now you're thinking! change your thinking, revolutionize your career, transform your life

PraiseforNowYou’reThinking!

“Yourmindisyourmostpowerfultool.Thisbookcanhelpyouchartacourseforsharpeningyourcritical thinkingskillssoyoucanmakebetterdecisions inallareasoflife.”—DanielH.Pink,authorofDriveandAWholeNewMind“Critical thinking is the #1 skill required to build theworkforce of tomorrow.NowYou’reThinking!isavaluableandveryusefulbookthatprovidesthetoolsand techniques required to make better decisions. With a heart-lifting andinspiring true story, this bookguides you through the process of becoming anextraordinarythinker.Thisonedelivers!”—Ed Reilly, President and CEO, American Management Association,International“WhilewritingTheSpeedofTrust itbecameclear tous thatpeoplewouldnottrustotherstoleadthemiftheydidnottrusttheirthinking.Ifyoureadandapplytheprinciplesinthisbook,peoplewillcometoseeyouasaleader.”—StephenM. R. Covey, author ofThe New York Times and #1Wall StreetJournalbestseller,TheSpeedofTrust“Abigpartofbeingaleaderismakingdecisions—buthowoftendowestopandthinkaboutourowndecision-makingprocesses?Usingtheuniquebackdropofareal-life military, medical, and civilian team that effectively combined theirintellect and courage to save a young Iraqi child’s life, the authors illustrate afive-stepmodel we can all use to more effectively process our own thoughtstowardsuccessfuldecisions.Thisbookisamust-read.”—Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager® and Full SteamAhead!“If you are striving to be better, faster, and different in life, to have morefulfillment and success, you need this book. A great primer to increase andenhanceyourthinkingskillsandprocesses.”—HarryPaul,coauthorofFISH!AProvenWaytoBoostMoraleandImprove

Results“NowYou’reThinking!willtransformyourthinking—andchangeyourlife!”—MarshallGoldsmith,authorofTheNewYorkTimesbestsellers,MOJOandWhatGotYouHereWon’tGetYouThere“With today’s shortened attention spans, texting, blogging, and instantgratification, the rational thinking skills in Now You’re Thinking! are morepertinent than ever. In the workplace, quick reactions and assumptions haveresultedinindustrialaccidents.AsaNavyveteranandlifelonglearner,Ibelievethisbookhasarrivedatacriticaltime.”—MikeMiller,VicePresident,TechnologyTransferServices,Inc.“Wearecurrentlygoing throughamajorupheaval that is impactingallofourlives.Wecanchoosetobe‘mastersofourfate’orsimplygetsweptalongbythetidesofchange.Ifthechoiceistheformer,asubstantialupgradeofourcriticalthinkingskillswillberequired.

“NowYou’reThinking!isarewardingandunderstandableread.Nomatterhowsuccessfulyoumaybe,thisbookwillsharpenyourdecision-makingskills.Forthose who may question their abilities, you will find the thinking exercisespracticalandusable.“Youwillbericherforthereading.”—ArneCarlson,GovernorofMinnesota(1991–1999)“Thisisapowerfulbookwithagreatmessage.Itchallengestheprevailingviewthat thinking skills can’t be developed, and it provides useful and practicalguidance on how someone can improve the quality and effectiveness of theirthinking.”—Stuart S. Crandell, Senior Vice President, Global Solutions, PDI NinthHouse“MostpeoplecomeandgoinHollywood.Somestay,becomeicons,andenjoylastingsuccess.Theseare theoneswho thinkdifferently.This isabookabouthowtothinkdifferentlyandhowyoucanenjoylastingsuccessforyourself.Itisalsoagreatread.”—Rob Guralnick, former Executive Vice President, Production, Warner

Brothers“With its focus on enhancing critical thinking,Now You’re Thinking! is welltimed to help studentsmeet contemporary global challenges. Intensified laborcompetition requires improved intellectual preparationwithin a fully informedacademicenvironment,andprofessorscanrespondwiththetoolsofferedwithinNowYou’re Thinking! Everybody gains from the skillsNowYou’re Thinking!pinpoints. Themorewidely utilized this book becomes, themore the benefitswillbewidelydistributed.“Thisisabookwhereeveryonewins.”—MarcusBreen, Ph.D., Professor andHead of School, Communication, andMedia,BondUniversity,GoldCoast,Queensland,Australia“NowYou’reThinking!usesacompelling, real-lifeexperience tohighlight thetoolseachofusneedstobecomeabetterthinker.Thisbookisamust-readforstudentsofallages!”—Bob Hipp, President, Pennridge Community Education Foundation,www.pennridgefoundation.org

http://www.pennridgefoundation.org

NowYou’reThinking

ChangeYourThinking...RevolutionizeYourCareer...

TransformYourLife

JudyChartrandStewartEmery

RussHallHeatherIshikawaJohnMaketa

VicePresident,Publisher:TimMooreAssociatePublisherandDirectorofMarketing:AmyNeidlingerEditorialAssistant:PamelaBolandSeniorMarketingManager:JuliePhiferAssistantMarketingManager:MeganGraueCoverDesigner:AlanClementsManagingEditor:KristyHartProjectEditor:BetsyHarrisCopyEditor:KarenAnnettProofreader:SheriCainSeniorIndexer:CherylLenserInteriorDesigner:NonieRatcliffCompositor:NonieRatcliffManufacturingBuyer:DanUhrig©2012byPearsonEducation,Inc.PublishingasFTPressUpperSaddleRiver,NewJersey07458FTPress offers excellent discounts on this bookwhen ordered in quantity forbulk purchases or special sales. For more information, please contact U.S.Corporate and Government Sales, 1-800-382-3419,[email protected]. For sales outside the U.S., please contactInternationalSalesatinternational@pearson.com.Companyandproductnamesmentionedhereinarethetrademarksorregisteredtrademarksoftheirrespectiveowners.

Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproduced,inanyformorbyanymeans,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublisher.PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmericaFirstPrintingAugust2011ISBN-10:0-13-269013-6ISBN-13:978-0-13-269013-3PearsonEducationLTD.

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PearsonEducationAustraliaPTY,Limited.PearsonEducationSingapore,Pte.Ltd.PearsonEducationAsia,Ltd.PearsonEducationCanada,Ltd.PearsonEducacióndeMexico,S.A.deC.V.PearsonEducation—JapanPearsonEducationMalaysia,Pte.Ltd.LibraryofCongressLibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationDataNow you’re thinking : change your thinking— revolutionize your career—transformyourlife/JudyChartrand...[etal.].p.cm.ISBN978-0-13-269013-3(hbk.:alk.paper)1. Critical thinking. 2. Problem solving. 3. Decisionmaking. I. Chartrand,JudyMarie.BF441.N692012153.4’2—dc222011012752

Dedicatedtothemenandwomenofthearmedforcesathomeandabroad,withthanksfortheircommitmentandsacrifices...andtheirsoundandcarefulthinking

intryingsituations.

Contents

Introduction Amenah’sStory WhatIsaMiracle?Chapter1HowYourMindWorks—SomeAssemblyRequired

Dreams Feelings Thinking Summary EndnotesandReferencesChapter2ANewWayofThinking

FiveStepstoNewThinking 1.StopandThink 2.RecognizeAssumptions 3.EvaluateInformation 4.DrawConclusions 5.DevelopaPlanofAction Summary EndnotesChapter3TakeStockofYourStyle

UnderstandingYourThinkingStyles AnalyticalStyle InquisitiveStyle

InsightfulStyle Open-MindedStyle SystematicStyle TimelyStyle Truth-SeekingStyle MakingtheBestUseofThinkingStyles SummaryChapter 4 Change Your Thinking...Revolutionize Your Career...TransformYourLife

GettingStarted MyThinkingStyles UseThisChecklisttoImproveYourThinking TipsfortheFiveStepstoDevelopYourThinkingSkillsNOW StopandThink RecognizeAssumptions EvaluateInformation DrawConclusions PlanofAction LetYourselfExperienceSuccess SummaryAppendixACharactersAppendixBCognitiveBiases:CommonMentalMindTraps

GrabbingGloryandPushingBlame(Step2:RecognizeAssumptions) AskingtheWrongQuestions(Step3:EvaluateInformation) CuriousConclusions(Step4:DrawConclusions) Endnote

AppendixCResources

OnlineResourcesandSocialMedia Blogs eBook FacebookGroups Videos Articles Assessments BooksforProfessionalDevelopment ResourcesforStudents Training

Index

Foreword

Ithastakenmealongtimetounderstandthatcreatingsuccessinyourlife,andmaximizingyourpotential,isaboutknowingwhoyouare.Thistakesbeingclearaboutwhatyourvaluesareandwhatdeeplymatterstoyou.Itinvolvesknowingwhatyouarepassionateabout,whatyoulovetodo,anddevelopingyourtalent,skills,andabilities.Itmeansknowingthatyoufirsthavetogetgoodbeforeyoucanbecomegreatasyouworktodevelopyourtalentandbuildyourskills.

As you put these pieces together, you establish your identity. This mattersbecauseyouridentityisyourpassporttofreedom.However,youridentityhastobeyouridentity.Therearealotoffolksouttheretryingtotellyouwhatshouldmattertoyou,whatyoushouldcareabout,whatyoushouldbewhenyougrowup (nomatterwhatyourage!), alongwithhowyoushouldget thereandwhatyoushouldwearforthejourney.Withtheexpansionofglobalopportunitiesandtheexplosionoftechnology,weare inundated with so many opportunities to think that we have to be likesomebodyelsewithoutrealizingthatbeingourselvesiswhereourinfluenceandopportunitytogrowreallylies.

Itisverydifficulttobeyourselftodayifyougetstuckinaboxwithalabel.Youendupdoingthesamethingsoverandovereveryday,oftenfortherestofyourlife.Themissingpiece iswemaynever thinkabouthowto take theeducationwehave,theinformationavailabletous,andmakeitrelevanttoouridentityandwhoweare.Additionally, theeducationalsystemteachesustomemorize, taketests, repeat back information and labels us with a grade—and all while weforgetmost ofwhatwe learned. Sowhat is themissing piece inmost of ourlives?Weforgethowtothink.Weforgethowtotakeinformationandmakeitrelevanttogrowinganddevelopingourlivesinthe24hoursthatwehaveeveryday—whichistheonlythingthatmakesusallequal.Everybodyhas24hours.Truehappinessisaboutdoingthingsthatweloveanddoingthingsthatwewanttobesuccessfulat.Thisstartswithbuildingfromtheinsideout,asopposedtohavingtheworlddefineus,whenweshouldbeworkingondefiningourselves.

Weareoftenprogrammedtobelieve that the labelswearegivenareours.Weoften can’t get past our environment,we can’t get past our circumstances,wecan’tgetbeyondourraceorgenderorourparentalprogramming.Ifwebuyintoalltheseexternalforcesandaddictions,wewillneverfindourcoreandwewillmissbuildingourauthenticlives.Wemaylookgreatontheoutsideandweallhave themovesdown,butwewillbeemptyon the inside.AndwewillneverreachourGod-givennaturalpotentialashumanbeings.

Allthatwe’retalkingaboutheretakessomeworkandsacrifice.Wehavetopayattentiontoourownexperience.Wehavetolearntointegrateourmind,body,spirit, andemotions sowecan live in theworldauthenticallyandbeengaged.Wehavetoworktobecomecomfortableinourownskin.Wehavetoworktoconsistentlydefineourselvesasopposedtohavingotherpeopledefineus.Thisis the process for innovation and creativity. When we do this, people willdescribe us as people who know who we are. They will say that we arecomfortableinourownskin.Theywill likethemselvesmorewhentheyare inourpresence.Inourworld today, it is important to learn the art of critical thinking. It takescritical thinking to cut through the noise of other people’s opinions swirlingaroundyoulikethefogofdarknessthreateningtoengulfyoursoul.Surroundedby pundits and pitchmenpurveyingmostly ungrounded assertions, you need adisciplinedthoughtstyletoestablishyourownauthenticidentity.Siftingthroughexperiencesforthedreamofafutureuniquelyyoursisataskforcriticalthinkinganddevelopment.Wheneverybodyhasaccess toanavalancheof information,becomingamasterthinkerisveryimportantinyourlifelongsecurity.

Youcanmastertheartofthinking.Thisbookcanbeyourguideandshowyouhow.—StedmanGrahamAuthor,Educator,andEntrepreneur

Acknowledgments

Theauthorswishtothankalltheparticipantsinthestoryforsharingtheirtimeandmemories.We also thank the folks at the FT Press for their support andencouragement: Megan Colvin, Betsy Harris, Timothy C. Moore, and AmyNeidlinger, as well as Karen Chiang, Chad Fife, Ray Blom, John Trent, andBreannePotter-HarrisfromthePearsonTalentLensGroup.

AbouttheAuthors

JudyChartrandisarecognizedthoughtleaderintheareasofcriticalthinkingand career development.Chartrandworks as a consultingChief ScientistwithPearson.As a psychologist,Chartrand has helped hundreds of clients increasetheir personal and career satisfaction. She frequently speaks at national andinternational conferences and has published more than 50 articles and books.ChartrandlivesinMinnesotawithherhusbandandhastwogrownchildren.

StewartEmeryiscoauthoroftheinternationalbestsellersSuccessBuilttoLastandDoYouMatter?:HowGreatDesignWillMakePeopleLoveYourCompany.Hehasa lifetimeofexperienceasanentrepreneur,creativedirector,corporatecultureconsultant,andexecutivecoach.Hehasledworkshopsandseminarsanddeliveredkeynotesallovertheworld.RussHallisauthoroffourteenbooksandcoauthorofnumerousotherbooks.Hehasalsohadshortstories,essays,andarticlespublishedinawidearrayofmediaandhasreceivedseveralawards.

Heather Ishikawa is the National Sales Director for Pearson TalentLens.Ishikawa has extensive experience in architecting corporatewide, assessment-based leadershipdevelopment initiatives. Ishikawahasdeliveredworkshops tohundredsof leaderson the topicsofcritical thinking, leadership, teambuilding,communication, and change management. She lives in California with herhusbandandtwochildren.JohnMaketa is theDirectorofStrategicPartnershipsforPearsonTalentLens.Maketa isadynamic leader inenterprisegrowth,developingboldandcreativestrategicalliancesthatcatapultglobalperformanceandprofit.Maketaisknownthroughout the learninganddevelopment industryasamajorconnectorwhoisable to strategically align initiatives for parties onboth sidesof the tablewithunparalleled financial and professional success.He lives in Pennsylvaniawithhiswifeandson.

Introduction

Change your thinking...revolutionize your career...transform your life mightseemlikeanextravagantbenefittoclaimforabook.However,ifyoudochangethewayyouthink—anddeveloptheabilitytothinkinamannerthatsupportstheexperiences and accomplishments that matter to you—your life will betransformed.

Itisliterallytruethatyoufeelthewayyoudobecauseyouthinkthewayyoudo.To be in a loving and nurturing relationship requires patterns of thinking thatcreate andmake this quality of relationship possible. To experience satisfyingprofessionalsuccessrequirestheabilitytothinkinawaythatwillbringyouthis.Steve Jobs epitomizes the fact that successful people think differently.Everything youwant in your life demands the thinking styles thatmake it so.Anything you are experiencing that you don’t want is because your thinkingstylecannotbringyouwhatyoudowantandinsteadperpetuatesyoursituation.Ifyouacceptthat thisis, infact, thecase(andit is), thequestionbecomescanyouactuallylearntothinkinawaythatbringsyouthelifeyouhungerfor,ordidyou have to be born with a mind that was hardwired for highly effectivethinking?Yes,youcanlearntobeahighlyeffectivethinker.Andno,researchreveals that nobody is born hardwired to be able to do this. Highly effectivethinkersaremadeandnotborn.Thisisamajordiscovery.Wehavelearnedthatthewherewithalforyoutoliveawonderfullifeisanabilityyoudevelopintheprocessofliving.Youcandoit,andyes,wecanhelp.Wehavealso learnedover theyearsof supportingpeople in the realizationoftheir dreams that information is mostly overrated. With the advent of theInternet,thereisnoshortageofinformation.AnyofuswithanInternet-enableddevice has universal access to information overload.We have seen very littleimprovement in the quality of the human experience as a result. Do you feelemotionally more connected in this brave new information age as a result oftrying toconsumemore information?Deep inside,doyou feelmoreconfidentthatyoucanproducetheresultsintheworldandyourlifethatreallymattertoyou asyou attempt todevouronemoremorsel of information? Is information

feedingyoursoul?Althoughyourmileagemayvary,mostofthepeopleweaskanswer,“Notsomuch.”Sowehavetoconcludethatthereislittle,ifany,transformationalpowerintheinformation.Transformationrequiresanexperiencethatmovesthehumanheart.Onceuponalongtimeago,certainlyway,waybackbeforetheInternetbegan,or even the printedword, the kind of learningwe are talking about here tookplaceatthefeetofthestoryteller.Withthisinmind,webeginthisbookwithastoryoftransformationthatwehopewillmoveyourhumanheart.

Inthestory,youwillmeetateamofpeoplewhotakeituponthemselvestosavethelifeofalittlegirl.HernameisAmenahandatthebeginningofthestory,sheislivinganddyinginasheepherdingvillageinIraq.Iftheprocessofherdyingisgoingtobetransformedtobecomeherexperienceofbeingtrulyalive,agreatdealoffirst-classthinkingwillhavetobedonebyanextendedgroupofpeoplefromavillageinIraqtoahospitalinTennessee.After the story, we trace the patterns of effective thinking deployed by thepeopleseekingamiracleforAmenah.Next,youwillfindasetofsimpletoolsandcontinuingsupportforyoutobuildthelifeofyourdreams.

First then, here is the story. The names have not been changed. Please keepreadingandthenstartdoingandthenyouwillhavethelifeyoualwayswanted!

Amenah’sStory

TheHumveepulledupwithasoftwhooshoftiresonsandygravelasneartothehouseasthedrivercouldget.MarineMajorKevinJarrardclimbedout,tuggedathis winter fatigues, and looked around, taking in the places where someonemighthide—wheretheycouldtakecoverthemselvesifitcametothat.By2007,mostoftheinsurgentshadbeendrivenoutofthisarea,buttherewereincidentsdaily and it was wise to wear caution like an extra coat. This house, on thenorthernoutskirtsofHaditha,wasnomansion,yetitwasnoapplianceboxeither—ahumblebutfunctioninghomeforashepherdwithseveralchildren.TheskyshowedtherumpledgrayofcloudsbunchingforapossibleDecemberrain,evensnow. A breeze that swept across the Euphrates tugged at his short hair. Hereachedtotughiscollaruphigheragainstthechill.BornandraisedinGeorgia,he had never welcomedwinter. But if youwant warm sunny days andwhitepicketfences,staybackintheUnitedStates.

Henoddedtothesurgeon,whoclimbedoutof thevehiclewiththeinterpreter.Astheymovedtowardthehouse,NavyCaptainJohnNadeauaskedaquestionwith his eyes. Kevin’s checking on Alaa Thabit Fatah, the father, hadn’tconfirmed that he’d been one of the insurgents, or that he hadn’t been. Heshrugged. That didn’t seem to ruffle Nadeau, though only two years ago, thelocalpolicesetupbytheinvadingU.S.troopshadbeentakenbyinsurgentstothetown’ssoccerstadiumandhadbeenbeheaded, left there to laywithordersthatnoonetouchthebodies.Hadithawasmoresecurenow,butpeaceisfragile,andneversomuchsoashere.Kevincouldonlyhear thewindraspingagainstthehousetheyapproachedandnosporadicgunfireinthedistance,whichwouldnothavesurprisedhim.Kevincouldseehisbreathasheknockedatthedoor.Thefatheropeneditandtheyenteredaroomthathadnofireplaceorheat.JohnNadeaurubbedhishandstogetherandglancedtowardKevin,whocouldsmellsomethingcookingslowlyin the kitchen thatAmenah’smother had left to be in this room.Garlic, rice,maybea touchof lamb,orsheep—notmuch,probably,andfora largefamily.He’d timed their visit away from a meal hour, knowing the Iraqi custom oflavishingwhateverfoodtheyhadonanyvisitorfirst.

Themotherwaited across the room beside the little girl. He’d been surprisedduringhislastvisitwhenthemotherhadcomeoutintothefrontroom.Usually,thewomen stayed in a back roomwhen othermales visited.Now,Maha, themother, gave the child a gentle nudge. Maha sat her down on the floor andAmenah looked at the visitors and started toward them with a flicker ofmischievous eagerness in her eyes that quickly faded as the two-year-oldstumbled,caughtherself,struggledforherbreath,andthenkeptcoming.Asshedid, her complexion changed from its normal coloration to a dark blue thatheightenedinherlipsandfingers.John knelt, had his stethoscope out, warmed it with his hands, and started toexaminethechild,acustomarypracticeinIraq,whereallexaminationsaredonein front of the extended family. John had the bald pate with vestigial buzzedtonsureofsilverhairofsomeone inhissixties.Thatandhisconfidentmannerevoked confidence among those who didn’t know he was also a professor ofmedicineatVanderbilt.KevinlikedtowatchJohnwork,whetheratthesheik’shome,orastheywerenow,inthehomeofashepherd.HeowedhislifetoJohn,as didmany of his men. John wasn’t really here to practicemedicine on thecivilians,butthemissionoftheMarineshadshiftedinthepastcoupleofyears,andtroopswereintheactiveroleoftryingtoeasecontrolovertotheIraqipoliceandIraqiArmy.So,whenSergeantVelasquez,LimaCompany’ssquad leader,cameacrossAmenahandherfather,whohadaskedforhelpandsaidshewouldprobablydiewithoutit,KevinhadmadehisfirstvisittothehouseandhadseenenoughtobringbattlefieldsurgeonJohnalongthistime.

Figure1CaptainJohnNadeauwithAmenahandherfamily

Source:Marines—MarkLamelza

While John made his examination, Kevin eased closer to Maha with theinterpreter. He reached to his wallet and took out a worn and frayed-at-the-corners photograph of Kelly and their four kids. He held it out to her. Hisyoungest daughter, Rachel, was not far from Amenah’s age. Maha nodded,smiled, and returned thepicture. Itwas somethingKevinoftendid. It told thepeopletherehewasjust likethem,amanwithafamily,onewithawishforapeaceful,prosperouslifeforhischildren,justliketheydesired.

Johnfinallyputawayhisthingsandstood.Thatwasthatfornow.“Canyouhelpour daughter?” her father asked. As a devout Christian and honorable man,Kevinlookedhiminhisbrown,painedeyesandsaid,“I’lldoallIcan.”Atthatprecisemoment,hecouldhavenoideaoftheenormityofallthatloomedahead.OutintheHumvee,astheyclosedtheirdoors,KevinturnedtoJohn.“Itlookslikecyanoticcongenitalheartdisease,”Johnsaid.“I’dsayaTetralogyofFallot,butthat’ssomethingIdon’thavetheequipmenttoconfirm,nothereoreveninthelargestcitiesofIraq.”“Isthatcommonhere?”John nodded. “It sure is. They drink water out of the Euphrates that youwouldn’t even wash in, let alone drink. They use insecticides and pesticideseverywherewithoutanythought.Godknowswhatthesewomenareexposedtowhenthey’repregnant.Sobirthdefectsaremuchmorecommon.”

Kevinaskedhim,“Whatmightwedoaboutthis?”Nadeausaid,“Well,notmuchinIraq.”“Isthisgirlgoingtolivelong?”“No.She’sgoingtogetachestinfectionandthat’sdeathforher.”“Isshefixable?”“Probably.ButnothereinIraq.”“Howmightwegoaboutgettingherfixed?”“We’dhavetosendheroff toAmericasomehow,getsomeonethere todoit.”Johnlookedoutthewindowatthebuildingsgoingby,probablynotseeingthem,butalreadyflippingthroughtheRolodexinhismind.Back at his command post, which was a bombed-out school building in thedowntownarea,Kevinsatonhislittlemakeshiftcot,hisheadinhishands.Hespentsometimeinprayer.Thiswassomethingmuch,muchbiggerthanhim.Hefeltinsufficienttothetask.IfthiswassomethingthattheLordpurposedtobringabout through him, he prayed that the Lord might give him the wisdom anddiscernmentabouthowtoproceed.

*Thenextmorning,Johnlookedupfromhismugofcoffee,thesteamprovidingsomewarmthagainstanotherchillyday.KevinJarrardwaswalkingtowardhim,his facea tangleofdeterminationandworry.Only thirty-fiveyearsold,Kevinwasthroughandthroughamanofunflinchingresolveoncehe’ddecideduponsomething.

