Direct Attention Thinking Tools (DATT) make problem solving and decision making easier. There are 10 simple strategies for sharpening your perception and focusing your thinking in a more comprehensive, effective and efficient way. DATT will enable you to have a broad and inclusive viewpoint. The tools create a framework for defining a situation. That framework will improve your ability to consider consequences before you take action.
DATT provides an aid to thinking. The tools make thinking more deliberate, more structured, more organized – more effective. They are designed to be simple and usable. Simple tools, used effectively for creating powerful changes.
Tool 1 — Consequences and Sequels
Look ahead to see the consequences of an action, plan, decision, or rule.
Tool 2 — Plus, Minus, Interesting
Ensure that all sides of a matter have been considered before a decision or commitment is made.
Tool 3 — Recognize, Analyze, Divide
Break a larger concept into smaller, more manageable parts.
Tool 4 — Consider All Factors
Explore all factors related to an action, decision, plan, judgement, or conclusion.
Tool 5 — Aims, Goals, Objectives
Focus directly and deliberately on the intentions behind actions.
Tool 6 — Alternatives, Possibilities, Choices
Deliberately find other ways.
Tool 7 — Other People’s Views
Put yourself in others’ shoes.
Tool 8 — Key Values Involved
Ensure that your thinking serves your values.
Tool 9 — First Important Priorities
Select the most important ideas, factors, objectives, consequences, etc.
Tool 10 — Design/Decision, Outcome, Channels, Action
Direct attention to the outcome of the thinking and action that follows.
How can DATT help you and others?
· Studies have proven that when people are specifically asked to use DATT thinking tools, their thinking dramatically improves (by as much as 300%).
· You can avoid impulsive behaviour and snap judgments by utilising tools that give you broad, wise views.
· The professional success you attain will be attributed to your decision making and idea-generating skills. These skills may already be strong, but after DATT training they will be consistently strong.
· DATT will help you avoid bad decisions. Our current thinking is usually not wrong; it simply is not targeted as well as it could be.
· Opinions and existing mind-sets powerfully drive our thinking, choices and actions. We need tools and levers to allow ourselves to explore areas outside our self imposed standards and ideas.
Why does DATT work?
· DATT is based on a fundamental understanding of how the brain handles information.
How can DATT help your organisation?
· DATT can help you plan, design, re-engineer and continually improve. It can help you solve problems, manage quality, build teams, empower people, integrate systems, add value to customers and create or re-structure products and systems. Using DATT, your decisions will be effective and innovative in the least amount of time.