The best way to understand the MegaCepts process is to illustrate its use with real people who are successfully applying it to actual topics. My Mega Thinking book shares the experiences of six people who applied the MegaCepts process to the following topics: parenting teenagers, picking a college major, improving interpersonal skills, understanding AI, becoming an effective leader, and reducing medical errors.
“No problem can be solved until it is reduced to some simple form. The changing of a vague difficulty into a specific, concrete form is a very essential element in thinking.” J.P. Morgan
My Mega Thinking book shows, step-by-step, how these six people applied the MegaCepts process to six important topics. In each case they used the process to think smarter about their topic to arrive at ten or fewer greatest thoughts that will guide their leadership decision-making on each topic in the future. The subjects include personal, educational, and professional topics, since all these need great thinking and better leadership decision-making.
Each of the six examples is quite different and adds value, helping you further understand how you can practice using the MegaCepts process in both your personal and professional life. I like to keep in mind that leadership, decision-making, and great thinking apply to every aspect of our multifaceted lives—at work, at home, and when volunteering for our community or house of worship. The ability to make better personal and professional leadership decisions leads to a better, more fulfilling, and successful life.
The real-life examples illustrate how anyone can use this process for any topic. For example, Jane stepped through the MegaCepts process to gain a better understanding of how to be a better parent to her two teenage children. Here is an example of one of Jane’s MegaCepts on parenting:
- Love, respect, and trust: Give your children unqualified love, so they know they can trust you, believe you, and always talk with you about anything. Tell them you love them every day and show them affection. Build a trusting relationship with them and make them feel that it is safe to talk to you about any subject, including sex and teenage drinking. Praise them but also provide constructive criticism to help them learn and grow. Remember, you’re a parent and a friend.
My Mega Thinking book also tells the story of Neil, a technology professional who used the MegaCepts process to better understand interpersonal skills and ultimately improve his chances of becoming a manager. Here is an example of one of Neil’s MegaCepts on interpersonal skills:
- Demonstrate that people are important: Genuinely commit to always making people important and a priority to you in all dealings with them, whether that is one-on-one or in groups. Make people the most important thing in your life and in the world. Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you as would have them do unto you.”
Another real-life example in my book shows how even very knowledgeable experts in their fields can benefit from using the MegaCepts process to further hone their knowledge with better, more structured thinking. Ray is a business leader who applied the process to become an even better leader. Here is an example of one of Ray’s MegaCepts on leadership:
- Personal character traits: Develop and visibly show your own high-quality personal character traits. These traits will cause the people you are leading to respect you and follow you. These traits include genuineness, empathy, patience, authenticity, integrity, ethics, sensitivity to and acceptance of key societal issues, and maturity.
My book captures the new ideas and realizations each of these real people thought about as they stepped through the MegaCepts process. Each person applied the MegaCepts process to an important topic in their personal or professional life. Their resulting MegaCepts lists, their greatest thoughts, will empower them to make better leadership decisions related to their topic.
If you think that Mega Thinking would have value for you, CLICK HERE to visit my Amazon page where you can obtain my book. And independent of your interest in the book I would love to hear from you about your questions and ideas. Contact me at [email protected]. And let’s have a coach-and-player chat!
Coach Dave