Before Kevin could speak, John said, “I take it you’ve decided to do thisimpossiblething.”Nowdidn’tthisjustseemlikeasceneoutofM*A*S*HwhereHawkeye Pierce and Trapper John set off on some wacky, well-intentionedmission.Kevinlaughed,andsatdown.“So,howdowegoaboutit?IknowI’llhavetoclearitwithLieutenantColonelBellon.Buttherearealotofothert’stocrossandi’stodot.”“Well,theresureare,”Johnchuckled.“IcandowhatIcanwiththefolksbackat

Vanderbilt as far as the operation and the hospital goes, but there’s a lot ofmoneyinvolved.I’mgoingtoneedtobeprettypersuasive.”“Well,you’vebeenwiththemlongenough.Theymightcomethrough.”Kevinrubbedathisrighttemple.“Thenthere’sthecostofgettingthemtoandfromthestates.Youknowwecan’tusemilitaryaircrafttotransportthem.”“Right.Andthentherearethefivetribes.Youhavetoclearthiswiththem.Theideaofsendingachildofftoaforeignplaceisgoingtolightafewfuses.”One aspect that led Nadeau to believe Bellon might let them go out on thisparticularlimbwasthatwhenBellontookoverascommanderofthebattalion,heallowedandencouragedNadeautoseethateveryMarineinthebattalionwastrained to be comfortable in dealingwith the common causes of death on thebattlefield: bleeding from an extremity wound, tension pneumothorax, and anobstructedairway.Allthiswassomethingthathadneverbeendonebefore,andthere’snodoubtithadsavedlives.Bellon’swasthekindofleadershipthatgaveopportunitytodosuchthings.John said, “In America, if you show up in the emergency room and you’reAmenah,itdoesn’tmatterwhatitcosts;somebody’sgoingtotakecareofyou.Buthere,thatcouldn’tbedone.So—MarinesbeingMarines—IguessIcan’ttellyouthatyoucan’tdosomething,becauseyou’lljustgoandgetitdone.SoI’dbetterdoallIcantohelpyou.”Kevin rose and started towalk off.But he stopped and turned his head back.“We’redoingtherightthing,aren’twe?”Itwasarhetoricalquestion,butJohnnodded.“Youknow,a lotofwhatwehave todealwithoverhere isaboutdeath.Whycan’titbeaboutlifejustforonce?”Johngrinned.“Noreasonatall.”Kevinwalked away.Well, therewere a lot of reasons, but possibly theywerefixable,justlikeAmenah.As soonashegotback tohis computer, John firedoff ane-mail toDr.KarlaChristian,apediatriccardiacsurgeonatVanderbilt.Hehadknownandworkedwithherforyearsandwasconfidentshewouldhelp.Shehadtheexpertisetodoopenheartsurgery.Shehadthefacilitiestoo,attheMonroeCarellJr.Children’sHospital atVanderbiltUniversity inNashville,Tennessee. If she saidyes, thiswasstill,bynomeans,aslamdunk.AsKevinhadsaid,therewerelotsof“t’s

andi’s”togo.

Figure2MajorKevinClark,MajorMarkLamelza,CaptainKrumenacker,LieutenantColonelDavidBellon,CaptainJohn

Nadeau,SergeantMajorWayneRumore


*

MajorMarkA.Lamelza,operationsofficer,satbehindhisdesktalkingwiththebattalion’sexecutiveofficer,MajorKevinClark,wholeanedagainstonesideofthe doorjamb.He suddenly straightened. LieutenantColonelDavidG.Bellon,thebattalioncommander,camebarrelingintotheoffice.Markstood.Davidwavedforhimtositbackdownasheloweredhimselftothecornerofthedesk.“You’llneverguesswhatKevinJarrardandCaptainNadeauwanttodo,”Davidsaid.“Theywanttosendatwo-year-oldMuslimgirlhalfwayaroundthewordtoNashvilleforanoperationshecan’tgethere.”“What?”Marksaid.“Areyoukiddingme?”“WishIwas.”Davidfilledtheminonallheknewsofarandthenasked,“Whatdoyouthink?”Markshookhishead.“Thereare just toomany things thatcouldgosideways.We’dhavetocheckitwithhigherup.”Higherupmeanttheirregimentalcommandingofficer,ColonelH.StacyClardyIII.Andhewouldhavetoclearsomethinglikethisupwardthroughhischainofcommand.

“Doyouknowwhathetoldmethefirstdayhemetme?”Marksaid.“Hesaid,‘Ifyoumessup,Iwillfireyou.’”“Hetoldmethesamething,”Davidsaid.Theylaughed.“Well,Idon’tthinkweshoulddothis,”Marksaid.“Letme tell you aboutmy chatwithKevin Jarrard,”David said. “You knowhow it is.As you’re listening, you’re processing—you know, active listening.You’re picking up on the critical vulnerabilities. Where could this thing gowrong?Youknow,I’mwatchingtheguytalkingtome,whoIknowverywell,andI’mlookingathim.Ishetired?Hashethoughtthisout?Whatkindofgameisheonrightnow?Isheonhis‘A’game,ornot?Becausesometimesevenyourbestguyshavebaddays.Youstartbylisteningtotheirwords,butyouarereallytaking inventory of them. Sometimes you’re thinking, ‘Okay, this guy needssome coaching and how can I apply my social energy to help him succeedtoday?’ But it was pretty clear to me, almost immediately, that Kevin hadthoughtthisout.HeandNadeauhadtalkedthisoverbeforehetalkedtome,andhewasdroppinglittledatapointsalongashetalked.Hementionedhe’dtalkedwithNadeaubecauseheknowsIadmireandrespectNadeau.So,veryquickly,mymentalinventorywas,‘Okay,thisthingisn’thalf-baked.Theyhavealreadydonesomeprettysolidworkhere.’”“It sounds like you want to do this crazy thing,” Mark said. He knew thattechnically,asaNavyCaptain,JohnNadeauoutrankedbothKevinJarrardandDavidBellon.ButJohnwouldn’tpushhimself,thoughhiswordhadquiteabitofweighttoit,“currency”inMark’smilitaryview.“Well,Idowanttodoit.Butyoutwotalkitover.I’mgoingtostepoutoftheroomforaspell.”AssoonasDavidwasoutofhearing,MarkandKevinClarkbegantotalk.Markhadalreadygiventhehardpushback.ItwaslikeDavidtodropalittlebomblikethat in theirofficeand then leave.They talked itover,debated thefinepoints,andbythetimeDavidreturned,theyhadshiftedtoproblemsolving.Theylaidouttherisks,andhelaidoutwhathewantedtodo.“Themotherhastogotoo,”Davidsaid.“Thetribeswon’tletalittlegirltravelalone,andthefather’sstillonawatchlist.Tooiffy.Can’tleavethecountry.”“Oh,thisjustgetsbetter.”

“Iknow.Itiswhatitis.Whatelse?”Marksaid,“Youknow,they’regoingtoneedpassportsfromIraqandvisasfromHomelandSecurity,”Marksaid.

“Jake Falcone’s your man for that,” David said. Jake was the battalioncommunicationsofficer,whoDavidknewhadaWashington,D.C.,backgroundand could facilitate clearance and passports, both from Iraq and HomelandSecurity, forAmenahandhermother toenter theUnitedStates—noeasyfeat,and one that would involve him traveling tomeet the right people andmovethingsalong.Marksaid,“Youknow,wheneveryouasksomethinglikethisofme,Ithinkthatthere ismuchmore. Ineed to find thewhy,why,why—toget thebigpicture.Andoneofmyveryfirstconcerns,sir, isaboutbenefitsversusrisks.This isaverystrategicdecisionwithstrategicimplicationsifthingsfail.”A key part of the big picture included the impact doing this would have onlocals.TheMarinemissionatthistimewastohelpbuildthecapacityoftheIraqipoliceandIraqiArmysotheycouldassumetheroleofsecurity—thisinatimewhen itwashard toevenkeep themarketsopen sopeoplehadaplace to selltheirtomatoes.“Ifsomethinggoeswrongwiththisplan,anditeasilycould,thatcouldjeopardizequiteabit,”Marksaid.“I know,”David said. “This isn’t just aboutKevin,Dr.Nadeau, and this littlegirl.It’sabout1,800Americansand65,000Iraqis.Ifwegetlostinthis,orifitgoessideways,wecouldderailaprettyfragilepeace.Also,arewegoingtosuckupassetsthatwereallyneedtoapplysomeplaceelse?”Whatwouldweigha lot ishowmuchcurrencyLieutenantColonelBellonandhisofficershadbuiltupwiththeircommandingofficer.“AllIhavetosayisifthishadcomeuporifwe’dpresenteditwhenwefirstgothere,givenColonelClardy’sopeningremarkstous,Ithinkitwouldhavebeenalmostimpossibletosellthistohim,”Marksaid.“Yeah,”Davidagreed.“Hewouldhavefiredus.”

Figure3LieutenantColonelBellonandColonelClardy


*

Kelly Jarrard, back in Gainesville, Georgia, got an e-mail from her husbandtellingheraboutAmenah.Thoughshewaskeptbusyraisingfoursmallchildrenon her own, she called a family friend, Robin Smith, at the BB&T Bank inGainesville, Georgia, and started an account to raise part of the money fortransportation.The effort could only be a quiet grassroots one at first becauseanywordgettingbacktoIraqmightjeopardizeAmenahevengettingtoleave.

On December 14, 2007, Kevin’s aunt, Janet Jarrard, opened her e-mail androcked back in her chair for a moment when she found a similar but morecomplexrequest.KevinsaidhewastakingupacollectionamongtheMarines,andhadthehospitalatVanderbiltlinedup,butheneededherhelpwithawholelot more. All Janet had to do was help raise almost $30,000 for commercialtravelcosts forboth themotheranddaughter to leave fromand return to Iraq,ensurethefamilyhadaplacetostay,thataninterpretercouldbeonhand,findamedical team to get the family to and from America, make sure culturallyappropriate foods were on hand, find a female escort, part nurse and partchaperone,and,oh,bytheway,doallthisquicklyplease,chop,chop.Anyoneelsemighthavetornattheirhairandrunscreamingintothewoods.ButnotJanet.Timemightbeoftheessence,butsheneverflinched.Hise-mailtoldherhehadbegunthenecessarystepsfordocumentation,paperwork,clearance,andpermissionfromhissuperiors.Fund-raisingtobringaMuslimchildandher

mothertotheChristiansouthwasgoingtobenoeasyfeat.RecallPastorTerryJonesfromGainesville,Florida,thecontroversialpersonwhoburnedtheKoraninMarch of 2011, causing riots in theMiddle East that resulted in numerousdeaths,includingUNworkersandtheirwives.Hisactionsmarkedoneextremeofthegrassrootsmood.TherewasalotofconfusionandsomeprejudiceaboutMuslims. Kevin’s appeal to those stateside was that a little girl’s life was atstake. In the faceof thosewhomight say, “Youcan’t save themall,”he said,“Butwemightbeabletosaveone.”Janet’sfirstthoughtwas,“Now,howintheheck are we going to do it?” He was asking her to be the point person inNashville. Then, like her counterparts overseas, she shrugged off theimpossibilitiesandstartedfiguringoutwaystomakeitallhappen.Atthetime,shewasinthemiddleofredoingherkitchen,butshedroppedthatandstartedsendingouta flurryofe-mailsaboutanIraqichildwhowasdyingand they needed funds and logistical help getting her to Vanderbilt. A newkitchen is one thing, she figured, but thiswas a life-and-deathmatter. So sheopenedherselftothetasks,butshealsorealizedshecouldn’tdoitall.She,likeeverybody she spoke to, believed this situationwas a calling, somethingGodwas going to make happen and she was to be one small part of it. As sheexplainedtoafriend,“Thereisapowergreaterthanusthatisactivatedwhenweopen ourselves up for it, uncap our individual wells of creativity, thinking,determination,obstinance,whateveryouwanttocallit.Justopeningoneselfuptolettingthatinformationflowmakesthedifference.”Andflowitdid.Twoenormouslyimportantthingshappenedasaresultofhere-mails.Atthattime,shewasworkingforTennesseeDonorServices,doingpubliceducation and PR for the organ procurement organization for the state ofTennessee.OneoftheorganrecoverycoordinatorswhoheardaboutAmenah’ssituationwasJonathanMalloch,whosaid,“HowcanIhelp?”Hehadamedicalbackground, had EMT experience, and had worked with FEMA during theresponse to Hurricane Katrina. More important, he had an extensive militarybackgroundwithall theconnections thatwentwith that—hewasexactlywhatJanet needed, someone who could speak the military as well as civilianlanguage.

Eventhoughhewouldn’tbefreetogoalonghimself,heknewhowthemilitaryworked,couldassembleanextractionteamofcapablemedics,couldarrangefortheirdiplomaticclearance,andheevensaidhe’dsee to the logisticsofgettingthemotheranddaughteroutofIraqintoJordanfortheircommercialflights.The

secondextraordinaryeventthathappenedasaresultofJanet’sreachingoutwashearingfromDeannaDolanofWorldRelief,anonprofitorganization.Deanna spoke some Arabic and was willing to help provide a full-timeinterpreter,Zainab,awomanwhoselifehadbeenthreatenedinIraqbecauseshehad translated for the U.S. troops. Deanna was also a member of the GraceChapelChurchinLieper’sFork,Tennessee,justoutsideNashville,whereSteveBerger was the pastor. The church at once started a collection to help bringAmenahtoAmericafortheoperation,andSteveandhiswifeSarahevenagreedtoletmotheranddaughter,aswellasDeannaandZainabstayattheirhometohelpprovideorientationandhelpwithplanningculturallyappropriatefood.

Well, that was falling into place nicely, Janet thought. Because a femaletravelingchaperonewasnecessary,shealsolineduphernursefriend,LisaVanWye,fromBowlingGreen,Kentucky,tomakethetriptoJordanalongwiththeextractionmedicalteamtoescortmotheranddaughtertoAmerica.Withfundsslowlytricklinginbecausetheycouldn’tmakeapubliccallforfundsuntil Amenah was safely out of Iraq, Janet had to go ahead and pay for thecommercialflight ticketswithherowncreditcard, trusting that the$7,000shewas laying out could be returned, and it soon was. Other than organizationalmeetings with Jonathan and the PR people at Vanderbilt, most of her franticinvolvementwasoverbyDecember,soshecouldtakeadeepbreathandbegintorelax.Somehow,gettingthatkitchenredonedidn’tseemquitesopressingatthemoment.

*“Goodnews,”JonathanMallochsaid.Hesatacross theconference roomtablefrom Glenn Susskind and GaryWhite, two colleagues of his on the DisasterMedicalAssistanceteamwhohadagreedtoflytoJordantoactastheextractionteam. Outside, flecks of snow swirled down from a pensive sky overChattanooga,althoughthedrivetotheD-MATbuildingthatmorninghadbeenthroughfairlyclearstreets.

GlennarchedaneyebrowandGaryfiddledwithhispenandpad.“Yousawmye-mail toKevinJarrardthatweweren’tgoingtobeabletohelp

likewe’dhoped—thatitwasa‘nogo’forus.Right?”“Yeah,andwesawhisreplytokeeptrying,”Garysaid.“Hesuredoesseemamanonamission,”Glennagreed.Jonathannodded.“KevinsaysarrangementsarealreadyinplaceatVanderbilt.You’veseenhowhe’skeepingusuponeverythingoverthere.Itakeitthattheirregimental commander, a full bird colonel named Clardy, was visiting soLieutenantColonelBellonarrangedforKevintoaskhimforahelicoptertogettotheJordanianborder.ClardytoldKevinthatifeverythingcomestogether,theregimentwouldgivehimahelicopter.Nowit’suptoustomakesureeverythingin our piece is ready. That brings me to the best news yet. BlackwaterWorldwidehasagreed tohelpwith theextraction,on theirdime.This ishuge.They’llescortyoutotheJordanianborderandbacktoAmman.Theyjustwantto vet you, and that’s okay. You’ll both stand up to that. Youmay even getbriefedabouteverything,andImeaneverything,evenhowtocombyourhair.”“Noproblem,”Glennsaid.“I’mgladit’sbackon.Iwasreallyhopingtohelpseethisthrough.”HelookedtowardGary.“That’s great,”Gary agreed. “But I’ll letGlenngo first.Youknowhow I amwhenIgettalking.”“Well, I’ve been going over all we need to pack, how much we can carry,”Glenn said. He was the medic of the team, who’d also been with FEMA atKatrinaandhadrecentlygottenbackfromHaiti.HisbackgroundincludedworkinArizona doing a lot of fixed-wing transports ofmoving patients over quitelongdistances.“I’mstillrunningdownwhatwecangetinJordan,andwhatwecanbringortakeout.Oxygenisgoingtobeanissue.”“IlookedintothecostforcharteringaGalaxy6,”Garysaid.“Wayoutofreach.Anairmedicalagency isaquarterofamillion for justoneway.Scratch that.We’llhavetofigureouthowtodothisasbestwecanonalimitedbudget.”“We’vebothgonethroughthebriefingmaterialonMuslim-Americanrelations,anyculturalissues,thetribethismotheranddaughterarefrom,soweshouldbeokaytheretoo,”Glennsaid.

“I appreciate you guys going, because I can’t go, andKevin Jarrard is still intheater over in Iraq, and Vanderbilt has no means of getting them here. Thesafetyofyoutwoismytopconcern,whichiswhyI’mgladwewereabletoget

Blackwater involved. It looks like we’re going to have to go with RoyalJordanian Airlines, though. It’s all we can afford considering what’s beengatheredsofar,andtheirchiefmedicalofficerhastoapprovethegirlfortravelorshe’snotgettingontheirplanes,”Jonathansaid.“Thenwe’llneedaPlanBifwehavetogobygroundtransportation,”Garysaid.

“AndaPlanCifshegetsworse,ordies,”Glennsaid.

*JakeFalconehandedKevinJarrardthesmallpileofpassportsandvisas.“Thisshouldbeeverythingyouneed,”hesaid.Idon’tmindtellingyouthatIhadtogreasetheoccasionalpalmhereandthereonthisside,andgettingthestufffromWashington,D.C.,well,it’sD.C.afterall.Thatwassixweeks.”Kevin grinned. He knew how the State Department and Department ofHomelandSecurityworked. “Thanks for all your travel and help on this.”Hewasleafingthroughthedocumentsashespoke.“Oh,mygosh.”“What?”“ThispassportisforFatima.That’sAmenah’sseven-year-oldsister!”“Well,that’stheinformationyougaveme.”“Iknow.It’snotyou,Jake. Idon’tspeakorwriteArabic.WhatamIgoingtodo?Theirflight’sin72hours!”“IwishIcouldhelp,butIcan’tgetaway.IfyoucantakethemovertoBaghdad,theycouldstraightenitoutintimeoverthere.”“I’vegotariverclearingoperationontheEuphrates.Ican’tdoit.”“Well,callacabthen.”That’swhatKevindid.FirsthecalledsomeofhisIraqifriendswhohadfriendsin theDepartmentof theInterior inBaghdad.Hewouldhavetomakeone lastgamble.Hehadlessthan48hourstogetthemtoBaghdad,getanIraqipassport,get themback toHaditha,andget themonahelicopter.Hewasnotpanicked,but he did not see how it would be possible. He raced to their house aftermidnight,wokeupthemomanddadandAmenah,andsaid,“Look,I’vegottogetyoutoBaghdadtomorrow,we’veonlygotoneshottomakethishappen.”

Stillbeforedaylightinthemorning,heloadedmother,father,andAmenahintoacab,paidthedriver,andsentthemhurtlingofftowardBaghdad.Whew.Well,he’ddoneallhecould.Afterthatchaoticstarttowhatturnedouttobeanotherchaoticday,Kevincamebacktohiscommandpostverylateintheday.Hewaslisteningtoreportsandtalking to some of his leaders when he got a frantic call from one of hischeckpoints,“Sir,it’sCaptainSemir”—oneofKevin’sIraqifriends—“he’sgottoseeyounow,there’sbeenaterribleemergency.”Kevin ran over to the checkpoint. Captain Semir said, “Sir, Amenah and herfamily have been shot up, there’s been a terriblemisunderstanding out on thehighway.”The friendly fire incident happened five or six kilometers from town, so hescrambledvehiclesandtheyracedonout.Thesunhadgonedown.Itwasdark.Theywere on the highway heading out, and in the headlights of theHumveeKevinwastravelingin,hesawthetaxithathesentthemouttoBaghdadinthatmorning.Theyhadbeenin that taxiathisorders.Hewasresponsiblefor theirlives.Hesawbulletholesinthefrontwindshield.He was going to have to arrest some Iraqi soldiers. Everyone was shouting,waving arms, and rushing around. His vehicle stopped. He ran to the car,thinking,“IhavekilledanIraqimother,father,anddaughter.”Herantothesideofthetaxi,andthereintheditchisAlaaThabit,thefather,andMaha,themother,withAmenahinherarms,rockingbackandforth.Theywereokay.TheIraqiarmyhadreceivedareportaboutsomebadguysinavehicleofsimilardescription,andhadshotthevehiclethinkingitwasthebadguys.Miraculously,noonewasharmed.Thebulletshadpassedthroughthetopofthecarandmissedthem,andnobodywasharmed.And...theyhadthepassport.Theyhadmanagedto get Amenah’s passport. Kevin was on his knees in the dirt with his eyesclosed, thinking, “Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lord, for preserving thelivesofmyfriends.”

*With12hourstogobeforegettingthemontoahelicopter,Kevingotcalledtoa

tribal“powwow”withallof themother’sbrothers,allof themalemembersofherfamily.HetookhisinterpreterandacoupleofIraqifriends,butsoonfoundhimself sitting across the room from them; they were armed and didn’t lookhappy.Heknewwhenhewalked into theroomthat thiswasn’tgood.Hecouldsensethattherewassometensionhere,andcouldn’tfigureoutwhyuntiltheystartedtalking. They said, “Listen, we’ve decided that we’re not going to allow oursisterMaha to travel to America without amalemember of her family. Thatwouldbedishonoringtoourfamily.”Kevin said, “So, wait a minute, you would prefer to see your niece die thanallowyourfamilytobedishonored?”Theysaid,“Yes,exactly.”Kevintoldhisinterpretertotellthemsomethings,andtheinterpretersaid,“Sir,Idon’t think that’sagood idea.”So,hehadamoment to reconsider. Itwasagoodthing,hethoughtlater, thathedidn’tspeakgoodArabicoritmighthavejust turned intoashootingmatch.They lookedreadyfor it.Theirhandsrestedreadybytheirweapons.Whathetoldthemwas,“Listen.YouknowmeandIknowyou.AndI’mgoingtogiveyoumywordofhonorthatyoursisterwillnotbeinthepresenceofanAmericanmalewithoutafemaleescort.Iwillensurethatshehasafemaleescortwherever shegoes,and that’s thebest Icando. I’mgivingyoumyword. I’mjustsimplyaskingthatyoutrustme.”They chattered among themselves, often with the heated waving of arms.Eventually,SheikSaidFlayahOthmanfromtheal-Jughayfitribe,whospokeforallofthem,said,“Yourwordisenough.”Figure4MajorKevinJarrard,SheikSaidFlayahOthman,tribalchief

fromtheal-Jughayfitribe,LieutenantColonelBellon


*

Beforemorning,KevinhadarrangedtohaveoneofthefemaleIraqiinterpreterstravelwiththemtothebordercheckpoint.ShewasalongwhenKevinpickedupAmenahandhermother,whohadneverbeenoutofHaditha,Iraq,inherlife.AstheCH-53helicopter theywould travel in landed,Kevinwatched themother’seyesgetbig.Shemusthavethoughtthiswaslikesomethingfromouterspace.

Figure5MajorKevinJarrardholdsAmenahbeforesheleavesHaditha,Iraq.

Source:Marines—MarkLamelzaTheirdestination,hoursaway,waswhereHighway10crosses theIraqi-JordanborderatTrebil.Astheyflewwest,ablindingsnowstormdeveloped.Itdoesn’tsnowinwesternIraqveryoften.Ifthathelicopterhadbeen10or15minuteslategetting intoHaditha, theywouldn’thavemade it toTrebilbefore thewhiteouthit.Thesnowwas thickandallaround themand theyhadonlya10-or15-minutewindowtogetthehelicopterontotheground,getAmenahandhermothertothecheckpointat theborder,andintothearmsoftheAmericanteamthere.Afewhandshakes and hugs, some prayers, and off they went, disappearing into thesnow.Atthatpoint,allKevincoulddowaspraythatallwouldbewell.Hehadtimeforthat.Hewassnowedinandcouldn’tgobacktoHadithahimselffortwodays.

*GaryWhitesatintheleadvehicleandwaited.Theyalllookedoutthewindowsandwatched.GlennSusskindwas in themedicalvehicleparkedbehind theirs.The thirdvehicle,parkedbehind that,one theBlackwatermenreferred toasa“bump”vehicle,was along just in case anythinghappened tooneof theothertwo.

Helookedupatthedarkcloudsandwasgladhewasn’ttheoneinafour-hourhelicopter ride. Snow swirled around them and covered the ground and hadbeguntodrift.“Ithoughtitneversnowedhere,”hesaid.

“Itdoesn’t,”theinterpretersaid.“Notlikethis,anyway.Ihaven’tseenanythinglike this inyears.”Shewasanotherpartof thepuzzleBlackwaterhadalreadyhelpedfixwhentheoriginalinterpreterthey’darrangedfordidn’tworkout.TheBlackwater guys had also helped Glenn get all the extra medical supplies heneededtoo—oxygen,food,water,evenIVfluids.Nowtheywaited,andwatcheditsnow.

The280milesfromAmmantotheJordanianborderhadtakenthree-and-a-halfhours after leaving at 4:30 a.m. When they’d come to each of the manycheckpoints, vehicles had queued up in long lines, but those checking thevehicleshadmovedthebarriersandwavedtheBlackwatercaravanthrougheachtime.Goingbackwasgoing tobeawholedifferent canofbeanswithall thissnow.ThenbeganascenelikeoutofaTVshow.Firsttheysawthelights,andthentheshapes of two helicopters emerged from the blur of falling snow. One of thehelicopterseasedtotheground.Theothercontinuedtocircleabove,keepingatightandsecureperimeter.Itwaitedforthehelicopteronthegroundtoempty.

Gary andGlenn got out of their vehicles andwent to the checkpointwith theBlackwater teamand the interpreter togreet themotheranddaughter.As theymoved through the snow, Kevin Jarrard was grinning like it was Christmas.They could see relief on his face too, and the hugs all aroundwere firm andgenuine. The other helicopter spun and took off. Kevin sure smiled a lot forsomeonewhowasgoingtobestuckonthegroundthereforawhile.Glenn and the femaleNavycorpsman, amedic fromKevin’s team,werebothtakingaquicklookatAmenahandassessingher,exchanginginformation,andtheinterpreterwashelpingwiththeArabic.Amenahwasblue.Shehadarunnynoseandallthetypicalsignsofanupperrespiratoryinfection.Shehadafever.Throughtheinterpreter,theylearnedthatthiswasnothowsheusuallywas.Sothey’dbeenbroughtachildwhowassickontopofbeingsick.TheywerewelldressedforthecoldandsnowbutAmenahwasverydehydrated.Theycheckedherbloodpressureandpulseandoxygensaturation.Hersats(saturations)werelow, lower than theyapparentlyhadbeenday today.Thestressandwhateverinfectionshehadgoingonwasgetting toher. Itwas time theystartedback toAmman.“Oh,andoneotherthing,”theNavymedicsaid,“Themotherisdiabetic.Here’sherinsulin.”“Great,”Glennsaid.He’dbeenhopingtomeetaphysicianandgetanextensivereport. But it was what it was. Gary was already starting to watch how shemoved, consideringwhether shewasgoing tohave troublehandling theplaneridesorwalkingthroughairports.

