ThinkingStyles™ Preference Indicator Overview

Imagine having the task of building a skyscraper—an extremely complex undertaking. Can it be
done? Of course; we’ve all seen the evidence. Can you do it? Of course not—at least not by
yourself.

To take such a project from conception to completion requires a multitude of talents and
approaches. Creative architects imagine artistic facades and interior spaces. Contractors weigh in
with strategies to merge the impractical with the practical. Detail architects determine all of the
code and safety specifications. Onsite inspectors make sure the building will hold up under a
wide range of challenging conditions. To get it done, skilled workers execute the actual
construction.

You are a unique combination of multiple components: mental, emotional, physical,

spiritual, experiential, etc. Each component is like a complex lens. The mental, for instance, is
responsible for your executive brain functions: impulse control, judgment, time management,
organization, critical thinking, and planning. This means that even the way you process
information and make decisions—the combination of lenses through which you look at problems
—is unique to you.

Certain executive brain functions tend to cluster into preferences, and these preferences are
somewhat predictable. We have identified four ThinkingStyle™ preferences, each of which has
its own set of strengths and weaknesses. The strengths of your ThinkingStyle™ enable you to
see clearly and work well with certain parts of a developmental process; the weaknesses are like
blind spots that make other parts of the process seem invisible, fuzzy, or confusing to you. Your
ThinkingStyle™ preference is an executive function of your brain, not to be confused with a
skill set, personality or temperament.

The Four ThinkingStyle™ Preferences

 Creative (Conceptual) thinkers generate numerous innovative ideas when others may see
only a single solution.
o The Creative’s motto: “Hey, I have an idea! Hey, I have another idea!”
 Strategic (Constructive) thinkers see value in the early stages of concepts and ideas; they
develop strategies for implementation.       

o The Strategist’s motto: “I know this can be done, and I can figure out how.”

     Refining (Clarifying) thinkers recognize details, including procedural flaws, logical

defects, and other potential problems that are missed by others.                 
o The Refiner’s motto: “Measure twice; cut once. Get it right the first time.”  

 Implementing (Completion) thinkers drive toward completion and push to get results.  
o The Implementer’s motto: “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take. Just
do it!”

Priority-Setting Lenses

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Each ThinkingStyle™ preference naturally tends to develop an associated cluster of skills. This
skill cluster, however, is not the ThinkingStyle™ preference itself; it merely points to the
existence of the preference.

Think of the preferences as four lenses that sort priorities. You naturally look at the world
through one of these lenses. It is your favorite, a lens through which you get the clearest view,
and it has its own bias for sorting priorities. (Yes, you can change your lens for a different view;
in fact, the more you understand ThinkingStyle™, the better you will be able to see through
lenses that are not naturally yours.

Conclusion

Each of the four ThinkingStyle™ preferences brings a different set of priorities and associated
strengths to a team project. Because an individual is stronger in only one or two of the thinking
styles, he operates at a 50-75 percent liability compared to a balanced team.  

All of this underscores the importance of a team approach in creating something of value. It also
underscores the need for a team to know each other’s strengths so they can manage their talent
resources efficiently.

We urge you to draw three vital conclusions from this report:

1. You bring an important perspective to the development process. Your strengths are
needed.
2. You do not bring a complete perspective to the process. The strengths of others are
needed.
3. Understanding where your strengths best serve the process enables you to contribute the
most value, feel the most fulfilled, and work most harmoniously with others.

Finally, a word of explanation regarding this indicator:

 This is a self-report indicator that is subject to standard self-report limitations.*

 You don’t need to fear it; it is not designed to expose issues in your life.
 Don’t expect it to reveal everything you would like to know about yourself, but it will
help you understand your strengths in process chain from ideas to implementation.

*Self-report assessments have certain advantages and limitations. They are simple to use and easy
to score. On the other hand, people filling them out may portray themselves in a way they want to
be perceived, resulting in self-report bias. For example, some people give answers that they
believe will produce an expected outcome. Not all self-report bias is intentional. People may
genuinely have difficulty recognizing and expressing how they think or feel. Assessments are
only tools to help us better understand ourselves and others. Use them as a catalyst to help you
understand, ask better questions, and find better ways to approach life at work and home.

