Ann is offering us a Thought Piece based on the thinking in her forthcoming book to be published in 2010, currently titled Return on Intelligence: Developing Tomorrow's Thought Leaders. (This tentative title may take some of us back to the inaugural In2:InThinking Forum in 2002!).  Ann's work for many years has centered on applied research on thinking and brain function, which currently culminates in a whole brain thinking model that can be applied to business and other organizations - thinking, learning, and working together - better.
 
From the Thought Piece:
 
... this new environment places a burden on all of us, especially leaders, to be more adaptive, responsive, and innovative than ever before. These new, rapidly changing and unpredictable situations require new kinds of thinking. When leaders approach a new situation with their habitual thinking, they severely limit their ability to generate new ideas or solutions. If our thought patterns continue to be processed by our brains using the same neural pathways as in the past, our ability to lead in different ways will not evolve to meet the new demands of the situation. Leading in new ways requires new connections and processes the brain, breaking our existing patterns.
 
You may wish to reflect on the following before the Ongoing Discussion later this week:

What is meant by "Whole Brain"?

 

When we think about InThinking, what is our model?

 

How would we describe it?

How do we apply it?

 

Why might we need a different system of thinking in the 21st century?

 

How prepared are you personally to be the leader that is needed in the 21st century?

 

What kinds of questions will be asked by leaders in the 21st century?

 

Please join your Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and In2:InThinking Network colleagues for a stimulating and challenging conversation about thinking and leading and how they are changing.

Ann Herrmann-Nehdi is CEO of Herrmann International, a global training and consulting company and publisher of the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI). Ann has led the company's last 20 years of applied research on thinking and the brain. Key applications of the company's whole brain thinking model include innovation, strategic thinking, problem solving, management, leadership, sales teaching and learning, self-understanding, communication and team/staff development.
 
Having resided in Europe for 13 years, Ann brings a global perspective to the company. Since joining Herrmann International USA 20 years ago, Ann's personal goal has been to promote a better understanding of how individuals and organizations think and become more effective. She also works to enhance learning and communication technologies worldwide through the application and development of the Whole Brain® concept. Ann has contributed chapters to over two dozen publications including The ASTD Handbook for Workplace Performance (2007) and the Trainer's Portable Mentor (2008). 
 
Herrmann International, with affiliates worldwide, continues to research and develop products and applications in the fields of thinking, creativity, and learning. The work of the company has been featured in the Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Business Week, USA Today, Discover, Scientific American, and The Times Education supplement.  
  
Learn more about Ann's thinking in the Thought Piece.