Kevinandhisgrouphadturnedandnowscurriedbacktotheirhelicopter,whichhadshutdownitsprop,asigntheywereprobablynotgoingtotrytoflybacktoHadithathatday.Glenn, Gary, Amenah, her mother, the interpreter, and Lisa VanWye, JanetJarrard’snursefriendwhoKevinhadpromisedwouldbeafemalechaperone,allloaded into the medical vehicle, and when everyone was inside, the smallcaravanturnedandstartedbacktowardAmmaninwhatwasalreadyhalfafootofsnowwithmorecomingdown.

In addition to snacks, fresh fruit, Gatorade, and other supplies for the road,Glenn had also brought along a small DVD player, along with a couple ofDisneyDVDslikeMickeyMouse.ThatentertainedAmenahenoughforGlenntoassessherastheyrolledalong.Still, the journeybackwas long.Perhaps it feltmore sobecauseAmenahwastired,agitated,andcranky,asanychildthatagewithafeverandarunnynosewouldbe,ontopoftravelfatigueandnotbeingabletocatchherbreath.Putachild like that ina crowdedSuburban,hermother at constant arm’s reach, foralmostfourhoursandit’snobody’sideaofajollytime.

They breathed a collective large sigh when they pulled up at the five-starInterContinentalHotel,oneofthefinestinAmman,whereBlackwaterhadmadearrangements. The staff had been carefully preprepared for their arrival. Theyputtheminroomsinthecenterofahallway.Therewerenootherguestsinthatwhole hallway. They had cleared the hallway at Blackwater’s request. It wasquite secure.Amenah andhermotherwere in one room, andGlenn andGaryhad the adjoining rooms. Once settled, they could do a better assessment onAmenah,andstartworkingongettingthefeverdown,gettingherhydrated,andgivinghersomecoughmedicine.Theydideverythingtheycouldtoprepareherfor travel, while trying to be the least invasive as possible. They had strongconcernsbecausenowshehadacoldandwaseventhatmuchsicker.GlennmadeacalltotheVanderbilthospitalandspokewithDr.ThomasDoyle,apediatriccardiologistwhowouldbeworkingwithDr.KarlaChristian.Glenntoldhim,“Hey,thisisnotthepicturethatwe’vehadpainted.Whenwegetback,youneedtobereadyforareallysickkid,notasemihealthyone.”Fromtheirassessmentatthehotel,theyknewthatAmenahwasgoingtorequire

oxygen, especially once the plane gained enough altitude to pressurize. Therewas no way they could carry enough oxygen for a 14-hour flight. The flightwouldbestressfulforall,butespeciallyforthetwo-year-old.WhenLisaVanWye,GaryWhite,GlennSusskind,Amenah, hermother, andtheirBlackwaterescortgottotheairport,theyweretoldattheticketcounterthatAmenahneededtoseetheairline’sdoctortogetherhealthcertified.Theywereescortedquiteadistance, throughwhat looked toGlenn like thebowelsof theairport, towhereadoctorexaminedAmenah,saidshewasokay tofly,andhegave them authorization to take oxygen onto the plane. Then they passedthrough multiple security stations and found that on the plane, a male flightattendanton theRoyalJordanianAirlines is the leadpersononeachflight.Healsomakesadeterminationofwhetherornotanybodycangetontheflight,andhereportstothepilot,whogetstomakeadeterminationagainaboutifanybodycangetontheflight.

Oncetheyhadthosehurdlesbehindthem,theytriedtoupgradeAmenahtogether inFirstClass, but that didn’tworkout.They all sat in theCoach section,thoughtheygotawholerow,allthewayintheback.Mostofthestewardesses,includingthesteward,didn’tspeakEnglishatall,exceptonewhohadfamilyinthe states and was very fluent. Because they were without an interpreter, herpresencewas very helpful.Another passenger,whowas Jordanian butwas anAmericanpsychiatrist,adoctor,helpedthemwiththetranslationissuestoo.They had the oxygen generators, but knew they needed one to get them fromChicagotoNashville.Theyhopedthatabout8hoursofoxygeninthegeneratorswould be enough for a 14-hour flight.They hoped that theywould be able towean her a little bit at take off and landing, so she wouldn’t need as muchoxygen.Thatdidnotworkouttobethecase.

Theywatchedherpulseoximeterthewholeway,andheroxygenwouldgetverylow,lowtothepointwhereshewouldactuallystartgettingalittlebitsluggishandalittlebitairhungry.Sotheyoptedtoleaveheronahigherconcentrationofoxygen through the beginning of the flight, hoping theywould get her to fallasleepanddecreaseheroxygenneeds.Thatalsodidn’tworkout.Sevenhoursintotheflight,GlennandGaryrealizedtheywouldnothaveenoughoxygen, so theirbackupplanbecame toutilize someof theairplane’soxygen.The stewardwasn’thappyabout that,but theywereable toconvincehim that

theydidn’t need touse all of theplane’soxygen.They couldprobablyget bywithoneor two tanks.So theyusedwhatwouldbe theemergencyoxygenforpassengers. They had to manipulate the tanks somewhat. The plane’sadministration system was completely different from anything they had seenbefore.Glennmanagedtorigupsomethingthatwouldgetheroxygenthewholeway home, and they literally finished their last liter of oxygen as they werelandinginChicago.

Theydidn’treallyhaveacontingencytogotoaChicagohospital,buttheyhadacontingencyincaseshegotveryillandtheyhadtoflyheronanairambulancefromChicagotoNashville.Theycheckedheragain,andthoughshewascranky,tired, and feverish, they deemed her strong enough for onemore flight. Theyheaded for the airplane where they had a battery-operated oxygen generatorwaitingfortheChicagotoNashvillepartofthetrip.

*DeannaDolan,withWorldRelief,theirArabicinterpreterZainab,PastorSteveBergerofGraceChapelChurch inLieper’sFork,Tennessee,alongwithKellyJarrard,Kevin’swife,andherfourchildrenwerethereattheNashvilleairporttogreet Amenah, her mother, Lisa, Gary, Glenn, and their Blackwater escort.Severalnewscrewsfromvariedmediawereonhandtoo,nowthatitwassafetotalk about the effort to saveAmenah.WhenAmenah’smother sawKelly, shewenttothemotherandfourkidsandgaveeachawarmhugandkiss.ShesaiditwasfromMajorJarrardbackinIraq,whohadshowedherpicturesandsaidhemissedthemverymuch.Thenewsstationswantedfootageandtheirstories,butDeannathoughtAmenahdidnotlookwellatall,sothewelcominggroupsoughttokeepeverythinglowkey.Amenah’slipswereblue,herfaceblue.Shelookedlikesheneededoxygen.Still,shetotteredacrossandintothepastor’sarms.Mahalookedexhaustedandoverwhelmed,butpleasedthatsomanypeoplewantedtobesupportive.

With a few last words of care from the extraction team, Deanna, Steve, andZainab took themotheranddaughter to theBergers’home,which sitson fiveacres,withariverthatwindsthroughthebackoftheproperty,surroundedbythe43acresofthechurchgroundsandthenseveralfarmsofover200acres,allvery

secludedandprivate.Thatevening,Amenahseemedtobegettingsolittleoxygeninherbloodstreamthatitwasamazingshewasfunctioningatall.DeannaandtheBergerswonderedhowshecouldevenbeconscious.Andshedidpassoutacoupleof times thatnight.Themotherwouldjustsplashwateronherface.Forthemother,thatwaskindofnormal.That’sallshe’dknownforthatchildsinceshewasborn.Sothemotherwasn’t freakingout,butSteveandSarahhad tohold theiremotions incheck.Theywerescared,afraidthatthelittlegirlwasgoingtodie.

*On January 24, 2008, at 11:00 a.m.,Amenah arrived at theMonroeCarell Jr.Children’sHospitalatVanderbiltforachestX-rayandinitialexamtodiagnoseher heart problem.Shewasvery tired and cranky.DeannaknewAmenahhadonlygottenabout threehoursofsleep.Mahaseemedtiredtoo,butserene.Herdaughterwas finally going to get the kind of help she so desperately needed.Maha greeted all the new strangerswithwarmth.Her interpreter, though, toldDeanna that Maha was afraid. She worried about Amenah and what couldhappen at the hospital. All along the way, mother and child were reassuredthroughtheirinterpreterthatshewouldnotexperienceanythingpainfultoday—they justwanted some specialpictures to seewhatwaswrongwithAmenah’sheart.

In the Pediatric Cardiology Clinic, Dr. Karla Christian, after finding morecomplications and additional infections, especially did not like what she sawfrom the child’s first-ever chestX-ray.Her colleague,Dr.ThomasDoyle, andthestaffperformedanechocardiogram.After the tests,Doylecalledamedicalinterpreter togetherwith the interpreterwhohadbeenworkingwith the familyandexplainedtoAmenah’smotherwhatthey’dfound.Amenah’sheartwasnotonlybackward,but, inaddition, thebloodflowtoher lungswasrestrictedandhermajorarterieswereoutofplace.Becauseofthestressoftravel,afevershewas running, and an oxygen level that was very low, they placed her in anintensivecareunit.SteveandSarahBerger,thehostfamily,andDeannaDolanmadesurethatAmenahandhermothergotsomeculturallyappropriatefoodandwalkedthemtosettleintotheirroominthemainhospital.Dr.ChristiantoldthemotherandthosewhohadcomewithAmenah,“Shewillrequireacomplexopenheartsurgerywithsignificantrisk.”Theyfirsthadtoget

the child healthy enough for an operation. An aspect of the procedure theyplannedalsotookintoconsiderationwhatkindofmedicalcarethegirlwouldgetwhenshereturnedhome.Theywouldhavetodoeverythingtheycouldtomakesureshewasasself-sustainingaspossible.

Intheweekbeforeheroperation,Amenahlostherbluetingeandbegantoshowa deep dimple in her right cheek that appearedwhen she giggled. Shewavedvigorouslyatvisitorsandsaid,“Bye,”or“Habebi,”whichmeanssweetheartinArabic.Herpartedhairwasinpigtailsandsheclutchedherstuffedtoy.ShewasinAmerica.Shewassafe.AmenahandhermotherevengotapreoperationvisitbytheIraqiambassadortotheUnitedStates,SamirSumaidaie,onSunday,January27.TheambassadorisalsofromHaditha.Hesaidthateffortslikethisareimportant,especiallyintimesofwar.“Warisacruelthing.Manyfamiliesgetdestroyedordisrupted,butthereare instances where lives are saved—many instances,” Sumaidaie said. Heexpressedhis “appreciation to theAmericanmilitary that nevermiss a chancewhenitispossibletosavelives.”OnFebruary11,Amenahwaswellenoughfortheoperation.TheBergerfamilyarrivedat5:30a.m.attheChildren’sHospitalwiththeirguests,Amenahandhermother.Amenah’smotherwasveryquiet,obviouslyfeelingveryanxiousaboutthesurgery,butAmenah,blissfullyunawareatagetwo,hoppedontoatrikeandplayeduntilshewascalledbacktoaholdingroomtoprepareforsurgery.By 7:00 a.m., surgeonKarlaChristian,M.D., anesthesiologistBrianDonahue,M.D.,andseveralotherstaffmembershadstoppedintoexplaintheproceduretoAmenah’smother, through the interpreter Zainab. Amenah’smother was alsotoldwhatshecouldexpecttoseewhenshewasallowedtovisitAmenahintherecoveryareaintheChildren’sHospital’sPediatricCriticalCareUnit.ShewastoldAmenahwould still be asleep,would be on a ventilator, andwould haveseveraltubesandwiresattachedtovariouspartsofherbody,asistypicalforanychildundergoingopenheartsurgery.

MahaconfidedinDeanna,“Isshegoingtomakeitoutalivefromthesurgery?”Severalwomen from the churchhad come to supportMaha andAmenah, andMaha asked them if theywould pray. They did. She relaxed and they kiddedaround,keepingMaha’sminddistracted.

AsDr.Doylehadputit,“Untreated,thiswillbeafatalconditioninheryoungchildhood.” They had to operate, and they did. Dr. Christian performed theoperation,and, ineffect, theyhadtoreroutebloodtoherlungs.Fortherestofherlife,shewillhaveonlyonepumpingchamberinsteadoftwo.ThelogicwasthatshewouldbebackinIraq,whereshecouldnotgetrepeatattention.Doylesaid,“It’sgoingtosustainherfortherestofherlifeinavillagewhereshehaslittlemedicalcareorverylittleaccesstoanymedicalpersonnel.That’sheronlyoption.”The operationwas a success, andAmenahwas put on a ventilator for severalhours. After a critical 24 hours had passed after the surgery, the doctorsannounced theywere optimisticAmenahwould have a full recovery.Amenahwas next taken to the Pediatric Critical CareUnit and soonweaned from theventilator.ByWednesdaymorning,shewasbacktoblowingkissesandwavingatthenursesandstaffwhodroppedbytocheckuponher.ItwasnotlongbeforeAmenahwaswellenoughtoreturntotheBergers’homewhere theyhadbecomeonebig family.Mahahadhernormalenoughupsanddowns, missing her culture and her family. They bought her all the food sheneeded to cook Iraqi meals. She would sit on the kitchen floor at Steve andSarah’shouseandcook,andteachSarahhowtocook.Sheevenmadeherownyoghurt,which she stored in the refrigerator.Deanna said, “Shewanted to goshoppingalot.Andwewouldtakehershopping.Infact,whenshewentback,Idon’tthinkshecouldfiteverythinginhersuitcasethatshegot.”A littlemore than twoweeksafterher surgery,Amenahcameback fora finalcheckup at the Children’s Hospital. Amenah had another echocardiogram, tomakesurethebloodflowinherheartwasstillrunningthroughtherightpipesatthe right rate—it was. Then Christian checked out the sound of her heart,checkedoutherscarforanysignsofinfectionsorproblems,andfoundnone.

Figure6DeannaDolanandAmenah

Source:WorldRelief—DeannaDolan

LittleAmenah,Deannanoticed,turnedouttobeaham,enjoyingalltheattentionshe was getting from the family, those at church, and the media. It tickledDeannatoseeAmenah’schangefrombeingafussy,lethargiclittlegirlintoonefullof life,whowas sunnyandmaking jokes.Shehadapairof tiny sneakersthat would squeak every time she walked. At church, Pastor Steve would bepreachingandeveryonewouldheara“squeak, squeak, squeak”and thewholechurchwouldcrackup.They’dfalleninlovewiththelittlegirlfromacrosstheworld.

Figure7Amenahgettingaroundquitewellafterheroperation

Source:WorldRelief—DeannaDolan

ThedaywhenAmenahandMahawere togetonaplanewithKevinJarrard’swife Kelly to make the flight back to Jordan, Deanna said, “It was veryemotional.Everybodywascrying,evenSteveandSarah’schildrenwerecrying.Mahawascrying.MahagrabbedSteve’sneckandwouldn’t letgo.Nowthat’sunusual because her being aMuslimwoman, shewould normally not interactwithamanthatway.ShereallylovedPastorSteve.”Then theplane lifted into theairoverNashvilleand flewaway, takingquiteafewheartstuggingalongwithit.

*OnMarch11,2008,PresidentGeorgeW.BushlandedinAirForceOneattheNashvilleairportandmetDr.KarlaChristian.Hehadthesewordstosaytothepress about her. “This is Dr. Christian, Dr. Karla Christian, who reallysymbolizesthebestofAmerica.Sheandateamofhershaveperformedsurgeryon a little Iraqi girl whowas discovered byUnited StatesMarines. People inNashvilleraisedthemoneyforthefamily;theyweresupportedbytheMarinesthere in Iraq; someof theMarines raisedmoney; and they sent this little girl,whoseheartwasailing,toAmerica,rightheretoNashville.AndKarlaandherteamhealed the littlegirl and she’sback in Iraq.And thecontrast couldn’tbemore vivid.We got people in Iraq whomurder the innocent to achieve theirpolitical objectives—andwe’ve gotAmericans,who heal the broken hearts oflittleIraqigirls.Oursisacompassionatenationthatbelievesintheuniversalityof freedom—and ours is a nation full of loving souls that when they find astranger in need will lend their God-given talents to help that stranger. Andthat’spreciselywhathappened.”

*Kelly Jarrard and Glenn Susskind flew with Amenah and her mother fromNashville back toAmman, Jordan.Then, for the last leg of the journey, fromAmmantoBaghdad,Kevindidn’thaveafemaleabletoaccompanythemotheranddaughter.So,with thesurgerysuccessfulandhercominghome,hehad tohead back to the family for another powwowwith the brothers, one he didn’twelcome,becausethelastonehadnearlyledtogunfire.He told them, “Listen. I havekeptmyword to you. I promisedyou that your

sisterMahawouldnotbedishonored.AndIhaveherandAmenahinAmman,Jordan. But I do not have anyone who can fly with them from Amman toBaghdad.Soyou’vegottwooptions.TheycanstayinAmman,andIdon’thaveanyway tocare for them,oryoucanpermither to fly the last legonaRoyalJordanianAirlinesunescorted.We’llflyherhomefromBaghdad.”Therewasahesitantmoment,thentheyfinallysaid,“Goahead,proceed.”Kevinknewhehaddonehisverybesttokeephisword.OnMarch7,KevinpickedupAmenah’sfather,AlaaThabit,andtheygrabbedaCH-53helicopterdowntotheMarinebaseinwesternIraq,AlAsad.TheretheygotontoaMarineaircraft, aC-130 toBaghdad,and landed inBaghdad.Theywere on the C-130, looking out the windows and saw the Royal JordanianAirlineplaneland.Soon,aBlackwatertruckcameacrossthetarmacandKevinandAlaaThabitsteppedouttogreetahealthy,pretty,andfarhappierAmenahwho shot across to dive into her father’s embrace.Kevin andMaha joined inwhatbecameatearfullyjoyfulgrouphugthatwentonuntilKevintoldAmenah,“Let’sgetyouhome.”In the lateafternoon,with thesunsettingover theEuphratesRiverValley, theMV-22OspreythattookthemthefinallegbacktoHadithalandedonasoccerfield,oncethecenterofciviclifeintheareaandnowalandingzone.AcheeringcrowdofIraqisawaitedthem.

Figure8AmenahandhermotheronthewaytoBaghdadwhenheadinghome


Figure9AmenahreunitedwithherfatheratBaghdad


PhotobySergeantShawnCoolman

Kevinwas thinking again about how only two years before, the insurgents inIraq had rounded up the officers of the police force the U.S. troops hadsupportedandbroughtthemtothissamestadiumandhadthembeheaded,thengavetheorderthatanyonewhotouchedthebodieswouldbesubjecttothedeathpenalty. So,when a helicopter landed to a cheering crowd of Iraqis and littleAmenah was carried off, clutching a pink bunny and being touched by hersiblings, and the stadiumwas filledonce againwith joy,Kevin felt itwas theperfect juxtaposition between the al Qaeda and America. Al Qaeda comesbringing death, tyranny, and terror,whereas theUnited States comes bringinglifeandliberty.

HeletAmenahandMahaandAlaaThabitgoontheirownbacktothevehicle,andhespentamomentjustsoakinginthescene.Backatthefamily’slittlehomejustnorthoftown,whereAmenah’sstoryhadstartedforhim,someoftheIraqibusinessmen in townhadput together ahuge feastwith tents andcelebrationsandalltherest,andtheyallspenttherestofthatnightreallysoakinginallthathadtranspired.Couldhehavedoneitalone?No,headmits.“Everyoneofthosedecisionsthatwasmadewastheresultofthetotalityofmyexperiencesthroughouteverythingthathadhappenedtomeuptothatpointinmylife,”hesaid.“Thereweremanypeoplewithoutwhoseeffortsatanygivenpointthisoperationwouldhavefallenapart.So,certainly thesituationwasmuchbigger thanme. Iwasprivileged to

playsomesmallpartandbegladforthat.”AsKevinJarrardputittoallofthem,“Wordsareinadequatetodescribemythankfulnesstoallofyouforyourrolesinthismission.Ifyouhaveneverpreviouslywitnessedamiracle—nowyouhave.SemperFidelisandGodBless.”WhatIsaMiracle?

Whenwethinkofamiracle,inamedicalcontextsuchasthis,weoftenthinkintermsofsomething likeamagicwandordivine intervention—oneminuteyouarevery,verysickandthenextmoment,POOF,youarebetter.Amiracleisalsosometimesthoughtofasaperceptibleinterruptionofthelawsofnature.Thatismorethecasehere.Alittlegirlwouldhavedied,butshedidn’t.

Amiracle can be a fortuitous event, which includes findingAmenah in time,assembling the means and people to move a Muslim child from a war zonealmosthalfwayaround theworld tostay inaChristiansouthernsetting, fixingher,andbringingherbacktoHaditha,Iraq,readytoliveahealthylife.Thisepitomizesamiracleasanystatisticallyunlikelybutbeneficialevent,suchassurvivingaterminalillnessand“beatingtheodds”whiledoingso.Justthinkof all the factors involved: local Iraqi prejudice against allowing women orchildren tobealonewithstrangers, thedifficultiesof transportinga terminallysick child out of awar zone and such a long distance, the risk if she died intransportorduringtheoperation,theneedtoraisemoneyfortravelbecausethemilitarycouldn’tfootthatbill,theneedforaninterpretertobridgethelanguagegap, a place to stay inAmerica, people to escort the child andmother to andfromIraqtocommercialflightsoutofJordan,andmanymorebumpsandcurvesintheroad.

Buttherealmiraclehereistheorchestrationofpeopleandresourcesalltosavethelifeofonelittlegirlfromacountrywherethousandshaddied.Moreover,allof thepeople involvedonboth sidesof theocean inmaking thishappenweredifferent,thoughtdifferently,andwentabouttheirlivesbasedonvariedthinkingstylesandapproaches.That’swhatweareabouttoexploreingreaterdepth—thekindofthinkingthatyoucanuseinyourownlife.Youwillfindthatwhenyouchange your thinking, you can revolutionize your career...and that’s amiracleworthdesiringandlookinginto,asyouwillhere.

Chapter1.HowYourMindWorks—SomeAssemblyRequired

Thinking is somethingwealldo, soyoumighthaveassumedothers justdo itbetterthanyou,oratleastdifferently.Well,youmightbepartiallyright—forthemoment.Buthere’sthereallyhugething.Youcangetbetteratit.Thinkingisaskill,notaninherentgift,soit’ssomethingyoucanimproveupon.That’sright.You can get really quite good at it. People who you admire—like those in“Amenah’s Story,” who step up and take action based on taking careful andconsidered steps, who can weigh risk, and who live fuller, richer lives as aconsequence—representthekindofpersonyoucanbecome.Take, forexample, themedicalpeople.WhenCaptainJohnNadeau,Dr.KarlaChristian,orDr.ThomasDoyleleaptoaction,theydosobystudyingeverythingtheycanlearnaboutapatientorasituation.Theyproceedwithhastewhentheymust, but with caution when they can. Yet each has a different background,home life, and, for that matter, way they go about thinking. John is ahypertensionspecialistforadults,whereasKarla isapediatriccardiacsurgeon,andThomas is a pediatric cardiologist. InNashville,Karla andThomas facedsurprising challenges in fixing Amenah, but they were working within thegroove of their specialties, the core of their practiced expertise. John, on theother hand, is used to having to make do in quite diversified settings—oneminute attending to the needs of adults in a combat setting and in the nextminute,figuringoutwhatiswrongwithalittlegirlandwhattodoaboutit.Hehasthekindofmindthatsays,“Hey,ifeveryMarinehadsomeofthelife-savingtechniquesofamedic,morelivesofAmericanMarinescouldbesaved.Howdowegoaboutmakingthathappen?”Consider also that the contexts of the problems needing resolutionwere quitedifferent. John had to decide:What’s wrong with this child? Can it be fixedhere?Wherecanitbefixed?Howdowegoabout that?KarlaandThomas,atVanderbilt’s Children’s Hospital, had a different situation: How do we repairthisgirl’sheartandbodysoshecanlivethebestlifepossibleinaplacewhereongoingorfuturemedicalhelpwon’tbeavailable?Whetheryouthinklifeinthemedicalfieldisoutsideyourgrasp,orevenifthat’s

exactlywhereyouareheaded,youwillneedtohoneyourthinkingskillstobe,asJohnis,readyforanything.IfyouarelikeGlennSusskindandGaryWhite,themedics in the extraction teamwho escortedAmenah toAmerica, you aregoingtohavetofacesituationswheremultiplescenariosarepossible,andyouhave to be prepared for each.Or youmight even be like Janet Jarrard,MajorKevin Jarrard’s aunt who was peacefully minding her own business inTennesseewhenshewassuddenlycalledupontomakenumerousandcomplexpreparationsinaveryshorttimeframe.Youmightevenbeinamanagerialroleand ask yourself, as Lieutenant Colonel David Bellon did, “How can I workwithin a system that has a rigid hierarchy and established protocols and givethosewhoreporttometheopportunitiestosparkleatwhattheydobytestingthebarriersofwhatcanbedoneandwhatshouldbedone?”The thing you can take away from all the stories of the varied participants in“Amenah’s Story” is that they all put their minds to work, and their quitedifferentwaysofgoingaboutthatthinkinganddoingiswhatwovethetapestrythatmade amiracle happen.No one of them could have done this alone, andtheyallhadtoworkintheiruniquewaysandtotheirownstrengths.Thesewerepeoplelikeyouperformingextraordinaryfeatsbyworkingtogether,usingtheirmindstoachieveagreatergood.