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ThinkingStyles™ Preference Indicator Report
Creative (Conceptual) Thinkers
(Possess a unique capacity for innovation)

Description
The hallmark of Creative thinkers is their capacity for innovation. By thinking outside the
box, they generate numerous ideas and potential solutions that do not occur to others. For
them, confronting a challenge or a problem begins with a simple assumption: “If the old
ways worked, we wouldn’t be in this position, so forget what we think we know and start
over.”

This ability of Creative thinkers to see a challenging situation from a different vantage
point allows them to reframe it in an unconventional way. With the big picture in mind,
they free themselves from the restraints of past views and quickly make connections with
seemingly unrelated data.

The Creative thinker’s freewheeling style tends to generate enough ideas to last several
lifetimes. Although few are implemented—particularly if the implementation is left to the
Creatives—their value should not be underestimated. Many of today’s most practical
inventions would not exist without the impractical initial idea of a Creative thinker.

Key Strengths
Creative thinkers, when faced with a problem, tend to generate multiple options initially
unseen or ignored by others. Challenges that would overwhelm others stimulate their
capacity to see problems from a new angle and their eagerness to try innovative ideas.

Value to a Team
Creative thinkers can move a team in fresh directions with ideas that extend beyond the
obvious. Unafraid to try something novel or unconventional, they inject the enthusiasm of
a pioneering spirit into an enterprise. The thought that something has not been done
before does not deter them; it motivates them. When their creative energy is appropriately
channeled, it energizes a team’s motivation and frees them from the paralyzing fear of
failure.

Creatives live in a world of possibility thinking; Facts define history, not the future. They
derive satisfaction from the process of creating and discussing concepts and ideas for
overcoming problems. When they are relational in approach, they are often strong
recruiters for a project because of their enthusiasm and positive expectation.

Inner Drive
Creative (Conceptual) thinkers are motivated by originality. For them, new and different
are not only appealing but also valuable regardless of practicality. Conventional ways of

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doing something, no matter how practical, are boring and out of styles. They think: Make
it better, but by all means make it new and different.

Potential Areas for Improvement

Creative thinkers may take their passion for novelty to an impractical extreme. They may
become overly committed to creating new ideas rather than focusing on a single good
idea and moving it toward implementation. Their value increases dramatically when they
begin to apply their creativity toward improving and implementing a new idea.

Creative thinkers who rely on a team to help them focus on the overall objective are
generally much more productive than those who work independently and get lost in their
forest of creativity.

Deadlines, whether self-imposed or team-imposed, serve as valuable boundaries to

sustain both direction and momentum.

Because Creative thinkers are bent toward thinking out of the box, they have a tendency
to break the rules in order to get results. They may feel confined by rules that could stifle
innovative thinking. Allowing maximum liberty and clearly communicating absolute
limits allows them to operate more effectively within a team environment.

How Other ThinkingStyles™ Frustrate Creatives

Creative thinkers may encounter various frustrations while working in a team consisting
of other ThinkingStyles™. The freewheeling, undisciplined nature of high creativity may
appear to others like unfocused laziness, occasionally leading to comments that make
Creatives feel unappreciated. They are tempted to view the other styles in these ways:

 Strategic (Constructive) thinkers want to steal my great idea and manipulate it

into something I won’t recognize or get credit.
 Refining (Clarifying) thinkers question everything to death. Their way of
rejecting my creative ideas is to bog them down with excessive concerns.
 Implementing (Completion) thinkers are too hasty to start a project without
considering my other great ideas.

How Creatives Frustrate Other ThinkingStyles™

Creative thinkers pose a variety of challenges to teammates. They may be perceived as
lazy or wasting time on another new idea instead of committing to a good idea and
developing a course of action. Their relentless search for a fresh idea can frustrate others
who are ready to strategize, refine and implement a chosen idea.

Other styles are likely to view Creatives in these ways:

 Strategic (Constructive) thinkers may feel that Creatives are unwilling to commit
to a single idea and expend the mental energy to develop it. “They just want to
play—to do the fun part without any strategic course of action for implementing a
new concept.”

