Training your brain, strength of mind - if it works for fitness, why not intelligence?

I had the privilege of chatting with a good friend who is a phenominal athlete, having succesfully competed for his country on the international stage. He is now a successful management consultant with Accenture in the UK.

We were talking about the different dimensions of intelligence and how to train them. Most people accept that you can double your raw strength, flexibility, stamina, agility and other physical attributes through a focussed campaign in the gym. So why do so many people still regard intelligence and creativity as fixed?

We agreed that there is a rough parallel between intelligence and physical strength and that intelligence and mental ability can be trained.

These were our parallels from Physical - to - Mental

• Speed - Mental Arithmetic, Creativity,
  
• Stamina - Comprehensive thinking, patience, persistence
• Strength - Combatitative argument, Logical ability, Powers of persuasion
• Agility - Lateral Thinking, finding multiple solutions
• Toning - Well informed, past performance

I believe that like your physical strength, your mental strength can be trained and after just one year of working at it, it will be very obvious to everyone around you that you seem more intelligent. This is how...

1. Mental Arithmetic - Maths is simply the continued application of very basic components. I have taught maths to 13 year old deliquents and Cambridge University Students and the problem is nearly always the same - a lack of the grasp of the basics. If you want to improve your ability to manipulate numbers you must continue to practice the basics on small numbers
2. Creativity - As the numerous creativity seminars say: Creativity is about being able to link pieces of thought which are not usually linked. Your creativity will only improve as you deliberately expose yourself to different ways of thinking and ask yourself questions which force you to be creative "How could [bizaare idea here] help me with [thing I am working on]?"
3. Comprehensive Thinking - Deliberately and systematically try to break down a problem into areas which do not overlap but cover everything (Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive as the McKinsey Way puts it[1]). There are a number of commonly used techniques to break things down: e.g. chronologically, categorically, through a paradigm (e.g. SWOT, five forces in business) using these will improve your ability to think for a long time about the same problem without wasting effort
4. Patience - Others have written far more wisely on patience than we can[2]... Patience is a virtue, possess it if you can, seldom found in woman, but never found in man
   
5. Persistence - This is the same for thinking as for physical exercise, you need to have a strong reason why you are doing what you are doing - why do you want to get there?[2]
   
6. Combatitative Argument - Combatitative arguments require the use of logic and facts under pressure and will build your skills while doing this. Formal debating is one way of doing this, but the pub is the preferred location of most!
   
7. Logic - Logic is a skill and can be learned. Learning to think logically requires a lot of discipline, but little natural ability. There are a number of moderately good web resources for critical thinking (example), recognising common logical flaws can only help. There are also one or two very easy to read introductions to logic for those who prefer printed material [7]
8. Power of Persuasion - To be viewed as intelligent you require more than just the ability to shout loudly and logically. Books such as "Getting to Yes"[3], "Getting Past No"[4] and "Crucial Conversations"[5] are all recommended for helping you see what is important and learning to deal effectively with different people in high pressure situations
   
9. Lateral Thinking - A phrase coined by Edward De Bono to describe the more creative and flexible thinking rather than the linearly logical mind[6]. It is not simply as narrow as being able to solve puzzles in Christmas crackers
   
10. Finding Multiple Solutions - This is simply personal opinion, but many of those who I regard as deeply intelligent have not stopped at the first solution that worked but carried on pushing until they got to the best they could (and then normally pushed some more)
    
11. Well Informed - However fast you think, your mind can only work with the information you have. Find ways of being interested in a variety of subjects and don't stop learning!
    
12. Past Performance - A large part of the perception of your intelligence is simply being consistent in your abilities.

Leisurely reading for the next year:

[1] The McKinsey Way, Ethan M. Rasiel (Amazon) - Consulting is all about rigorous thinking and this book gives a special insight into the way this works and includes a number of the thought processes consultants follow when breaking problems apart
[2] 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey (Amazon) (Webpage) - An interesting look into the way that people think and operate. A classic with well over 10 million copies sold.
[3] Getting to Yes, Roger Fisher, William Ury, Bruce Patton (Amazon) - "Getting to Yes" is a book solely about negotiation and is heavily recommended reading in nearly all business schools
[4] Getting past No, William Ury (Amazon) - How do you get people to Yes if all they do is cheat and shout No? From one of authors of "Getting to Yes", this book deals with the problems of negotiating with difficult people
[5] Crucial Conversations, Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler (Amazon) - This book was recommended by Stephen Covey and deals very effectively with understanding and controlling your emotions to reach an outcome you would be proud of in the important conversations in your life
[6] Anything by Edward De Bono who coined the phrase "Lateral Thinking". The six thinking hats (Amazon) is widely used from the civil service through to organisational thinking. Its use is subject, but the concepts are very strong (although you may find his writing style patronising!)
[Added Comments]
[7] Being Logical: A Guide to Good Thinking, D. Q. McInerny, Dennis Q. McInerny (Amazon) - This comes as highly recommended by the friend mentioned in this article as being a small, cheap and easy-to-read starting point to logic.