From the smallest detail to the biggest risk to take, every business and advancement in any organization is made through a group of people who sat down to brainstorm the pros and cons of every decision. In these meetings, differences in personality and thinking can be hindrances towards a productive time. To solve this, we’re introducing the 6 thinking hats in decision-making!
Whenever people have to slip into a different role or face a different part of their life, they wear or take off their metaphorical uniforms as needed. The philosophy of thinking hats follows the same logic.
In every meeting and brainstorming session, different people will bring different ways of looking at and solving an agenda. This can raise conflict in most cases which leads to wasted time and resources.
The Six Thinking Hats
Developed by a psychologist, Dr Edward de Bono, the six thinking hats strategy is a solution to parallel thinking within a group and a focused perspective by an individual. It’s an approach to decision-making that can be used by anyone in any field and industry.
This is the hat in which all participants discuss the thinking process. Having a facilitator or mediator to maintain this role throughout ensures that the group remains focused on the task and improves their chances of achieving their objectives.
The blue hat is also an organisation of thinking. What have we done so far? What can we do next?
Participants make statements of fact such as identifying information that is absent and presenting the views of people who are not present in a factual manner.
Key absences of information can also be identified at this point. The main question of this hat is “What information do we currently have?”
This is the hat of thinking new thoughts. Based on the idea of provocation and thinking for the sake of identifying new possibilities.
It is often carried out on black hat statements in order to identify how to get past the barriers or failings identified there or on white hat statements, figuring out what ideas can be created through the current facts at hand.
Participants identify benefits associated with an idea or issue. Opposite from black hat thinking, the yellow hat looks for reasons in favor of something.
The outputs may be statements of the benefits that could be created with a given idea, or positive statements about the likelihood of achieving it, or identifying the key supports available that will benefit this course of action.
The red hat is used to review personal progress or deal with issues where there is high emotional content that is relevant to the discussion. An example of this is a request for an aesthetic response to a particular design or object.
This is also the time when participants go on full gut feeling without trying to justify them or find a logical explanation.
Participants identify barriers, hazards, risks and other negative connotations. The black hat especially uses critical thinking to look out for problems and mismatches.
It can be carried from red hat statements in order to find the logical explanations or pitfalls for gut feelings expressed beforehand.
Advantages of The Six Thinking Hats Strategy in Marketing Decision-Making
Through the use of the six thinking hats, every aspect and perspective of an agenda or problem can be explored. From the benefits to the risks and new ideas that can be innovated from the existing system.
It guarantees a business or organization that by the end of the session, the conclusion that has been reached is one that is probed and less likely to cause failure.
The first step to a good decision is knowing the problem inside out.
By looking at a problem or opportunity from different angles, it becomes less of an obscurity and more of a solid picture. Through this, every decision that will be reached has been checked against the problem.
The thinking hats specifically allow for time to be creative and have fun trying to innovate. It means people will be directed to only come up with novel ideas without the criticism being hurled at them.
This practice enables and encourages people to step more and more outside the box and come up with ideas that are fresh and original.
Every meeting is a collaboration of people to come up with solutions and ideas relevant to their agenda.
By introducing the thinking hats strategy, a debate is less likely to happen since everyone is looking at the problem through the same lens at a time.
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Essentially,
The six thinking hats highlight all the areas in which people like to think and base their decisions. However, by directing them into one hat at a time, people are guided to take a look at the problem with one frame of mind at a time as well. This stops any debate and conflict from arising.
Work with ODM!
The ODM Group is a promotional product development company established in 2003. We have decades of experience in the industry and are always on the lookout for fresh and innovative ideas to present promotional displays as well as branded merchandise to the target market.
We specialise in the customisation of promotional items and display automation for your gift with purchase, on-pack promotion, corporate gifts and trade show giveaways. Our creative team, Mindsparkz, will closely work with you from start to finish. ODM also has a magazine with over 8,000 blogs about tips and tricks on marketing campaigns and industry processes. Contact us today!
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