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UCLA Anderson School MGMT 250D Section 1 FALL 2011 TUESDAYS 8:30 11:20

Thinking on Your Feet Syllabus

Instructor Dr. Iris Firstenberg Contact info: ifirsten@ucla.edu or iris.firstenberg@anderson.ucla.edu Introduction The goal of this class is to emerge with a repertoire of thinking skills that will give you the agility and readiness to respond to novel and complex situations. This includes situations of intense time pressure with little or no opportunity to think through, analyze and weigh options as well as complex and ambiguous problems that require a fresh and novel approach. We will discuss key principles and strategies for thinking better and faster. Principles and skills then have to be woven into a workable script, often on the spot, as issues unfold in real time. This requires flexibility. We will work on skills that develop flexibility of thinking at all levels of an organization the individual, teams, and the enterprise as a whole. Class sessions will include exercises that require responses in unfamiliar situations. The exercises will demonstrate the application of the tools and strategies from lectures and assigned reading to develop individual thinking skills, team thinking skills, and enterprise thinking skills. To this end, attendance is critical. The ability to Think on Your Feet cannot be acquired passively by reading about it. It must be practiced. Please plan to attend every session.

Reading Required Text: Rubinstein, M. and Firstenberg, I. The Minding Organization. John Wiley and Sons, 1999. Articles assigned for weekly reading are in the course binder.

2 Assignments Assignment #1 : weekly application of course concepts Each team will identify applications of the course concepts in either (a) a case or (b) a problem from work. Explain the concept and summarize the key aspects of the case related to the class concept, or briefly explain the work related problem, and discuss the application of the concept. The example can illustrate how the concept was used, or you can describe how the problem would have been better dealt with had the concept been used. Use a different case example for each concept. The assignment will begin with the third lecture as follows: 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Lecture 3 describe an application of any two concepts from Lecture 3 Lecture 4 describe an application of any two concepts from Lecture 4 Lecture 5 describe an application of any two concepts from Lecture 5 Lecture 6 describe an application of any two concepts from Lecture 6 Lecture 7 describe an application of any two concepts from Lecture 7

Each assignment is due by the start of the next class meeting the following week. Method of submission: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Assignment #2: Final Paper on problem of choice In the first week of class you will identify a problem or issue of concern, either in your work or in your industry. Think of a problem or concern that, if solved, would create a substantive change for the better (either for you or for the business). Throughout the course, you should be thinking about the guides and constraints discussed in lecture, as they apply to your chosen problem. Your final paper will be a description of the problem and include ideas from lecture, the assigned reading, and the discussion in teams. Your paper should demonstrate an understanding of the application of the concepts from the course. The paper will include a one page executive summary highlighting the problem and key insights. Half page problem statement due by start of second class meeting Method of submission: Paper is due (1 hard copy): (Week 10 of class, start of last class session) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Assignment #3: Interview Questions Submit 5 tough interview questions (individual assignment) Due date: October 25, 2011 Method of submission: email to TA __________________________

3 GRADING 1. Participation (attendance 5% and contribution 15%) 20% 2. Assignment #1 30% 3. Assignment #2 50% Schedule Lecture 1 Content What is Thinking on Your Feet Exercise: using the old brain in a new way Thriving in Crisis Assignment Chapter 1 text Augustine, N. Managing the Crisis You Tried to Prevent HBR, Dec 1995 Problem statement for final paper, due start of next class -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Lecture 2 Content History of thinking skills required for success How the brain thinks brain hardware Optimizing brain health Physical and mental responses when caught off guard Environmental constraints on our ability to think on our feet Assignment Chapter 2 text Gilkey, R. and Kilts, C. Cognitive Fitness. HBR, Nov 2007 Johnson, S. Emotions and the Brain: Fear. Discover, March 2003 Medina, J. The Science of Thinking Smarter. HBR, May 2008. Suggested further reading Begley, S. Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain. NY: Ballantine, 2007 Medina, J. Brain Rules. Pear Press, 2009. Victoroff, Jeff. Saving Your Brain. New York: Bantam Books, 2002, ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4 Lecture 3 Content Anatomy of a problem SMART model of problem solving Productive vs. Effective thinking Assignment Chapter 3 text McGrath, R. Failing By Design. HBR, April 2011 Spear, S. Fixing Healthcare from the Inside, Today. HBR, Sept. 2005 Rao, H. and Sutton, R. The Ergonomics of Innovation. McKinsey Quarterly, 2008 (4). ******Teams: Assignment #1

Suggested further reading Hardin, Garrett. Filters Against Folly. NY: Penguin Books, 1986 Russo, J. and Schoemaker, P. Decision Traps. Simon and Schuster, 1990 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Lecture 4 Content Chaos to Order in thinking Adaptive thinking Errors Assignment Chapter 4 text Abrashoff, M. Retention Through Redemption. HBR, Feb. 2001. Evans, P. and Wolf, B. Collaboration Rules. HBR, July-Aug., 2005 Garvin, D. and Roberto, M. What You Dont Know About Making Decisions. HBR, Sept. 2001. Bonabeau, E. and Meyer, C. Swarm Intelligence. HBR, May 2001. ******Teams: Assignment #1

