Comments for Critical Thinkers

Comment on Creative Thinking vs. Critical Thinking: Which is More Important? by Bob Maksimchuk

Bob Maksimchuk — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:32:19 +0000

Along the lines of @chadfife and @Rick Phelps, it depends on the role people are playing. A creative thinker can be the visionary to launch you down a new exciting path. But the critical thinker can point out the potholes on that path that mighe throw you into a ditch. The other two roles that are needed are the Strategist who can take the creative idea and develop a strategy and plan to proceed with and the Implementer who will actually get “real work” done. Such a foursome can make quite a team.

Comment on Critical Thinking Exercise: Watch the News. by Latest News

Latest News — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:32:13 +0000

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Comment on Creative Thinking vs. Critical Thinking: Which is More Important? by breannepotter

breannepotter — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 05:41:11 +0000

@Rick- “The one phrase that applies to all great questions is ‘It depends.’”– I’m definitely using that the next time someone asks me a tough question.

Comment on Creative Thinking vs. Critical Thinking: Which is More Important? by Lee

Lee — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:38:42 +0000

I love a good conversation. Starting with having only one choice between the creative and critical thinkers, I will go with the creative. If the person doing the hiring is asking this question then I am guessing that person is a critical thinker and could benefit from adding a creative thinker to the team.

Based on the previous conversations I can also agree with the wait for the right person who has a balance of both traits. 99% of the time it is a risk hiring someone new because you just don’t know how they will preform until given a chance. The plus side is given the right leadership whole brain thinking and be encouraged for employee development.

Comment on Relationship Between Feeling Personality and Critical Thinking by Dee

Dee — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:40:03 +0000

As an INFJ, my F-T are my second-third prefered functions. I find I can more readily weight my T into my decisions than, say, my INFP adult daughter. Her F is dominant and T is the most inferior of all four functions. She really needs time for her F to settle down in order to access her T. So I’m thinking it depends also on type dynamics and the order of preference of the four functions. I can relate to the above INTJ comment in the reverse, T-F to F-T, and how readily accessible the tertiary function is to my conscious control.

Comment on Creative Thinking vs. Critical Thinking: Which is More Important? by Rick Phelps

Rick Phelps — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:21:58 +0000

The one phrase that applies to all great questions is “It depends.” So this time, I am offering a different definition for creative thinker, which it turn changes the conversation. If creativity involves the areas of “inspiration, origination, and application” then that’s my pick. In convergent thinking, more conceptual thinking is often able to make the connections between disparate ideas resulting in potentially new insights. Ned Herrmann, Brain Dominance model, places CT in the upper left, intuitive thinking on the right side. I would propose even in the subconscious. The ultimate style is Integral Thinking, which is a combination of both. To Scott’s earlier point, wait to hire the right person.

Comment on Creative Thinking vs. Critical Thinking: Which is More Important? by mkwagner

mkwagner — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:03:10 +0000

If you ask a group of 4-yr-olds who can sing or draw, they would all answer in the affirmative to both. As children we all are naturally creative and express that creativity in any number of ingenius ways. It is later in life that we begin to declare ourselves and each other uncreative. It is possible to reawaken the creative energy in most anyone. But it takes nurturing effort and time, things not in great supply in most corporate environments.
As for hiring someone who is stronger in creative thinking vs. critical thinking skills, it would depend on the needs of my team. Which of the two skills am I in most need of at the time? I want a team that has a balance of strong creative and critical thinkers that are working together to develop exceptional products and services to meet our customers needs.

Comment on Creative Thinking vs. Critical Thinking: Which is More Important? by chadfife

chadfife — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:02:24 +0000

The music example is good. Another analogy is starting a business. Creative people often see opportunities in the market because they focus on the gaps and intersections of a market (where needs aren’t being met). They’re wired to create. Others find it more interesting to take an idea and build an infrastructure to support its growth. However, I think both require some level of critical thinking (as CT doesn’t just mean you’re “good with details” and organizing/planning). I think the creative entrepreneur has to still be good at recognizing assumptions, spotting trends in data, and evaluating arguments or they won’t pick the right idea/opportunity to pursue.

Comment on Creative Thinking vs. Critical Thinking: Which is More Important? by Eric

Eric — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:14:27 +0000

It seems to me that teaching decision making skills would be easier than teaching creativity. Other than helping someone learn to be open to possibilities and throw out any idea that comes to mind, how do you even teach creativity?

Comment on Creative Thinking vs. Critical Thinking: Which is More Important? by Ron

Ron — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:13:01 +0000

To me, it depends on the position and circumstance. If you’re hiring an accountant, then I’d go for the critical thinker. If it’s marketing or PR I might go for the creative thinker if I have confidence that the rest of the team can handle implementations.