The Black Belt in Thinking Podcast
Black Belt in Thinking Podcast host Peter Cronin talks about different thinking processes that have helped people all around the world solve their problems. Business, personal, leadership, whatever the problem may be, the BBIT Podcast gives a fresh outlook on problem solving, interviewing some of the world leaders in different approaches and problem solving tools.
Episodes

Wednesday Dec 14, 2022
BBIT - End of Year Wrap Up 2022
Wednesday Dec 14, 2022
Wednesday Dec 14, 2022
What a year for the BBIT!! Two new courses were created and now the full compliment of courses is available to all staring early 2023!
In this podcast the team take a look back on 2022 and discuss the biggest wins and learnings that they have got out of being apart of the BBIT team this year.
It has been a great year and we want to congratulate all those who have completed a BBIT course this year.
We also encourage anyone who hasn't done BBIT and wants to join/know more to reach out!
The BBIT community has grown over 100% larger this year and we can't wait to see what the next year brings!
The hosts also love to hear any feedback or answer questions you may have, so feel free to send them a message at peter.cronin@viago.com.au or mirta@viago.co.nz!

Wednesday Dec 07, 2022
The Fishbone Method - Part Two
Wednesday Dec 07, 2022
Wednesday Dec 07, 2022
This week Peter and Mirta discuss Part 2 of the Fishbone Method or Diagram.
As promised in the last episode Peter and Mirta apply the method to a real life problem that they are currently facing.
Taking some instruction sets that they found online, Peter and Mirta talk about the process they went through using the Fishbone Method, as well as the insights and learnings they had as a result.
Listen to this episode to find out the benefits, the drawbacks, and some tips and tricks about some ways that you can effectively use the Fishbone Method in your own problem-solving situations.
The hosts also love to hear any feedback or answer questions you may have, so feel free to send them a message at peter.cronin@viago.com.au or mirta@viago.co.nz!

Wednesday Nov 16, 2022
The Fishbone Method - Part One
Wednesday Nov 16, 2022
Wednesday Nov 16, 2022
This week Peter and Mirta discuss the Fishbone Method or Diagram.
Fishbone Method is the 5 Whys on steroids!
The method represents the problem as the head of the fish, with the many different possible causes of the problem as the spine of the fish.
Much like the 5 Whys, the Fishbone Method is very user-friendly: when a problem occurs, you identify the major categories of causes of the problem, list all the possible sub-causes, and then drill into each one by asking "Why does this happen?" to uncover deeper levels of causes.
Listen to this episode to find out the benefits, the drawbacks, and some tips and tricks about some ways that you can effectively use the Fishbone Method in your own problem-solving situations.
The hosts also love to hear any feedback or answer questions you may have, so feel free to send them a message at peter.cronin@viago.com.au or mirta@viago.co.nz!

Thursday Oct 27, 2022
The Five Why’s Thinking Process
Thursday Oct 27, 2022
Thursday Oct 27, 2022
This week Peter and Mirta discuss the 5 Why’s thinking process!
Sakichi Toyoda, the Japanese industrialist, inventor, and founder of Toyota Industries, developed the 5 Whys technique in the 1930s and Toyota still uses it to solve problems today!
The Five Why’s is most effective when the answers come from people who have hands-on experience of the process or problem in question.
The method is remarkably simple: when a problem occurs, you drill down to its root cause by asking "Why?" five times. Then, when a counter-measure becomes apparent, you follow it through to prevent the issue from recurring.
Listen in to this episode to find out the benefits, the draw backs and some tips and tricks about some ways that you can use the 5 Why’s in your own problem solving situations.
The hosts also love to hear any feedback or answer questions you may have, so feel free to send them a message at peter.cronin@viago.com.au or mirta@viago.co.nz!

Wednesday Oct 12, 2022
The Power of One Liners - Peter Cronin and Mirta Fagundes
Wednesday Oct 12, 2022
Wednesday Oct 12, 2022
The Power of One-Liners
This week Peter and Mirta discuss one-liners; simple phrases that encapsulate a more complex concept.
A lot of the time we may agree on a solution or a course of action, but the day-to-day grind gets in the way, and old habits kick in. Before soon, we end up doing things that end up compromising that agreement.
This is where one-liners come in. They are short and punchy phrases that are repeated and act as pattern interrupts in situations where someone is going against the agreed course of action.
For example, even if we all agree we will not re-schedule the jobs once the Sprint starts, someone inevitably has a job they want to squeeze in mid-Sprint. When this happens, a simple "shoving it in won't make it come out" can stop the behavior without the need for confrontational "telling off" or long-winded explanations as to why we shouldn't overload the developers.
Find out more about one-liners, and how you can use them in your professional and personal life to keep on track!
The hosts also love to hear any feedback or answer questions you may have, so feel free to send them a message at peter.cronin@viago.com.au or mirta@viago.co.nz!

Wednesday Sep 21, 2022
When Fluency is Better than Knowledge - Peter Cronin & Peter Thorby
Wednesday Sep 21, 2022
Wednesday Sep 21, 2022
Is Fluency better than knowledge?
We learn a lot of things at school, but we often forget a lot of this information/learnings because we don't use them. How often have you had to use long division in your adult life?
When people have to deliver or provide and answer and they don't have the muscle memory/fluency, they they start guessing. Then often the person on the receiving end takes the result as true, as they don't have the fluency either.
So how do we build the fluency in the skills we want to get better at?
Tune in to this episode to find out how to build your own fluency or the fluency of your team!
If you’re enjoying the series and getting value out of the episodes please remember to share them around!
The hosts also love to hear any feedback or answer questions you may have, so feel free to send them a message at peter.cronin@viago.com.au or mirta@viago.co.nz!

Wednesday Sep 07, 2022
Behaviour Forcing - Peter Cronin and Mirta Fagundes
Wednesday Sep 07, 2022
Wednesday Sep 07, 2022
On this episode Peter and Mirta discuss Behavior Forcing or Poka-yoke (Mistake Proofing), which is the use of any automatic device or method that either makes it impossible for an error to occur or makes the error immediately obvious once it has occurred.
So in a system where a mistake is happening time and time again, we introduce a forcing function which prevents people making that mistake. For example, the noise your makes in your car when you forget to put your seatbelt on. Obviously you can continue to drive the car with the noise, however the annoying dinging noise is there to help shape the behavior.
If you’re enjoying the series and getting value out of the episodes please remember to share them around!
The hosts also love to hear any feedback or answer questions you may have, so feel free to send them a message at peter.cronin@viago.com.au or mirta@viago.co.nz!

Wednesday Aug 24, 2022
Cognitive Bias Episode 11 - Hindsight Bias
Wednesday Aug 24, 2022
Wednesday Aug 24, 2022
Peter and Mirta's series on cognitive biases continues!
There are a few different cognitive biases that have a powerful influence on how you think, how you feel, and how you behave. Each episode will touch on a different bias. So make sure you tune in to them all!
This week Peter and Mirta talk about the Hindsight Bias. Hindsight bias is our tendency to look back at an event that we could not predict at the time and think the outcome was easily predictable. It is also called the 'knew-it-all-along' effect.
For example, after attending a sports game, you might insist that you knew that the winning team was going to win beforehand.
If you’re enjoying the series and getting value out of the episodes please remember to share them around!
The hosts also love to hear any feedback or answer questions you may have, so feel free to send them a message at peter.cronin@viago.com.au or mirta@viago.co.nz!