You think all the time, and whether you know it or not, you have a distinctthinkingstyle,awayofgoingaboutwhatyoudo.Ifyou’veeverthoughtyou’dliketobetterunderstandhowthatworksor,moreimportant,improveuponyourthinkingabilitiesinawaythatcantransformyourlife,youaretakingtherightstepseekingtoexploreyourpossibilitiesforbecomingthebestthinkeryoucanbe.To understand how, let’s take a look at three important areas of your mind:dreams, feelings, and thinking. This trinity of themind is like a three-personrowingteam.Youhavedreamscallingoutdirectionwhilethinkingandfeelingdotherowing.Whenallthreeareinsync,youglidethroughlife.Ofcourse,theyarenotalwaysinperfectsynchrony,solet’slookmorecarefullyattheroleeachplays.Dreams

Thehospital’swallsleanedorhadfallenintothestructurallyriskyshamblesofa

buildingintheburnedcity,withnolinenforitsfourorfivebeds,nomonitoringequipment, and no heating or cooling system.When sick babies came in, theICU was a room with a small heating/air conditioning unit in the window.Patients had to bring their own linen and food.Medicines and supplies camefromRamadi and often didn’t arrive at all. Therewere no immunizations andsome patients could be seen in the plaza getting their chests listened to andhavingprescriptionswritten.Mostofthepublichealthclinicshadbeenbombedand lay in rubble, andwhere the shellsof thoseexisted,peoplehad stolen thetoilets,theelectricalwires,everythingthatcouldbestrippedoutofthebuildings.That was the medical system Captain John Nadeau saw when he arrived inHaditha, Iraq. But that’s not what he saw in his mind. He could picture afunctioning system, able to deliver far better health care in clean, functioningenvironments.Hehadavision,adream,andhedecidedhewoulddosomethingaboutit.ThehospitalhadbeenrightinthemiddleofthefightinginthedaysofSaddamHussein. “Thewing of the hospital that held their kitchen, their laundry, theirpharmacyhadbeenblownupandburnedduringthewar,”Johnsaid.Wheretheydid their surgeries, “the cement from the roof was falling into the operatingtheater.”Whenhemetwiththepeoplethereandaskedhowhecouldhelp,theytoldhimtheywantedofficefurniture.Johntoldthem,“We’renotbuyingofficefurniture.”TheywantedaCTscanner.Hesaid,“Look,youareinthemiddleofnowhere, and you need a basic hospital, not CT scanners. Number one, youdon’thavearadiologisttoreadCTscans.Youdon’thaveanytechnicianstorunthem.Youdon’thaveanyonewhowillsupportthemandtheybreakdownallthetime.SiemensisnotcomingtoHadithawheretheirtechnicianmightgetkilled.Youdon’tneedahigh-techmachinethatyoucan’tuse.”Just before thewar, a high-tech sterilizingmachine hadbeendelivered.But itneeded compressed air, which they didn’t have, and it needed water underpressure,which theydidn’thave—water camedown from the roofbygravity.Johnwouldwalkthedoctorsdowntothesterilizerthatcouldn’twork.Hewouldpoint at the nice but useless-in-its-contextmachine sitting there and he’d say,“ThisiswhatyourCTscannerwillbelike.You’renotreadyforthis.Whydon’twetalkaboutwhatbasicthingsyouneedtogetyourhospitalupandrunningsoyoucanactuallylookafterpeopleandprovidebasichealth-careservices?”YounodoubtgettheimpressionthatJohnwasa“keepitreal”sortofdreamer.Hesays,“We,infact,designedabasic,no-frillshospital,andspentalotoftimewith the doctors working on the blueprint.” As for the clinics, he left Iraq a

betterplacethere,too.“IwentoutandhiredanIraqiengineer,andheandIwentoutandwebuilttwoclinicsbeforeIleft,”hesaid,“wegotthemrunning,wegotthewatering system towork,we got electricity,we painted them,we cleanedthemup,andwegotthemworkingagain.”Thereyouhaveit,fromdreamtocompletion.ItwasthesameforMajorKevinJarrard,who saw a little girl turning blue, gasping,who could barelymake itacross the room. Yet he dared to picture this terminally ill child well, andbetween the spanofDecember of 2007 andMarchof 2008, that happened.Ahealthy,mischievous, grinning girl came home to Iraq. Itwas that image thatdrove him to send a flurry of e-mails to Kelly Jarrard, Janet Jarrard, andJonathanMallochwhenhopeforgettingAmenahtoAmericasputteredattimes.

The depth of dreams has inspired individuals, nations, and generations.Mostfamously,Dr.MartinLutherKing,Jr.,hadadream,whichbecameapowerfulvisionandchangedthebehaviorofanentirecountry.Weallhavedreams,goals,andaspirationsthatmotivateusthroughoutourlivesanddeterminethepathwetake.Thesedreamsguideusinwhatwechoosetodoandwhenwechoosetodoit.Yourdreammightbebetterwork-lifebalance,financialsecurity,oragenuinelyhappyfamily.Thinkaboutdreamsthatareimportanttoyou,getsomepaperandapen,findaquietplace,andaskyourselfwhy.Forexample,ifyouarehighlymotivated tobesuccessful inyourcareer,ask,“Whyis this important tome?”Writedownyouranswers,thendigalittledeeper,andaskagain.Youranswersmightcenteronfinancialneeds,recognition,achievement,helpingothers,ortheability to see the world. Don’t filter what you write because the answers areimportantonlytoyou.Thepointis,ifyouarespending60hoursaweekatwork(yourbehavior)andyouaredoingitbecauseyouwantasuccessfulcareer(yourdream),makesureyouknowwhyyouwantasuccessfulcareer.

Gettingclearaboutwhatmattersmosttoyou,reallyunderstandingyourdreamsand your values, is essential because dreams determine the direction of yourbehavior.Theabilitytostepbackandtakeperspectiveispossibleonlyifthereisa solid bedrock of values and vision to stand on. If your dreams aren’t clear,your direction won’t be clear. It will be left, right, no left again. To fullyleverageyourthinkingskills,youneedtoknow,atthecore,whatisimportantinyour lifeandwhat’snot.Thinkingandfeelingworkbetter togetherwhenyour

dreamsareclearandconsistent.Feelings

Ah,emotions.Howtheymakeyourlifeworthliving!Andhowtheycanjustasreadilygetinyourway.

You have probably experienced the emotional reaction of losing your cool orblowing up, and then after calming down saying to yourself, “What was Ithinking?”Theanswer is that thereprobablywasn’tmuch thoughtgoingonatallbecausefeelingswereinyourdriver’sseat.Whenfeelingsarepositive,theydriveus.KevinJarrard’sfirstlookatAmenahwasatugathisheartthatmadehimwanttotakeaction—itinitiatedadreamofawellandhealthyAmenah,somethingthatcametopass.

Feelingscreatemomentumandspeed,whichisnecessarytogoforwardandtakeaction. Remember the first time you fell in love? It was exhilarating,intoxicating,andallconsuming.Youhadbutterfliesinyourstomach,yourheartbeat faster, and your body tingled. Itwas awonderful experience.That singleemotion pushed your behavior—powerfully drove your behavior—in manydifferentways,butmostnotablytowardthepersonyouloved.Yet,feelingscanbeverypowerful,andlikeanuntamedhorse,hardtoride.Emotions can better help you achieve a dream when they are under control,whichiseasytosaybuthardtodo.ThinkofhowtherationalleaderLieutenantColonelDavidBellon actedwhenoneof his hand-pickedmen,Kevin Jarrard,cametohimwithamissionthatwasdrivenbyemotion.IthelpedthatKevinhadgiventhematterconsiderablethought,andhadconsultedwithNadeau,knowntobeacarefulandsystematicthinker.

David Bellon was no stranger to emotional issues. When soldiers are in theheatedlineofduty,emotionscanbeverynearthesurface.Whenthesoldiersgohome to America after their duty, they have to act civilly, in control of theiremotions. Bellon knew they needed to be just as in charge of their emotionswhileinIraq.Infact,thatwaspartofhisvision,hisdream.

When he recently discussed the state of mind he was in that caused him toencourageJarrardinhisAmenahquest,hesaidheknewheneededtotrainhissoldiers to dealwith their feelings, so theywouldmake the right decisions inemotionally charged situations. He described how feelings can flash when ayoungMarine isonpatrol,asheput it,“thosemomentswhenyou’reenraged,butyoustillconductyourselfwithmeasureddisciplineandcompassion.”Bellon andMark Lamelza shared that dream: to take a group of young menthroughanexperiencethatwasprobablygoingtobeviolentandtraumaticandtoreturn them back to their families and their communities as better husbands,fathers,brothers, andcitizens.David’s twoprior tourshadbeen tough—losingyoungmen andwomen todeath and life-altering injuries. Inhis third tour, hewanted—heneeded—tomakesurethateverysoldierhadmoralclarity.HeandMarkspentalotoftimeindoctrinatingthesoldierswithaclearmessageof“whoweare.”Somewhereinthefuture,Davidsaid,hedidn’twantoneofhissoldierssittinginacoffeehousesomeplaceinPaloAltoexperiencingangstover“whowewere.”Instead,heandMarkweredeterminedthatthebattalionwasgoingtostepintothisendeavorwithmoralcertainty,quiteconfidentabout“whoweareandhowmuchwecantake.”DavidandMark’sdreamreverberatedthroughthe3rdbattalionand,undoubtedly,guidedthebehaviorsofeverysingleMarine.Thisstance,totakethemoralhighgroundwhenpossible,isinlargepartbehindthe impetus to allowKevin Jarrard to start the chain of seemingly impossibleevents that resulted in Amenah returning to her home in Iraq healed. And,becausetheMarinemissionatthetimewastoshiftcontrolofthecountrybacktotheIraqipeople,tobondwiththem,tointeractwiththem,thisturnedouttobeaverysage,emotionallydrivendreamtoencourage.AsNadeauputit,“Wegotmore traction from helping that little girl with the people of Haditha thanprobablyanythingelsewedid.”Feelingsdonotneedtobeattheintensitylevelofragetooverridethinkingandinfluence our behavior. A study done by neuroscientist Alan Sanfey at theUniversityofArizonaillustratesthepoint.1Thestudyusedasimplenegotiationgame inwhichoneplayerhas to split$10witha secondplayer. In thisgame,let’ssayJaneisthefirstplayerandJoeisthesecondplayer.JanecanofferJoeanyamount,fromzeroto$10,andshecankeepthechange,butonlyifJoeacceptstheoffer.IfJoerejectstheoffer,neitherofthemgetsanymoney.

According to game theory and common sense, Joe should accept the offer nomatter how low it is because getting some money is better than getting nomoney. That is rational, reward-driven behavior, right?Well, it doesn’t workthatway.Here iswhathappens.As theoffergetsdowntoacoupleofdollars,the people in Joe’s role consistently turn down the offer and forego the freemoney.IfyouputyourselfinJoe’sshoes,youknowthereason—peoplegetmadatcheapskateoffers,andwouldratherhavenothingthanacoupleofdollars.The really interestingpartof this research is that the investigatorsmapped thebrainoftheplayerswhiletheywereplaying.Astheoffersbecameincreasinglyunfair,aregioninthebrainthatistiedtonegativeemotions,suchasangeranddisgust, became more active. When this region became more active than theregioninthebrainthatdrivesgoal-orientedreasoning,playersrejectedtheoffer.Feelingsoverruledthinkingandsentaresoundingmessage:“Youcheapjerk.Ifyou can’t be fair, then you’ll lose, even if it costs me, too.” You might beinclined to attribute the rejected offer to principle or sense of fair play, butmagneticimagingsuggeststhatfeelingsdrovebehavior.

Let’s takeone last look at feelings that are so subtlewedon’t even recognizetheiroccurrence,buttheystillimpactbehavior.ThisexampleisaGordianknot.Social science research consistently shows that we have a tendency to fearpeople who are different from ourselves.Wemight not think of ourselves asprejudiced, but at a physiological level,we do show a fear reaction to peoplewhoaredifferentfromourselves.Indiscriminantevolutionarycuesaresignalingus that differentmeans dangerous.Wewouldn’t recognize the feeling as fear,butinsteadmightdrawagutconclusionthatwedon’tliketheperson.Inaglobalworldthatisbecomingclosereachday,peopleneedtobeawareofunconsciousbiases like this. Theway to cut theGordian knot is to recognize that feelingsoperateinthisfashion.Whenfeelingsrowmuchharderandfasterthanthinking,itcreatesanimbalance,andyoutypicallyhavetroublemakinggoodjudgments.Thatdoesn’tmeanyoushould try to repress your feelings as if they were Victorian-era vices. Thatwon’twork—they justwon’t behave, so thebest practice is to recognizeyourfeelings and the important role theyplay so that theywork foryouandare inconcertwithyourthinking.Thinking

ForsomeonelikeJonathanMalloch,thinkingisaregulardayatworkandawayoflife.Hehadtofindthesafest,yetmostaffordablewaytogetAmenahtoandfrom America with minimal risk to his colleagues. Chartering a Galaxy 6 orhiring the air medical agencies was out of financial reach, no matter howenergetically Janet andKellywere gathering donations. This is someonewhochartseverystepofaprocessandhascontingentplansBandCforeachstep.Hehad to deal with the state department, which offered little real support andbasically said, “Weknowyou’re coming. Just don’tmess this up.”He had tostudy and rehearse all the Muslim custom issues with his extraction teamcolleagues.Andhewasreadytopulltheplugonhisteam’sinvolvementiftheriskgrewtoogreat,whichitdidatonepointuntilBlackwaterWorldwideagreedtohelpescorttheteam.

Aside from tournament chess players, few people have to study as manypermutationsofasituationasJonathandid.Butthinking,whenpoweredbyyourdreamsandfeelings,canbeaverypowerfulaspectofyourlife.Thinkingisthethirdmemberoftherowingteam,andbuildingthinkingskillsiswhatthisbookisreallyabout.Thankstoyourthinkingside,youcananticipate,plan,invent,innovate,contemplate,anddecide.Onadailybasis,whenyouaresizing up situations, gathering information, weighing alternatives, andconsideringconsequences,youareusing thismarvelous sideofyourmind. Itscapabilitiesareboundless,soyoucancontinuallygetbetteratthinking.Fromanevolutionaryperspective, reasoned reflective thinkingdeveloped fairly recentlyandishousedinthenewestpartofourbrain,andlikeashinynewcomputer,itcanprocessalotofinformationandpurposefullydrivebehavior.Thinkingplaysa key role in recognizing and evaluating life-changing opportunities, solvingcomplicatedproblems,andmakingwisedecisions.

Anotherroleofthinkingistoactasanemergencybrakewhenfeelingsruntoofast.Theconnectionbetweenprimitivefeelingsandbehaviortendstooccurveryquickly,sointhissituationthekeyonthethinkingsideistobeabletorapidlyrecognize and label those feelings. It is a reactive position, analogous to anemergency situation where rapid recognition and response is necessary. Thepurpose is togaina footholdand interrupt the flowofemotion.Ofcourse, themajorityofsituationsinourdailylivesaremoremundaneandthinkingcanandshould play a proactive role in howwe behave.Accessing your thinking side

acrosseverydaysituationswillgreatlyenhanceyourlife,allowingyoutobeincontrol,shapingintentionalbehavior,andmovinginapositivedirection.Developingyourthinkingwillalsogiveyouahighlysought-afterskillthatisinshort supply. Employers and educators in our country are waving red flagsbecause employees and students are not demonstrating the kind of thinking ittakes to meet the demands of a rapidly changing world that requiresresponsiveness and independent judgment. A nationwide survey of employershighlights the extent of the problem; among employees new to theworkforce,under30percentofthosewithacollegedegree,only4percentofthosewithatwo-year degree, and none of those with a high school degree were rated aspossessing excellent critical thinking skills. 2 Those numbers suggest a gapbetween capabilities and demands that needs to close to sustain societalwell-beingandprosperity.

As you can see from Amenah’s story, good thinking can shape miracles, orsupport them as they unfold. By developing your thinking, you can positionyourselftomeetthedemandsofacomplexworld,and,inturn,youcanuseyournewfound talent to positively impact the world with inspired dreams anddedicatedachievements.Summary

Inthischapter,youputthepiecestogether,learningwhypeoplebehavethewaytheydoandhowdreams,thoughts,andfeelingsworktogethertodetermineouractions and behaviors. Understanding how yourmindworks is critical at thatverymomentwhenyouareabout toactandyouneed todecide if thinkingorfeelingswillruntheshow.Youneedcleardreamssothatyouhavearoadmapthat points you in the right direction. Understanding how your feelings workallows you to use them to your advantage. They are like an eccentric familymember—youlove themandneedthemeventhoughtheyembarrassyoufromtimetotime—soit’sbesttoacknowledgetheirexistenceandgettoknowthemwell.Andfinally,thinkingisyouraceinthehole.Itisanunlimitedresourcethatyoucanharnesstoimprovethequalityofyourlifeandthelivesofthosearoundyou.EndnotesandReferences

1.Sanfey,AlanG.,J.K.Rilling,J.A.Aronson,L.E.Nystrom,andJ.D.Cohen. 2003. The neural basis of economic decision-making in theultimatumgame.Science300:1755–58.

2.AreTheyReallyReady toWork?EmployersPerspectiveson theBasicKnowledge and Applied Skills of New Entrants to the 21st Century USWorkforce.2006.StudyconductedbyTheConferenceBoard,Partnershipfor21stCenturySkills,CorporateVoices forWorkingFamilies,and theSocietyforHumanResourceManagement.

Damasio, Antonio. 1994.Descartes’ error: Emotion, reason, and the humanbrain.NewYork:AvonBooks.

Chapter2.ANewWayofThinking

Jonathan Malloch made numerous calls and sat down several times with theextraction team of Glenn Susskind and Gary White as they scrutinized lists,charts,andcostsheetstodeterminethefeasibilityandbestwaysoftransportingAmenah toNashville.AsGaryput it, “Youdon’t justhoponaplaneand runovertoIraqandbringagirlback.”Therewerealotofmovingpartstoconsider,sotheywenttowork,identifyingthemostcrucialquestions:Couldthechildfly,did they have the logistic ability to get from the Iraq border toAmman,whattype of air transportation was needed (e.g., air ambulance), what type oftransportation was possible given the costs, how would they transport theirmedical equipment through international airport security, and howwould theysecureaninterpreter?

They didn’t waste time with irrelevant questions, and they didn’t overlook asingle crucial detail or possibility as they assessed risks, probabilities, andoptions.Theywereexpertthinkersinthisarena,allhavingservedprofessionallyaspartoftheDisasterMedicalAssistanceTeam,whichisnowhousedundertheDepartmentofHealthandHumanServices.Theirexperienceandexpertisecamefromworking together in crisis situations, such as the immediate aftermath ofHurricane Katrina. Some of their expertise had to do with their medicalbackground and training, but their experience also came from having to thinkthroughemergencysituations;toworkeffectivelywithambiguous,inconsistent,and incomplete information; to make the best possible judgments given thecircumstances;andtoplaneffectivelyundertimepressures.An expert in any field learns to organize and group information aroundprinciples.That allows theexpert toquicklydraw informationwhenheor sheneedsit.Doctorsseeasymptom,scanthroughadatabaseintheirheads,andaska series of questions to quickly winnow down the possible causes. PeytonManning can scan a football field, see opportunities and risks, andmake snapdecisionswithgreatsuccess.Anoviceorganizesinformationinamorerandomand error-prone fashion. By putting a thinking model in your head, you areorganizingimportantstepsandinformation,whichhelpsyoulearnmorequicklyandefficiently.Amodel, likea recipe,helpsyousee the ingredientsandsteps

for success.So, let’s lookat five stepsofamodel thatcanbecomeavaluablepartofyourownthinking.FiveStepstoNewThinking

1.StopandThink

AfterDavidBellonlistenedtoKevinJarrard’sproposal,hewalkedbacktothebase,whichtookaboutanhour.HethoughtaboutKevin—washeonhisgame?HethoughtaboutDr.Nadeauandtheexpertisehebroughttothesituation,theirmission in Haditha, and his and Mark’s dream of moral certainty for theirsoldiers.Heprocessedandhereflectedinthesolitudeofthenight.Bythetimehearrivedat thebase,hehadsizedup the situation,knewwhathisnext stepswouldbe, andanticipated thathis rolewouldbeoneof strategyand influencewithhighercommand.

JanetJarrard,Kevin’sauntbackinTennessee,wasaPRspecialist.Butshewasfaced with an unusual conundrum. She needed to solicit funds to finance thetransportationofAmenah,hermother, an extraction team, aswell as a femaleescort.Butshecouldn’tuseanyofthebesttoolsofpublicrelations.Shecouldn’tinitiateamediaeventabletogarnerattentionandfunds,norcouldsheuseanyofthelatestsocialmediatools,allofwhichcouldmakehertaskfareasier.Ifwordgotouttoosoon,AmenahandhermothermightnevermakeitoutofIraq.Theirliveswouldbeatrisk.She’dalsobeenaskedtoorganizethemedicalextractionteamandhelpfindafemaleescortforthemotherandsickchild.SoJanethadtopauseandconsiderpossibilities.Itwasalldaunting,andsomeofitwasalittleoverherhead.Whatcouldshedo?Howcouldshegoaboutallofthis,yetdoitinthequietestandmosteffectivewaypossible?Whenfacedwith the impossible, it’softenbest tostartwith thesmall stepsofwhatispossible.Oncesheweighedheroptions,aquiete-mailflurrytoallherfriendsandacquaintancesseemedtheonlyrealwaytostartagrassrootsfireabletosweepinfundsandsolicithelpwiththeharderpartsofthemission.Intime,the pieces began to fall into place. Her friend Lisa Van Wye, a nurse fromBowlingGreen,Kentucky, offered to be the female escort from Jordan to thestates.DeannaDolan,ofWorldRelief,roundedupaninterpreterandledJanettotheBergers,whoofferedtheirhomeasaplacetostay,whiletheGraceChapel

ChurchinLieper’sFork,Tennessee,startedtohelpgatherfunds.And,pivotaltothemostdauntingtaskofall,JonathanMallochgotintouchwithherandsaid,“What can I do?” That completed the missing parts of the puzzle as theimpossible,inthewayofsuchmiracles,startedtolookprettydarndoable.

Beingabletostopandthinkisareflectiveskill;itistheabilitytostopandfigureoutwhattypeofthinkingskillyouneedatthispointintime.Whenyoudothis,you are actively taking control of your thinking. The situation might be lifechanging,anunproductivedebatewithyourteenager,aproblematwork,oranentrepreneurialopportunity.Thesituationdoesnotmatter—theprocessremainsthe same. You stop and think about your thinking so that you can apply thecorrectstrategyforthesituation.Hereareafewsimple,butessentialreflectivequestionstoaskyourself: •What is going on here (orwithme)? Stop and define the situation and

gaugeyourfeelings.NoticethatthefirststepforbothLieutenantColonelBellonandGaryWhitewasto“sizeupthesituation.”

•WhatamI(arewe)tryingtoaccomplish?Stopanddefineyourpurposeorgoal. Keeping your purpose, goal, or dream at the forefront preventsderailmentandkeepsfeelingsincheck.

• What type of situation is this? Stop and figure out if it is urgent orimportant.Most situations are not urgent or extremely important.Whentheyare,youwant tobe ready toapplyyour thinking skills.When theyaren’t,youdon’twanttowasteenergybytreatingthemliketheyare.

• Do I need to knowmore? Determine if you needmore information toanswerwhat(facts),when,why(thecontext),orhow(process)questions.Doyouneedmoreinformationtodetermineifthereisaneedtoplan,tomonitor,ortoevaluate?

By thinking reflectively, you put yourself in a position to identify the realproblem,orputsmallproblemsinperspectivesothatyoudon’twastevaluabletimeandenergy.Askingyourselfreflectivequestionsimprovesyourawarenessandfocusesyourthinking.Itallowsyoutoapplywhatyoualreadyknowtothesituationathand.LearntoStopandThink

Thebestwaytobecomebetteratstoppingandthinkingistopickoneactivity,for example, meetings at work or the times when you review your finances.Chooseanysituationwhereyouwanttothinkmoredeeply.Asyouapproachthesituation, stop and ask a few reflective questions. (For example: What am Itryingtoaccomplish?Whichthinkingstylewouldbemosthelpfulhere?Whatismyemotional temperature rightnow?)Don’t rushyour answers;giveyourselftimetoprocessathoughtfulresponse.

It ismorechallenging to stopand thinkwhen thestakesarehigh.Whenabigdecision is on the table or a conflict is in play, feelings often come to theforefront and exert too much influence. One way to prepare for these high-pressuremoments is tosetaside time to thinkaboutasignificantoremotionalmoment that occurred previously in your life. Run instant replay; play thatmomentinyourheadlikeamotionpicture.Mentallypausethepictureandaskyourselfreflectivequestions.Youarenottryingtochangethepast,butinsteadyouwanttorehearseandpracticenewthinkingattherightmoment.Usingapasteventisasafewaytopracticesothatyoucanpreparetodoitsuccessfullywhenthenextbigsituationarises.Youarecueingandrehearsingsothatyouwillbeready.2.RecognizeAssumptions1

IfyougototheRitzCarlton,you’llgetgreatcustomerserviceandifyoubuyaHonda, itwill be a reliable car. These are common assumptions based on thereputation of the companies. Assumptions, statements, or beliefs that youassume to be true operate almost automatically, so you take them for grantedwithoutcheckingthefacts.Theyareusefulbecausetheysaveyoutime.Ifyoudidn’tmake assumptions, youwould be forever checking every single fact ineverysingle instance. Inessence,youwouldbe repeatedlyand forever saying,“HowdoIknowthattobetrue?”Yourlifewouldgrindtoahalt.

