Logical thinking learning in the basics of project management

project managementBasic logical thinking learning

Table of contents

Logical thinking learning in the basics of project management

1 Logical thinking definition

2 Logical thinking method

2.1 Zero thinking (reset thinking)

2.2 Framework Thinking

2.3 Choosing thinking

2.4 Process thinking

3 Logical thinking tools

3.1 Hierarchy

3.1.1 Logic Tree

3.1.2 Pyramid Structure Diagram

3.2 Frame type (Frame)

3.2.1 Framework

3.2.2 Matrix graph

3.3 Flow

3.3.1 Time series process

3.3.2 Processing sequence process

3.4 Other ways to promote logical thinking

4 Characteristics of logical thinking

5. Master customer needs

5.1 Open-ended questions, closed-ended questions, and inductive confirmation questions

5.1.1 Open question

5.1.2 Closed Questions

5.1.3 Inductive confirmation question

5.1.4 Summary of questions

5.2 Explicit and implicit requirements

5.3 How to ask questions to understand needs (marketing staff)

6 Basic process for solving problems

References

1 Logical thinking definition

• Logical thinking: refers to a logical way of thinking, i.e.No omissionsVarious main reasons and factors,No repetitionPut things in orderEasy to understand, make itSystematic,accomplishOverall grasp, to draw relativecorrectThe way to think about judgment or solution

2 Logical thinking method

2.1 Zero thinking (reset thinking)

• Definition: Clear preconceptions, return to zero (white paper) and then think about it
• Key: Target awareness → Reset and sort out preconceived ideas
• Applicable scenario: No useful answers found in the existing knowledge framework

2.2 Framework Thinking

• Definition: Use the framework made by predecessors to think, and draw conclusions through comprehensive organization and analysis without omissions
• Key: Prevent omissions (failed to grasp the key points), one-sided mistakes (failed to grasp the overall situation), slow action mistakes (failed to grasp the time)
• Applicable scenarios: strategy formulation, problem analysis, marketing
• STRAC table:
  • Total Cost = Fixed Cost + Variable Cost
  • Breakeven point sales revenue = fixed cost / (1 - variable cost / sales revenue)
  • Breakeven Point Ratio = Breakeven Point Sales Revenue / Sales Revenue (%)
  • Operating safety rate = 1 - Breakeven point sales revenue / sales revenue (%)
  • Marginal profit = Fixed cost + Profit = Sales revenue - Variable cost

2.3 Choosing thinking

• Definition: Set multiple options and choose the best solution based on discussion
• Thinking process:
  • Divergent thinking: brainstorming method
  • Aggregation thinking: KJ method or logic tree
  • Organize into a selection matrix: Use the KJ method to list the methods obtained by brainstorming, and organize into a selection matrix (advantages, disadvantages, difficulty, economy, and expected results)
  • Choice: qualitative information digitization and weighted calculation method

2.4 Process thinking

• Definition: Start with the phenomenon of things, introduce the concept of time, and think about the whole thing as a coherent process

3 Logical thinking tools

3.1 Hierarchy

• Applicable scenarios: subdividing the topic and gradually expanding it to organize it

3.1.1 Logic Tree

• Definition: Use MCEC's thinking method to find the causes, solutions, etc. of logical problems, and hierarchically make a tree diagram to decompose and organize
• Overall process: Propose a topic → Grasp the topic → Find specific solutions
• Usually expands down from the topic (top grid) (Top down,sink)
• Visual effect: The law of three
  • Three frames per layer, divided into three layers
  • Note: When using logical thinking to organize the topic and consider countermeasures, focus on MECE; when using logic tree to demonstrate and seek acceptance by others, pay attention to visual effects. You can deviate from the MECE principle and use the three-three rules to recreate the logic tree.
• Production points:
  • Clearly give the definition of the topic (top size)
  • All levels of MECE
  • The weights of each level are equivalent
  • Each element is related to the theme (top grid)
  • Is there any contradiction between the lower layer and the upper layer of the tree?
• Classification:
  • Why tree: Find the reason
  • What tree: Exploring achieves the goal
  • How Tree: Discuss Decision Plan

3.1.2 Pyramid Structure Diagram

• Definition: Start with specific information and facts,bottom upDeliver the conclusion
• Overall process: facts → grasp the problem → find the reason → draw the question

