A few years ago, I was in Bogota, Colombia when I met the daughter of Aristotle! I think at least she deserved the title. What a beautiful mind, but with a heavy cynicism to handle. Some sort of a Sheldon Cooper, Liberal Arts version, that taught me a lot.

I was attending an international conference about Political Marketing and this lady was my next door neighbor in the hotel, even though we only saw each other two times. She was an old black woman, as a Cuban postcard picture, with a cute smile and eyes full of wisdom and experience.

In that time I used to smoke cigarettes when drinking, and as you may imagine, there is no kind of conferences or seminars without alcohol and Happy Hour’s. I met Margarita briefly, but this encounter taught me an incredible lesson about facing life with a strong mind. With her I learnt from a 30 min chat what a 3 days Talks and Workshops could not.

At this kind of events every conversation feels like a chess game, a battle of egos, sellers and buyers, politicians and strategists consultants, analyzing each other and choosing what to reveal or not. My first day an old man told me - “Do not tell others what you are really thinking, that makes you weak” - Boom! - Welcome to the jungle! (Please imagine Axl Rose voice to add epicness )

My smoking break became my solitude moment, so I used to look for a lonely corner to have these precious minutes. At the second day I found my spot taken by this kind figure, Margarita from Buenaventura, a short lady with a cute big white Afro. In my desperation finding the lighter in one of my 6 pokets, she dearly offered hers, saying:

“May the lord father help you! You can take that one” - pointing at a big metal lighter at the table between us.

“Who? Jesus?” - I replied.

“No! I mean Aristotle, you need some thinking in that head young man” - She said breaking in laughs.

She was a charm! And she had that old grandma laugh it is so contagious. So I joined her in laughter and giggles. I liked her immediately.

She asked me what I was doing there, I answered like a son trying to the family, reciting the conference agenda followed by the resume of the speakers. I was repeating the marketing material for the conference like a cleric. As person with no much patience for the darkness of the ignorance, she started to tell me everything I should read to make my mind stronger and in her words “learn something worth it”.

What the chat became was a lesson on how to survive the world of politics, where persuasion and critical thinking are essential tools. Margarita decode for me in 10 minutes the recipe for Critical Thinking in 5 clear steps:

Be curious, ask yourself what you are looking for.
Inform yourself, seek for knowledge to clear doubts.
Use the knowledge you have gathered to take the best decisions.
Look forward, think your actions and plans implications, see the consequences of it.
Doubt yourself, explore other points of view.

As casual as good Mojito’s recipe, she broke it down for me. Here is the precious points that make me a Critical Thinker.

Curiosity

We face a world full of everything and everyone, knowledge is the only tool we have available to go through this with a chance of success. Always ask yourself, do not take things for granted, even less believe that your worldview is the only one or the right one.

Information

Knowledge provides you with tools to take better decisions. Seek information to support your plans. Be aware of your surroundings. Learn about other players in your context. Gathering data is the way to improve your judgment in any situation.

Apply

As a manager use the tools you have gathered and apply them in the making of your choices. The research has to lead to a logical process, as a scientist that seek data to support theories, we use that knowledge gathered to built our plan of actions, clearing our way of thinking.

Consequences

Try to envision the implications of your actions, following down the road your choices could make you see some flaws of it. When looking the big picture we get a real sense of what we are doing and where is leading us to.

Doubt

Sometimes we run the risk of self absorption in our own thoughts, believing we are right because we have done the homework! But life is always in charge to show us there is no one way only. Sometimes we need to listen to other positions, explore other points of view to make empathy with certain ideas, which leads to understanding. A well rounded perspective makes you a better strategist.

This is the guide I carry with me since then. I never got the chance to see Margarita again nor thanks her, I just hope more people have the chance to meet this little genius and be touched by her super smart rants.

Thanks for reading, and f you are looking for more of my writing please follow my blog @Albertogm

Cheers!