Binge Thinking

University Challenge puts thinking back on top - Ros Palmer

Well, I for one am saddened to hear that Gail Trimble and her fellow team members from Corpus Christi College, Oxford University have been stripped of their University Challenge title due to one of the team no longer being a student.  There is a lot of sympathy for the team on blog postings, most of which point out that the lengthy filming of the series makes it pretty much impossible for any final year student to be part of a team as they may graduate before the end of the series. 

I’m sure that it will not dent the following for Ms Trimble who already has a ‘Gail Trimble Appreciation Society’ on Facebook that is full of followers. Many appreciate her for more than her intelligence! 

Regardless of the fairness of this outcome, this latest series of University Challenge has certainly put ‘intelligence’ back at the forefront of the public agenda with thousands of people stating how delighted they are that it is being valued highly again.  Ms Trimble is the poster girl for smart thinking and good values at a time when the media is full of dire reports of greed and poor decision making in finance, business and government.

But business and any non-academic aspects to life demand more than an intelligence based on being able to remember facts and figures better than anyone else.  Whilst a good memory and keen mind are prerequisites for success in many fields, medicine for example, the X factor in business and personal success is the ability to think better on a consistent basis.  Call it critical thinking, solution focused thinking, smart thinking or, as I recently saw, ‘Volcano Thinking’ it is a critical process to develop.   Let’s face it; wouldn’t it be great if you could think with greater speed, clarity, creativity and consistency?

Well with Go MAD Thinking you can.  Everything we do is geared up to improving your thinking skills so that you can make a difference in everything you do and achieve greater success.  Check out the rest of the web site today.  You can start with our A, B, and C of success:  A = The Art of Making a Difference (Andy Gilbert’s seminal book on our thinking system), B = Business Improvement (see our website page), C = courses.  Check out our full range and remember that some are complimentary for senior decision makers. 

_ “ . . . intelligence . . . is in plentiful supply
. . . the scarce commodity is systematic training
in critical thinking.” --Carl Sagan