Creative Thinking - using the 6 hats

When we talk about creativity, then we link it to innovation and new ways of doing things, one question that crops up is whether creativity is a skill which can be learnt and developed or is a capability people are born with.

Well, Dr Edward De Bono in his long years of study, research and finding and all his works that have been published and implemented in various fields clearly show that Creativity is a skill which can be learnt and developed and not a Talent people are born with, which mean anyone and everyone can be creative.

De Bono has devised various tools – the most famous one being the 7 tools of ‘Lateral Thinking’ He has taught, trained and written books on how anyone can be creative and develop a passion for generating ideas – which can be very useful in problem-solving and decision-making – the 2 most sought-after skills in any business.

“There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns.” – De Bono

One of the creative thinking tools of De Bono’s that I am particularly inclined to be is the ‘Six Thinking Hats’. This is one great tool which helps us to walk in a path of avoiding confrontational and argumentative discussions on various subjects to a structured and collaborative way of getting at the most appropriate or viable decision-making (may or may not be The Best till the decisions are implemented and impact measured) with a focused approach based on aligned thinking patterns rather than ‘You against me’ or ‘My idea is the Best’ or any other biases that come in our way of conventional decision making. It is a very simple method and an easy way to learn to think together in a uniform direction without any opposition or put-downs.

‘Six Think Hats’ is used in a very well-structured & sequential way, which is also a conflict-free process of using both the right and left brain to make faster, better and high-pay-off decisions and one can use the Lateral Think tools for creativity and generating more & more ideas on a given topic. It doesn’t categorise the thinkers or the thinking patterns and keeps the whole thinking process very natural and agile.

Now we might have come across these 6 hats which are -

· Blue – Manages and organizes the thinking with focused attention and monitoring

· White – Information needed and known, sources, accuracy, others’ opinion on them (OPV)

· Yellow – benefits and values, both long and short-term viewpoints

· Red – feeling as a key ingredient of decision making, no justifications

· Black – potential risks and issues, contradictory viewpoint to avoid imprudence

· Green - Creative thoughts, alternatives, new concepts, remove errors

Each of the Six Thinking Hats helps us in a Parallel thinking process, that enhances –

· Leadership Transformation

· Team Efficiency, Orientation and Communication

· Creative and pioneering thinking

· Excellence in decision making

· Product and Process Improvement

· Critical Thinking and synchronised Problem-Solving

· Organizational Change/Performance

There are multiple benefits of using the Six Thinking Hats as a tool, apart from the above-mentioned purposes and more. It actually helps in keeping aside argumentative discussions and creates a harmonious process to reach an optimal, decisive culmination. It allows people to change their thinking and align them to a synchronous process rather than disruptive stoppages and time wasters. This process helps in building a creative and parallel thinking mindset free of any ego-states and thus it enhances creativity in getting to solutions/problem-solving, with a high level of efficacy.