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Tip
Remember, you do not need to consider the details first in
order to be able to summarise, try doing it the other way
around; you may find this difficult if your natural preference
is to be Detail Conscious. The summary should briefly mention
all of the relevant information and be no longer than two
pages.
For example, if you were to decide to redesign your garden
at home, the executive summary for the project would contain
(albeit briefly) information on the things regarding the following
areas:
| • |
Reason/rationale for the change |
| • |
Brief summary of the changes |
| • |
Materials to be used |
| • |
Labour and time requirements |
| • |
Summary of projected costs |
| • |
Estimated timescales for completion |
| • |
Divisions of tasks into stages and briefly what those
tasks would involve |
| • |
Planting requirements, etc. |
Your project summary should also contain a design layout,
i.e. a visual schematic, usually from the vertical perspective
directly above the garden as if you were in a plane looking
down on to it. It is fine for this to be attached as an appendix.
Very often, this is the type of information you would receive
from a landscape gardener as their proposal if you were a
potential client
Comment
Big Chunk thinking is sometimes referred to as 'strategic
thinking'. A strategy is a plan, projected into some future
timescale, and which is lacking specific operational details
(such as detailed descriptions of how the plan should be implemented).
Strategic thinking also tends to include both a broad overview
of the issues and the linking of, and making connections to,
the other relevant areas of the business or organisation.
In this way, strategic thinking is linked to both Visual thinking
(the 'overview') and Right Brain thinking (making connections
to other things).
At senior management levels you would be expected to be able
to think very clearly at a strategic level. Research by Cranfield
School of Management has shown that the most successful executives
have a Big Chunk thinking style preference AND the ability
to focus on specific details when and where appropriate. In
other words, they are extremely flexible in their cognitive
styles for the two specific dimensions of Big Chunk and Detail
Conscious thinking.
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