Critical Thinking for Marketers

Many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices
- William James

In a world drowning in data and awash with bullshit, critical thinking just might be the most important skill marketers need.

In this workshop Carl Davidson will draw from behavioural science and cognitive psychology to demonstrate some of the flaws in our everyday ways of thinking, and provide some tools to sharpen your critical thinking and problem solving mindset.

In the process, you’ll see why critical thinking is rare (it’s much harder than you’d expect) and why most organisations make it much harder still.

You’ll learn why we’re all wired to think like lawyers rather than scientists, and why David Ogilvy was right about how evidence gets misused.

The workshop will then introduce a range of tools to unleash your critical thinking, nurture your scepticism, and supercharge your decision-making acumen.

It will benefit anyone with an interest in improving their thinking and decision-making skills, or in improving those skills among the people they work with. If you work with knowledge on a daily basis then this is the workshop for you.

Online Course structure
This workshop is also offered in an online format. A 1,5-hour live session will be held once each week over 4 weeks. The facilitator will present that week's topic live online with other participants. There will also be activities and resources to support your learning.

Learning Outcomes

Part one: Bad news, you're not as smart as you think you are

Heuristics, shortcuts, and why everyone is smart in hindsight
Why your unconscious biases are invisible to you (but no-one else)
The better educated you are, the less thinking you’ve probably been doing

Part two: Why learning organisations aren't real

The inertia of the status quo and compliance
How evolution has made deference a survival skill
The special problem of thinking in groups

Part three: Why everyone can be a more critical thinker

Fixed and growth mindsets
Thinking about your thinking
Shining a light on your own thinking processes

Part four: Channeling socrates - and borrowing and borrowing his critical thinking toolkit

Scientific thinking, hypotheses, and falsification
How to build a compelling argument by thinking about counterfactuals
Making sure you’ve identified the right problem
How to ask the right question
Establishing the burden of proof

Facilitator, Carl Davidson

Head of Insight, Research First

Carl is a psychologist by training, his professional life has been spent at the interface of behavioural science, organisational performance, and business strategy.

Critical Thinking for Marketers: Choose Your Date and Location

Loved all the interactive activities, feels like I have walked out with a different brain! Carl is excellent! Loved the session!

past attendee 2024

Absolutely loved this workshop - content, flow, delivery. So interesting.

past attendee 2024

Carl is a fantastic, engaging presenter who is an expert in his field. He maintains a good pace throughout the course and keeps the topic interesting!

past attendee 2024

Great content and engaging, was a long day but the speaker structured it well and also allowed us to take more breaks in the afternoon to help keep us engaged.

past attendee 2024

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Our Critical Thinking for Marketers
workshop held in Auckland,
Christchurch, Wellington, and Online.

Many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices
- William James