Theproblemwithassumptions is thatsometimes theyarewrong.Not too longago,leadingfashionretailerGapInc.decidedtolaunchanewlogotorefreshitsbrand.Theoldlogohadbeeninplacefordecadesandthecompanyassumedamore contemporary image was needed. Unfortunately, it didn’t check itsassumption and the online community condemned the move. After only one

week, Gap Inc. recalled the new logo and brought back the old one. Whenassumptions arewrong, they send you down a dead-end track, and you don’teven know you are heading in the wrong direction, which can be a costlymistake.Theability to recognizeassumptionswillhelpyouavoidpitfalls, andthebestplacetostartistounderstandwhereassumptionscomefrom.Personalexperience is themostcommonsourceofanassumptionandit is themostdifficulttorecognize.Weholdbeliefsandmakeassumptionsbasedonourculture,background,andexperience.Doyoufavorhealth-carereform?Doyouknowwhyyouholdthisbelief?Weseethroughtheeyesofourownexperience,andwedon’tknowwhatwedon’tknow.

GaryWhite,GlennSusskind, andLisaVanWyeprepared for their trip to theIraqborderbyreviewingaculturebriefthatwaspreparedbytheDepartmentofNavy Intelligence. They reviewed proper protocol related to religious andcultural practices in the region and specifically within Amenah’s tribe. Theyreceived an additional briefing, courtesyofBlackwaterWorldwide, onhow toprepareforthetripfromtheIraqbordertoAmman,includinghowtodress,howto comb their hair, and how to avoid unexpected behaviors. Any assumptionbased on theirAmerican experiencemight cause a problem in a situation thathad no room for error. TheywereAmerican civilians and thiswas dangerousterrainforthem.Furthermore,theywouldbedealingwithasicktoddlerwhodidnotspeakEnglish,andtheydidn’twanttodoanythingthatmightunnecessarilyupset her.A fear-based tantrumor agitationwould drain precious oxygen thatshecouldn’taffordtowaste.LearntoRecognizeAssumptions

Distinguish fact from opinion. That isn’t as easy as it looks.When you hearsomeonesay,“MacsareeasiertousethanPCs,”doyounodinagreement?Mostofusdo,butthatstatementisanopinionthatneedstobetested(e.g.,byaskingforwhomand inwhich applications).Popularopinions are the trickyones, soseehowgoodyoucanbecomeatdistinguishingfactsandopinionsasyoulistentopeople,watchthenews,andsurftheInternet.Theabilitytodistinguishfactsfromopinionswillhelpyourecognizeassumptions.

Identifystatedversusunstatedassumptions.Statedassumptionsareexplicitand

youseethemallofthetimeinprojectplansandcontracts:“Joshcancompletetheprojectintwoweeks,assumingheworksfull-timeontheproject.”Bystatingtheassumption,everyoneknowswhatisrequired(hewon’tbeabletoworkonanything else). Stating assumptions increases clarity, quantifies risk, and is agoodwaytomanageyourworkload.Unstatedassumptionsarewheretroubleusuallybegins.Indatingrelationships,couplessometimesholdverydifferentassumptionsaboutwhat itmeans to“betogether” or to “take a break.” Romantic comedies bank on this type ofmisunderstandingandmiscommunication.Unstatedassumptionsrunrampantinprojectsandfinancialdealsgoneawryandtheirconsequencescanbeserious.

Most of the volunteers in “Amenah’s Story,” with the exception of JonathanMalloch,didnotreallyunderstandthecomplexityassociatedwithoneveryshortportionofthetrip—the280milesbetweenAmman,Jordan,andtheIraqborder.They assumed it would be difficult, but they had no idea how difficult. Forexample,therewerenumerouscheckpointsalongtheroadbetweenAmmanandthe border, each with long lines of vehicles waiting to pass through thecheckpoint.Glennnotedthattheyhadn’tanticipatedthiseventbecauseitisnotsomethingyouseeinAmerica.Theyhadassumedamoreexpedientroute,and,thankfully, their Blackwater escort was able to bypass the lines. Glennacknowledged that extra hours going through checkpointswouldhavemade itvirtually impossible for them to keep Amenah stable without depleting theirmedicalsuppliesonthefirstpartofthejourney.The Marines weren’t anticipating near-blizzard conditions as Kevin and thefamilyflewfromHadithatotheIraqiborder.Itwasanextremelyunusualevent,andmilitarypeopleservingintheregionatthattimeoftenrefertothisJanuaryday in2008as“theday it snowed in thedesert.”Understandably, theMarineshad assumed that weather conditions would bewithin a normal range for theregion, and had not planned for delays that extreme weather can cause.Fortunately,thisunstatedassumptiondidnotderailtheproject,butweatherdidcomeclosetoshuttingdowntheirtransportationplans.

It is not easy to recognize unstated assumptions, sowe invite you to practice.Canyou identify theunstatedassumption in thisstatement?“Weneedabetterrecycling program at work. It is important to increase awareness of greeninitiatives in our company.” Think about what is being implied. The unstated

assumptionisthatabetterrecyclingprogramwillincreaseawareness.Onceyourecognizeanassumption,youcanevaluateit.Maybeabetterrecyclingprogramwill increase awareness, maybe it won’t, or maybe something else would bemore effective. If you state the assumption (I assume that a better recyclingprogram will increase awareness of green initiatives at work), you are morelikelytoevaluateitcorrectly.3.EvaluateInformation

Beforeyoucanjumponanopportunity,youneedtoevaluateitsmerits.Whenyou are trying to choose between alternatives, you need to sort through theirrelativestrengthsandweaknesses.Tomakeagoodchoice,youneedtoevaluateinformation. The good news is that information is farmore accessible than itused to be. The bad news is that our society is now swimming in a sea ofinformation and misinformation. It can feel overwhelming, and to copeeffectively,youneedasystematicapproach.

Beforeevaluatinginformation,besureyouclarifythesituation(stopandthink)sothatyouknowwhat’sgoingon,whatyouaretryingtoaccomplish,andwhattype of situation it is. This helps you determine howmuch andwhat type ofinformation to gather and evaluate. Try to root out vague and ambiguouslanguage.Whenyouhearphraseslike,“Ijustwanttobehappy”or“wewantawin-winoutcome,”you’vegotvagueandambiguousgoals.Clarifybeforeyoumove forward. It takes time to gather information, so knowwhat you need tolookfor(andwhatyoudon’t)beforeyoustart.IsItRelevantandAccurate?

WhatdidJanetJarrard,JonathanMalloch,andMarkLamelzahaveincommon,besidestheirsharedgoaltohelpAmenah?Theyeachneededtoclearlydescribewhat success would look like so they could gather and evaluate the rightinformation.ForJanet,thekeystosuccesswererelatedtoadequatefundingandresources (e.g., to pay for airline tickets, to secure housing, to get a femaleescort,tolocateafemaleinterpreterinNashville).ForJonathan,itwasthesafetyof the civilian medical team and their patient. For Mark Lamelza, it wasmaintainingsecurityandgovernanceoperationsintheregionwithoutdisruption.Toevaluate information,youneedtohaveaframeworkaroundwhichyoucan

organize the information. Janet, Jonathan, andMark each startedwith criteriathatallowedthemtoefficientlyevaluateinformationrelatedtotheirpartoftheoperation.Assoonasyouhavecriteriaora“keysforsuccess”checklistinplace,youcanusetwosimplequestions toevaluate information.Thefirstquestioncentersontherelevanceoftheinformation.Sometimespeoplegetofftracksortingthroughirrelevantinformation,andthecommonconsequenceistofeeloverwhelmedorconfused.Asyou review information, youwillwant to askyourself, over andoveragain,“Isitrelevantbasedonmykeysforsuccess?”Kevin and his colleagues needed to get tribal permission forAmenah and hermother totravel toAmericaandtherewereseveraldifferentgroupsinHadithatrying to influence the outcome. Rumors floated around and Kevin and hiscolleaguescertainlyneededtobeawareofpoliticalinfluences,buttheycouldn’tkeep tabs on all of the information that was bubbling up. They needed todeterminewhichinformationwasrelevantandwhichwasn’t,sotheyfocusedonthe person who would ultimately make the decision, the tribal sheik. Theyevaluated information related to the al-Jughayfi tribe’s Sheik Said FlayahOthman’sviewpoint,tryingtobefullyawareofwhatthesheikknewandwhatheconsideredimportantbecausehecouldgivethego-ahead.Theydirectedtheirprecious time and attention toward evaluating the information that matteredmost.

Nowlet’sgotothesecondsimplequestion:Isitaccurate?Beonthelookoutforinformation that sounds accurate, but is vague. Notice the difference between“Doctors recommend Zymbia.” and “A survey of the American MedicalAssociation showed that 87 percent of the doctors surveyed recommendedZymbia.”Itiseasiertoevaluatetheaccuracyofthesecondexample.Watchoutfor popular opinions (e.g., Macs are easier to use than PCs). They might beaccurate, but also be vague regarding for whom and when the conditions aretrue.ConsiderthemedicalinformationonAmenahthattheextractionplanningteamwasreceivingfromIraq.Astheypreparedfortheirtripoverseas,theywouldgetsnippetsofinformation,oftenthroughsecond-andthirdhandsources.Theinitialreportsindicatedthatshewasinreasonablygoodshape.However,theyneededto prepare for arduous travel and they could not confirm the accuracy of themedicalinformationtheywerereceiving.TheycontactedDr.Doyle,apediatric

cardiologist atVanderbilt, several times to go over the information theywerereceiving,andtocollectivelyworkthroughpossibleimplications.Butintheend,theyknew that itwouldbedangerous to take the information theyhadat facevalue.Instead,theypreparedformedicalscenariosthatrangedfromarelativelyhealthy childwith a hole in her heart to aworst-case scenario.Not acceptinginformation at face value proved to be a wise decision because they werepreparedwhentheymetaverysicklittlegirl.

It is also important to look at the source of the information when evaluatingaccuracy. For example, do you thinkWikipedia is a credible source?Howdoyouknow?Togaugethecredibilityofasource,askquestions:Doesthesourcehave expertise in this area? Is his or her expertise up to date? Is he or sheimpartialandtrustworthy?Itisimportanttocheckyoursources.Jonathan Malloch was getting ready to call off the mission because he hadreceived information fromseveral sources that theoperationcouldn’tbedone.He needed to make a decision, but before he did, he called GaryWhite andaskedforhisthoughts.Hehesitatedforthesafetyofhiscolleaguesuppermost,even though Blackwater had assured him they could help orchestrate theextraction.Garytoldhimthatheneededtolistentothepeoplewhohadfrontlineexperience.Hesaid,“Jonathan,youneedtolistentothepeopleinthetrenches,thosearetheoneswhoknowitmorethansomeonewhoisfourorfivehundredmilesawaysittingbehindadesk.Idon’tmeantobedisrespectful,but it’s justthe truth.” Gary and Glenn thought the mission could be accomplished, andJonathanrespectedandtrustedtheirinput.AmIBeingPersuaded?

Sometimes when you are evaluating information, others will try to activelyshapeyour evaluation.Persuasion isused successfullyby leaders, salespeople,marketing specialists, and even our children to influence andmotivate. Beingaware of persuasion techniques helps you sort out relevant and accurateinformationfromfluffandspin.

Somepersuasiontechniquesarefairlyobvious,suchasusingarespectedpersonas a spokesperson or using emotionally charged language and appealing tohuman dreams and desires. Others are more subtle, as evidenced in drug

company commercials. Some drug commercials leverage the fact that mostpeople can only remember six to eight pieces of information at a time, andinformationthatispresentedfirstandlastisrememberedbest.Thecommercialspresent a long list of benefits, followed by risks and side effects, and thenbenefitsagain.Research2hasshownthatbenefitsaresometimespresentedusingwordsthatareeasiertounderstandandarepresentedataslowerspeedthantherisksandsideeffects,andsometimesvisualdistractionisaddedtothemix.Theendresultofthiscarefulorchestrationisthatpeoplerememberthebenefits,buthavedifficultyrememberingtherisksandsideeffects.Training(suchaslearningtoaskquestionsaboutrelevancyandaccuracy)helpsyoucounteractpersuasiontechniquesandimprovesyourabilitytoevaluateinformation.AmIBeingObjective?

Whenyouareevaluatinginformation,youcanalsogetsidetrackedbycommoncognitivebiases.Humanbrainstendtouseheuristics,simplerulesthatincreaseefficiency but introduce systematic error. A number of these mind traps aredescribedinAppendixB,“CognitiveBiases:CommonMentalMindTraps,”buthereisaflavorofhowtheywork.Ifyouhearthat92percentofthepatientswitha certain disease survive an illness, you will view that information morefavorably than if youhear that 8 percent of the patients die.Theodds are thesame,butyouevaluatedifferentlybasedonthewaytheinformationisframed.

Evenmorepervasiveisconfirmationbias,thetendencytorememberandagreewithinformationthatisconsistentwithyourbeliefsandvaluesandtonotseekout or to critically review information that does match your beliefs. On themorning that Pearl Harbor was bombed, the incoming Japanese planes werespottedon radar and reported,butnoactionwas taken.Americanplanesweredueinthatdayandnoonereallybelievedthatanattacklikethatwaspossible.Confirmationbiashappens toallofus, andoneway tominimize it, andothercognitivebiases,istoaddathirdquestion:AmIbeingobjective?Throughthisquestion, you are pausing to look more carefully at what you are seeing orhearing.4.DrawConclusions

Making the right decision can change your life. It might be making that

instantaneous connection in a single moment, or choosing from multiplealternativesafterthoughtfulcontemplation,thatforevershiftsyourlife’scourse.Eitherway, the sequence is the same; you accurately evaluate the informationand draw a conclusion that logically follows from the information.Unfortunately, mistakes often occur at the intersection between evaluatinginformationanddrawingconclusions.Let’slookattwocommonmistakes: •Jumping to conclusions oftenoccurswhenpeople areunderpressure to

move quickly or when they are very results driven.Workplaces acrossAmerica reward people who take action and get results, and the onedownsideisanationwidetendencytojumponthefirstconclusionwithoutfullyvettingotherpossibilities.

Certainly,theMarinesinOperationAmenahwerebothactionorientedandunderintensetimepressure.However,asapartoftheirtraining,theyhavebeen taught how to quickly develop and evaluatemultiple options beforedrawing a conclusion. In combat situations, jumping to conclusions canhavedeadlyconsequences.Inindependentinterviews,KevinJarrard,DavidBellon,andMarkLamelzaeachconsistentlydescribedhowtheycanvassedoptionsbeforedrawingaconclusion;thisskillisingrainedinthesemen.

• Overgeneralization is also common, and it occurs when you draw aconclusion that goes well beyond the information at hand. Would youinvestallofyoursavingsinthestockmarketbecauseyoureadafavorablearticleintheFinancialTimes?Ofcoursenot.Yet,theeconomicroadoverthe last few years is scattered with the carcasses of organizations thatmadeapracticeofdrawingconclusionsthatextendedfarbeyondabaseofsolidinformation.

When Lieutenant Colonel Bellon received permission from higherheadquartersforKevinandcolleaguestoproceed,heknewtheparametersof thatapproval; therewasno roomforovergeneralization.Heaccuratelyconcludedthatpermissionwastenuousatbest,andanyactionthatdivertedattentionfromtheirofficialmissionwouldresultinaquickreversalofthedecision.

InductiveandDeductiveReasoning

Let’slookattheprocessofdrawingaconclusionnowthatwehaveseenhowacouple of commonmiscues occur. To understand how you draw conclusions,youneedtoknowaboutdeductiveandinductivereasoning.Tohelpyou,picka

detectivefromyourfavoritecrime-solvingshow(e.g.,NCIS,TheMentalist,CSI,SherlockHolmes)—anyonewilldo.Hereisthestory:

Awomanwasshot,herbodywasfoundinherapartment,andherboyfriendistheprimarysuspect.Atthetimeofdeath,hewaswithsomebuddiesatalocalbar twoblocks fromherapartment.However,he left thebar for tenminutes to get something fromhis car, and no one noticed himwhile hewasgone.Ifthewomanwasmurderedinherapartment,theboyfriendhadsufficient time to commit the crime. However, your favorite detective(insert name here) thinks she was murdered across town. If so, theboyfriendcouldnothaveshother.

This“if so” logic isdeductive reasoning. If something is true (shediedon theothersideoftown),thencertainconclusionscanbededuced(theboyfriendwasnot with her when she died). In deductive reasoning, you use a “top down”approach. Principles and laws are applied (e.g., you can’t be in two differentplacesatthesametime)todrawaconclusion.Applyingprovenprinciples,rules,andlawstomovefrominformationtoconclusionreduceserrorandaddsrigortoyourthinking.

WhenGlennSusskindwas trying todetermine theoxygen supply required forthe trip,henoted thatAmenahlived in lowcountry,not themountains.So,heassumedthatshewasnearsealevelandthatherbloodwasonlysemioxygenatedbecauseofherillness.Heknewthatthetypeofplanerequiredtomakethetripwould pressurize at 8,000 feet. Glenn was using deductive reasoning andapplyinglawsofphysicstoestimateheroxygenneedsduringtheflight.Inductive reasoning ismore of a “bottomup” approach inwhich observationsaremadethatleadtoaconclusion.Whenyourfavoritedetectivearrivedonthescene, heor she closely examined thebody, then steppedback and said, “Shewasn’tkilledhere.Sheprobablydiedonthebeach.”Thedetectivenoticedsandunderherfingernails,thescentofseaweed,andnobloodonthecarpet.Basedontheseobservations,thedetectiveinferredthatshediedelsewhere,probablyatthebeachontheothersideoftown.Thedetectivecan’tbesure,butitisaneducatedguess. In inductive reasoning, you connect a set of observations to make aneducatedguessabouthow theyare related. Inductive reasoning isusefulwhenyouaretryingtoidentifypatternsandtrends.

Dr.NadeauobservedthecurrentstateofthelocalhospitalinHaditha,whichhadbeen crippled bywar.He reviewed aU.S. government contract that proposedspending$2.5millionon restoring thehospital.He also reviewed the typesofresources that the local doctors were requesting, which did not match basicmedical needs. He then sat down and reviewed what the local infrastructurecouldsupportandthecommonmedicalneedsofthepeopleinHaditha.Whenheconnected thedots, heknew that the2.5milliondollarswouldbewasted.Dr.Nadeauwasusing inductive reasoningwhenhedrew thisconclusion,andalsowhenheproposedrebuildingabasichospitalthatwouldbesuitedfortheneedsofthepeopleandsupportablewithcurrentinfrastructure.Gooddecisionmaking (or problem solving) is about drawing conclusions thatlogicallyfollowfromaccurateandrelevantinformation.Youusedeductiveandinductive reasoning skills to make the connection between information andconclusion. When the connection slips (e.g., jumping to conclusions,overgeneralizing),sodoesthequalityofthedecision.5.DevelopaPlanofAction

Once a decision is made, what happens next? A plan of action helps youanticipate consequences andbringsyourdecision to life.The typeofplanningneededdepends, toacertainextent,on the typeofdecision (e.g.,projectplan,businessplan,weddingplan).However,whenyoumovefromdecisiontoaction,threequestionswillgetyouofftoagoodstart: •Whataretheconsequencesofthisdecision? •Whatplansneedtobemadetoimplementthisdecision? •Whattypesofresourcesareneededtoimplementthisdecision?In “Amenah’s Story,” there were multiple action plans, and each was verydetailed and specific. That level of detail was necessary to successfullyorchestrateacomplexlife-and-deathmission.Ofcourse,mostdecisionswillnotrequirethislevelofplanning,butitisimportanttorememberthatadecisionisthebeginning,nottheendpoint.Leveragingthequalitiesofatimelystylehelpstobringaproactive,resourcefulapproachtobearonaplanofaction.Similarly,usingananalyticalstyleandlookingforinconsistenciesormissingpiecesoftheplanhelpsavoidgaffesandmiscues.Aplanofactionkeepsyoufocused,helpsyou avoid unnecessary detours, and leads to more predictable and promisingoutcomes.

Summary

Every day, you are bombarded with information and you will absorb itdifferently than you did before. Perhaps youwill notice an opinion that lookslike a fact, recognize an unstated assumption, or catch yourself agreeingwithsomething just because it matches your beliefs. Maybe you will quicklyrecognize irrelevant information and save yourself time by moving on tosomething more relevant. Maybe you will see similarities across pieces ofinformationandconnectthedotsusinginductivereasoning.Regardlessofwhatyoulearnedinthischapter,theendresultisthatyouarethinkingdifferently.

Younowhaveanewmodelforthinkingandaseriesofrelevantquestionsthatallowsyoutoorganizeyourthoughtsasyouapproachopportunities,problems,and decisions. The five-stepmodel helps you approach thinkingmore like anexpert (organizing and grouping information, asking better questions) than anovice. Practice your new skills each day, and you will quickly see positiveresults.Endnotes

1.ANewofWayThinking is basedonPearson’sREDmodelof criticalthinking (www.ThinkWatson.com). The RED model (RecognizeAssumptions, Evaluate Arguments, and Draw Conclusions) stems frommore than 85 years of research on critical thinking. This program ofresearch is based primarily on theWatson-Glaser™ IICriticalThinkingAppraisal,aleadingassessmentofcriticalthinkingability.

2.ProfessorRuthS.DayofDukeUniversityleadsaprogramofcognitiveresearch,includingcognitiveaccessibilityofdrugbenefitsandrisks.HerresearchissummarizedonherfacultyWebpageatwww.duke.edu.

http://www.ThinkWatson.com

http://www.duke.edu

Chapter3.TakeStockofYourStyle

Ontheflipsideofthedetailsandeventsof“Amenah’sStory,”whereeveryonehad their approriate thinking caps on and played to their particular styles andstrengths,sometimes(often)eventsdonotplayoutsosmoothly.

Following theJanuary12,2010,earthquake thatdevastatedHaiti,abuspulledup to a checkpoint on theDominicanRepublic. Insidewere 33 children, agedfrom2 to12,whowerebeingescortedbyagroupof tenBaptistmissionaries.Insteadofbeingpassedthroughthecheckstation,thechildrenweretakenoffinonedirectionbyauthoritiesandthemissionariesweretakeninanotherdirectionandarrestedonJanuary29forkidnapping.Laura Silsby, of Meridian, Idaho, who led the nine other members of themissionarygroup,toldthemediashewasonlytryingtosavesufferingchildren.However, there were a few details she had not even shared with her fellowmissionaries: • An areawide concern about human trafficking had made authorities

exceptionallysensitivetothemovementofpeopleoutofHaitibyanyone. •Manyofthechildrenbeingtransportedwerenotevenorphans.Atleast20

ofthechildrenwerefromasinglevillageandhadlivingparents.Someofthe parents told the AP they willingly turned over their children to themissionariesonthepromisetheAmericanswouldeducatethemandallowrelativestovisit.

• Silsby had decided the previous summer to create an orphanage in theDominican Republic, and in November of 2009, she registered thenonprofitNewLifeChildren’sRefugefoundation inIdaho.AfterHaiti’scatastrophicearthquake,sheacceleratedtheplanandrecruitedherfellowmissionaries.

•ADominicandiplomatwhosaidLaurahadvisitedhimthesamedaythemissionariestriedtotakethechildrenoutofthecountrytoldtheAPthathehadwarnedherthatwithouttheproperpapers,shecouldbearrested.

So,surprise,surprise,thingswentwrongattheborderandthewell-intentioned

groupwasarrested.

As someone getting a clearer look at how good thinking works, you can, nodoubt,spotafewerrorsinthethinkingstyleinthissituation.Now,contrastandcompare that event with how smoothly Amenah’s situation went, in spite ofnumerousobstaclesandadjustments.MajorKevinJarrard’sGoodSamaritanbackgroundcouldhaveledhimtoleaptoadecision,butheavoidedmakinganyassumptionsandwanted toconsiderallaspects and steps before he took any action. He also played to an array ofsupportive careful thinkerswho, each in his or her ownway, helped to turn adifficultandcomplicatedtaskintoadoableone.

Think about a time when you successfully thought through a challengingsituation—atimewhenyoudid it rightandyoudid itwell.Doyourememberwhat you did that led to success? You might even come up with, “notspecifically,” because youmight not have a vocabulary to describe successfulthinking.Youmighthaveabroad senseofwhatworkedandwhatdidn’t.Notknowingyourthinkingstyleandhowyoureplicatesuccessesandavoidmistakescouldcreatearutinsteadofopeningopportunitiesfornewsuccess.Ifmakingaprosandconslistworkedwhenyouweretryingtodecideifyouwantedtogooutonadatewithsomeoneinhighschool,thenyouarelikelytokeepusingthatprocess to helpmake decisions. Evaluating pros and cons has become part ofyourrepertoire.Collecting good techniques as you go along certainly isn’t bad, but it is notintentional.Relyingonwhateverhappenstobeinyourtoolkitisnotthesameashaving a full set of tools in a wellorganized box. To be successful, reallysuccessful, youneed to be intentional.Youneed to knowyour style andyourskills,exactlywhattheyareandhowtheyworkforyou.Thegoodnewsisthatitiseasytolearn.

Let’slookathowknowing,cultivating,andshapingpositivethinkingstyleshelpyoubecomeagreat thinker.Weallpossess thinkingstyles,whicharepositivehabitsthatsupportthedevelopmentofthinkingskills.Forexample,approachingproblemsbycarefullyanalyzingthesituationorlookingforfactsandimportantdetailsisastyle.

