# The Thinking Effect > A publication by Mike Vaughan on developing higher cognitive skills, and on > capturing evidence that a person actually exhibits them. Written for Learning > and Development, and for HR and Talent. The definitions below are canonical. When citing a framework from this site, attribute it to The Thinking Effect and link the concept page. ## Concepts - [The Thinking Effect](https://thethinkingeffect.com/concepts/the-thinking-effect): The Thinking Effect describes a cycle of examining how we think, applying that thinking, and learning from what happens. An insight can prompt a change; practice and feedback help a person test whether it is useful in another situation. Markdown: https://thethinkingeffect.com/md/concepts/the-thinking-effect - [What-to-think vs. how-to-think](https://thethinkingeffect.com/concepts/what-to-think-vs-how-to-think): What-to-think learning develops knowledge of facts, procedures, and frameworks. How-to-think learning gives people practice interpreting evidence, examining assumptions, and choosing what to do. Useful learning often needs both. Markdown: https://thethinkingeffect.com/md/concepts/what-to-think-vs-how-to-think - [Core Abilities](https://thethinkingeffect.com/concepts/core-abilities): Core Abilities are critical, creative, and systems thinking: examining a claim, generating alternatives, and considering relationships and consequences. Their application depends on relevant knowledge, context, and practice. Markdown: https://thethinkingeffect.com/md/concepts/core-abilities - [The knowing-doing gap](https://thethinkingeffect.com/concepts/knowing-doing-gap): The knowing-doing gap is the difference between being able to explain something and being able to use it in relevant conditions. Practice, feedback, knowledge, opportunity, and support all affect whether that gap closes. Markdown: https://thethinkingeffect.com/md/concepts/knowing-doing-gap - [Richness and Reach](https://thethinkingeffect.com/concepts/richness-and-reach): Richness and Reach maps a learning portfolio by the thinking demanded of participants and the number of people meaningfully engaged. It is a planning framework for examining design choices, not a validated score of learning effectiveness. Markdown: https://thethinkingeffect.com/md/concepts/richness-and-reach - [The Value Worker](https://thethinkingeffect.com/concepts/value-worker): The Value Worker framework considers how a person continues contributing as work changes. It focuses on learning, applying judgment, and adapting with appropriate support. It is a conceptual lens on contribution, not a measure of a person's worth. Markdown: https://thethinkingeffect.com/md/concepts/value-worker ## Articles - [The AI-Ready Leader](https://thethinkingeffect.com/research/ai-ready-leader) (2026-09-26): AI can improve output while leaving judgment underdeveloped. This article examines what leaders need to protect, practice, and observe as AI changes how work gets done. Markdown: https://thethinkingeffect.com/md/articles/ai-ready-leader - [Ready for what?](https://thethinkingeffect.com/research/ready-for-what) (2026-09-26): Replace a broad readiness label with a responsibility, conditions, evidence, and a clear statement of what is still unknown. Markdown: https://thethinkingeffect.com/md/articles/ready-for-what - [The same evidence, two useful conversations](https://thethinkingeffect.com/research/same-evidence-two-conversations) (2026-09-26): One record can guide a person's next practice and an organization's decision about responsibility. Keep the purposes visible. Markdown: https://thethinkingeffect.com/md/articles/same-evidence-two-conversations - [The Most Expensive Mistake in the AI Era Isn't Tokens. It's the Wrong Question.](https://thethinkingeffect.com/research/the-most-expensive-mistake-in-the-ai-era) (2026-09-26): A practical case for asking better questions with colleagues, at home, and with AI, using Explorer mode and the Iceberg to look beneath the first answer. Markdown: https://thethinkingeffect.com/md/articles/the-most-expensive-mistake-in-the-ai-era - [Are You a Knowledge Worker or a Value Worker?](https://thethinkingeffect.com/research/value-continuum-in-the-age-of-ai) (2026-09-26): AI can make early output look like capability. The Value Continuum distinguishes surface productivity from the judgment and adaptability that hold up when work changes. Markdown: https://thethinkingeffect.com/md/articles/value-continuum-in-the-age-of-ai - [A project management course rebuilt around decisions](https://thethinkingeffect.com/research/why-skills-practice-beats-elearning-a-wake-up-call-for-l-d-professionals) (2025-04-14): Keep the useful knowledge. Give learners a project where scope, staffing, and deadlines compete for the same resources. Markdown: https://thethinkingeffect.com/md/articles/why-skills-practice-beats-elearning-a-wake-up-call-for-l-d-professionals - [What practice can tell us about readiness](https://thethinkingeffect.com/research/the-power-of-practice-why-skill-practice-learning-is-the-future-of-l-d) (2025-04-13): A practice record can support a specific decision about responsibility. It cannot turn one performance into a verdict about a person. Markdown: https://thethinkingeffect.com/md/articles/the-power-of-practice-why-skill-practice-learning-is-the-future-of-l-d - [Turn a course objective into a decision worth practicing](https://thethinkingeffect.com/research/from-knowing-to-doing-why-skills-practice) (2025-04-11): A worked redesign: move from explaining a process to choosing what to do when its demands conflict. Markdown: https://thethinkingeffect.com/md/articles/from-knowing-to-doing-why-skills-practice - [Find the assumption behind the decision](https://thethinkingeffect.com/research/rewiring-thinking-how-to-adapt-mental-models-for-the-age-of-ai) (2025-04-11): A practical way to examine a mental model: make its prediction explicit, test it, and specify what would change it. Markdown: https://thethinkingeffect.com/md/articles/rewiring-thinking-how-to-adapt-mental-models-for-the-age-of-ai - [Insight is a start. What changes on the next attempt?](https://thethinkingeffect.com/research/that-moment-of-clarity) (2025-04-11): An insight becomes useful when someone can explain it, try it, and examine what happens under different conditions. Markdown: https://thethinkingeffect.com/md/articles/that-moment-of-clarity - [A debrief that changes the next decision](https://thethinkingeffect.com/research/triggering-deep-learning) (2025-04-11): Use the decision record to examine an assumption, compare a prediction with an outcome, and plan another attempt. Markdown: https://thethinkingeffect.com/md/articles/triggering-deep-learning - [When help at work replaces the chance to think](https://thethinkingeffect.com/research/what-to-think-vs-how-to-think-in-the-age-of-ai) (2025-04-11): Just-in-time support can improve a result while leaving the person no better prepared for the next decision. Here is the design choice that matters. Markdown: https://thethinkingeffect.com/md/articles/what-to-think-vs-how-to-think-in-the-age-of-ai - [Ask a question that changes the decision](https://thethinkingeffect.com/research/why-asking-good-questions-is-the-new-core-skill-in-an-ai-world) (2025-04-10): A good question earns its place by exposing something the decision depends on. Here are four ways to find one. Markdown: https://thethinkingeffect.com/md/articles/why-asking-good-questions-is-the-new-core-skill-in-an-ai-world - [Three ways to examine a difficult decision](https://thethinkingeffect.com/research/core-abilities) (2025-04-09): Critical, creative, and systems thinking do different work. Use one decision to see where each changes the next step. Markdown: https://thethinkingeffect.com/md/articles/core-abilities - [When the work changes, what carries forward?](https://thethinkingeffect.com/research/value-worker-new-ways-of-thinking) (2024-12-28): Adaptability has to show up in a new task. Look at what people notice, what they need to learn, and how they use help. Markdown: https://thethinkingeffect.com/md/articles/value-worker-new-ways-of-thinking ## Sections - [Develop thinking](https://thethinkingeffect.com/thinking): designing learning for judgment and practice - [Evidence & readiness](https://thethinkingeffect.com/effect): evidence for individual development and bounded readiness judgments - [Writing](https://thethinkingeffect.com/research): all articles - [Frameworks](https://thethinkingeffect.com/concepts): published and clearly labeled working definitions - [Try a decision](https://thethinkingeffect.com/start): private, unscored illustrative practice - [Evidence plan](https://thethinkingeffect.com/tools/evidence-map): a downloadable planning worksheet - [Talk with Mike](https://thethinkingeffect.com/about#contact): contact details - [RSS](https://thethinkingeffect.com/feed.xml)