Critical Thinking Strategies For Better Decisions (Udemy.com)
Upgrade your problem solving skills and optimize business outcomes by applying the critical thinking process.
Created by: John Rampton
Last updated July 2025
Our take
Based on the ratings of 71,011 students, a sample of their written reviews and the syllabus, as the course stood in July 2025. No course pays to be reviewed.
This is a short, business-flavored introduction to critical thinking. It runs about 61 minutes across 23 lectures in seven sections: what critical thinking is, its building blocks, barriers, a few approaches, and a plan for making decisions. John Rampton, a serial entrepreneur, teaches it, and reviewers mostly describe him as clear and easy to follow. The listing asks for some experience in a business setting, and that is fair. The material is pitched at a workplace, so it fits managers, founders and team members more than students. About 156,000 people have enrolled.
Students praise the simple language, the bite-size lectures and the examples that tie back to their own jobs. Several call it practical and well structured. The complaints are consistent too. Low-star reviewers say it stays general, leans on the instructor's own experience rather than studied sources, and could be summarized in far less time. The most common gripe is the final quiz: reviewers say questions are vague, more than one answer seems right, and there is no feedback on misses. One viewer found the camera angle changes distracting and the delivery scripted. Of about 71,000 ratings, more than 58,000 are four or five stars.
At an hour, it asks little time, and it works as a refresher or a first pass before heavier reading. The course was last updated in July 2025, so nothing here looks stale. One reviewer with a philosophy minor and a management MA called it a refresher, which hints that anyone with that background will find it light. Pick it for a quick, readable framework and a certificate. For rigor, worked case studies or a fair, well-written test, look elsewhere.
Pros
- 23 short lectures, so it fits into a lunch break or a few commutes
- Simple language and workplace examples that reviewers say connect to their own jobs
- Delivery is clear and jargon-light, according to several reviewers
- Section quizzes and a final test add some practice, and a certificate is included
Cons
- Stays general, with few worked examples or stories to hang the ideas on
- Final quiz is called vague, with several plausible answers and no feedback on misses
- Leans on the instructor's own experience more than cited research
It was a good course, with simple language and examples to understand.
Listed for all levels, but the requirements ask for work experience, so it suits people already in a business setting.
What you will learn
- Explore the concept of critical thinking, its value, and how it works.
- Discover what goes into critical thinking to create effective critical thinking.
- Determine what stands in the way of critical thinking and how to tear down these barriers.
- Master critical thinking by applying its components and processes.
- Develop your personal critical thinking action plan.
Course content
7 sections · 23 lectures · 1 hour of video 6 quizzes, 1 practice test
- 1Introduction: Welcome to Critical Thinking 2 free previews3 lectures · 7 min
- 2What is Critical Thinking? 2 free previews4 lectures · 1 quiz · 13 min
- 3Building Blocks and Critical Thinking in Action3 lectures · 1 quiz · 7 min
- 4Barriers to Critical Thinking3 lectures · 1 quiz · 7 min
- 5Critical Thinking Approaches4 lectures · 1 quiz · 14 min
- 6Implementing a New Process For Thinking and Deciding4 lectures · 1 quiz · 11 min
- 7Conclusion2 lectures · 1 quiz · 1 min
Who it is for
The instructor says it suits
- Anyone in business for themselves or in a role within a company.
What you need before you start
- Requirements for the class are to have experience in working in a business environment.
How it compares
Against the other 503 rated Udemy courses in Teaching & Academics on CourseDuck:
- Rating4.4 out of 5higher than 27% of them
- Reviews71,011#1 of 504 by number of reviews
- Length1 hourshorter than 91% of them
- Last updatedJuly 2025more recently than 70% of them
Course Description
If you work for a company or operate your own business or startup, then you know your daily work environment will involve making critical decisions about anything and everything. It’s no easy task, and you don’t want your decisions based on the popular response, colleague pressure, emotion, or your gut. Instead, you want to know how to apply critical thinking to each and every decision you make to ensure better results.
This course provides a deep dive into the concept of critical thinking, its benefits, and the challenges involved in being good at critical thinking. I’ll walk you through the critical thinking process of today’s successful leaders and share my own experiences. In this course, you will:
Explore the concept of critical thinking, its value, and how it works.
Discover what goes into critical thinking to create effective critical thinking.
