CROSSFIRE and required in Nairobi within two hours and with my original signature . Those days we only knew of Securicor as the leading courier services provider . Unfortunately , they could deliver in 24 hours since they courier at night . I had to think deeper and outside the box .
While still thinking of possibilities , I saw an airplane preparing to land at Kisumu airport . And there was my solution . I quickly took the letter and drove towards the airport . I was early enough to catch the travelers before they checked in . I spotted one gentleman whom I spoke to and agreed to take the letter to Nairobi for me . The letter was in Nairobi in an hour .
That taught me some lessons ; before you conclude any critical decision , ask yourself , is this the best decision in this circumstance ? Is my decision influenced by my past experiences or by the best options there could be ? Have I considered all available “ outside the box ” possibilities ?
Critical thinkers also have one thing in common ; they seek questions rather than answers . Because solutions readily available are relatively common and known , the unfamiliar can only be fathomed by asking questions that probe the unknown . So they ask many penetrating and complex questions . They are questions aimed at breaking down a complicated situation into more straightforward narratives . So , they desire to ask the right questions rather than getting the correct answers . The art of asking insightful questions is the key to encroaching the realms of the unknown .
At what level , and how does your mind relate to what you observe or see ? Isaac Newton , in 1687 had already learned the ability to unearth the rationale behind everything he observed or experienced . He was a critical thinker when he discovered the law of gravity . While resting under a tree , he questioned why a fruit fell downwards rather than flying upwards . To most of us , a fruit falls because it ’ s for sure ripe . Take it , eat it , and stop asking many questions . But critical thinkers don ’ t take anything for granted . They bring knowledge from the outside and synthesize it using highly developed cognitive frameworks to unearth some uncommon realities .
The current workspace has many things moving fast and concurrently . The environment is also generating a plethora of information and requiring urgent and apt decisions . A fixed and stale mind that does not renew its decision-making framework will quickly become irrelevant . And not because of what you know , but because of how you think and make decisions .
As we advance , we must , therefore , constantly train our minds to be critical . To understand how to connect dots and which dots to connect . To continually be renewing our mental standards through which we evaluate and synthesize information for decision-making . ■
Herman Githinji is a Management Consultant and a Director at Rhombus Ready Mix Concrete Company . You can commune with him on this and related issues via email on :
Hermangithinji @ gmail . com