Suggested further reading Pinker, S. How the Mind Works. NY: W.W. Norton, 1997. Frankl, V. The Will to Meaning. New York: Penguin Books, 1988. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lecture 5 Content Bringing the Future to the Present Backward Thinking Tyranny of OR Thinking Collaboration and Conversation Assignment Chapter 5 text Gavetti, G. and Rivkin, J. How Strategists Really Think. HBR, April 2005. Ghyczy, T. The Fruitful Flaws of Strategy Metaphors. HBR, Sept. 2003. Brown, T. and Wyatt, J. Design Thinking for Social Innovation. Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter 2010. Kim, W. and Mauborgne, R. Blue Ocean Strategy. HBR, October 2004. ******Teams: Assignment #1

DUE: 5 Interview Questions Suggested further reading Christensen, C. and Raynor M. The Innovators Solution. Harvard Business School, 2003. Tichy, N. and Bennis, W. Judgment: How Winning Leaders Make Great Calls. NY: Penguin, 2007. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Lecture 6 Content Emotional and Rational thinking Fear, Stress, and Mental Agility Assignment Chapter 6 text Benson, H. Are You Working Too Hard? HBR, Nov 2005 Coutu, D. How Resilience Works. HBR, May 2002 Seligman, M. Building Resilience. HBR, April 2011 ******Teams: Assignment #1

Suggested further reading Baker, D. What Happy People Know. New York: St. Martins Press, 2003. Ellis, A. and Lange, A. How to Keep People From Pushing Your Buttons. NY: Citadel Press, 2003.

6 Sapolsky, R. Why Zebras Dont Get Ulcers. NY: St. Martins Press, 2004. Seligman, M. Learned Optimism. New York: Knopf, 1991. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Lecture 7 Content Overcoming perceptual constraints Mental traps and Cognitive biases Assignment Chapter 7 text Schwartz, B. The Tyranny of Choice. Scientific American, April 2004. Vohs, K. et.al., Making Choices Impairs Subsequent Self Control. JPSP, 2008, 94(5), 883 898. Kahneman, D. A Perspective on Judgment and Choice: mapping bounded rationality. American Psychologist, 2003, 58(9): 697-720. Mitroff, I. and Alpaslan, M. Preparing for Evil. HBR, April 2003. Wilson, T. and Brekke, N. Mental contamination and mental correction: Unwanted influences on judgments and evaluations. Psychological Bulletin, 1994, 116(1) 117 142. *******Teams: Assignment #1

Suggested further reading Ariely, D. Predictably Irrational. New York: HarperCollins, 2008. Plous, S. The Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making. New York: McGraw Hill, 1993. Taleb, N. The Black Swan: the impact of the highly improbable. Random House, 2007. Thaler, R. and Sunstein, C. Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness. Yale University Press, 2008. Zweig, J. Your Money and Your Brain. Simon & Schuster, 2007. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Lecture 8 Content Tough interviews and questioning Answers vs. responses Assignment Chapter 8 text Groysberg, B. and Abrahams, R. Five Ways to Bungle a Job Change. HBR, Feb 2010.

7 Suggested further reading Deluca, M. Best Answers to the 201 Most Frequently Asked Interview Questions. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997 Patterson, K., Grenny, J., et.al., Crucial Confrontations. New York: McGraw Hill, 2005. Yeager, N. and Hough, L. Power Interviews. New York: Wiley and Sons, 1990. Weissman, J. In the Line of Fire. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2008. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Lecture 9 Content Human Memory Storage, retrieval, overcoming memory limitations Assignment Chapter 9 text Bar, M. Human Memory: What did you do last Sunday? LA Times, May 2011 Breen, B. Whats Your Intuition? Fast Company, December 2007 Rohrer, D. and Pashler, H. Recent Research on Human Learning Challenges Conventional Instructional Strategies. In press. Loftus, E. Creating False Memories. Scientific American, Sept. 1997. Strayer, D. and Johnston, W. Driven to Distraction Psychological Science, 2001, 12(6): 462 - 466. Suggested Small, Gary. The Memory Bible. New York: Hyerion, 2003. Langer, E. Mindfulness. Cambridge: Perseus Books, 1989 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Week 10 Content Lessons from crisis Course wrap-up: in class exercise Assignment Chapter 10 text Loehr, J.and Schwartz, T. The Making of a Corporate Athlete. HBR, Jan 2001 Suggested further reading Keefe, J. Improv Yourself: Business Spontaneity at the Speed of Thought. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, 2003 McCoy, C. Why Didnt I Think of That. NY: Prentice Hall, 2002 Due: Final Paper