Determine what stands in the way of critical thinking and how to tear down these barriers.
Master critical thinking by understanding its components and processes.
Practice what you learn through some fun, hands-on activities, including workshops and an online escape room game.
Develop your personal critical thinking action plan.
Here is a little bit about me and my life that most people don’t know. I’m just your average guy that grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah, and I have been an entrepreneur my whole life. My current companies include Calendar and Due. I am involved in numerous other ventures as an investor and advisor. I have spoken all over the world and coached countless entrepreneurs on how to grow their small ideas to billion-dollar businesses. Many of these same entrepreneurs have gone on to sell their companies to Google, eBay, Microsoft, and Adobe. As an online influencer, Entrepreneur Magazine recognized me as one of the top 50 most influential marketers in the World. I was number 2 on the list.
Enroll today to start changing how you make the business decisions that impact your company and career.
CPE (Continuing Professional Education)
Learning Objectives
Define critical thinking.
List the building blocks of critical thinking.
Explain what the critical thinking process looks like in action.
Identify and understand the potential barriers (both that we create and from other sources) to critical thinking.
Recognize and describe the approaches to critical thinking.
Define external and internal processes you can use to leverage critical thinking.
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Instructor Details
- 4.4 Rating
71,011 Reviews
John Rampton
My name is John Rampton. I am a serial entrepreneur with many successful enterprises that have been launched and sold. I've generated more than $4Billion in sales in my career. I have worn many other hats, including that of a speaker, author, thought leader, advisor/mentor, business coach, investor, and connector.
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Reviews
By Moch Zulfiqar Afifuddin R on 8/27/2026
This course was very informative and easy to follow. The content was well structured, practical, and helped me better understand critical thinking concepts and how to apply them in real situations. I would recommend this course to others.
By Vish Jhaveri on 8/15/2026
I liked the layout of the lectures and each section being in bite size pieces made it easier to think about what I just learned. Delivery was also clear. Content provides good overall approach, but it is too general. There are no hooks at any point. I would have loved examples that are used as reference points when talking about each aspect of critical thinking. Use the main example of the website (talked about at the end) and sprinkle it throughout the lecture so as to associate the example with each section. Also, the exam at the end seemed to have a lot of questions not mentioned during the lectures or not clearly defined during the lectures.
By Lewis Hines on 8/11/2026
The final assessment quiz really brings down the overall score for this set of lectures. Many questions are poorly written and there are several answers that seem applicable. It is difficult to follow and there is no feedback available for the questions you missed. I think there is good information shared by the presenter. However, it needs to be streamlined. The lectures could have all been summarized down to two or three 15-minute sessions.
By Susan Heitkamp-Christman on 7/22/2026
i am horrid test taker. i did well after each section- but it did not prepare me for end of class assessment. i think more important to practice vs. remembering definitions...actions louder than words
By Thomas Millard on 7/13/2026
I think this course would be a good match for anyone. Critical thinking is an important part of any role in business. I have been practicing critical thinking for decades in industry, so I find this a wonderful and engaging refresher course.
By Moemedi Max Nthai on 7/5/2026
Yes, it's good match for me both personally and work ethics need to be adjusted. There are a lot of things that have always taken for granted while I should have used them for my advantage.
By Richard Libby on 6/12/2026
I think the 2nd Quiz question from Section 5 really says it all: "Which of the following describes another approach to critical thinking? (a) Ignore existing evidence (b) Use groupthink (c) Consider a research study or report from a credible source (d) Don't be so hard on yourself.
By Vishal Silarpuria on 5/18/2026
Tutorial demonstrate a deep understanding of critical thinking concepts and processes. The inclusion of examples, comparisons, and actionable strategies enhances the clarity and practical value of the responses. No significant improvements are needed, as the answers already meet a high standard of quality.
By Yuli Cortes on 5/13/2026
This course is really helpful and provides a lot of knowledge that we can use for our personal life and professional, also the activities with the IA are great, since that allows to create and develop more critical thinking and organize better our ideas before communicating, it also provides tips and recommendations on what to improve. I liked it.
By Anonymized User on 4/27/2026
Good one.. and the best thing in all is the role play which is making me practice the points better and upfront feedback giving space to improve right now.
Quality Score
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Overall Score : 88 / 100






