Critical thinking seminar at work next week and this is my homework. Sigh. ( )

This is a very easy read and provides a good simple approach for exploring ideas and problems through thinking from different perspectives in a structured manner. There are six hats, each of which have different characteristics:
- White Hat: facts, figures, information
- Red Hat: emotions and feelings, hunch and intuition
- Black Hat: devil's advocate, negative judgement
- Yellow Hat: optimism, positivity
- Green Hat: creativity
- Blue Hat: controlling of the hats and thinking, orchestration

The idea of the hat is that a person will put on or be asked to put on a hat and to express a view from that perspective. This gets people thinking in different ways and since it is play-acting people are more willing to express views from under the security of the hat that otherwise may be left unsaid. ( )

SINOPSIS: Seis sombreros para pensar es una guía para pensar mejor utilizada por millones de personas en todo el mundo. Un método que potencia al máximo la inteligencia, la experiencia y la información. El método se basa en la interpretación de los cambios que experimentan los elementos químicos del cerebro según el modo de pensar.

Good overview of different thinking models. Best for anyone unfamiliar with leading teams through decision making or problem solving, someone early in their career who wants to better lead and facilitate groups.

The hats are different colors:
White (facts) ---- Red (emotional)
Black (serious, what could go wrong, devil's advocate) ---- Yellow (sunny, what could go right)
Green (abundant growth, grass, creativity and new ideas)----Blue (sky, control, organization)

The book walks through each in detail and gives good examples of when each might be appropriate. It also recommends my preferred group method of announcing what the question is and then having a few minutes of quiet so everyone can think about their answer before you go around the room to collect all the answers. I find this is helpful in getting people to listen better to others.

The first analogy that shows what parallel think is was most helpful (i.e. four people look at different sides of a house see completely different things, have all four walk around the house and view from all four angles to best leverage their experiences and capabilities).

I've spent a lot of time studying and using the Kepner/Tregoe (KT) methods of decision making and problem solving and find this similar albeit much higher level. For me, the phrases I use most often that seem most related by hat:
* White hat - do you think that, or have evidence for that. This is the start of any problem, getting the facts down to define what the problem is. (KT - situation analysis and first part of problem analysis)
* Red hat - what's your reaction to that, how are you feeling about that right now. (No KT corollary, just a facilitator thing you learn on the way)
*Black hat - What could go wrong with this and how might we prevent or mitigate. (KT - potential problem analysis)
* Yellow hat - What could go right and how do we build that in or leverage when it happens (KT - potential opportunity analysis)
* Green hat - what other options we we have (KT - part of a decision analysis). This is the most powerful question you can ask a group because they will assume there is a single right answer and start fighting over it. There is always a more elegant, easier to implement solution with less down sides. You just have to get them there.
* Blue hat - Open every meeting with an agenda, a problem statement, rules of engagement, role definition. During the meeting constantly listen for the weaker viewpoints and pull them out, capture what's being said, focus on getting everyone's voice heard and making their thinking visible. Then at the end, summarize the learnings, define and assign next steps, review the process to learn to do the next one better. (KT - some of a situation analysis and much of a decision analysis).

Quotes:
* The hats are not descriptions of people but models of behavior.
* A description is concerned with what has happened. A direction is concerned with what is about to happen.
* The whole point of parallel thinking is that the experience and intelligence of everyone should be used in each direction. ( )

Possibly the best way I have come across to run meetings.

The principle behind the book is that you have six hats: White - Information, Red - Emotions. Black - Caution, Yellow - Optimism, Green - Creativity and BlueControl of thinking.

Each participant at the meeting takes time to make suggestions at the meeting whilst metaphorically wearing the appropriate coloured hat. The advantage to this is that the doom and gloom merchants (Black hats) do have their time, but do not dominate the meeting, and are expected to contribute whilst 'wearing' the other hats, so they have to find positive things to say or be creative and so on.

de Bono makes suggestions as to the best order to run meetings in, and makes practical suggestions for time and the wearer of the blue hat. ( )