FAQ: What are Thinking Lab Master Classes?
What is a master class? A master class is a themed class in which a mentor works with a mentee to help him master a concept or skill, with an audience of other interested students. This format is often used for teaching musicians, speakers, and other performance artists in a group setting. It allows the group to learn from the mentoring of an individual. The less advanced students learn from both the mentor and the more advanced students. This is now the format of all of the Thinking Lab classes.
Will there be a handout? Homework? I don’t send out a handout for the master classes, but I do share my brief outline — a list of talking points — in the chat during class and in the podcast show notes. There is always homework for the class listed. Anyone who has the same issue is encouraged to do the homework before the class!
Who can listen to a master class? All current members of the Thinking Lab can attend a master class live. The recordings are then posted to the Thinking Lab Current Classes page and podcast so that all current members can hear them. They stay there for 2-3 months. In some cases, the recordings are added to a self-study course as a bonus recording. Then they are available to future Thinking Lab members, also.
What is the format of the TLab master classes? Master classes are 60-minute sessions divided into three 20-minute sections. In the first part, I (Jean) give an essentialized explanation of the issue, presenting the concepts and principles relevant to it. In the second section, I discuss with the mentee how to apply the theory to his or her particular situation. In the third section, I open the discussion up to other members with similar issues for questions and coaching. (This is not an open Q&A, it is for questions and discussions on the topic of the master class.)
Recent Master Classes
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Moving from Surveying the Options to Making the Big Decision, 5/27/2025
In this master class, I will be talking with a Thinking Lab member whose new central purpose is to create art that captures the greatness in man. At present, he is a highly successful engineering manager spending only his free time on art. He is currently deciding how to transition to full time on art. It could be now, in five years, or at most in 10 years. None of these options is a "no brainer." He's having trouble pinning down and committing to one plan or another. It seems like he needs to explore many more details before he can make a decision.
In this class, we will discuss:
- The goal: to make a rational decision, not the rational decision
- How to make each option fully rational
- The disparate roles of your purpose, the steps of the process, and your emotional reactions in figuring out what needs more thinking
How to Identify a Long-Range Goal When Your Idea Is Vague, 5/6/2025
In this Master Class, I talk with a Thinking Lab member who is a tenured PhD doing experimental research using fruit flies to identify the genetic basis for the complex chemical processes involved in sleep. Based on her results, she's now at a choice point in her career, wanting to set a new 10-year goal in this general area, but vague on what would be best.
Vagueness is a common obstacle to identifying a central purpose. To find a clear direction to which you can commit may require intense conceptual work to clarify both what you mean by the vague goal and why you are motivated to pursue it. The general approach is an essentialization process, requiring concretization, differentiation, and identification of fundamentals. These logical skills are taught in depth in the "Gaining Precision" aka "Essentialization" self-study courses (available in the Thinking Lab). In this class, we talk about how they apply to goal-setting. You learn:
- Why a vague direction can be so difficult to turn into a long-range goal
- The "intense" conceptual work you need to do
- Why this conceptual work is needed
The bottom line is that you need to get clear on both your motivation and what you could do.
Giving Constructive Criticism the Second Time Around, 4/22/2025
In this Master Class, I talk with a Thinking Lab member who produces and sells portfolio and project management software to C-suite executives at large corporations. He sometimes needs to give constructive criticism to team members, suppliers, and customers, in order to solve problems that get in the way of achieving their shared goals. Previous classes have addressed how to prepare for such a conversation and execute on it. But despite preparation, sometimes the other person gets defensive and there is no productive discussion. Or sometimes the other person seems to listen, but doesn't actually make any changes. What can you do then?
After reviewing some basics from previous classes, we discuss:
- The additional challenges you face in having multiple sessions of constructive criticism on the same topic
- The new information you gain from an unsuccessful feedback session — and how it can help you prepare for another round
- Your top mental priority going into a second round
Untangling Interconnected Social Problems, 4/15/2025
In this Master Class, I talk with a Thinking Lab member who is a retired technical project manager. She is extremely worried about some problems a young woman she knows well is having in her marriage. She wants to be more effective both in helping the woman and in managing her own emotions about the situation. She knows the husband, but is not as close to him as she is to the wife. Note that there are three people and three relationships, and she does not belong to one of the relationships. That is what makes this difficult.
In this class, we discuss:
- "Who owns the problem” — the need to distinguish one's own problems from the problems of others in the situation (and how you do that)
- How you can speak up about and find a "no-lose" solution to your problem
- How you can help another person find a "no-lose" solution to his or her problem
Thinking Labbers, these recordings are available on the Current Classes page.
Who chooses the topics and determines the schedule for the master classes? The mentees in the Thinking Lab Mentoring Program choose the topics and times for the master classes. 4-6 weeks in advance, we schedule the classes, usually on a Tuesday, at a mutually convenient time. (They can start as early as 11:00 a.m. ET and as late as 8:00 p.m. ET.) 8-14 days in advance, the mentee emails a potential topic. We discuss it by email, culminating in Jean writing up a description for the mentee’s approval. It is finalized about a week in advance and it is announced to the Thinking Lab.
How do I become a mentee? If you are not a Thinking Lab member, join the Thinking Lab member, and learn some of the basic tools. Once you’re a member, you can apply to upgrade to the Mentoring Level of membership. My capacity is limited, so I give preference to the more advanced students.
I’m a “mentee.” What do I need to know about setting up a master class for myself?
How to set a date: Email me (Jean) that you want to schedule — I’ll give you a list of open Tuesdays in the next 4-6 weeks. If you’re under deadline, or you can’t make Tuesdays, tell me. I may be able to make some Thursday times available. Ideally we’ll schedule the date about a month ahead. You get to choose the class time to accommodate your time Zone. The class can start as early as 11:00 a.m. Eastern or as late as 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
How to set the topic: 8-14 days before, email me with a proposed topic. Write at least a few paragraphs about the topic you want help with, or send me a page of “thinking on paper” on the issue. Please include 1-2 concrete examples.
I will email you back. I might request more information, but often I’ll send back a suggested description for the master class and suggested homework to do before it. Confirm whether or not I understood the issue and that the description and homework look helpful to you. If they are, we’re set, and I’ll send the information along to my assistants to announce the topic to the other Thinking Lab members. If not, we’ll iterate. You’ll clarify the topic, and I’ll send you a revised description.
How to prepare before class: Past mentees recommend that you:
- Do the homework beforehand and send it to Jean 24 hours in advance
- Read the talking points when they turn up. (I will email them when they are ready, sometime in the late morning or early afternoon on the day of class.)
- Pin my video while we’re talking so that you aren’t particularly aware of the other people listening.
- Be selfish, ask questions, be willing to be a little vulnerable so that you get the best mentoring possible.
- Listen to the other people’s similar situations and see how that clarifies yours.
Would you like to join me on the next Master Class? Read more about all of the benefits of the Thinking Lab here and about the Mentoring Level here.