3.2 Frame type (Frame）

3.2.1 Framework

• Definition: A framework combination containing the thinking methods of predecessors
• Applicable scenarios: When the topic is clear, sort out the method is clear
• Main methods:
  • Business 3C Analysis
    • Customer - External Environment Analysis
      • Analysis content:
        • Consumer Level
        • age
        • gender
        • Residence area
        • interest
        • ……
    • Company—Internal Environment Analysis
      • Analysis content:
        • Business prospects
        • Organizational structure
        • Research and development capabilities
        • Product competitiveness
        • brand
        • Marketing power
        • productive forces
        • Personnel quality (development ability)
        • Financial strength
        • ……
    • Competitor (competitor) - external environment analysis
      • Analysis content: Analysis content with Company
    • 3C to 5C (operating pentagon): Add Channel (circulation channel) and Cooperator (partner)
  • Marketing 4P Analysis
    • Product: How to develop products
    • Price: How much does it cost
    • Place (circulation, sales channel): Where to sell
    • Promotion (advertising, promotional activities): How to promote promotions
  • Five Forces Model
    • The competitive environment of an enterprise is determined by five factors:
      • Threat of new entry: The greater the possibility of entering an industry, the more fierce the competition
      • Competitive relationship within the industry: the scale and quantity of peers, the overall growth of the industry
      • Threat of alternatives: alternatives may perform better and cheaper
      • The bargaining power of the buyer (user)
      • Bargaining power of sellers (suppliers)

3.2.2 Matrix graph

• Definition: Use different items of rows and columns to represent various combinations
• Applicable scenarios: 1) There is no clear difference in opinions and the intermediate opinions are also considered; 2) Find new ideas from various perspectives and conduct creative discussions
• Main methods:
  • ABCD Partition Strategy Table (ABCD Matrix Strategy Plan Table for New Commodity Market Development): Treat the market and customers as a whole, and all the products, services and technologies of the company are regarded as a whole, forming a matrix to discuss product strategy
    • Develop: Creating new needs – seeking and adopting new strategies for diversification
    • Challenge: Opening up new markets - Developing untouched markets and launching business activities based on original goods and services
    • Bear: Develop new products--grasp the needs of old customers
    • Attack (offensive): Market penetration---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    • Horizontal axis: market and customers, vertical axis: goods, services and technology

      ABCD Partition Strategy Table

      	Original market and customers	Xinsheng Market and Customers
      Original goods, services and technologies	Attack	Challenge
      New products, services and technologies	Bear	Develop

  • PPM analysis: A business analysis method that combines the market share of corporate goods with market growth rate to determine which field to invest funds to carry out effective operation
    • Vertical axis: market growth rate, horizontal axis: market share
      • Product (Product)
      • Portfolio (combination)
      • Management

        PPM analysis

        	Low market share	High market share
        High market growth rate	Competition intensifies (the prospects cannot be seen clearly, and it is necessary to determine whether to continue investing or withdrawing from the commodity group)	Looking forward to growing (the product group that can become a money tree in the future)
        Low market growth rate	Stagnant and recession (commodity groups that cannot be made in new investments)	Money tree (a product group that can make money for the company)

    • Cross-ratio analysis: The value of the enterprise multiplies market share with the commodity growth rate to determine whether to invest

      Cross-ratio analysis

      	Market specification M	Company Performance A	Position S	Growth Rate G	Cross Ratio S*G
      Product A
      Product B
      Product C

  • SWOT analysis: Matrix combination analysis of internal and external business environment and its positive and negative elements
    • Corporate environment: internal (inside) environment and external (peripheral) environment
    • Internal environment: Strength and Weakness relative to competitors
      • factor:
        • Business prospects
        • Organizational competence
        • Research and development capabilities
        • Product competitiveness
        • Marketing power
        • productive forces
        • Purchasing power
        • Personnel quality (development ability)
        • Financial strength
        • ……
    • External environment (customers, competing companies, economic conditions, etc.): Opportunity in business (opportunity, good impacts that environmental changes may bring) and risks (threat, bad impacts that environmental changes may bring)
      • factor:
        • Economic trends
        • Market growth
        • Laws and regulations
        • The trends of competitors
        • Technological innovation
        • Changes in demand
        • technology
        • ……

          SWOT matrix

          	Internal environment of the enterprise	External environment of the enterprise
          front	Strength	Opportunity
          Negative	Weakness	Threat

          SWOT matrix for decision making

          	Opportunity	Threat
          Strength	Take positive action (taking advantage and market opportunities)	Differentiated actions
          Weakness	Negative action	Degenerate actions (control disadvantages, avoid risks)

3.3 Process type (Flow）

3.3.1 Time series process

• The AIDMA rule of marketing: divides the entire process related to marketing from market import to customer purchases into five stages:
  • Attention (attract attention)
  • Interest (Arouse interest)
  • Desire (stimulate desire)
  • Memory (Leave a Memory)
  • Action (take action)

3.3.2 Processing sequence process

• Product life cycle analysis:
  • Introduction period → growth period → competition period → maturity period → recession period
    • Import period: Building circulation channels, sales training, advertising
    • Growth period: revenue growth, profit growth
    • Competition period: survival of the fittest
    • Maturity: Sales peak
    • Recession period: market saturation, sales decrease, profit decrease