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  Refining (Clarifying) thinkers may perceive that Creatives want others to
consider their great ideas but do not seem interested in the refining process of
developing a seamless idea. “They just impulsively jump from one idea to another
—always searching but rarely finding.”
 Implementing (Completion) thinkers may think that Creatives are a lot of talk
without substantive action. “If they ever had to do a real day’s work, I’d respect
them more.”
 Other Creatives (Conceptual) may become territorial in the world of ideas and
feel a sense of competition as to who has the best—or most novel—idea.

How Creatives Can Increase Their Effectiveness by Valuing Other Styles

Creative thinkers will benefit by viewing the other ThinkingStyles™ in these ways:

 I need Strategizers who see the practical value in my ideas and develop courses
of action that will give them life and momentum.
 I need Refiners who clean up and help bulletproof my ideas so they don’t crash
and burn upon first release.
 I need Implementers to test and put my ideas into play in the real world, where
they can become tangible and have a chance to succeed.

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ThinkingStyles™ Preference Indicator Report
Strategic (Constructive) Thinkers
(Possess a unique capacity for prioritizing value)

Description
The hallmark of Strategic thinkers is their ability to discern value and find ways to utilize
and prioritize a new idea. Although their primary strength is not creating new concepts,
they are usually strong at generating alternative ideas. They have a special knack for
recognizing good ideas and new directions in their early stages.

Their ability to appreciate innovative ideas and help develop their practical viability
makes them natural champions of ideas that others may dismiss as having little value.
Strategizing for maximum results delights them.

Strategic thinkers love to tinker with possibilities: What if we tweaked this? What if we
turned this on its head? They often take complex ideas and reduce them to simple terms,
opening up possibilities for the ideas to serve the big picture in ways that were not be
previously apparent. When confronting problems, Strategists say to themselves, “I know
this can be done, and I can figure out how!”

Key Strengths
Strategic thinkers are usually excellent problem solvers with a capacity to see problems
from different vantage points and generate strategies to overcome obstacles. They
recognize the value in an unrefined concept and are willing to try innovative ideas.

They do not perceive problems as barriers but as obstacles to overcome, and they are
energized by discussing challenges that might overwhelm others. Their ability to focus on
many things at one time is aided by their motivation to simplify and achieve their
objective by the most direct means. They do not usually let rules or pre-existing
limitations discourage them.

Value to a Team
Strategic thinkers naturally recognize the value of a new concept and discover ways to
advance it. Their ability to compare, contrast and evaluate multiple ideas helps team
members overcome confusion-based reluctance.

When Strategic thinkers possess a reasonable level of comfort in speaking to groups, they
often motivate others by explaining ideas clearly and revealing their potential value to
advance the mission.

When they are good listeners, their interest in discussion leads them to draw out the best
in other team members and to be effective recruiters.

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Inner Drive
Strategic thinkers are motivated by plugging new ideas and tools into mission
advancement. They think: If it can help us accomplish our vision, we want it and we’ll
do what it takes to make it work.

Potential Areas for Improvement

Strategic thinkers formulate and process the essence of ideas so quickly that they
sometimes outpace others in a discussion. If they are not careful to guard against this,
they risk losing the best contributions of others and overlooking serious obstacles.

Their skill at evaluating multiple ideas simultaneously may appear to be an unregulated

hopscotch from one to another without sufficient focus. Such rapid movement may also
signal disinterest in what teammates want to consider.

Strategic thinkers operate like skilled chess players, typically thinking several moves
ahead. This kind of thinking makes them vulnerable to incomplete listening when they
take the first challenging statement they hear and begin processing their response without
listening to the rest of a speaker’s message.

How Other ThinkingStyles™ Frustrate Strategists

Strategic thinkers may encounter various frustrations while working in a team consisting
of other ThinkingStyles™. Their 30,000-foot view agonizes over time and resources
spent by others on matters that have little impact on the mission. They are tempted to
view the other styles in these ways:

 Creative (Conceptual) thinkers want to spend all their time dreaming up new
ideas that they don’t have the sense to develop. They seem to think novelty has
value for its own sake.
 Refining (Clarifying) thinkers think they advance the mission by merely killing
off defective ideas. And they never met an idea without defects.
 Implementing (Completion) thinkers are too hasty to start a project without
considering its implications or its overall impact on the mission. They just want to
look at something—anything—at the end of the day and be able to say, “We did
it.”