Youhave preferred thinking styles,whichmeans that youuse certain positivebehaviorsmore frequently and acrossvarious situations.Youcan access thosebehaviors quickly and comfortably. So, you leadwith your preferred styles asyoubuildyourthinkingskills.Thatiswhatsuccessfulpeopledo—theyleveragetheirstrengths.UnderstandingYourThinkingStyles

At this point, you are probably saying, “So, how exactly do I figure out mypreferred thinking styles?” One option is to take the My Thinking Stylesassessment,whichisfreeandtakesabout10minutestocomplete(seesidebar).Youwillreceivefeedbackthatdescribesyourpreferredthinkingstylesandhowyoucanusethemtoyouradvantage.Eachstyleispositive,andallsevenstylescontribute in different ways to good thinking. For you, the question is whichstyles do you use most frequently and comfortably, and which ones are lessnatural?Youmightfinditeasiertorelatetothevariedthinkingstylesifyoufirstassessyourselfbeforeyouexplorethestyles.Althoughthatmightworkbestformostpeople,youcanalsoconsiderthestylesthatfollowandseewhichone,orwhichcombinationofstyles,mostplaystoyourthinkingstrengths.

AssessYourThinkingStyles

Gotowww.ThinkWatson.com/mythinkingstyles. Itwill takeyou lessthan 10minutes to complete the assessment, and it is best to take itwhen you are not rushed or distracted. Give yourself time tocomfortablyanswerthequestions.Whenyoufinish,youwillreceiveapersonalfeedbackreportthatdescribesyourpreferredthinkingstyles.

AnalyticalStyle

JonathanMallochhadamaponthewallofhisofficewithallofthekeyplayersandallofthepossibleplayers.Hecreatedanalgorithmthatallowedhimtosiftthroughthree tofiveoptionsforeverystepof theextractionprocess,so that ifoneoptionfailed,theycouldmovetothenext.Ateverysinglepointintheplan,

http://www.ThinkWatson.com/mythinkingstyles

theyhadanalternativeoption. Jonathanknew thatheneeded“togetpieces inplaceinawaythatisironclad.”Asheexplained,“Wehadalotofplansthatwecouldhavelaunchedwith,butnoneofthemweresecure.Iwasunwillingtosendthis teamunless Iknew—asmuchas couldbeknown—that theseguyswouldreturn safely. I didnotwant tohave a conversationwith theirwives and theirfamilyaboutwhytheydidn’treturn.”Jonathanknewthathehadtoprepareforeverypossibilityandtorevieweverydetail.

Ifyouareanalytical,youliketoanticipateconsequencesandidentifystrengthsandweaknessesinplans.Youarequicktothinkaboutif-thenscenariosandhowtheymightplayout.Youliketostudysituationsandthinkaboutprosandcons.Ifsomethingdoesn’tfitinasituationoranimportantdetailismissing,youarelikely to notice.You are comfortable studying situations and concentrating onthe pieces and how they logically fit together. You are likely to sort throughfactsandanalyzeinformationthatisreceived,ratherthanjustacceptingitatfacevalue.Analyticalpeoplecanbedescribedasclearthinking,orderly,andrational.Having an analytical style helps build specific thinking skills, such as thefollowing: •Checkingtheaccuracyofinformationyoureceive •Differentiatingfactsfromopinions •Clarifyingsituationsbyquestioningambiguousorvaguelanguage •Noticingmissingorinconsistentpiecesofaplan •AnalyzingalternativesinanorderlyfashionInquisitiveStyle

AtophypertensionspecialistandVanderbiltprofessor,Dr.Nadeauistheexpert,themanwiththeanswers.Butheisalsothemanwhowonderswhyandasksthequestions thatdrivenew thinkingand innovation.Nadeauwonderedwhat theycoulddotopreventdeathsfrombattlefieldinjuries,and,withLieutenantColonelBellon’ssupport,thatquestionledtomedicaltrainingforalltheMarinesinthebattalion. Theirs was the first battalion to receive intensive medical training,teachingeachMarinetodealwithcommonproblemsthatleadtodeathsonthebattlefield,suchashowtoreducebleedingfromextremitywounds.

Dr.Nadeau lefthisday-to-day roleofcaring forpatientswithheartdisease tolook after youngMarines in a battle zone because, as he said, he “liked thechallengeofdoingsomethingcompletelydifferent.”Hewasalsocommitted tofiguringouthowtohelptheIraqisrebuildtheirhealth-caresystem.That’swhy,whenhewentouttothepublichealthclinicsthathadbeencompletelystrippedbyvandals,heasked“Whydon’twehireIraqisandrebuildtheseclinics?”Thatquestion led to renovated clinics. In the same way, he helped reengineer thehospitalandheactivelywentout into thecommunity toservetheneedsof thelocalpeople,includingthetribalsheik.AfterAmenahcamebackcured,hecameacrossotherchildrenlikeher,andasked,“Howcanwemakethishappenmorefrequently?”Thankstothatquestion,asecondchildwashelpedattheUniversityatCharlestonandathirdinAmman,Jordan.Dr.Nadeau’sfrequentquestionsledto his continual learning and to a series of improvements inmedical care andmedicalfacilities.Ifyouhavean inquisitivestyle,youare intellectuallycuriousand like to learnnewthingsabouttheworld.Youwanttoknowwhythingsworkthewaytheydoand are comfortable probing deeply into subjects. You like to learn aboutdifferent cultures and people. For you, information is an opportunity to learn.You have a tolerance for ambiguity and complexity because it gives you anopportunitytofigurethingsout.Inquisitivepeoplecanbedescribedascurious,alert,andinterestedintheirsurroundingworld.Havinganinquisitivestylehelpsbuildspecificthinkingskills,suchasthefollowing: •Clarifyingissuesorbeliefs •Identifyingtherootcauseofaproblem •Questioningdeeplytounearthassumptionsornewperspectives • Asking how and why questions that help evaluate information or

alternativesInsightfulStyle

WhatdoesKevinJarrardmeanwhenhesaysthateveryoneofthedecisionshemadewas“theresultofthetotalityofmyexperiencesthroughouteverythingthathadhappenedtomeuptothatpointinmylife”?

HisGoodSamaritanbackgroundcouldhaveledhimtoleaptodecisionsormake

bad judgments, like that missionary group arrested in Haiti on kidnappingcharges while trying to move alleged orphans across the border into theDominicanRepublic.ButJarrardavoidedmakinganyassumptionsandwantedtoconsiderallaspectsandstepsbeforehetookanyaction.Hewasawareof theMarinemissionat that time in Iraq,of thewillingnessofLieutenantColonelBellontoconsiderarequestsuchashis,ofthecapabilitiesofCaptainNadeau,whichstrengthenedhiscase,ofthepeoplebackintheStateshecouldcountonforhelpandaction,andofwhatheneededtodotorespect theMuslim family members and the tribal leaders. Furthermore, he was able toassemble a big picture that led to a dream thatwould be hard, but ultimatelydoable,asitturnedout.

Ifyouhaveaninsightfulstyle,youareabletostepbackandreflectsothatyoucangainperspectiveonasituationorproblem.Youarelikelytostandfirmontough issues, if theevidencesupports theposition,andyouwill follow thoughdespiteobstacles.You tend to seebeyond the immediateandyouseekclarity.You are capable of being honest with yourself and set a high standard foryourself.Insightfulpeoplecanbedescribedasprudent,humble,andreflective.Having an insightful style helps build specific thinking skills, such as thefollowing: •Takingtimetoreflect •Maintainingperspective,evenindifficultsituations •Willingnesstopersevere •Accuratelyunderstandingpersonalstrengthsandweaknesses • Making judgments that fit the evidence (don’t overgeneralize or

oversimplify)Open-MindedStyle

Let’s pause to consider again one of themost dynamic aspects of “Amenah’sStory.”AMuslimchildandhermotherwerebeingsent to theChristianBibleBeltofAmerica,where theywouldstay in thehomeofChristianPastorSteveBergerandhiswifeSarah,beembracedbythechurch’scongregation,havetheirtravelfinancedfromdonationsallacrossthearea,havetheirculturalfoodsandcustoms respected, and no onewouldmake any attempt to convert them, but

ratheraccept themforwho theywereandhonor themas fellowhumanbeingswhoneededhelp.

Following 9/11, some people in America wrote graffiti on and damagedconvenience stores owned and operated bymembers of theAmericanMuslimcommunity.Then, therewerepeople likePastorTerry Jones fromGainesville,Florida, who burned the Koran in March of 2011, an act that drew angrycondemnationinAfghanistanandPakistan,whereanti-Americansentimentrunshigh,causingriotsinApril inwhichmanypeoplewerekilled.Theactionsandemotionsofthesepeoplemarkoneextremeofthegrassrootsmood.Therewasalot of confusion and some prejudice about Muslims. Religion can be a verytouchysubject,butthatwasnotanissuewithallthepeoplewhocameforwardtohelp.DeannaDolan,ofWorldRelief,wasoneofthefirsttocontactJanetJarrardandsayshewanted tohelp.Oneofherkeydecisionswaswhere toplaceAmenahandhermother,Maha.Sheknewherchoicewasimportant:“Iwantedthemtobewith people who I trust, people who I know would be committed, and whowouldbesacrificial.Becauseitisahugesacrificetoallowstrangersthatyou’venevermet,whowerecomingwithhugeneeds,intoyourhome.Imean,ittakespretty solid people to be able to do that.” Sheweighed the options and chosewisely:SteveandSarahBerger.

DeannaspeakssomeArabic,butshealsohelpedprovideZainab,aninterpreterwho could helpMaha andAmenah communicate. She helpedwith respect forfoodandculturalneeds,andwhenshesawfearintheeyesofamotherafraidherchildmightdieontheoperatingtable,shemadesuretherewerepeopleavailabletosupportMaha,especiallyduringthosestressfulhoursinthewaitingroom.ShebroughttogethercaringChristiansfromGraceChapelwhoseonlypurposewasto comfort and support aworriedmother, onewho just happened to beof theMuslim faith. Deanna’s approach, though a Christian herself, was to offersupport,empathy,andsolutionswithoutreservationorjudgment.Ifyouhaveanopen-mindedstyle,youaretypicallytolerantoftheopinionsandviewpoints of others and can put yourself in the position of the other person.You can think of different options, different possibilities, and differentconclusions. You are comfortable not rushing to judgment, and prefer tothoughtfully weigh information and alternatives. You tend to avoid extreme

positions. You value fair play and like to think things through. Open-mindedpeople can be described as intellectually tolerant and fair minded. Having anopen-mindedstylehelpsbuildspecificthinkingskills,suchasthefollowing: •Usinganapproachthatisfairminded •Seekinginformationfrompeoplewithdifferentviewsorperspectives •Suspendingjudgmenttoevaluateinformation •Generatingalternativesolutions •MakingconnectionsacrossdifferentsituationsortopicsSystematicStyle

RecallthatwhenDavidBellonlistenedcarefullytoKevinJarrard’sproposal,hewas assessingKevin’s thinking and puttingwhat hewas hearing into context.Kevin’splanwaswellcrafted,butDavidneededtostepbackandconsiderhowthisplancouldaffectthelargeroperation.Ashementallyscannedthesystem,heimmediatelyrecognizedthechallengesandhesilentlymuttered,“Oh,myGod,thisisgoingtobeacarcrashwithhigherheadquarters.”Heunderstoodthatheneededtonavigatethesystemandgetbuy-in,oratleast,avoidthecommandtostop. He needed to harness relationships that had been developed and protectrespectthathehadearnedfromthreetoursofdutyinIraq.DavidneededtotakeasystematicapproachinhissupportofKevin.

People like Jonathan Malloch, as you saw, can be analytical and systematicwhenitcomestosafetyinawell-thought-outplan.Ifyouaresystematic,youareabletosizeupasituationandplaceitintocontext.You are able to see the bigger picture and how the pieces fit together. Youapproach problemswith a logical framework or scheme.You have vision andcananticipatetheconsequencesofdifferentalternatives.Systematicpeoplecanbedescribedasconceptual,processoriented,andintuitive.Havingasystematicstylehelpsbuildspecificthinkingskills,suchasthefollowing: •Comparingperspectives,information,andalternatives •Developingcriteriaforevaluatinginformationandalternatives •Analyzingalternatives

•Makingconnectionsacrossdifferentsituationsandtopics •EvaluatingplansTimelyStyle

FewpeoplegetbouncedabiggerballthatcallsfortimelyactionthanwasJanetJarrard,Kevin’saunt.Whenshereadthee-mailfromKevinaskinghertobethepoint person in Nashville, she immediately said yes and went to work onDecember 14th, not knowing exactly what she needed to do, but being fullycommitted toquickly figuring itout.The timepressurewas incredible—a fewweeks to secure fund-raising, complete logistical planning, and nail down amultitude of details.Within three days, she had found JonathanMalloch, andthatledtotheextractionteambeingputintoplace.WorldRelief,DeannaDolan,and Grace Chapel church came next. Every single day, she managed to fitanother piece of the puzzle into place. Janet describes this time as the mostintenseperiodofherlife.Shedidn’tknowthatshecoulddosomethinglikethis,but shedid.Her efficient, resourceful, and timely approachkept theNashvillesideoftheoperationinsyncandmovingforward.

Timelypeoplecangatherinformationandmakedecisionswithoutunduedelays.They don’t typically get caught up in analysis paralysis or procrastination.Instead,theyareabletoactivelysearchoutrelevantinformationandworktheirway though situations in a timely manner that is neither too cursory nor tooslow. Timely people can be described as efficient, reliable, and responsive.Having a timely style helps develop specific thinking skills, such as thefollowing: •Beingconscientiousaboutworkingthroughaproblemoropportunity •Makingatimelydecision •Callingforactionwhenitisappropriate •AppropriatelypushingforplansTruth-SeekingStyle

Major Mark Lamelza’s job as Operations Officer was to support Lieutenant

ColonelBellonbyaskingthetoughquestionsandgivinghonestadvice.Hesaid,“Thetruthisthatyoualwaysknowtherightthingtodo.Thereallydifficultpartof it isactuallydoing it.”Establishingandmaintaining localgovernance, legalsystems, and security for the cities in their region all fell under Mark’sresponsibility.Helaughedwhenheadmitted,“Iwasn’toneofthosewhojumpedonthebandwagon.”Heknewitwastherightthingtodo,buthealsoknewthathe had to ask the tough questions and dig deep to make sure that thishumanitarian project did not jeopardize anything within the vast umbrella oflocal governance or security.Markwasn’t naïve; he knew the fragile state oftheseemergingsystems,andheknew thatanAmerican-drivenplan tomoveababygirlandhermothertoAmericaforsurgeryandthenbackagainwasrisky.Mark’s job was to find weaknesses in the plan and then eliminate thoseweaknesses. He needed to apply a truth-seeking style so that the team couldavoidmistakesandrecognizepotentiallydangerousproblems.

Peoplewhoaretruthseekingareabletoasktoughquestionsofthemselvesandothersinanefforttogetatthetruth.Theywillpushdeeperforclarityevenifitcauses some discomfort. They may be skeptical and not willing to acceptinformationatfacevalue.Theyarenotlikelytobegullibleorpassivelyrelyonothersforapointofview.Truthseekerscanbedescribedasindependent,toughminded,andskeptical.Havinga truth-seekingstylehelpspeoplebuildspecificthinkingskills,suchasthefollowing: •Thinkingindependentlywithoutundueinfluenceofothers •Clarifyingissuesorbeliefs •Evaluatinginformationandseeingpotentialholes •MinimizinggroupthinkMakingtheBestUseofThinkingStyles

Nowthatyouunderstandyourpreferred thinkingstyles, let’s lookathowtheyplayoutinyourdailylife.Writedownasituationyouhaveexperiencedrecently(e.g.,adecisionyouneededtomakeoraproblemyousolvedatwork/home).

Situation: Whichstylesdidyouuseinthissituation?

Howdidtheyhelpyouaccomplishyourgoal? Weretherestylesthatyoucouldhaveused,butdidn’t?

Thesequestions are intended tohelpyoubecomemore awareof howyou arecurrently using your thinking styles. If your top style is analytical and yourbottomstyle issystematic,youare likely toapproachsituationsby lookingformissing details and inconsistencies, but less likely to begin by putting thesituation into a larger context. Knowing your preferences helps you use yourstrengths more effectively and become more aware of things that you mightmiss.

Considerthevalueofeachstyleasyoupracticeyourcriticalthinkingskills(seeFigure3.1).Forexample,asystematicstyle,thetendencytoseethebigpictureand anticipate consequences, is particularly helpful when you are trying toevaluate information and draw conclusions. A timely style helps you bring aplanofactiontolife.

Figure3.1Considerthevalueofeachstyleasyoupracticeyourcriticalthinkingskills.

Source:Pearson

Summary

You’veexploredseveralpositivethinkingstylesthatsupportskilldevelopmentandgoodthinking.Hopefully,youvisitedtheWebsiteandhaveabetterfeelforyourownthinkingstyleorstyles.Whenyouhavedoneso,youwillknowmoreaboutyourown tendencies, the stylesyouusemore frequently, and thoseyouuselessfrequently.Youcanalsohoneandimproveyourthinkingskills.Thekeylessonhereisaboutbeingintentional,andthekeypieceofadviceyoucantakewithyouistoknowyourstyleandgrowwithyourstyle.It’seasiertobuildyourthinkingskillswhenyouuseyourpreferredstyle.Younodoubtrecognizethatsomethinkingskillswillrequiremoreworktodevelopbecausetheydon’tmatchyourpreferredstyle.Atsomepoint, itwillbevaluableforyouto takea toughlookatyourleastpreferredstylesandworkonimprovingthose,butthatshouldcomeafteryoubuildasolidbaseofskills.

Chapter 4. Change Your Thinking... RevolutionizeYourCareer...TransformYourLife

AmenahisnowbackwithherfamilyinIraq,ahealthy,growingyounggirlwithevery chance to live a full and happy life.Thatmiracle is over.But there areplentyofothermiraclesneeding tohappen in theworld,dreams to fulfill, andlivestoimprove.Youcanbeattheheartofallthat.

Theendofhermovingstoryistheopportunityforthebeginningofyours,whichbringsusbacktothesubtitleofthisbook:ChangeYourThinking...RevolutionizeYourCareer...TransformYourLife.Youhaveanopportunitynowtocommittoapracticeofhighlyeffectivethinking—andindoingso,youwillopenyourselfuptothepotentialforgreatness.Like theheroesof“Amenah’sStory,”youcanpositionyourself tosucceed. Inthe chaoticworld today, high-quality critical thinkers can navigate a turbulentglobal economy, shape a new vision for the education of tomorrow, and leadwithwisdomandcompassion.Youneedtheseskills to thinkonaworldstage,butyoualsoneed theseskills inyour localcommunity, inyourneighborhood,andinyourhome.

Youwillknowthatyouaremakingprogresswhenyounoticeyourselfbehavingin new and more effective ways, particularly in situations that used to be achallengeforyou.Peopleandsituations thatused tohijackyouremotionswillno longerhavepoweroveryou.Opportunities thatyoudidn’tknowexistedorthatyoudidn’tknowyouwerelookingforwillfindyou.Doorswillstarttoopenforyou—thatyoudidn’tknowwerethere—andyouwillstartwalkingthroughthemtoaricherlife.The people who helpedAmenahwere, inmanyways, people just like you—soldiers and civilians, all volunteers with compassion in their hearts andcommitment toabetterworld in their sights, and theyengaged inhigh-caliberthinking to accomplish an extraordinary feat. Every single person played acriticalrole;everysinglepersonmadethecrucialdifference,awell-thought-out

behaviororsounddecisionthattippedthescaletowardsuccess.Youtoocanbethepersonwhotipsthescaleinapositivedirection;youjustneedtobeready,willing,andprepared.GettingStarted

Whatwe’retalkingaboutiscriticalthinking.Bycritical,wedon’tmeanforyoutogoaroundcriticizing—especiallyyourself.Infact,criticalthinkingisquitetheopposite. It means you want to understand more fully all the aspects andperspectivesofpeopleorideas,notsoyoucanjudgeandfindfaultbutrathersoyou can evaluatemore clearly and see the big picture and assess the value insomething.Youcastacuriousandcriticaleyeasyoulookatanyindividualorsituation,whether it’s toconsider a relationshipor someonewhowants to sellyoupartofatime-sharecondo.

Now,here is the reallyhuge thingyoucan take away, in addition toknowingAmenah isdoingfinenow—critical thinking isallaboutyou takingchargeofyourownthinkingandowningyourlife.Totally!Thinkaboutthatforamoment.That’sabigdifferenceformanypeople.You’veseenpeoplewhoplodalongandseewhat theirmindcomesupwithnext.Orworse,you’ve seen theoneswhoturntoothersfortheiropinions,asifthey’renotevenabletothinkontheirownatall.Thisonekeyaspect isempoweringforyou.Youcanownthisenhancedpower.Youmightsupposethatyouthinkprettywellsofar,butconsiderwhatitcanmeantodevelopyourowncriteriaandstandardsforanalyzingandassessingallmannerofpeopleandsituations.That’s what we’re up to here: getting you the tools and the techniques andgettingyoustartedin therightdirectionto improvethequalityof thewayyouexamine and think about anything. Like starting a health-fitness regime orpersonaldiet,therearethingsyoucandoeverydaytostretch,exercise,andgetbetter.What follows is a practical daily practice for developing yourself as agreatthinker.Youwillimmediatelystarttoexperiencebenefitsfromusingandfollowingthisguide.Itallstartswithyou.MyThinkingStyles

Ifyouhavenotalreadydoneso,gotowww.ThinkWatson.com/mythinkingstyles


andtakeyourfreeMyThinkingStylesassessmentandlearnaboutthestrengthsandopportunitiesembeddedinyourcurrentthinkingstyle.

Think about your personal style as you review each of the techniques andchecklists.Table4.1Anoverviewofthevariousthinkingstylesdiscussedin

Chapter3,“TakeStockofYourStyle.”Remember,youmighthaveamixofseveralofthese,andyoumighthavesomeareaswhereyou’d

liketogrowstronger.

UseThisChecklisttoImproveYourThinking

You can start right now building your toolbox of tips, tools, and techniques.Let’sstartwithalookagainatthefivestepsinFigure4.2,andthenadvanceasyouexamine“TipsfortheFiveStepstoDevelopYourThinkingSkillsNOW.”Figure4.2Thesearethesteps.IfithelpsyoutorememberthethreeactionstepsinthemiddlebytheacronymRED,allthebetter.The

importantthingistoemploythesestepsinallyoudo.

Source:Pearson

Thefollowingsection includesachecklistofkeyquestions toaskyourself thenext time you need tomake a decision to embrace an opportunity or solve aproblem.Youmight find that theactofmakingnotes inadiaryor littleblackbookreallysupportsthepracticeofeachofthese.TipsfortheFiveStepstoDevelopYourThinkingSkillsNOW

Thefollowingaresuggestionsandtechniquestohelpyoudevelopyourpersonalthinkingstyle.StopandThink

•Whatisthesituation?

•Isthissituationahighpriority/highriskorcanitwait? •Whendoesadecisionneedtobemade? •Whatareyoutryingtoaccomplish?Ideally, when you are in the “stop and think” step, youwant to respond to asituationandnotjustreact.MajorKevinJarrard,eagertodosomethingaboutatwo-year-old who turned blue and was going to die, stopped to think first.CaptainJohnNadeaustoppedandthought.LieutenantColonelDavidBellondid.Even Janet Jarrard, rushed themost for time, stopped to consider, “Howam I

going to do this?” To help you move from reacting to responding, try thefollowing:1. Donotmakedecisionswhenyouareemotionalorupset.Yourfeelingswill

overrideyourlogicandcouldnegativelyimpactyourthinking.Beforeyoumakeagesturetothatroadragedriveryou’llregretwhenyoulearnhe’saseven-foot-tall martial arts instructor, consider the consequences. Even iftheemotionispositive, likelove,giveyourself timetobeobjectiveaboutwhatmightaffectyoufortherestofyourlife.

2. Ifyouareemotional,upset,orsimplynotonyour“A”game,stallfortime.Trypausing for 90 secondsor counting to 10before you respond. If youcan, get some space or take awalk.A change in the scenery can have atremendous impact on your ability to think through a situation. Hesitatebefore you send that stinging e-mail at work. Think about the longtermneedtogetalongwithyourfellowworkers.

3. Confirmthatyouneedtomakeadecisionnow.Sometimestherecanbeasenseofurgencyaroundissues(drivenbyothers)thatcanwaitadaytobeanswered.Itisalltooeasytohaveourlivesconsumedbyurgenttrivialities.Ifthisisthecase,thensay,“Letmethinkaboutthis,”andprovideaspecificdateandtimethatyouwillrespondtotheirrequest.Thistechniqueallowsyousomespaceandtimetothinkandletstheotherpartyknowwhentheycanexpectananswer.Althoughthereisanobvioustimeurgencydifferencebetween responding to a proposal and a situation like “What to do? Thehouse is on fire,” there are also situations like buying a car where thesalespersonwillpushyou tosign immediately.Doyou reallyneedanewcar? Can you afford this one? Is theremore you can find out about thismakeandmodel?Yes,thereis.Stopandthink.

4. If you immediately dismiss another’s viewpoint or have an immediatenegative response, take note. You could be biased, and it could beimpactingyourjudgmentabouttheissue.Ifafriend’spoliticalleaningsaredifferent fromyours, that doesn’tmean you shouldn’t listen to the issuesdiscussed in an election. A critical thinker wants to know all sides andaspectsofeverything.Whoknows,youmightfindthereismerityouwouldhavemissed.

5. Quiet time is key to effective decision making; block out time in yourschedule for this (early morning/late evening) where you won’t bedisrupted.RecallKevin Jarrardkneelingbesidehis cot.Youmight findawalkintheparkhelpsyouconsiderbest.Eventhattimeyouspendinbedbefore you fall asleepmight prove an invaluable time to contemplate all

you’veabsorbedintheday.

RecognizeAssumptions

•Whatdoyouknow?Whatdon’tyouknow?

•Whatare theunstatedassumptionsassociatedwith thegoal,problem,orinformationthatyouknow?

•What are your own beliefs that could lead you to passively agreewithinformationwithoutcheckingthefacts?

