Six Thinking Hats = the Life of a Data Scientist

Debleena Roy posted a real world example of how the Six Thinking Hats help make her successful in the Data Scientist world. See the correlation between the Six Thinking Hats and the needs of a data scientist.

1. White Hat
1. de Bono: Calls for information
2. Data Scientist Needs: Data, just data
2. Blue Hat
1. de Bono: Manage the thinking process
2. Data Scientist Needs: Generate insights from the cartloads of data
3. Black Hat
1. de Bono: Negative or skeptical
2. Data Scientist Needs: Develop his/her hypothesis
4. Yellow Hat
1. de Bono: Positive or optimism
2. Data Scientist Needs: Survival tool in the highs and lows of the data valley
5. Red Hat
1. de Bono: Feelings or intuition
2. Data Scientist Needs: Call it trial and error or "red hat"
6. Green Hat
1. de Bono: Creativity or alternative ideas
2. Data Scientist Needs: Think outside of his/her self-made data box

The above sequence is a real world example of how the Six Thinking Hats impacts the world everyday. de Bono Consulting's challenge to you is what hat's will impact your world for the better. 

By de Bono Consulting

America's Secret Weapon

Bill Gates recently published America's Secret Weapon an amazing article about innovation and how America needs to invest more into research and development. In a comment to Gate's article, someone wrote that we need an individual with the vision, alignment, and execution of innovation. I think that we need to train the leaders of this country some tools that will help build and execute a game plan in order to remain the top innovative country in the world. Thousands of companies and governments have turned to Six Thinking Hats and Lateral Thinking to push their people to think outside the box. I know these innovative tool will produce the innovative ideas this country needs to remain at the top.

By de Bono Consulting

Where Good Ideas Come From?

What's the best way to collect these Good Ideas based on our hunches? In addition, how many Good Ideas are lost in the coffee shop?

We use Six Thinking Hats and Lateral Thinking as a tool to collect our Good Ideas or Solutions to our problems. After all, Good Ideas are solutions to our problems. So the next time you have a hunch try our tools to turn that hunch into a Good Idea!

By de Bono Consulting

Six Thinking Hats Maximizes Six Sigma Improvement Projects!

Here's how to use the Six Thinking Hats in Six Sigma improvement projects:

White Hat Thinking: Information Known and Needed

During the Measure phase of a Six Sigma Project, a White Hat session will collect all the projects' information and define the limits for each of the selected outputs. Having all of the information collected in an organized and efficient process will give the Six Sigma Project team the ability to set realistic and achievable targets.   

Green Hat Thinking:  Creativity and Alternatives

The Green Hat or Lateral Thinking tools will provide solutions during the Improve phase of the Six Sigma Project. Using Lateral Thinking tools like PO and Random words will generate creative ideas that will be Harvested systematically. In addition, Lateral Thinking techniques like Challenge will cut unnecessary costs to implement the solution, provide alternative solutions, or improve the projects processes.

Black Hat Thinking: Cautions and Difficulties

The Black Hat will improve the Define phase of the Six Sigma Project by classifying the VOC into Black Hats and Green Hats. Using the results from the Black Hat and Green Hat sessions, the team may use the DMADV project rather than DMAIC based on the potential problems and difficulties that were identified. 

Yellow Hat Thinking: Benefits and Feasibility

During the Improve phase of a Six Sigma Project, a Yellow Hat session will provide the strongest evidence for each of the team solutions so that the team can make the best business decision without bias. In addition, a Yellow Hat session will provide the differences between each solution which will give the team more confidence in their decisions.

Red Hat Thinking: Intuition and Feelings

The Red Hat provides each team member an opportunity to express their gut feelings about the Six Sigma Project and/or solutions in a short phrase or one word. The benefit from a Red Hat session is that each team member and stakeholder has a moment to express their concerns with the teams decision allowing them to buy-into the solution even if he or she does not agree with the solution. This is arguably one of the most powerful benefits of using the Six Thinking Hats.

Blue Hat Thinking: Process Control

The Blue Hat is typically worn by the Master Black Belt on the Six Sigma Project. The Blue Hat session forces the team to focus on finding the best solutions while getting each team members input and buy-in to the team's solution.

Conclusion

There are many companies that have integrated the Six Thinking Hats with Six Sigma methodology to drive their companies business improvement and development. Using the Six Thinking Hats and Six Sigma together will bring clarity to the thought process during every Six Sigma project.