How Strategists Frustrate Other ThinkingStyles™

Strategic thinkers pose a variety of challenges to teammates. They may initially respond
to ideas with skepticism that is quickly overcome by a modification or a seemingly
disconnected innovation. They may also be perceived as stubbornly clinging to their
strategy or their pet solution without due consideration for what others are saying; their
positivity drives them to move ahead of the team.

Other styles are likely to view Strategists in these ways:

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  Creative (Conceptual) thinkers may feel that Strategists are quick to steal their
ideas and modify them just enough to take credit. “If they gave me a little more
time, I would have come up with the same thing—or better. “
 Refining (Clarifying) thinkers may perceive that Strategists want others to value
their strategies but do not seem interested in refining them or reducing the risks
sufficiently. “They are overly optimistic; getting from A to D is a lot more
involved than from A to B.”
 Implementing (Completion) thinkers may welcome the Strategists’ enthusiastic
desire to move ahead but wish they had a little more detail regarding the specific
actions needed. “Their plan looks simple on paper, but the real world has all kinds
of snakes in the grass.”
 Other Strategists (Constructive) may become territorial in the world of strategic
ideas and feel a sense of competition as to who has the best approach.

How Strategists Can Increase Their Effectiveness by Valuing Other Styles

Strategic thinkers will benefit by viewing the other ThinkingStyles™ in these ways:

 I need Creatives who dream up new ideas, concepts, processes and solutions that
I can evaluate and incorporate in a plan.
 I need Refiners who polish my rough plans by reducing risk, providing concrete
steps in the right order, developing quality controls, and adding enhancements.
 I need Implementers who help balance Refiners in discerning acceptable risk and
who actually turn my strategies into accomplishments.

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ThinkingStyles™ Preference Indicator Report
Refining (Clarifying) Thinkers
(Possess a unique capacity for Analysis)

Description
The hallmark of Refining thinkers is their ability to analyze, organize, and focus on
details. With the strong conviction that details matter, they desperately want to get it
right.

Refining thinkers have an instinctive ability to detect the flaws in a concept or procedure,
enabling them to anticipate potential problems before they occur. They often prepare for
surprises by creating a fail-safe approach to a new idea or concept under construction.

Refining thinkers make the additions, deletions, and changes necessary to ensure the
effective implementation of a new idea. Their delight in finding every little flaw is like a
treasure hunt to them, but it is often misunderstood by others. When they are relational
and reasonably skilled at communicating, they can take a concept, idea or project to a
higher level of excellence.

Key Strengths
Refining thinkers are often creative problem solvers. They tend to be thorough in getting
both the process and the end product right. Their approach is typically systematic and
methodical.

Refining thinkers are quick to challenge ideas and concepts under discussion. Preferring
order and attention to detail, they may become impatient with sloppy processes—even
the process of discussion. Although a melting pot of disjointed ideas can stimulate
Creatives, Refiners may find such a discussion intolerable. The problem is rarely a lack
of interest; they are passionate about finding a better way to accomplish objectives.
Refiners are likely to say, “The best process is thoughtful, orderly, and well managed.”

Value to a Team
Refining thinkers have a keen sensitivity to organization and detail. They analyze
concepts logically and methodically, usually maintaining objective neutrality. This keeps
them from overlooking flaws because of emotional attachment to an idea.

Their ability to detect flaws missed by others provides a kind of safety net, a quality
assurance that allows other team members greater creative freedom when they know the
Refiners have their back.

Refining thinkers are frequently process oriented, enabling a team to become more
systematic and increase the consistency and predictability of their output. They are also
adept at identifying the key elements of an idea.

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When Refiners communicate the problems inherent in new ideas or concepts, they can
improve them before implementation and avoid unanticipated consequences.

Inner Drive
Refining thinkers are motivated by a deep desire to get it right—organized, logical,
factual, precise, accurate, etc. They think: If it’s worth doing at all, it’s worth doing right
the first time. And after that, we’ll always find more ways to improve it.

Potential Areas for Improvement:

Refining thinkers can suffer from paralysis of analysis. Perfectionism in unimportant
details may bog them down and delay or halt the path to progress. Left to themselves,
they can get lost in a cycle of refining and lose sight of the big picture.

