About Us
Our History
Escalated Thinking was founded in 2006, but it goes back much further. To understand who we are, you have to understand a few things about our founder.
If you ask our founder to describe himself he will say he is a “creative Christian.” That description seems to fit well. He has been both a committed follower of Jesus Christ and a creative thinker for over 40 years. During that time he has researched creativity, innovation, and changes in perspective. He has applied what he has learned to ministry techniques, Bible study tools, church leadership, and church planning.
But “creative Christian” misses a couple important facets about our founder. First, he is a family man. He and his “trophy wife” of over 30 years live in the midwestern United States. Their two children are grown and are pursuing their own successful careers. Second, he has completed a thirty year career as an engineer, computer programmer, supervisor, and manager for a Fortune 500 manufacturer. Many examples in this website come from his family and business experiences.
Our Name
Escalated Thinking is not just our name, it’s what we promise our clients. So many people have only one level of thinking — just one perspective on the world. They persist in perceiving the world the same way, making the same assumptions, believing the same things, and thinking the same thoughts. As a result, they keep doing the same things and getting the same results. They are stuck with a future they created, but is now inevitable.
Escalated Thinking helps people move smoothly to a new level of thinking. Here they get a new perspective on their world. They begin to think new things, take new actions, and get different results. Soon they realize that the future is something they shape, not just accept.
Our Logo
Our logo shows our clients moving smoothly from one level of thinking to another. They leave a level where things don’t make sense and arrive at one where new insight is revealed. That is the essence of Escalated Thinking.
Our Clients
While we work with businesses, churches, colleges, non-profit organizations, and individuals, we do give preference to certain types of clients. Namely, we seek clients who need a change in perspective, are willing to think in new ways, have the greatest potential for dramatically changing their future, and have core values similar to ours.
There is one more criteria that we use to screen our clients. While our mission is to help our clients shape their futures, we seek clients that will help us while we help them. In other words, we give preference to clients that will keep us on course with our purpose and help us move toward accomplishing our mission.
Our Services
We teach our clients the skills and techniques needed to change the level at which they think. The ways we do this are:
- Website — Our clients learn the skills, see how we applied them in examples, and apply them on their own.
- Classes — We teach the skills and answer questions. Clients apply them on their own.
- Consultation — We demonstrate the skills as we apply them to our clients’ circumstances.
- Collaboration — We teach the tools and techniques found at this website and work together with our clients to apply them to the clients’ real world circumstances.
Our Products
Our products fall into these categories. Each category has its own philosophy, principles, tools, and techniques.
- Escalated Thinking — The process of defining a new level of thinking and then moving to it.
- Systems Thinking — One new level of thinking to which you can move.
- Creative Thinking — Ways to find new insight at your current level of thinking.
- Strategic Planning — What to do to create the future at your level of thinking.