By de Bono Consulting

Upcoming Six Hats Workshops

Public service announcement: we have a few seats left at our upcoming Six Thinking Hats and Lateral Thinking workshops in Chicago, July 15-16:

• Six Thinking Hats (July 15): $999
• Lateral Thinking (July 16): $999
• Six Hats + Lateral: $1599

Other upcoming programs include:

• Philadelphia, August 12-13
• Washington DC, October 7-8
• San Diego, November 4-5

These public programs are also a good opportunity to attend trainer certification in Six Thinking Hats or Lateral Thinking. See our trainer certification page for additional details, or give us a call at 515.278.1292.

More on Six Thinking Hats: The (Non)-Musical

Quick follow-up to my previous posts (here and here) on Asher Treleaven's Six Thinking Hats stand-up comedy routine.

First, the Guardian reviews Edinburgh fringe. Of Treleaven's show, they say, "Not many comics could get away with introducing their show as 'like a comedy TED talk', but Treleaven always walks a fine line between the intellectual and the physical – he sums up his show as 'Daddy issues, juggling and ball cancer'. It's a slick blend of physical comedy, beat poetry, circus skills and some nicely crafted lines – he describes a fellow performer as 'the sort of woman who would try to give you echinacea for Aids' – but you can't help feeling at the end that you wanted to know more, or at least to see beneath the carefully polished surface."

Second, the Independent gives Treleaven a column in which he muses about art vs. sport, or the decision to attend Edingburgh fringe vs. the Olympic Games. He also summarizes the different hats, although I fear he rather makes a hash of yellow and black. It's completely wrong to call the yellow hat "speculative creativity," whatever that means. Regular readers of this blog know that the yellow hat represents benefits and positive outcomes, not creativity (whether speculative or otherwise).

As for the black hat, Treleaven calls it "the Black Hat of critical thinking and decision-making," which is both imprecise and flat-out wrong. The statement is imprecise in that the black hat is "critical thinking" in the sense of "criticizing" or "identifying problems," not in the larger sense of "logic and analysis" (which in fact is a property of all six hats). Furthermore, the statement is wrong in that the decision-making hat is the Blue Hat, which controls the thinking process and determines next steps.

On balance, however, I'm still endlessly entertained by the idea of a Six Thinking Hats stand-up routine (or, for that matter, a Six Thinking Hats musical), and I do hope to catch a performance sometime. Has anybody seen the show? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

The Blind 'I' of DMAIC

Shameless plug: there's still time to register for our free, one-hour webinar, The Blind 'I' of DMAIC. This webinar explores the connection between innovation and process improvement. Our Master Trainer has decades of experience applying Edward de Bono's thinking tools, Six Thinking Hats and Lateral Thinking, to Lean Sigma programs at blue chip companies.

In his experience, most process improvement initiatives are extremely good at DMAC - in other words, at defining the situation, measuring variables, analyzing the data, and controlling the new solution. Where they fail is the "I" - the improvement. Most Lean Sigma programs spend very little time thinking about how to improve the status quo process - instead, they implement the first solution that springs to mind.

This webinar will teach process improvement professionals how to apply Six Thinking Hats and Lateral Thinking to DMAIC programs to radically improve the quality and efficacy of operational improvements.

The Blind 'I' of DMAIC is Thursday, August 16, at 11:00 Central. Register today for this free process improvement innovation webinar.

Six Thinking Hats: The Musical

No, not really. But Australian humorist Asher Treleaven is back in the news with his stand-up routine based on the Six Thinking Hats. Treleaven is performing at the Edinburgh Festival, and the Huffington Post brings us an interview. We first wrote about Treleaven's Six Hats routine back in April.

Upcoming Six Thinking Hats training

A quick public service announcement: the next public Six Thinking Hats training session is scheduled for the week of September 24th, 2012.

This is part of de Bono Consulting's "Innovation Week" program, with a variety of Edward de Bono's courses on offer:

• Six Thinking Hats - Tuesday, Sept. 25
• Lateral Thinking - Wednesday, Sept. 26
• Course in Creativity - Sept. 25-26 (a combined Six Hats + Lateral Thinking program)
• Focus on Facilitation - Sept. 25-28
• Trainer certification  - Sept. 25-28 (in Six Hats, Lateral, or any other Edward de Bono course)

To register for any of these programs, see the Six Hats registration page or call 515.278.1292.

Six Thinking Hats: the Stand-Up Routine?

Wild. An Aussie comedian has developed a routine based on the Six Thinking Hats. You can read about it here (and buy tickets, if you happen to be Down Under). The rest of us will have to content ourselves with Chortle's review.

Meetings Don't Have to Be a Waste of Time

I recently had dinner with a friend who wished the new company she works for would incorporate the de Bono thinking systems, specifically Six Thinking Hats, into all of their meetings. She has one weekly meeting in particular that lasts two hours or longer. The group inevitably gets derailed discussing details unrelated to the topic at hand. Arguments ensue and the group leaves frustrated, with no action steps laid out.

