records.html. Robert Tait, “In the groove: Czech firm tops list of world’s vinyl record producers,” The Guardian , August 18, 2016.

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