3.4 Other ways to promote logical thinking

• Brainstorming method lists matters and then uses KJ method to classify (bottom-up)
  • Brainstorming method (diversified thinking: a way to think about things freely when considering opinions and suggestions)
    • Important points
      • Don't have too many people
      • Exclude preconceived opinions and speak freely
      • No matter what opinions are expressed, do not criticize or discuss each other's opinions.
      • Compared with the quality of opinions and ideas, pay more attention to quantity
      • Use other people's opinions as inspiration to express more opinions with development prospects
  • KJ method (aggregated thinking: a thinking method that draws conclusions by sorting out various things and appearances)
    • Write each idea, opinion, etc. obtained by using brainstorming on small cards or post-its, and then find each l with similar content from these cards, from small groups to middle groups and then to large groups, and then make a chart, and summarize the content into articles if necessary

4 Characteristics of logical thinking

• Think positively, think positively, and move forward with courage to challenge
• Pay attention to data and make comprehensive judgments based on analysis
• The square matrix is ​​clear, attach importance to MECE principle (Mutually Exclusive Collectively Exhaustive, no omissions or repetitions), and make judgments according to the steps
• The steps are clear, the disadvantage is that it takes a certain amount of time to draw a conclusion
• Verification and proof are logical and easy to be recognized by the other party

5. Master customer needs

5.1 Open-ended questions, closed-ended questions, and inductive confirmation questions

5.1.1 Open question

• Let potential customers speak freely, ask questions to make it easy for customers to answer, and lead to what they want to know, thereby constantly igniting the other party's ideas and finally sorting them out.
• Two key points of open-ended questions:
  • Use 6W3H to ask questions: When talking and thinking are in trouble and hesitating, you can use 6W3H to think
    • What (What)
    • Why (Why)
    • When (when)
    • Where (where)
    • Who (who)
    • Which (which)
    • How
    • How much
    • How many
  • Listen carefully:
    • Do not mix your own opinions and ideas in the initial stage of conversation with customers. Pay attention to listening and ask questions repeatedly to elicit the other party’s ideas and true opinions, so that the customer can speak as much as possible.

5.1.2 Closed Questions

• Yes or not answers, extracting the essence of the question. First, logically organize the ideas obtained from the customer through open-ended questions, and then to clarify each content, then conduct closed-ended questions.
• Five key points of closed-end questions:
  • Refining goals in necessary projects
  • Implement classification one by one, and discard useless content
  • Ask a specific question
  • Basically, it's a question that chooses one of two
  • Start with an easy-to-answer question

5.1.3 Inductive confirmation question

• Convert the information you get through the question into the other party's language for confirmation, such as "in general", "that is," and "summarize it"
• Five key points of the question:
  • Listen carefully from the customer's standpoint
  • In order to let the other party continue to talk, don't forget to nod at the right time and be a good listener
  • At this stage, do not refute or express your opinions
  • Don't expand the argument or scope of the question too much, ask questions according to the occasion
  • When the other party can't answer, ask easy-to-answer questions from a different perspective

5.1.4 Summary of questions

• Don't ask offensive questions continuously
• When the other party answers, be sure to nod and listen carefully.
• Speaking with professional nouns and data during communication can improve accuracy

5.2 Explicit and implicit requirements

• Explicit demand: The part where the customer has problems, difficulties, or dissatisfaction is a state where the gap is obvious or vague but still understandable.
• Implicit requirements: There are problems, difficulties, and dissatisfaction, but I don’t know what it is, nor how to solve it, and even the customer themselves cannot feel the problem.

5.3 How to ask questions to understand needs (marketing staff)

• How to grasp the situation and ask questions:
  • Understand the other party, collect objective facts, record the names and positions of the person in charge, key figures, and even personality traits
  • Before visiting, use the Internet and other aspects to understand the customer's business background or business situation
  • Pre-organize the content of the question (what questions are asked in a closed manner and what questions are asked in an open manner)
• How to ask questions when discovering questions:
  • Taking business resources as the basis, people, things, money, information, etc. can all be used as entry points.
• Heuristics Solution Questioning Method:
  • Ask questions in mixed cases
  • Letting the other party understand your solution will help solve the problem
• How to solve the problem and ask questions:
  • Prioritize issues that need and solve by degree of importance

6 Basic process for solving problems

• Clarify the goals: Concrete the future goals "the rightful state" or "ideal goals"
• Collect and analyze information: collect information to the greatest extent and organize it logically; analyze the collected information and grasp the status quo as correctly as possible
• Discover problems and causes: Use the gap between goals and status quo as a problem, clarify them, and propose various assumptions to find out the real cause
• Propose a solution: prioritize problem solving, propose solutions and select solutions
• Implementation: Implementing solutions
• Verification and modification: Verification and inspection of the effect after implementation. If the effect is not good, reconsideration measures should be reconsidered and corrections should be made.

References

[1][Japan] Nobuyuki Imai. Introduction to logical thinking: thinking methods for grasping needs, solving problems, and successful negotiations. [M] Beijing: People's Posts and Telecommunications Press, 2018.05;