Because much of their value lies in detecting hidden or subtle problems, Refiners can
become too problem oriented. In some cases, they may quickly disqualify an idea in
which they see too many flaws. Good coaching can help them adjust their attitude to give
full consideration of benefits and whether the benefits justify the time and effort required
to address the flaws.

When Refiners manage the group process, they may cause the group to pursue only low-
risk ideas. Cultivating a greater capacity for risk, including the willingness to work with a
good idea rather than requiring a perfect idea, could lead to greater potential. Striving to
implement a new idea sooner—perhaps through the judicious use of deadlines—helps to
increase a team’s appreciation of the Refiner’s strengths.

How Other ThinkingStyles™ Frustrate Refiners

Refining thinkers may encounter various frustrations while working in a team consisting
of other ThinkingStyles™. The nature of their contribution includes frequent
opportunities to be seen as oppositional. This can lead to impatience on the part of others,
leaving Refiners to feel devalued or left out of the process. They are tempted to view the
other styles in these ways:

 Creative (Conceptual) thinkers have no understanding of how much work their

clever ideas will require of me. They seem to think all the details materialize as
easily as their imaginations dream up fantasies.
 Strategic (Constructive) thinkers seem to think that once they see a connection
between and idea and mission accomplishment, the hardest part of the job is done,
as though refining for implementation should be easy.
 Implementing (Completion) thinkers keep pressuring me to give them something
to start working with before it’s ready.

How Refiners Frustrate Other ThinkingStyles™

Refining thinkers pose a variety of challenges to teammates. Their deep need to get it
right may be perceived as skepticism (and in some cases it is skepticism) toward a new
idea. Frequently playing devil’s advocate to test the soundness of an idea and improve it,
they may be perceived as oppositional.

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Other styles are likely to view Refiners in these ways:

 Creative (Conceptual) thinkers may feel that Refiners are simply idea killers.
“They are so negative; they just take all the creativity right out of me.”
 Strategic (Constructive) thinkers may perceive that Refiners aren’t satisfied with
a solid idea or strategic plan that includes reasonable risk and latitude for
adjustment on the fly. “They aren’t happy until they’ve got a foolproof process
that can run on autopilot.”
 Implementing (Completion) thinkers may become impatient with the Refiner’s
methodical approach in checking and rechecking every little detail. “These
perfectionists are fussing over a micron when I only need precision to a
millimeter.”
 Other Refiners (Clarifying) may become territorial in the world of improving the
whole by improving the details. They often feel a sense of competition as to who
has most specialized knowledge for the task at hand.

How Refiners Can Increase Their Effectiveness by Valuing Other Styles

Refining thinkers will benefit by viewing the other ThinkingStyles™ in these ways:

 I need Creatives who dream freely. If a thousand crazy ideas lead to one new way
of seeing and doing something, I could have a part in creating a world-changing
product or service.
 I need Strategists who see the possibilities in an idea that seems impractical to
me. When they describe the benefits and the impact on our mission, I get inspired
to improve it rather than disqualify it.
 I need Implementers and their eagerness to test something before I have full
confidence in it. Their real-world approach adds elements I can’t begin to
replicate in my lab. Their feedback inspires refinements I never thought about.

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ThinkingStyles™ Preference Indicator Report
Implementing (Completion) Thinkers
(Possess a unique capacity to get it done)

Description
The hallmark of Implementing thinkers is their strong drive to get results and push for
closure. With a natural sense for ways to make something work, they desperately want to
get it done.

Desiring to achieve tangible results by the most direct means, they may be ready to
plunge in before examining all the details, which can be both a strength and a weakness.
Implementing thinkers are not inclined to allow boundaries, whether perceived or real, to
discourage their forward momentum. When encountering problems, they frequently
devise innovative solutions on the fly rather than suffer avoidable delay. Their internal
dialogue says, “This is the real world; deal with it!”

For Implementers, satisfaction comes with tangible results—a quality product or service
delivered on time—along with new information to help refine future versions.

Key Strengths
Implementing thinkers are typically action oriented and willing to take whatever risks
they deem necessary to get to completion. Their intuition for on-the-fly adaptation
enables them to recognize the value of a new idea even when unrefined. They sense its
practicality based on previous experience with similar ideas that they adjusted as
necessary and implemented successfully.

