A New Degree of Thinking
for an Ever-Changing World
 

The Critical Thinking and Creative Problem Solving Studio Where You Learn to Put Best Practice Into Practice

Thinkers Thrive.

The future belongs to thinkers –
people with critical and creative thinking skills, who are collaborative problem solvers, and can lead in a world of ambiguity and uncertainty.

Is that you?

Schools and workplaces don’t teach you how to navigate this new world order, but thinkingU does. Find out how the experts do it and then practice their proven tools and techniques. Discover what’s holding you back and explore how to thrive in an ever-changing world that demands new ideas, every day.

 

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Learn How

Yes, better thinking can be learned.

Imagine if you could elevate
your whole team’s creative output with a new thinking approach?

We have done the research for you and put together a practical combination of best practice thinking theory with proven innovation tools and techniques.

With this approach you quickly become a more collaborative, innovative problem solver.

“The illiterate of the 21st century are not those that cannot read or write but those that cannot LEARN, UNLEARN, AND RELEARN”

— ALVIN TOFFLER, AMERICAN WRITER AND FUTURIST

 

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Is This For You?

Are you restless to learn more?

Do you feel stalled in your learning at work?

Are you ready to take on new challenges?

Do you want to be better at what you do?

Do you feel like you could do more if you knew how?

Do you want a competitive advantage as a leader?

Then you are ready for thinkingU

 

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Instant Benefits

 

Gain a competitive advantage

Learn the practical thinking and problem-solving skills not taught at school or on the job.

Build confidence

Put theory into practice so you can lead your teams confidently and see results quickly.

Improve your business

Boost productivity and improve outcomes with the proven process of design thinking, innovation experts and creativity consultants.

Have immediate impact

Break through with tools and techniques that create team alignment and momentum.

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Pick Your Course

There are many ways to learn at thinkingU.

  • SIGN UP FOR A COURSE IN THE STUDIO.
  • PARTICIPATE IN A WORKSHOP.
  • BOOK A CUSTOMIZED SESSION FOR YOUR TEAM.
  • BE COACHED ONE-ON-ONE.

 

THINKit STUDIO COURSES

For anyone who wants to learn the secret to better ideas and decision making.

THINKit FOUNDATIONS

For anyone who wants to learn the secret to better ideas and decision making.

THINKit FOUNDATIONS

What you can expect from this 6-week course:

The problem solving process defined
An overview of the four stages of problem solving: Clarifying, Generating, Refining, Acting. Problem solving is a process that involves iterative steps in divergent and convergent thinking practices.

Developing a problem solving mindset
Learn about your thinking style – how it impacts your ability to solve problems and work with others. Each participant will complete the Thinking Styles assessment prior to the session. Each participant will learn what holds them back from thinking through problems, how to better use their own strengths, and to leverage the skills of others to become more productive and effective.

Proven tools and techniques
Learn techniques in how to clarify, ideate and choose the best ideas.

Who is this course for?

Team leaders and members who are tasked with developing ideas and plans.

THINKit MASTERS

For anyone who wants to learn the secret to better ideas and decision making.

THINKit MASTERS

What you can expect from this 2-day course:

The problem solving process defined
An overview of the four stages of problem solving: Clarifying, Generating, Refining, Acting. Problem solving is a process that involves iterative steps in divergent and convergent thinking practices. The Masters workshop will focus on managing group dynamics and developing conflict-resolution skills.

Developing a problem solving mindset
Learn about your thinking style – how it impacts your ability to solve problems and work with others – and how to develop each person on your team. Each participant (and their direct reports) will complete the Thinking Styles assessment prior to the session. The team leader will learn how to better use their own strengths, and to leverage the skills of others to become more productive and effective.

Proven tools and techniques
Learn how to lead people and motivate them to perform at their best.

Who is the Masters course for?

Senior executives leading cross functional teams who have the appetite and ambition to improve their teams and make impact quickly.

1 DAY WORKSHOPS

For anyone wanting a single How-To workshop to apply new thinking.

THINKit 101

A 1-day overview of THINKit problem solving.

THINKit 101

What you can expect from this workshop:

If you want to dip your toe in the waters but can’t commit to 6 weeks, this workshop is an abbreviated version of the Studio Course. It covers the hits and highlights but is lighter on the practice and reflection exercises.

The problem solving process
An overview of the four stages of problem solving – Clarifying, Generating, Refining, Acting. Problem solving is a process that involves iterative steps in divergent and convergent thinking practices.