We hear this a lot.

Everyone has participated in meetings that are plagued by personal attacks, low energy and boredom, competition, power plays, groupthink, rushed decision making or indecisiveness, and lack of follow through.

You know your meeting is heading in the wrong direction when no one has defined a clear focus. Why are we having this meeting? How long will the meeting last? How much time will we spend on each part of the agenda? How will we ensure everyone participates? Who will take what action after the meeting? These are the types of "Blue Hat" questions we ask at the beginning of meetings that use the Six Thinking Hats process.

When used as a meeting management tool, Six Thinking Hats gives teams a process that directs everyone towards the same objective. In Six Hats meetings you "unbundle" your thinking so you can focus on one type of thinking at a time (idea generation, etc.).

Six Hats meetings are particularly effective in neutralizing employee rank. There are also frequent requests for every person to contribute, which ensures you get the best thinking from everyone, even individuals who tend to be more introverted. Oftentimes clients will report that their typical meeting times are reduced by 50-75% once their teams are trained in the Six Hats process.

Six Thinking Hats can be used with all levels, and helps teams get to the right solution quickly and with a shared vision.

We'd love to hear from you!
What frustrates you most about meetings? What strategies have you used that resulted in more productive and effective meetings?

Innovation Week April 4-8, 2011

Make 2011 the year you invest in innovation training to help boost your organization's productivity and profits. Join us at the de Bono Consulting corporate headquarters in Des Moines for the following training seminars.

April 4: Lateral Thinking
Deliberate, systematic process that sparks creative thinking
7 Lateral Thinking tools lead to innovation in process, product, and problem solving.

April 5: Six Thinking Hats
Organize and maximize individual and team thinking
Learn how to enhance meeting effectiveness by methodically channeling group attention in six key directions. Six Thinking Hats is our most popular course and will quickly become an indispensable organizational tool!

April 4-5: Course in Creativity
Combines and integrates Lateral Thinking & Six Thinking Hats
Learn powerful methods that will enable you to lead effective meetings, rigorously evaluate ideas, manage risks, maximize opportunities, and drive innovation.

April 5-8: Focus on Facilitation
Learn Advanced Facilitator Tools & Become an Accredited de Bono Facilitator
Focus on Facilitation is the optimal application course for leading group innovation.

Visit our de Bono Events Calendar or call 866.621.3366.

The Need For Innovation Skill Development

Once a month MSEL (Master of Science in Executive Leadership) at the University of San Diego provides a forum to the community featuring exceptional guest speakers presenting information on a variety of relevant and stimulating topics. Barbara Stennes, de Bono Consulting's CEO, has more than 15 years of experience working with teams motivated to increase results through innovation. Barbara will present "The Need For Innovation Skill Development" at MSEL's event on November 9.

Barbara will provide tips on how to identify barriers to innovation and provide an interactive overview on thinking skills such as: Six Thinking Hats, Lateral Thinking, Power of Perception, and more.

MSEL PRESENTS Barbara Stennes:
Tuesday, November 9, 2010: 8:00 am –9:00 am
Check‐in and breakfast begin at 7:15 am
University of San Diego
Mother Rosalie Hall Room 102
www.sandiego.edu/msel

Event Details: The Need For Innovation Skill Development
Register Online by Friday, Nov 5: Register Online

Innovation Week: Get Certified in Lateral Thinking & Six Thinking Hats

We've received a lot of requests recently from trainers who'd like to certify in more than one of the de Bono Thinking Systems without having to travel to multiple certification events. To meet this need, we've put together an intensive week-long event, November 1-5, which will provide the learning and credentials required to train your employees in our 2 most popular programs, Lateral Thinking and Six Thinking Hats.

This new certification event combines core content from de Bono tools, methods, and frameworks to foster a comprehensive understanding of how the thinking systems work together and separately.

Click to learn how you can certify in Lateral Thinking & Six Thinking Hats November 1-5 in Des Moines, or call 866.621.3366 for more information.

Bonus: Attendees will also learn the Focus on Facilitation tools at no additional charge!

de Bono Events: September Virtual Training Series

Our September training calendar is packed with great opportunities for you to learn Edward de Bono's Thinking Systems - without having to leave your desk.

Simply spend 2 hours with us one day a week, for three consecutive weeks.

Visit the links below or call Natalie Jenkins at 866.621.3366 to learn how these powerful thinking systems can help drive business strategies and innovation at your organization.