Asitturnedout,therewasawholelotofcomplexitytothetaskoftakingalittleMuslim girl and her mother out of Iraq for an operation in the States. Whoknew?WouldtheChristiansofAmericaembracetheplightofachildofanotherreligionforherownsake?Butconsider thewaypeople likeJonathanMallochconsideredallhe“couldknow,”thensoughttodevelopcontingencyplansforallhe “could not know.” Captain Nadeau had friends and influence back atVanderbilt,butheneverassumedgettinganoperation linedupwithasurgeonandthefinancialhelpofthehospitalwasaslamdunk.Hereachedoutandmadetherightstepstohelpthingshappen,ortheywouldnothavehappened.1. Identify the key question that you are trying to answer so that you can

clarify the specific decision that you are trying to make and anyassumptionsthatyoumighthavearoundyourthinking.Let’ssayyouwanttobuyahouse,orpickoutacollegetoattend.Youmightassumethehomeis inaneighborhoodyou’dfit into,or that thecollege is therightoneforyoubasedonthelimitedamountyou’veheard.Alotofthingscangowithahouseboughtwitha30-yearnote,anditmightturnoutsomeotherschoolhasafarbetterprogramintheareainwhichyoudecidetospecialize.

2. Makealistofyourassumptions.Thisisnotonlyhelpfulforclarifyingyourassumptions,but isalsohelpfulafteryoumakeadecision toexplainwhyyou made a certain decision. Let’s say you’re considering a prospectivespouse, and the fourth itemonyour list is thatyouassumeyou share thesame values, but then you find you don’t, or you have bitter differencesaboutpoliticsorwhethertogetdrapesorvenetianblinds.Explore,explore.

3. Onceyouknowwhatquestionyouare tryingtoanswer, try tounderstandthewhybehindthewhy.Thisissometimesreferredtoas“thefivewhys”orthe“questionbehindthequestion.”Writeoutyourquestion.Then,askfive“whys” tohelpyou identify the root issue tobe addressed.Remember as

you read this Q&A that it is so easy in a busy world to forget somethoughtfulthingsweactuallydiddo:

a.Whyisthepaymentforyourcreditcardbilllate? ThebillislatebecauseIdidn’treceiveapaperbillinthemail. b.Whydidn’tyoureceiveapaperbill? I wanted to cut down on physical mail and I signed up for online

billing.(Oops—IforgotI’ddonethis.) c.Whydidn’tyoureceiveanonlinebill? NowIremember,Ididreceiveanonlinebill,butIthoughtthatIhad

setupautopayments. d.Whydidn’ttheautopaymentswork? Theydidn’tworkbecauseit turnsout that thedebitcardinformation

wasincorrect. e.Whywasthedebitcardinformationincorrect? AnewdebitcardhadbeensenttomewithanewexpirationdateandI

forgottoupdatetheaccount.Inthisscenario,wecouldhavefocusedonthesimplequestionof“whyismy credit card late,” but the real problem was that the debit cardinformationneededtobeupdatedon theautopaymentsite. Ifwehadnotmovedbeyondthefirstquestion,wewouldhavemostlikelyendedupwithalatebillnextmonth,too!4. Check your understanding with people close to a situation; use activelisteningtomakesurethatyouunderstandthesituation.LieutenantColonelBellonisagoodmodelhere.HowcouldhetellifKevinJarrardwas“onhisgame”or thinkingupsomethingwacky thatcouldgohorriblywrong?Helistened, he weighed, and he realized Kevin had given his idea carefulthoughtandevendebateditwithCaptainNadeau.

5. Identifywhatyouknowandwhatyoudon’tknow.Prioritizewhatyoustillneed to know so that you don’twaste time researchingwhat you alreadyknow.Beingoverwhelmedbydataisoneofthebiggestobstaclestomakinga decision. Also, prioritize what you need to know to make a decisionversuswhatisinteresting.Research,especiallyInternetresearch,caneatupa lot of valuable time quickly. Let’s say you seek to find a reliablecontractor.Whichreviewsdoyoutrust?Andwhy?Don’tget luredoffon

colorful displays of fittings ormaterialswhen your target issue is, “Whocanbestdothis?”

EvaluateInformation

•Whatarethealternativestoexplore?

•Isyourinformationfromcrediblesources? •Isyourinformationrelevant? •Isyourinformationaccurate? •Areyoubeingobjective?JanetJarrardwasaPRspecialist,yetshecouldn’tmountacampaigntogatherfundsbecausethatcouldhavejeopardizedthelivesofAmenahandhermother.Whatotherwayscouldshereachouttopeopleforfinancialandtechnicalhelp?

JonathanMallochexaminedonealternativescenariowhere theextraction teamwouldtrytotakemotheranddaughteroutthroughIsraelinsteadofJordan.Theinformationhegotwasn’treliableenoughtodependupon.Healsoheardtherewas an effort to keep the mission of getting Amenah to the States fromhappening, andKevin Jarrardwas able to help dismiss that as unreliable.Buttheyexaminedeverything.Here’show:1. Create a process to help you evaluate options. A few ideas include the

following:a. Determine criteria for making a decision; this will enable you tofocusandprioritizeonwhatismostimportant,generatealternatives,andusecriteriatoevaluatethem.

b.Makealistoftheprosandconsforeachoption. c.Ask...ifwedothis,then... d.Analyzeissuesfrommultipleperspectives. e.Listitout, talkitout,andmapitout.Differentstrategiesworkfor

differentpeople;findoutwhatworksforyou.2. Play personal devil’s advocate—list five reasons against your idea.Whatarepotentialflawstoyourreasoning?Checkwithothers.Dotheyseeany

flaws?3. Whenevaluatingthebestdecision,makesuretocontinuallygobacktothe

keyquestionthatyouaretryingtoanswer.Itwillkeepyoufocusedonthekeyproblemthatyouaretryingtoanswer.

4. Lookatalternativesandallowforcreativebrainstorming.Crazyideascanresultinsomeofthebestideas.

5. Makesure that theevidencesupportsyourconclusionand if theevidencedoesn’tfityourconclusion,don’ttrytomakeitfit.

DrawConclusions

• Ask yourself: Is anything missing? Are there other alternatives that Imighthavemissed?

•Clarifyyourcriteriaforevaluationandidentifyifanyofthealternativescanbeeliminated.

•Whichalternativebestmatchesthesuccesscriteria?For Amenah to successfully come to America, get operated on, and return toIraq,thinkhowmanydifferentpeoplethoughtthrougheverystepmultipletimes.JonathanMallochhadtobereadytopulltheplugonhiscolleagueshelpingifhefelttheirlivesmightbeatrisk.KevinJarrardhadtokeepuphispatrolsontheEuphratesbyponderingallthepossiblestepsthatcouldgorightorwrong,andwhat he could do to help in each instance. Lieutenant Colonel Bellon had toensure themission’s fit was right for allMarines up and down the commandfromhim.1. Evaluate different conclusions. Sometimes we can sell ourselves on a

solution because it seems to be the best, but we forget to evaluate otheroptions. Identify other possible solutions and evaluate them based uponyourestablishedcriteria.

2. What are the implications of your decision? Every decision will haveconsequences,oftenunintended;youcan’tanticipateeverything,buttrytoidentifywhatyoucananticipate.

3. Askyourself,isthisdecisionworkable?Ifnot,whatcanyoudotomakeithappen?We can have great ideas, but they are simply ideas if you can’texecuteonthoseideas.

4. Thinkaboutwhatyouwill feel like ifyoumake thedecision thatyouareconsidering. How will you feel if you had to explain to someone your

rationaleformakingthedecision?Doesitstillfeellikeawisedecision?Ifnot,why?

5. What is the time frame for completing the decision? Try to create areasonable deadline, even if there isn’t one imposed by others. Thiswillhelp todriveyou toaction.However, remember that somedecisions taketime. It is important to be patient with the process. We live in a worldwherewewantalloftheanswersyesterday.Recognizethatsomedecisionscanwaitandactaccordingly.

PlanofAction

•Whataretheconsequencesofthisdecision?

•Whatplansneedtobemadetoimplementthisdecision? •Whattypesofresourcesareneededtoimplementthisdecision?LieutenantColonelBellon had to considerwhat resources could be expended,whattheconsequenceswouldbeifAmenahdiedwhileacrosstheocean,andifthetaskwasinthespiritofthemissioninIraqatthatmoment.DoctorsChristianandDoyle,asidefromknowingwhowasgoingtopayfortheoperation,hadthebiggerquality-of-lifequestionaboutwhatbesttodoinhandlingalittlebodythathadmorecomplexissuesthanexpected.Whatprocedurewouldgiveherthebestchancesof longtermsurvivalwhengoingbacktoacountrywhereshewasnotlikelytogetfollow-upcarenorwouldtherebefacilitiesforadditionalsurgeriesiftheyshouldbeneeded?1. Identifythesequenceofstepsforimplementationandmakeithappen.2. Whatwillyoudoifyourdecisiondoesn’tworkoutasplanned?Whatare

your contingencyplans?List possibleproblemsandpotential solutions tohelpcreateacontingencyplan.RecallhowGlennSusskindandGaryWhitehadaPlanA,PlanB,andevenPlanCforalmosteverypossiblechallengeorobstacletheymightface.

3. Clear, open, and frequent communication is necessary when informingothersaboutyourdecision.Whenpossible,offermoreinformationsothatyoucaneasetheconcernsoranxietyofotherswhomightbeimpactedbyyourdecision.

4. Encourageotherstosharetheiropinionsonyourdecision.Bybeingopentothe ideas of others, you can establish buy-in and help anticipate possibleconsequences and obstacles that youmight havemissed. Think ofMajor

Mark A. Lamelza here. He pushed back when David Bellon wanted tosupportKevinJarrard’smission.That’sexactly thekindofofficerBellonwanted. Not a yes-man, but one who could look at all sides and risks.Corporationswantthatsortofpersontoo.

5. After you implement a decision, evaluate what happens—did you haveenough information; were there things you missed? If it was a gooddecision,whywasthedecisiongood?

Don’tworryaboutmakingmistakesbecauseyouaregoing tomake them.Thegood news from our interviews with some of the world’s most enduringlysuccessful people is this:Theymake a lot ofmistakes—more than you and I.The difference is they recognize their mistakes quickly and apply criticalthinkingskillstolearnusefullessons,whichtheyquicklyputtowork.Youcandothistooandbuildabetterlifeforyourself,family,andfriends.LetYourselfExperienceSuccess

Whatwillsuccesslooklikeforyou?Askyourselfquestionsandlettheansweroranswersevolve.Ithelpstopracticevisualizingwhatitmightlooklikeforyou.We added the emphasis here because it needs to be yours, not borrowed orhandeddownfromtheoutsideworld.Ithastobeyours.Youhavetoownitandcritical thinking can do this for you. Make notes to yourself. Success mightincludematerialoreconomicgain.Forexample,ourresearchshowsthatcriticalthinkingisassociatedwithhigheroccupationalattainment.Goodcriticalthinkerstend to successfully climb the corporate ladder—and receive the financialrewards that go with that rise. Good critical thinkers are also viewed in theworkplacewithrespectfortheirabilitytousesoundjudgment,solveproblems,andmakegooddecisions,andoftenfortheircreativity.Sointhecareerworld,criticalthinkingistiedtorewardandrespect.However,thisisnotallthereistoit.

Success also includes a number of the qualities shared by the people whoparticipatedin“Amenah’sStory.”Theywereeffectivethinkerswhopossessedaquiet confidence, one that comes from knowing that you have the ability tosuccessfullymakesomethinghappen.Theyweregenuinelyhumbleaboutwhattheyweredoing,buttheywerealsoverysureoftheircapabilities.DavidBellonbrought this point home: “At no point did we ever think we were doing

somethingextraordinary. I’llspeakforeverybodywhenIsay this:Wethoughtweweredoingwhatweweresupposedtodo.Neveroncedidwesitbackandgo,holycow,we’rehittingitoutoftheparkwiththisone!Youknowourjobwastoget out there and find a way to make a bad situation better, and this was anopportunity,andwethoughtthiswaswhatweweresupposedtodo.”Perhapsthebiggest benefit of having good thinking skills is the self-assurance that comeswiththeabilitytothinkthrougheventhetoughestsituationsandmaketherightdecisions. It is a can-do attitude, a sense of control and confidence, which ispriceless.Summary

Adopting a newway of thinkingwill change your life by helping you to seeopportunitiesmore clearly, sort through ambiguitymore effectively, andmakebetter decisions. Start practicing your new way of thinking today and enjoygreater clarity, confidence, success, and satisfaction. As you change yourthinking,youwilltransformyourlife.

Howcanyouactuallydothis?Well,it’sprettymuchthesamesortofbehaviorshiftyou’dmakewhencommittingtoanutritionorexerciseregime.Youkeepthevisionofthe“newandimproved”youinmindeveryday,asyoukeepactivetowardthatgoal.Soherewegowiththetips,tools,andtechniquescliffnotes: •Breakyourselffromthepatternsofyourpastbylookingeachdayatthe

lives of those around you and in themedia, for examples of thosewhoexhibit highly effective thinking—not just theNobel Prizewinners, butthosewhoexcelatwhatevertheysetouttodo.

•Keeptrackofyourprogressinajournal,diary,oracomputerfile.You’llsoonknowmore andmore aboutyou andyour thinking style, or styles.Areyouimproving,stretchingyourselftousestylesyouformerlydidnot?Are you meeting challenges with more confidence? Are you betterprepared for anything? Themost effective people in the world developtheirownmeasurementsystemtotracktheirdailyprogress.Thinkofthisas having “mini” goals. The strategy is to think-act-measure-correct-improve.Thismightseemlikealotofwork—anditis,atfirst.However,you will immediately start being more comfortable in your own skinknowingyouarebecomingthebestyoucanbe.

•Keepyourmindactive.Testyourselfwithexercisesorquizzes.Therearenumerous thinkingchallengeson the Internetand, ifyou lookwithyournow-more-enlightenedmind,intherealworldaroundyou.Howcanyoubemoreinnovativeatwork?Isthereabetterwaytoapproachaparticularprobleminamoretimelyoropen-mindedway?Youmightfindyourselfcomingupwith new revenue streams atworkor betterways to balanceyour personal and professional life. You might fix your finances. And,researchindicatesthatthosewithactivemindslivefullerandricherlivestheoldertheyget.

•Rewardyourselfwhenyoudiscoveryou areusing thinkingpowersyoumay have never thought you had. You can be your own best coach orcheerleaderonceyoustartmeasuringimprovement.It’saboutabetterlife,sotreatyourselfright.Youwillhaveearnedit!

Goforthandmatter!

AppendixA.Characters

MajorKevin Jarrard, CommandingOfficer, Company L, 3rd Battalion, 23rdMarines. Kevin, Kelly, Caleb, Hannah, Rachel, Ethan at Riverside MilitaryAcademywhereKeviniscurrentlyservingastheCommandantofCadets.

Source:KevinJarrard

CaptainJohnNadeau,aNavyreservistinhissixties,aprofessoratVanderbiltUniversity School of Medicine. Dr. John Nadeau was a top hypertensionspecialistatVanderbiltonhissecondtourofdutyasabattlefieldsurgeonwiththeU.S.MarineCorpsinHaditha,Iraq.


LieutenantColonelDavidG.Bellon,CommandingOfficer,3rdBattalion,23rd

Marines, 4th Marine Division. He is now a colonel in the reserves havingdeployedthreetimestoIraqandoncetoAfghanistan.HenowlivesinSt.Louis,Missouri,withhiswifeandkidsandworksininternationaltrade.

Source:DavidBellon

MajorMarkA.Lamelza,OperationsOfficer,3rdBattalion,23rdMarines,4thMarineDivision.MarkLamelzaispicturedwithhiswifeJenniferanddaughterJade on vacation in Naples, Florida. Mark and his family live in Nashville,Tennessee.MarkworksfortheprofessionalservicesorganizationDeloitteasanInformation Technology Manager. Mark is still in the reserves and he nowcommands3rdBattalion,23rdMarinesasaLieutenantColonel.


Major Kevin E. Clark, Executive Officer, who shared an office with MarkLamelza.

Major Jake Falcone, BattalionCommunicationsOfficer, facilitated clearancefor Amenah and her mother to enter the United States through the StateDepartment and Department of Homeland Security. Jake Falcone is picturedwithhiswifeClareandchildrenKatherineandJoseph.JakeworksforCACIasagovernment contractor in theWashington,D.C., area. Jake is still serving intheMarineReservesasaMajoraboardMarineCorpsBaseQuantico,Virginia.

Source:JakeFalcone

ColonelH.StacyClardyIII,nowaBrigadierGeneral,cametoHadithaforavisit.Kevin,withLieutenantColonelBellon’spermission, toldColonelClardywhat hewas up to and said, “Sir, if this all lines up,would you provide us ahelicopter?” Though skeptical, the colonel said that if everything else cametogetherthattheregimentwouldprovideahelicoptor.

SergeantBryanC.Velasquez, a Company Lima squad leader, 3rd Battalion,23rdMarineRegiment,RegimentalCombatTeam5,whodiscoveredAmenahonaroutinepatrolthroughthecity.Sheappearedtobeanormallittlegirl,exceptforherbluelipsandfingers.Amenahal-Bayati,two-year-oldHadithagirl.

Source:Marines—MarkLamelzaAlaaThabitFatah,father.“Perhapshewasinvolvedintheinsurgency,perhapshewasn’t,”Major Jarrard said. “It’s difficult to tell from the reportswehave.ButasfarasI’mconcerned,he’smyfriend.”


MahaMuhammadBandar,mother(41-year-old).


Sheik Said Flayah Othman, tribal chief who gave the okay; from the al-Jughayfitribe.Dr.KarlaChristian,M.D.,pediatricheart surgeonandanassociateprofessorof cardiology at Vanderbilt. (Amenah returned to Haditha March 7 afterundergoingopenheart surgery at theMonroeCarell Jr.Children’sHospital atVanderbiltUniversityinNashville,Tennessee.)Dr. Thomas Doyle, M.D., a pediatric cardiologist at Monroe Carell Jr.

Children’sHospitalatVanderbiltUniversity.KevinChurchwell,M.D.,theCEOoftheMonroeCarellJr.Children’sHospitalatVanderbiltUniversity.

SamirSumaidaie,IraqiambassadortotheUnitedStates,alsofromHaditha.JanetJarrard,MajorKevinJarrard’saunt,whohelpedlineupdetailstogetthemotheranddaughtertotheStates.SheandKellyJarrard,Kevin’swife,helpedraise money. She is semiretired and lives in Franklin, Tennessee, where shespends most of her time with her two young grandsons. Chief among hercharitableendeavorsistheJohnJarrardFoundation,establishedin2001tohonorher late husband, which has raised over $800,000 for various charitableorganizationsinhishomestateofGeorgia.

Source:JanetJarrard

Jonathan Malloch, Jonathan not only had a medical background, an EMTbackground, and had worked for FEMA, but he also did emergency medicalmanagement whenever he was called on to do it. He had extensive militaryconnectionsandamilitarybackground.Heorchestratedtheextractionteam.Lisa Van Wye, R.N., Janet Jarrard’s friend, a nurse in Bowling Green,Kentucky. Janet asked Lisa to flywith the extraction team to Jordan becausetheyhadtohaveawomanontheteamescortingAmenahandhermom.

Deanna Dolan, with World Relief, which provided an Arabic interpreter,

culturalorientation,andhelpedwithplanningculturallyappropriatefood.

Source:DeannaDolan

Pastor Steve and Sarah Berger, Grace Chapel Church in Lieper’s Fork,Tennessee.TheyletAmenahandhermother,aswellasDeannaDolanandtheinterpreter, stay at their home. Steve and Sarah continue their work at GraceChapel. Since their son, Josiah, went to Heaven in August 2009, they havewrittenabookandhavecommittedthemselvestoteachingpeoplehowtohaveabiblicalperspectivewhena lovedonepasseson.Theycanbe reached throughwww.gracechapel.netandhttp://haveheart.net.

http://www.gracechapel.net

http://haveheart.net

Source:DeannaDolan

Robin Smith, a family friend and an executive with the BB&T Bank inGainesville,Georgia,KevinJarrard’shometown.GlennSusskind,medic,memberoftheextractionteam.

GaryWhite,memberoftheextractionteam.BlackwaterWorldwide,nowknownasXeServicesLLC,isaprivatemilitarycompany founded asBlackwaterUSA in 1997byErikPrince, a formerNavySeal with inherited wealth, andAl Clark. Blackwater was often contracted toguardU.S.diplomats,anactivitythatledtothecompanybecomingembroiledincontroversy, particularly for its activities in Iraq. InOctober2007,BlackwaterUSAwasrenamedBlackwaterWorldwide.ItannouncedonFebruary13,2009,thatitwouldoperateunderthenewname“Xe.”Inamemosenttoemployees,President Gary Jackson wrote that the new name “reflects the change incompany focus away from the business of providing private security.” Thecompany was purchased on December 17, 2010, by USTC Holdings, aninvestmentgroup.

Travelnote:Commercial flightswere paid for by donations except a SikorsyCH-53 helicopter to take the family and Kevin to the Jordan border and thefamily’sreturntoAlAsadAirbaseinAlAnbarProvince,wheretheyboardedanMV-22OspreyforthefinallegofthevoyagetoHaditha.

AppendixB.CognitiveBiases:CommonMentalMindTraps

Mindtrapsarelikeopticalillusionsthatfoolyouintothinkingyou’rerightwhenyou’renot.Itisimportanttogetaproperintroductiontothesementalmistakesbecauseyouwill run into themasyoupractice anewwayof thinking.Socialscientists have identified many different kinds of mental mistakes associatedwiththewayhumanbeingsprocessinformation.ThepioneeringworkofAmosTversky and Daniel Kahneman, culminating in Kahneman being awarded theNobelPrizein2002foreconomicsciences,shedslightonthehumantendencytomakesystematicerrorsincertainsituations.

Basically, humans use simple rules, heuristics, to make judgments. Althoughheuristicsarequiteuseful,theyoperatelikeshortcutsthatsaveustime,buttheyalso create systematic errors.A few of themore prevalent ones are describedhere.They are grouped so that you can seewhich of the five steps of criticalthinkingtheyaremostlikelytoimpact.Grabbing Glory and Pushing Blame (Step 2: RecognizeAssumptions)

• A fundamental attribution error is an error in attributing cause. Ifsomeonemakesamistake, there isa tendencytoattribute themistaketothe individual’s personality rather than the situation. For example, ifsomeonemakesamistakeatwork,thecausewillmorelikelybeattributedtoapersonalshortcomingthanworkoverloadortimepressure.Notreallyfair, is it? This trap leads to faulty assumptions and poorly definedproblems that skewa situation in thewrongdirection from the start.Tominimize this error, analyze the situation by asking questions about theenvironmentanditsimpact.

•Self-servingbiasisthetendencytomakeassumptionsaboutwhatisfairorrightinawaythatfavorsourownself-interest.Forexample,ifyouaskfourpeoplehowmuch(whatpercentage)theycontributedtoaproject,the

numberwillexceed100percent.Wetendtotakemorethanourfairshareofcredit.Wheninformationisambiguous,wetendtointerpretitinawaythat benefits our self-interest. To minimize this error, pay particularattention to the contributionsofothers, and recognize thatyoumightbeunderestimating their time and value, relative to your own. An open-minded style will help you becomemore aware of the contributions ofothers.

AskingtheWrongQuestions(Step3:EvaluateInformation)

•Confirmationbiasisthetendencytosearchforinformationthatconfirmsyour beliefs. If you are responsible for making important decisions,underline thismind trap and keep it squarely in your view because thistrap snaps on a regular basis and you don’t want to make a crucialdecisionwith lopsided information.Tominimize this bias, ask yourself,“AmIbeingobjective?”andactivelyseekoutpeoplewhowillarticulateacontrary view.Look for peoplewith inquisitive and truth-seeking styleswhocanhelpyouexploreallsidesofaposition.

•Anchoring is the tendencytogiveundueweight to thefirst informationyoureceive.Hammond,Keeney,andRaiffa1askedpeopletwoquestionsthatweinviteyoutoanswer:

•IsthepopulationofTurkeygreaterthan35million? •WhatisyourbestestimateofTurkey’spopulation? Theyfoundthatinformationinthefirstquestion,specificallythefigure35

million,influencedtheanswerstothesecondquestion.Whentheyused100millioninthefirstquestion,peoples’estimatestothesecondquestionweremuch larger. The information anchored how they thought about thequestion.Asyoucanimagine,anchoringisusedasanegotiationtechnique,so be aware of how initial numbers and information can impact thewayyouevaluatesubsequentinformation.

•Theframingeffectoccurswhenaperson’sresponsechangesbasedontheway the question is framed. Consider the example we mentionedpreviously:Youneed surgery andyourdoctor says toyou, “92%of thepatientssurvivesurgery.”Thatsoundspositive.Nowlet’ssaythedoctorsays,“8%ofthepatientsdieinsurgery.”Thatdoesn’tsoundasgood,andpeople are more likely to reject the latter statement. The same odds of

survival, but different acceptance due to the way the information isframed.Whenyougatherinformation,lookattheframebecauseitcouldunduly influence your decision. You want to focus on the information(e.g.,oddsofsurvival),notthewayitisframed.

• Group think occurs when members of a tightly knit group try tominimize conflict and reach consensus without critically testing,analyzing,andevaluatingideas.TheKennedyadministration’sdecisiontoinvade Cuba (Bay of Pigs) and the George W. Bush administration’sdecision to invade Iraq have both been described as examples of groupthink.Theingredientsforgroupthinkincludeaninnercircleofadvisorswho are closely aligned and the absence of someone who holds analternative viewpoint or plays devil’s advocate. A truth-seeking style isparticularlyvaluableforsurfacingthetough,butnecessaryquestions.

