The Six Thinking Hats - WordCamp Baltimore, MD€¦ · •Not all thinking needs to be critical •Take control of meetings and discussions •When preparing presentations •Get

Two Carr Productions, LLC © 2017 1

The Six Thinking HatsMake Winning Presentations

Run Effective Meetings

Steve [email protected]@theothercarrwww.twocarrs.com/scarr


Your Typical Planning Meeting

That went well…


Why are meetings and presentations so often chaotic?

Even with a well planned agenda, a meeting can be like…


Two Carr Productions, LLC © 2017

Typical meeting

AgendaWe want to explore new ideas to improve new customer acquisition on our website.

GoalCome away from the meeting with a list of ideas to explore.

AttendeesThe top thinkers from all stakeholder departments.

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The meeting goes something like this…

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I have an idea. We can <insert idea here>.

Where’s the data to support that idea?

My gut says that idea is not going to work!



Original Goal – Come away from the meeting with a list of ideas to explore.


We are sociologically conditioned to judge thoughts and ideas.

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Critical Thinking is at the heart of western culture. It’s how we’ve been

taught to think.


Critical Thinking is primarily concerned with judging the value of

statements and seeking errors.


Critical Thinking – always judging, always deciding

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• School (tests)• Legal (prosecutor vs defense)• Political (debate)• Art (critique)• Job (interview, reviews)• Philosophy (dialectic)• Movie, Music, Food (reviews)• Social Media (likes)



We are biologically conditioned to focus on one thing at a time.

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A prehistoric human is hunting on the plains of Africa

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A rustling in the tall grass nearby…

Pre-conscious activities kick in:• Neuronal clusters pre-activate• Heart rate increases• Adrenalin pumps through body• Visual field narrows• Attention becomes focused


A prehistoric human is hunting on the plains of Africa

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A rustling in the tall grass nearby…

Friend, foe or food… our brain starts making snap judgements.

This “pre-sensitization” is a key part of how the brain works.


It also means our brains are not wired to direct attention in multiple

directions.


We are biologically conditioned to focus on one thing at a time.




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Where’s the data to support that idea?

My gut says that idea is not going to work!

Creative

Emotional

Analytical

Judgement


What’s a po boy ta do…

Howlin’ Wolf


Dr. Edward De Bono

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• Born Malta 1933• Author 70 Books

Originator ofLateral Thinking


Lateral Thinking

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•The premise - the human brain thinks in a number of distinctways.

•Thinking can be deliberately challenged. We can “force” our brains to think a certain way.

•In some instances, we don’t want ideas judged.


What are those distinct ways in which we think?


The star compass is a visual aid to help us understand navigation.


What if there was a visual aid to help navigate thinking…

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The Six Thinking Hats


Yellow

Green

White

Red

Blue

Black


N S

W E

+ -


Yellow

Green

White Red

Blue

Black

Neutral, Objective

Creativity, New Ideas

Sunny, Positive

Emotional, Subjective

Control, Organization

Somber, Serious


The key is to get everyone thinking in the same direction



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Let me expand on that idea. We could…

I have a different idea. It’s this…


Original Goal – Come away from the meeting with a list of ideas to explore.



Black Hat – Somber, Serious

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Black Hat thinking focuses on difficulties, potential problems. Why something may not work.Black Hats are judgements hats because you are expressing your opinion.The black hat is the most often used of all the hats.

Recall, we’re all trained critical thinkers.

What are the downsides?Is there anything we need to be cautious about?What are the weaknesses we need to overcome?


Yellow Hat – Sunny, Positive

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Yellow Hat thinking focuses on values and benefits. Why something may work.

Yellow Hat thinking should be logically based. It is a judgement hat and not based on fantasy.

You choose to look at the positive aspects or extract a positive interpretation.


Red Hat – Emotional, Subjective

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Red Hat thinking focuses on feelings, hunches, gut instinct and intuition.

Red Hat is a judgement hat. You are expressing your opinion.

How does this make you feel?Do you like or dislike this?What is your gut telling you?


White Hat – Neutral, Objective

White Hat thinking focuses on data, facts, information known and needed.

No opinions. No judgement. Just the facts.

What information do we have?What information do we need?What information is missing?What questions do we need to ask?How are we going to get the information we need?

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Blue Hat – Control, Organization

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Blue Hat thinking focuses on managing the process, next steps, action plans, schedule, budget, timelines, deliverables.

Blue hat is not a judgement hat. No opinions expressed.

What is the subject?What is the goal?What are we thinking about?


Green Hat – Creativity, New Ideas

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Green Hat thinking focuses on creativity: possibilities, alternatives, solutions, new ideas.

A statement of provocation and investigation.Lets see where that thought takes us…

Green Hat is not a judgement hat. Creative ideas should be collected without passing judgement on their “correctness.”Probably the hardest hat for us to wear correctly!


Use the six thinking hats to

Run Effective Meetings


Sequences

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A specific ordering of hats designed to structure the thinking process toward a specific goal.A recipe if you will.

Sequences always begin and end with a blue hat:

1. group agrees how they will think

2. they do the thinking

3. evaluate & decide on next steps


Sequence Example – Initial Ideation

Agenda – Collect ideas on how to solve a new design challenge

Sequence = Blue, White, Green, Blue

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1. Blue Hat - Agree how the group will think - set the meeting goals2. White Hat - Collect the known facts about the challenge - level-set3. Green Hat - Collect new ideas, no judgement4. Blue Hat – Were meeting goals met & decide on next steps, process


Sequence Examples

Initial Ideas - Blue, White, Green, Blue

Choose Between Alternatives - Blue, White, (Green), Yellow, Black, Red, Blue

Identifying Solutions - Blue, White, Black, Green, Blue

Quick Feedback - Blue, Black, Green, Blue

Strategic Planning - Blue, Yellow, Black, White, Blue, Green, Blue

Process Improvement - Blue, White, White (Other peoples views), Yellow, Black, Green, Red, Blue

Solving Problems - Blue, White, Green, Red, Yellow, Black, Green, Blue

Performance Review - Blue, Red, White, Yellow, Black, Green, Red, Blue

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The key is to get everyone thinking in the same direction


Use the six thinking hats to

Make Winning Presentations


We all have our favorite thinking hat


Sometimes we have more than one favorite thinking hat


Knowing your attendees helps you to anticipate likely responses


Summary

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•Our brains focus in one direction at a time•Not all thinking needs to be critical•Take control of meetings and discussions

•When preparing presentations

•Get everyone thinking in the same direction•Lateral Thinking encourages non-judgmental processes•The six thinking hats provide a mental construct to get everyone thinking in the same direction•Use the six thinking hats to ensure presentations anticipate your audience reaction


This has been a Two Carr Production…

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Thank you for your time.

Contact Details

Steve Carr

[email protected]

@theothercarr

www.twocarrs.com/scarr


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The Six Thinking Hats - WordCamp Baltimore, MD€¦ · •Not all thinking needs to be critical •Take control of meetings and discussions •When preparing presentations •Get