The team will learn what holds them back from thinking through problems, how to better use their own strengths, and to leverage the skills of others to become more productive and effective.

A problem solving mindset
Learn about your thinking style – how it impacts your ability to solve problems and work with others. Each participant will complete the assessment prior to the session.

Tools and technique
Learn techniques on how to clarify and ideate – the two crucial first steps in the process and key skills in critical thinking and creative problem solving.

Who is this workshop for?

The curious but not committed (yet).
Team leaders and members who are tasked with developing ideas and plans.

BREAKTHROUGHit

1-day workshop on leading groups to great ideas and decisions.

BREAKTHROUGHit

The Breakthrough Conversations workshop brings new thinking to a daily activity: meeting productivity.

If you work with people, the ability to lead a productive discussion is essential. Too many of our business hours are wasted having repetitive conversations and not making progress on the key issues we face.

In leadership positions we often struggle to find ways to challenge people productively and to take positions that can steer our clients, our teams, and broader stakeholders to success.

What if you could break through?

Breaking through the endless talk means taking charge of the discussion and getting to better results in less time. From one-on-one conversations to large group meetings this facilitation skill will help you get deeper into discussions, increase productivity, and get your team to better outcomes.

What you can expect from this workshop:

Why managed conversations lead to breakthroughs
Learn the science behind this art. The role of Inquiry and Participatory Design – how to access the brain power, talent and experience of your team and put it to productive use.

Creating conditions for success
Learn how to set expectations and getting the team on board. Discover the basics of facilitation fundamentals: place, space, structure, tools and mindset.

Breakthrough discussion models
Learn how to design the flow of the conversation. Take away templates to be successful after the workshop. Find proven, key questions to get to new and better results.

How to take charge of the discussion:
Understand the process of managing Divergent and Convergent thinking styles. Learn how to deal with resistors, blockers and team dysfunction. Find out how to use decision making models to keep the process moving.

Top tips |tools | techniques to get you started

Who is this workshop for?

Team leaders and team members who work cross function and are tasked with developing ideas and plans.

Client service leaders who want to build confidence in managing the tougher conversations.

CUSTOMu

Have a group of 5 or more? We can customize a learning program based on your needs and objectives.

Consider sessions on:

  • CRITICAL THINKING
  • CREATIVE THINKING
  • INNOVATION
  • TEAM COLLABORATION
  • THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
CLASS OF ONE

Prefer an individualized approach?

ThinkingU can design a program optimized just for you and your goals including customized course content, individual coaching, and private practice.

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Get In Touch

If you work with people and use your brain you probably need thinkingU.

Want to get started?

Meet the Founder of thinkingU

 

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Best Practice Tips

We’ve done the research;
you benefit from the curation.

Here are a few of our top-rated tools.

Best Practice Tips from the Studio

We are inspired by the best practice authors, innovators and thinkers who share their knowledge with the world. This handy list will guide you to new thinking every time.

THINKit Meeting Planner

Practice. Practice. Practice… and it will soon become habit. Try out this technique for FREE.

QUESTIONit

The fastest way to new thinking is to ask questions. Download this FREE tutorial on the practice of inquiry and watch your thinking expand.

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Glad to see you are thinking about thinkingU.

We need a little information to understand more about what you are looking for. Please complete the form and we will get back to you with details.

Your Information:

Meet the Founder of thinkingU

Anne Sutherland is a Strategist, an Innovation Instructor, and a Thinking Specialist.

Her career started in advertising where she became intrigued with human behavior and decision making. An entrepreneurial spirit led Anne to founding a strategic planning consultancy focused on customer insight, business strategy, new product development, and brand strategy working for leading companies including Kelloggs, Shoppers Drug Mart, Bell Canada, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Volkswagen, and lavalife. A full bio is available here.

Anne’s love of learning and teaching was sparked as an Instructor at OCADU Canada’s premier design school. For 13 years Anne taught strategy in the Advertising program and Innovation in two Masters programs; MDEs of Design and Strategic Foresight and Innovation.

For three decades Anne has been researching best practices in thinking and innovation while applying them in her business and her teaching. thinkingU is designed to provide all thinkers the opportunity to improve every day by learning the techniques of proven leaders and putting them into practice.

To hear what her clients have to say watch this video. You can also read the blog and then contact Anne to learn more about how you can apply new thinking to your business today.

Contact Anne in the studio
info@thinkingu.ca

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