Command Post: To Think or Not to Think

Feb. 1, 2018
Dr. Harry Carter explains that critical thinking is not a simple, random process.

Thinking is good. NOT thinking is bad. And most importantly, thinking is not optional. One would suppose that these concepts are widely known and well-shared. Unfortunately, as I watch the world around me, I am beginning to come to the conclusion that in many circles, thinking is an action that is frowned upon and discouraged. 

Passive vs. critical thinking

Let me pose a rhetorical question: How many of you have minds that are closed, locked and shuttered, much like a home on the outer banks of North Carolina when a hurricane is approaching? I noted that this was a rhetorical question because if your mind is closed, you will be unable to interpret my words and frame a reasonable response.

We all know that thinking is an important part of what we do each day. But much of this is passive thinking. I want to talk about the type of thinking that requires us to weigh and evaluate things. How good is “A” versus its opposite “B”? This type of thinking has long been referred to as critical thinking. 

A great deal of value has been placed on the lessons of the “thinking process” that occurs within the world around us every day. Let me underscore to you the importance of thinking as it relates to the solution of complex personal or professional issues. Those who fail to think often end up thinking about failure.

Through my many years as a teacher, writer and consultant within the fire service, problem-solving and critical thinking have been important components of my work. It has long been my thought that the ability to think effectively lies at the heart of every part of our lives. After all, how can any of us plan and prepare for the future unless we are able to weigh and evaluate the wide range of alternatives that we are all going to be called upon to consider from time to time?

It is important at this point to make a comment on one element within our current pop culture approach to management. There are those who prefer to use the term “thinking outside the box,” when in reality they are referring to the concept of critical thinking. The identification and analysis of new approaches is truly the meat and potatoes of critical thinking. 

Accept or reflect

It has been my experience that critical thinking can occur anytime a person works to judge, decide or solve a problem. Many have been the times during my fire service career when I had to figure out what I should believe or what I should do in a given situation. Over time I came to understand that to succeed in this business of thinking, I had to do so in a reasonable and reflective way. I learned to weigh and evaluate facts, figures and friends. 

Over the years, I have been exposed to the process that suggests that reading, writing, speaking and listening can all be done in two distinctly different ways. You can be critical of the works you are reading or you can simply accept them as facts just because you read them in a book or in a magazine article. This failure to challenge what is being presented exposes you to the charge of thinking uncritically

My professional associates and I believe that effective thinking is required if we are to become readers who pay attention to the words in front of us and challenge the thoughts we are being asked to accept. Over time, it has been my experience that in order to be an effective writer and communicator, I have to challenge the norms of our field. Let me stand on my written record as a guy who likes to shake things up.

Thinking tools

Thinking is not a simple, random practice. You need to be able to utilize such tools as logic, either the formal type, or as is frequently the case, a more informal style of thinking (informal but organized). In order to do this properly, you need to be trained to employ such broad intellectual skills as clarity, credibility, accuracy, precision, depth and fairness. 

Each of you must be able to analyze and evaluate a variety of information from a wide range of sources. Research has taught me that there is not one best way to do things. As the Bible states, there are many roads to the Master. Let me suggest that once you have mastered the ability to read, review, analyze and then think, that you should then be able to create and synthesize new and novel approaches to whatever it is you choose to accomplish.

It has long been my experience that there are a number of tasks that you and I must work to understand in order to be able to use them within our personal and professional lives. First and foremost, you need to be able to recognize and identify problems. So much of what we do in life revolves around the identification and solving of problems that to ignore the development of these skills condemns us to a mediocre, mundane sort of existence.

Each of us must be able to challenge the societal norms in our daily lives. We must then work to identify new and better ways of doing things when appropriate. The ability to think helps us to understand how to prioritize these tasks that we must accomplish to solve a problem. In order to do this, we need to develop skills in the areas of research and data acquisition.

The gathering and analysis of information forms the basis of our efforts. Without research, there can be no learning. We need to look at what exists in order to determine what needs to be learned. If we are to think and write properly, we need to know how to comprehend the current state of affairs in order to decide how to create new and unique combinations of information. 

You must also begin to develop an understanding of the relationships that exist between and among various schools of thinking and human endeavor. Once you have developed the necessary critical-thinking skills, you will then be able to draw comparisons and make new assumptions that will assist you in the solution of unique problems. Let me suggest that as you become involved in the process of developing new and distinct thoughts on how to solve your problems, you may even discover that 10 other people have developed 10 different ways of solving the problem that has you stymied in the current instance. 

At this point, you can broaden your experience through the testing of these unique solutions against your own. It should now be possible for you to draw new conclusions and create new generalizations that can advance the overall level of knowledge within your field. I have seen it stated that effective thinking processes involve a determined effort to examine any principle or supposed form of information in the light of the proof that supports it and the further conclusions to which it leads.

Be the “go-to” crewmember

There are several things that you can do to improve your thinking processes. Let me recommend that you become the person who raises important inquiries and identifies current problems. Become known as the person who stimulates the thought process within your fire department by forming your questions clearly and precisely. You can learn a great deal by delivering probing questions. 

In order to assist you in developing your skills, let me offer the following, which can be gained from a solid foundation within the world of education and knowledge gathering. It has been my experience that you will be better able to develop the requisite ability and skills so critical to gathering and assessing information if learn how to use abstract ideas and interpret them effectively for your fire department associates. 

If you have developed your thought processes correctly, you will become that one go-to-person in your group who can be counted upon to create and present well-reasoned solutions to your department's problems. People will come to recognize you as the person who possesses the ability to think open-mindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognizing and assessing the available options as need be. You will be able to assist other folks by testing their assumptions, implications and practical consequences. Be a sounding board. Become known as the person off of whom people can bounce their ideas and receive honest feedback. 

In sum

You must learn how to think if you are to become the best possible fire service member that you can be. It is not easy, but it is well worth the effort. And don’t forget: To ignore our mistakes is to court future failure.

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