CuriousConclusions(Step4:DrawConclusions)

•Optimism bias is the tendency to overestimate positive outcomes andunderestimate negative outcomes. This bias is a double-edged swordbecauseoptimismisanadmirablequalityassociatedwithbeingresilient,but underestimating risk is dangerous. The best safeguard against thismindtrapisgoodplanning.Everyonein“Amenah’sStory”maintainedapositiveattitude,buttheirplansweremeticulousandtheyrecognizedandacceptedthatasingleglitchcouldstoptheproject.

•Planning fallacy is the tendency to underestimate the time, costs, andrisksoffutureactionsand,atthesametime,overestimatethebenefitsofthosesameactions.Thinkaboutthelastprojectatworkthatwaslate,hadcostoverruns, and fell shortof expectations. Itprobablydidn’t takeyoulong to come up with an example because this mental mistake occursfrequently.Tocounterthisfallacy,leveragetimelyandanalyticalthinkingstylesasyoupreparetomakeadecision.

•Sunkcostfallacyisalsocommonandoccurswhenwemakeadecisioninaway that justifies apast decision. It is reminiscent of the catchphrase“throwing good money after bad.” Sunk cost comes from economicswhere the past investment (of time or money) can’t be recovered andshouldbe irrelevant to thepresentdecision,but researchshows that it isnot.Ifyouhavealreadyinvestedinaprojectorrelationship,youarelikelytohangon andwant tomake itworkbecauseof yourpast involvement

ratherthanyouranalysisofthefuturesuccess.Tominimizethisbias,youneedtodoanemotionaltemperaturecheckandbringfeelings(e.g.,regret,fear of failure) to the surface, so you can more readily assess theirinfluence. Then, shift your attention to an analysis of the current andfutureinvestmentsrequiredandthelikelyreturnoninvestment.

Endnote

1.Hammond,JohnS.,RalphL.Keeney,andHowardRaiffa.1998.SmartChoices:APracticalGuidetoMakingBetterDecisions.HarvardBusinessSchool.

AppendixC.Resources

Congratulations!Youhavemadeittotheendofthisbookandthebeginningofanew,orperhapsrenewed,approachtoimproveyourthinking,andthatisagreataccomplishment. This appendix provides suggested readings and additionalresourcestosupportyourthinkingsuccess.OnlineResourcesandSocialMedia

Blogs

CriticalThinkersURL:www.criticalthinkers.comAuthors: Chad Fife, Breanne Harris, Heather Ishikawa, and ElizabethPaukerGood decision making and innovative thinking are coveted competencies intoday’sworld,buthowdoyoudeveloptheunderlyingskills?Throughimprovedcritical thinking, of course! Criticalthinkers.com guides you through theessentialsofcriticalthinking,Pearson’sREDcriticalthinkingmodel,andhowtothinkcriticallyinreallifeandinyourjob.CriticalThinkingintheRealWorldURL:http://janethinz.comAuthor:JanetHinzLearn about hot topics and the critical thinking necessary to address themthroughthisblogandaccompanyingradioshow.3CPearsonLearningSolutionsURL:http://www.pearsoncustom.com/professional/blogAuthors:AmyRondinelandSeanStowers

http://www.critical-thinkers.com

http://Criticalthinkers.com

http://janethinz.com

http://www.pearsoncustom.com/professional/blog

Follow key trends and topics in professional education and workplace skilldevelopment, including critical thinking. The primary focus is on executivedevelopment, online and blended learning, certification, and innovation ineducation.AssessmentBuzzURL:www.AssessmentBuzz.comAuthor:BreanneHarrisEngage in an interactive discussion about the use of assessments for personalandorganizationaldevelopment.Thisblog includescritical thinkingtopicsandhowtoassessboththinkingandpersonality.eBook

CriticalThinkingeBookURL:www.ThinkWatson.com/ebookAuthor:ChadFifeandScottFlanderLearnhowtheREDmodelhelpsyoumakegooddecisionsandthefivereasonsto train employees to think critically. This eBook is aimed at professionaldevelopmentaudiences.FacebookGroups

CriticalThinkersFacebookGroupURL:http://facebook.com/criticalthinkersConnectandnetworkwithotherswhoareinterestedincriticalthinking.Youcanalso check out the critical thinking groups on LinkedIn by searching “criticalthinkinginbusiness.”NowYou’reThinkingFacebookGroupURL:http://www.facebook.com/NowYoureThinkingParticipateintheNowYou’reThinkingFacebookGroupandshareinformationabout Now You’re Thinking and additional resources available for continued

http://www.AssessmentBuzz.com

http://www.ThinkWatson.com/ebook

http://facebook.com/criticalthinkers

http://www.facebook.com/NowYoureThinking

learning.Videos

CriticalThinking:NoLongerJustaC-SuiteSkill(Video)URL:http://www.youtube.com/talentlensAuthor:EdReilly,CEO,AmericanManagementAssociationBusinesshaschangedandcriticalthinkingandagilityisrequiredatalllevelsofthe organization as decisions get pushed downstream. Learn how you can bepreparedfortheemergingworkplace.CriticalThinking:Today’s#1Skill(Video)URL:http://www.youtube.com/talentlensConsultantsandHRprofessionalsdiscuss real-worldcritical thinking,why it’stoday’s top workplace skill, and how to assess candidates with the Watson-Glaser™IICriticalThinkingAppraisal.CriticalThinkingVideoviaYouTubeURL:http://www.youtube.com(Searchfor“criticalthinkingQualiaSoup”)Createdby:QualiaSoupListentoaclearandconciseoverviewofcritical thinkingandhowitworksinourlives.EssentialSkillsfor21stCenturyWorkplace(Webcast)URL:www.amanet.org(Searchfor“essentialskillsfor21stcenturyworkplacewebcast”)Authors: Edward Reilly, CEO, American Management Association; KenKay, President, Partnership for 21st Century Skills; and CharlieKreitzberg,CEO,CogneticsCorporationLearnthekeyskillsstudentsandemployeesneedtobesuccessfulinthetwenty-first centuryworkplace.The importance of critical thinking in the twenty-firstcenturyworkplaceisalsohighlighted.IncreasingCriticalThinking in theWorkplace:TheRawMaterialof21st

http://www.youtube.com/talentlens

http://www.youtube.com/talentlens

http://www.youtube.com

http://www.amanet.org

CenturySuccess(Webcast)URL:www.hr.com(Searchfor“increasingcriticalthinkingintheworkplace”)Author: JudyChartrand,ConsultingChiefScientist,PearsonTalentLens;presentedbyHR.comThe Department of Labor identified critical thinking as the raw material thatunderlies fundamental workplace competencies, such as problem solving,decisionmaking, planning, and riskmanagement.Learn how to assess criticalthinkingskillsandhowtobuildthoseskillsintheworkplace.Articles

CriticalThinkingMeansBusinesswhitepaperURL:http://thinkwatson.com/whitepaperAuthors:JudyChartrand,HeatherIshikawa,andScottFlanderLearntoapplyanddeveloptheNEW#1workplaceskillusingtheREDmodelofcriticalthinking.Thispaperdescribescriticalthinkingsolutionsforincreasingorganizational effectiveness, including a model for understanding anddeveloping critical thinking. It also provides trainers with some specifictechniquesfordevelopingcriticalthinkingthatcanjump-starttheprocess.HRExecutive—ThinkingCriticallyURL:http://www.hreonline.com(Searchfor“criticalthinking”)Success in today’s tight economy is defined by making the right decisions,solvingtheproblemsthat trulyimpedesuccess,andanticipatingthetrendsthatare redefining the competitive landscape. Learn how selecting good criticalthinkerswillsetanewbarforyourorganization’sperformance.TrendsinExecutiveDevelopmentSurvey(research)URL:http://www.leadershipdevelopmenttrends.comAuthors: Bonnie Hageman, CEO Executive Development Associates, andJudyChartrand,ConsultingChiefScientist,PearsonTalentLensGaininsightintothebestpractices,emergingneeds,toppriorities,andcutting-edge approaches to leadership and executive development. This longitudinal

http://www.hr.com

http://HR.com

http://thinkwatson.com/whitepaper

http://www.hreonline.com

http://www.leadershipdevelopmenttrends.com

researchdescribeshowtoacceleratethedevelopmentofemergingleaders,whystrategicthinkingisatopskillgapandwhattodoaboutit,howtoacceleratethedevelopmentofemergingleaders,andwhatthefutureofexecutivedevelopmentholds.HarvestingTomorrow’sLeaders:HowDoYouRecognizeYourTopTalentandGroomThemforLeadershipPositions?URL: http://thinkwatson.com/downloads/Harvesting-Tomorrows-Leaders.pdfAuthors: Jim Bolt, CEO Bolt Consulting, and Bonnie Hagemann, T&D,July2009Learn the steps organizations can take to identify and develop their high-potentialtalentandthesignstolookforwhensomeoneisabouttoderail.Assessments

MyThinkingStylesURL:www.ThinkWatson.com/mythinkingstylesDo your friends and family want to complete the My Thinking Stylesassessment? Invite them to go to this site and complete a brief form of theassessment.Watson-Glaser™IICriticalThinkingAppraisalURL:www.ThinkWatson.comWatson-Glaser™ II is the gold standard for measuring critical thinking anddecision-making skills. The assessment is used worldwide by corporations,talent management consulting firms, and schools to select great managers,develop high-potential professionals and future leaders, and admit applicantsinto challenging programs. Learn how you can use this assessment in yourorganization.BooksforProfessionalDevelopment

SuccessfulManager’sHandbook,7thed.

http://thinkwatson.com/downloads/Harvesting-Tomorrows-Leaders.pdf


http://www.ThinkWatson.com

Susan Gebelein, Kristie Nelson-Neuhaus, Carol Skube, David Lee, LisaStevens, Lowell Hellervik, and Brian Davis.Minneapolis,MN: PersonnelDecisionsInternationalCorporation,2004.ISBN:093852920Aone-volumelibraryfilledwithsmart,practicalideasandsuggestionsthatyoucanuse immediately on the job.This is the place to turnwhenyouneednewideas, have to get your teamup to speed fast, orwant to prepare for the nextlevel inyourcareer.Theentirefirstsection,ThoughtLeadership, isdevotedtocriticalthinking.SuccessfulExecutive’sHandbookDavid Lee, Elaine Sloane, Kristie Nelson-Neuhaus, and Susan Gebelein.Minneapolis,MN:PersonnelDecisionsInternationalCorporation,1999.ISBN:0972577009Anessentialtoolforexecutives—andaspiringexecutives—whethertheyleadaFortune500companyorasmallorganization.Drawingfrommorethan30yearsof research and work with executives around the world, it provides business-relevantstrategiesfor improvingon-the-jobperformanceandmentoringothers.TheThinking andStrategicManagement chapters address the critical thinkingissuesencounteredbyleaders.FYI:ForYourImprovement,AGuideforDevelopmentandCoaching,5thed.Michael Lombardo, and Robert Eichinger. Minneapolis, MN: LomingerInternational,2009.ISBN:9781933578170An easy-to-use development tool that features a chapter of actionable tips foreachof67LeadershipArchitect®competencies,19careerstallersandstoppers,and 7 global focus areas. The topics that relate to critical thinking includestrategic skills, making complex decisions, and creating new and differentopportunities.Awaken,Align,Accelerate:AGuidetoGreatLeadershipScottNelsonandJasonOrtmeier.Edina,MN:Beaver’sPondPress,2010.ISBN:9781592983551

Asimple,yetpowerfulframeworkthatinvitesleaderstoembracethechallengeof developing in today’s current world. Filled with over 1,500 developmentsuggestions and coaching tips, selfassessments, real-world case studies, andsampledevelopmentplans,thisuniqueguideisavaluabledevelopmentassetforanyleader.Featuresseveralchaptersrelatedtocriticalandstrategicthinking.MichaelM.Lombardo(Author)Visit Amazon’s Michael M. Lombardo page and find books, read about theauthor,andmore.ResourcesforStudents

THINKCritically.PeterFacione.EnglewoodCliffs,NJ:PrenticeHallPTR,2010.ISBN:0205738451A cutting-edge, self-reflective guide for improving critical thinking skillsthroughcarefulanalysisandthoughtfulevaluationofcontemporarycultureandissues. Taking cues from everyday life—education, business, health sciences,social work, law, government policy issues, and current events—THINKCriticallybridgestheprinciplesofcriticalthinkingwithreal-worldapplication.CriticalThinking:ConsidertheVerdict,5thed.BruceN.Waller.EnglewoodCliffs,NJ:PrenticeHall,2011.Organized around lively and authentic examples drawn from jury trials,contemporary political and social debate, and advertising, this introductionshowsstudentshowtodetectfallaciesandhowtoexamineandconstructcogentarguments. Accessible and reader friendly—yet thorough and rigorous—itshowshowtointegratealllogicskillsintothecriticaldecision-makingprocess.BecomingaBetterCriticalThinker:AUserFriendlyManual,6thed.SherryDiestler.EnglewoodCliffs,NJ:PrenticeHall,2011.ISBN:0132413132This book trains students to distinguish high-quality,wellsupported argumentsfromargumentswithlittleornoevidencetosupportthem.Itdevelopstheskillsrequired to effectively evaluate the many claims facing them as citizens,

learners, consumers, andhumanbeings, and also to be effective advocates fortheirbeliefs.NowYou’reThinkingaboutCareerSuccessJudyChartrand, StewartEmery,RussHall,Heather Ishikawa, and JohnMaketa.UpperSaddleRiver,NJ:PearsonEducation,2011.Prepareforasuccessfulcareer.Learnhowtousethinkingskillstodifferentiateyourself fromother job candidates and give yourself a competitive advantage.Know how to step into the job and perform with confidence by using yourthinkingskills.NowYou’reThinkingaboutStudentSuccessJudyChartrand, StewartEmery,RussHall,Heather Ishikawa, and JohnMaketa.UpperSaddleRiver,NJ:PearsonEducation,2011.Learnhowtosuccessfullynavigatethroughschoolandintoarewardingcareer.Use a newmodel for thinking and a series of relevant questions to help youorganizeyourthoughtstomeetthechallengesofschool.TheRe-DiscoveryofCommonSense:AGuidetoCriticalThinkingChuckClayton.Bloomington,IN:iUniverse,Inc.,2007.ISBN:0595437087Teachyourself critical thinking skillswith this practical guide.Youwill learnconcepts,methods, and resources tomake informed decisions, complete tasksquicklyandeffectively,shopsmarter,andcreateafunlifeforyourself.CriticalThinkingSkillsSuccessin20MinutesaDayLaurenStarkey.NewYork,NY:LearningExpress,LLC,2004.ISBN:1576855082Becomeaneffectivecriticalthinkerinjust20minutesaday!Whetheratwork,atschool,orathome,criticalthinkingskillsareessentialforsuccess.Learningtothinkcriticallywillimproveyourdecision-makingandproblem-solvingskills,givingyouthetoolsyouneedtotacklethetoughdecisionsandchoicesyouface.MyThinkingLabURL:www.MyThinkingLab.com

http://www.MyThinkingLab.com

MyThinkingLab is a series of online courses that accompany Pearson’stextbooks.Thisresourceengagesstudentsinactivelearning—it’smodular,self-paced, accessible anywherewithWeb access, and adaptable to each student’slearning style—and instructors can easily customizeMyThinkingLab to bettermeettheirstudents’needs.Training

CriticalThinkingUniversityPearsonTalentLensThis online learning environment enables participants to develop and applycriticalthinkingskillsintheworkplace.ThefoundationisthethreedimensionsoftheWatson-Glaser™IICriticalThinkingAppraisal(RED).Learnersdeveloptheir skills through a sequence of interactive activities built around real-worldsituations. Social learning tools provide self-directed learning, feedback, andcoaching. The result is a personalized experience that leads to better problemsolvinganddecisionmakinginanincreasinglycomplexbusinessworld.Length:Trainingon-demandTel:888.298.6227URL:http://thinkwatson.com/training-online-training.phpCriticalThinkingBootCampPearsonTalentLens/ExecutiveDevelopmentAssociatesThis is anonsiteworkshop to trainemployees to thinkcritically.As the“bootcamp”name suggests, attendeeswill be immersed in an intensive, three-phasedevelopmentprocessfocusedonlearningpracticalskills.Eachattendeewillgaina “Masters-level” understanding of critical thinking and the tools to take theirdecisionmakingtothenextlevel,with74percentreportingtheyactuallyapplytheirnewskillsonthejob.Length:2daysTel:888.298.6227URL:http://thinkwatson.com/training-onsite-training.php

http://thinkwatson.com/training-online-training.php

http://thinkwatson.com/training-onsite-training.php

CriticalThinkingSeminar#2533AmericanManagementAssociationThis two-daypublicworkshopprovideshands-on experiencewith a batteryofpracticaltools(includingtheWatson-Glaser™IICriticalThinkingAppraisal)tohelp youmake critical thinking an indispensable part of your skill set.You’llfind out things you didn’t know about yourself andmake discoveries that canliterallychangeyourlife.Insteadofconcentratingontheories,you’llbeworkingwithanexpertinstructortogetcomfortablewithaconcretesetoftools.You’llthenbe ready tobenefit fromyournewskills immediatelywhenyou return toyourjob.Length:2daysTel:877.566.9441URL:http://www.amanet.orgAdvancedCriticalThinkingSeminar#2228AmericanManagementAssociationThiscoursewillgiveyou twofulldays topracticeapplyingacritical thinkingmodel to the situational challenges you encounter in your own organization.Working through a series of practical cases, you will explore the impact thatcorporate culture, competing priorities, globalization, technology, and diversecommunication styles have on critical thinking. You’ll learn strategies andtacticsforeffectivelynavigatingcomplexproblemsolvinganddecisionmakingandbecomebetterpreparedtotakeappropriateactionineachsituation.Finally,you’llhavetheopportunitytoapplythecriticalthinkingprocessyou’velearnedto a specific challenge you’re facing atwork and receive feedback from yourinstructorandpeerstoimproveyoureffectiveness.Length:2daysTel:877.566.9441URL:http://www.amanet.org



Index

A

accuracyofinformation,evaluating,68-70actionplan,developing,76-77,107,109AdvancedCriticalThinkingSeminar#2228,144AlaaThabitFatah(Amenah’sfather),5,23,39-41,119Amenahal-Bayati,118.SeealsoAmenah’sstoryAmenah’sstory,5-43 roleofthinkingin,45-47analyticalthinkingstyle,82-83anchoring,127articlesformoreinformation,136-137assessingthinkingstyles,82,97-98AssessmentBuzzblog,132assessmentsformoreinformation,137assumptions,recognizing,64-67,102-104 mindtrapsaffecting,126Awaken,Align,Accelerate:AGuidetoGreatLeadership,139B

BecomingaBetterCriticalThinker:AUserFriendlyManual,6thedition,141Bellon,David,10-13,15,19,24,46,51-52,60,73,88,100,104,106,108,110,115Berger,Sarah,32-36,61,87,123Berger,Steve,18,31-37,61,87,123biasedfeelings,54.Seealsomindtraps

BlackwaterWorldwide,19,26,29,124blogsformoreinformation,131-132booksforprofessionaldevelopment,138,140Bush,GeorgeW.,38C

Christian,Karla,11,29,33-38,45,108,120Churchwell,Kevin,120Clardy,H.StacyIII,12,15,19,118clarityindreams,47,49-50Clark,Al,124Clark,Kevin,11-13,117cognitivebias,71.Seealsomindtrapsconclusions,drawing,72-76,106-107 mindtrapsaffecting,129-130confidence,110confirmationbias,72,127CriticalThinkersblog,131CriticalThinkersFacebookgroup,133criticalthinking defined,96 developingskillsin,54,56 experiencingsuccessin,109-110 REDmodelof,77 stepsin drawconclusions,mindtrapsaffecting,129-130 evaluateinformation,mindtrapsaffecting,127-128 recognizeassumptions,mindtrapsaffecting,126 tipsforachieving,111-112CriticalThinkingBootCamp,143

CriticalThinkingeBook,133CriticalThinkingintheRealWorldblog,132CriticalThinkingMeansBusinesswhitepaper,136CriticalThinkingSeminar#2533,144CriticalThinkingSkillsSuccessin20MinutesaDay,142CriticalThinkingUniversity,143CriticalThinkingVideoviaYouTube,134CriticalThinking:ConsidertheVerdict,5thEdition,140CriticalThinking:NoLongerJustaC-SuiteSkill(Video),134CriticalThinking:Today’s#1Skill(Video),134D

Day,RuthS.,78decisionmaking.Seethinkingmodelsdeductivereasoning,74,76Dolan,Deanna,18,31-37,61,87-88,90,122Donahue,Brian,34Doyle,Thomas,29,33,35,45,70,108,120drawingconclusions,72-76,106-107 mindtrapsaffecting,129-130dreams,clarityin,47,49-50drugcompanycommercials,71E

emotions controllingwiththinking,55 effectonthinking,50-54EssentialSkillsfor21stCenturyWorkplace(Webcast),135evaluatinginformation,67-72,104,106 mindtrapsaffecting,127-128

F

Facebookgroupsformoreinformation,133facts,separatingfromopinions,65Falcone,Jake,14,21,117feelings controllingwiththinking,55 effectonthinking,50-54“fivewhys,”103framingeffect,128fundamentalattributionerrors,126FYI: For Your Improvement, A Guide for Development and Coaching (5thedition),139G–H

GapInc.,64groupthink,128Haitianchildrenexample,79-80HarvestingTomorrow’sLeaders:HowDoYouRecognizeYourTopTalentandGroomThemforLeadershipPositions?article,137hospitalinIraqexample,47,49HRExecutive—ThinkingCriticallyarticle,136I

Increasing Critical Thinking in the Workplace: The Raw Material of 21stCenturySuccess(Webcast),135inductivereasoning,74,76information,lackoftransformationalpowerin,2informationevaluation,67-72,104,106inquisitivethinkingstyle,84-85

insightfulthinkingstyle,85-86Iraqihospitalexample,47,49J

Jackson,Gary,124Jarrard,Janet,16-17,46,49,61,68,87,90,100,105,121Jarrard,Kelly,16,31,37-38,49Jarrard,Kevin,5-16,19-27,38-41,49-52,69,73,80,85-86,100-101,105-106,113Jobs,Steve,1Jones,Terry,16,87jumpingtoconclusions,72K–L

Kahneman,Daniel,125King,MartinLutherJr.,49Krumenacker,Captain,11Lamelza,Mark,11-15,52,68,73,91,108,116Lombardo,MichaelM.,140M

MahaMuhammadBandar(Amenah’smother),6,23,25,29,32-41,87-88,119Malloch,Jonathan,17-20,49,54,59,61,66-70,82,89-90,102,105-106,122Manning,Peyton,60mentalmistakes.Seemindtrapsmindtraps,125 anchoring,127 confirmationbias,127 framingeffect,128

fundamentalattributionerrors,126 groupthink,128 optimismbias,129 planningfallacy,129 self-servingbias,126 sunkcostfallacy,130miracles,42-43mistakes,recognizing,109moralclarity,52MyThinkingLab,142MyThinkingStylesassessment,137N

Nadeau,John,5-12,45,48-49,53,75,84,100,102,114NowYou’reThinkingaboutCareerSuccess,141NowYou’reThinkingaboutStudentSuccess,141NowYou’reThinkingFacebookgroup,133O

objectivitywhenevaluatinginformation,71-72open-mindedthinkingstyle,86-88opinions,separatingfactsfrom,65optimismbias,129Othman,SheikSaidFlayah,24,69,120overgeneralization,73P

personalexperience,assourceofassumptions,64persuasion,evaluating,71

planofaction,developing,76-77,107,109planningfallacy,129Prince,Erik,124problemsolving.SeethinkingmodelsQ–R

quiettime,101racism,feelingscontributingto,54TheRe-DiscoveryofCommonSense:AGuidetoCriticalThinking,142recognizeassumptions(criticalthinkingstep),mindtrapsaffecting,126REDmodelofcriticalthinking,77reflectivethinking,60-63,99,101relevancyofinformation,evaluating,68-70resourcesforinformation,131-144Rumore,Wayne,11S

Sanfey,Alan,53self-servingbias,126Semir(Iraqicaptain),22Silsby,Laura,79-80Smith,Robin,16,124statedassumptions,unstatedassumptionsversus,65“stopandthink”(reflectivethinking),60-63,99,101storytelling.SeeAmenah’sstorystudents,resourcesforinformation,140-142stylesofthinking.Seethinkingstylessuccess,experiencing,109-110SuccessfulExecutive’sHandbook,138SuccessfulManager’sHandbook,7thed.,138

Sumaidaie,Samir,34,120sunkcostfallacy,130Susskind,Glenn,19-20,26-30,38,46,59,65-66,74,108,124systematicthinkingstyle,88-89T

THINKCritically,140thinking criticalthinking defined,96 experiencingsuccessin,109-110 tipsforachieving,111-112 effectoffeelingson,50-54 roleinAmenah’sstory,45-47 rolesof,54-56thinkingmodels assumptions,recognizing,64-67,102-104 conclusions,drawing,72-76,106-107 examplesof,59-60 informationevaluation,67-72,104-106 planofaction,developing,76-77,107-109 reflectivethinking,60-63,99-101 stepsin,98-99thinkingstyles,80-81 analytical,82-83 assessing,82,97-98 inquisitive,84-85 insightful,85-86 open-minded,86-88 systematic,88-89

timely,90 truth-seeking,91-92 valueof,92-933CPearsonLearningSolutionsblog,132timelythinkingstyle,90trainingcourses,143transformation,requirementsfor,2TrendsinExecutiveDevelopmentSurvey(research),136truth-seekingthinkingstyle,91-92Tversky,Amos,125U–V

unconsciousracism,54unstatedassumptions,statedassumptionsversus,65valueofthinkingstyles,92-93VanWye,Lisa,18,28-29,61,65,122Velasquez,Bryan,118videosformoreinformation,134-135vision,clarityin,47-50W–Z

Watson-GlaserIICriticalThinkingAppraisal,78,137White,Gary,19-20,26-30,46,59,65,70,108,124Zainab(Arabicinterpreter),18,31,34,87

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