Implementers, whether digging several stories below the earth or balancing on beams a
thousand feet in the air, shape reality with their action. Determined and undaunted by
fears of failure, they keep pushing—and learning along the way—until the job is done.

Value to a Team
Implementing thinkers apply pressure to give an idea forward momentum. Being the gas
pedal on a project speeds them toward their greatest reward: completion.

Unafraid to try something novel or unconventional, their approach is often to bypass the
lab and do the testing in the real world. This possibility- thinking approach can infuse
energy into a team and overcome a fear of failure.

When Implementers are relational in approach and able to communicate effectively, their
confidence draws out the best in other team members and moves them to get tangible
results.

Inner Drive

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Implementing thinkers are motivated by a deep desire to get it done—to take a concept
and drive it from possibility to reality. They think: “You miss 100 percent of the shots
you don’t take, so start shooting!”

Potential Areas for Improvement

Implementing thinkers and their can-do attitude may ignore warning signs and realistic
barriers in the path of a proposed or in-process project.

Their high task orientation may underestimate the relational attention their team needs,
which can result in the team’s feeling left behind. This problem is intensified when
Implementers fail to discover what others want to contribute to the process. Sometimes
this is a listening problem: instead of listening carefully to understand the perspective of
others, they may focus on their own response to help expedite the talking so they can get
back to action.

When working in a team environment, Implementers may need to expend considerable

patience to explore alternatives and keep the team moving together toward a common
objective. They can easily become independent of the team in their push for results, but if
they get too far ahead, they become loners rather than leaders.

How Other ThinkingStyles™ Frustrate Implementers

Implementing thinkers may encounter various frustrations while working in a team
consisting of other ThinkingStyles™. Because the nature of their contribution is action
oriented, preparatory steps seem intangible, less important, and far too time consuming.
They are tempted to view the other styles in these ways:

 Creative (Conceptual) thinkers come up with some cool stuff; they just seem to
think that the idea is all that matters. They’re fun to be around until we need to get
some real work done.
 Strategic (Constructive) thinkers seem to want magic from us. They think the
hard part is getting the essence of the idea and sticking it into a high-level plan.
We’ll get it done, but cut us a little slack for contingencies; the world isn’t as
predictable as your plan.
 Refining (Clarifying) thinkers can be ball hogs. They never shoot and they never
want to pass it off; they’re just content to wash it and dry it and wax it like they’re
going to mount it on the wall or something.

How Implementers Frustrate Other ThinkingStyles™

Implementing thinkers pose a variety of challenges to teammates. Their deep need to get
it done may be perceived as disinterest in considering potentially superior approaches.
They may also see themselves as the “real” workers on the team—the only ones without
whom the whole enterprise would collapse.

Other styles are likely to view Implementers in these ways:

 Creative (Conceptual) thinkers may feel that Implementers are too quick to shut
down the creative process and run with the first reasonable idea they hear. “They
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 just don’t appreciate that a great idea with good implementation beats a lousy idea
with great implementation.”
 Strategic (Constructive) thinkers may perceive that Implementers aren’t
concerned enough with whether their product really advances the corporate
mission. “They just want to get it done—whether it matters or not.”
 Refining (Clarifying) thinkers may grow weary of the Implementer’s impatience
with product development. “They don’t care if we measure once and cut six
times; they just want it NOW.”
 Other Implementers (Completion) may become territorial in the world of
building it, providing it, or selling it. They often feel a sense of competition as to
who can make it work and get it done the quickest.

How Implementers Can Increase Their Effectiveness by Valuing Other Styles

Implementing thinkers will benefit by viewing the other ThinkingStyles™ in these ways:

 I need Creatives who find pleasure in the unreal world of ideas and what-ifs.
Without their unique contribution, I’d be stuck doing the same old same old
forever.
 I need Strategists who see how to connect the possibilities in new ideas to the
direction we need to go so that what I finally produce actually moves us forward.
 I need Refiners who can keep me from wasting effort on a dead end that they
could have foreseen and engineered a solution for. As picky as they sometimes
seem, they can save time, money and embarrassment in the long run.

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