Six Value Medals: September 1, 8, 15
Learn 6 tools for values-based decision making that will help you scan for values, prioritize, and ensure that top values are addressed every step of the way. The perfect tool for choosing which creative ideas will deliver the desired value.

Six Thinking Hats: September 7, 14, 21
Six Thinking Hats is a thinking management tool that opens the door to innovative thinking, thorough decisions, easier problem resolution, improved communication, and more efficient and productive meetings. Learn specific techniques that will keep your meetings focused, efficient, productive, and results-oriented.

Power of Perception: September 15, 22, 29
10 thinking tools will help you become a strong and confident decision maker. Learn to accurately weigh risks against rewards, and uncover hidden opportunities.

View all de Bono training events.

New de Bono Case Study: Plant Managers Use Innovative Communication Tools to Tap Strengths of Straight-Shooting Workforce

Using the de Bono thinking tools leveled the playing field between supervisors, engineers, and frontline workers at the Emerson Scroll Compressors LLC plant in Ava, Missouri.

Communication improved and positive energy began to flow. The de Bono thinking systems are now used for idea generation whenever they encounter something they don’t know how to deal with. The tools are embedded in various lean manufacturing processes such as Six Sigma and Total Preventive Maintenance.

The Six Thinking Hats methodology is used routinely in performance reviews of hourly workers and in so many other applications that it's difficult to track all of the results that can be attributed to the use of this practical and innovative problem-solving system.

Read the complete de Bono Case Study.

Thinking as One Key to Organization Health - An Interview with de Bono Master Trainer, Lynda Curtin

Recently de Bono Consulting, interviewed Lynda Curtin, one of only 37 de Bono Master Trainers worldwide and the product development manager on the highly acclaimed Focus on Facilitation workshop, regarding her upcoming involvement with the Health Work & Wellness Conference, Thinking Organization’s Succeed!

The Health Work & Wellness Conference was established in 1997 to bring together a community of like-minded individuals interested in creating positive, healthy change in their organizations.

Lynda, your keynote “Power-Up Your Organization’s Thinking” is opening the Health Work & Wellness Conference September 30th in Vancouver, Canada. One does not normally make the connection between Thinking and Health Work & Wellness, what can you tell us about the connection?

I was thrilled when Deb Connors, President of Health Work & Wellness contacted me to discuss keynoting this conference. She set the theme of the conference to be "Thinking Organizations SUCCEED!" As de Bono practitioners this is our main focus--equipping people to become excellent lifelong thinkers. Organizations are made of people. People think. What could be more rewarding than to work with a group of people emphasizing thinking quality as a working concept for organizational health?

I see that you are also conducting a breakout session titled “Strengthen Your Innovation Instinct with Six Thinking Hats®” on October 1st. Why do you feel it is important to learn new tools that promote effective thinking skill development like the Six Thinking Hats for organizational health?

Healthy organizations depend upon the ability of their employees to be effective thinkers. This means employees are able to think broadly, clearly, thoroughly, creatively, and critically about any challenge they are faced with. It means employees are able to suspend their biases and explore each challenge with an open-mind before deciding on a solution or course of action. It means they are not locked into one way of doing things. It means they are willing to listen to and include the thinking of others not just their own thinking.

de Bono's Six Thinking Hats is one thinking tool that encourages effective thinking. It's been around for 25 years. I suppose this classifies it as a new tool in the area of leadership and management development. As time moves forward we learn what we didn't know and this often leads to the development of new tools and the improvement of old tools. If we aren't learning new tools how do we expect to continue to be successful and satisfied?

What do you say to people that say they already know how to think?

It's interesting--no one has ever confessed that to me. But, if they did, I would likely ask them: "How do you know?" "Where did you learn to think?" "What thinking tools do you use?"

Two of your de Bono colleagues are presenting case studies at the conference. Michael Campbell is presenting Optimal Decision Making With Six Value Medals and Stuart Morgan Symmetrical Thinking: Achieving Innovative Collaboration Through Maps, Models and Stories. What do you find most exciting about these particular case studies?

I am particularly excited about Michael Campbell's case study application of the Six Value Medals tool. Searching for value is a huge challenge in most organizations today--and finding new value that no one else is leveraging is one of the key factors in the search for value--competitive edge. Everyone is asking, "What's the value?" It's such a big question and it's vague. It can be difficult to answer. de Bono's value screen with the Six Value Medals tool is enormously helpful in directing thinking attention to help find value from a variety of angles.

Stuart Morgan is doing great work in industrial design. I am very interested to learn more about how he has integrated Focus on Facilitation and Six Thinking Hats into his overall process. I think this is one of the strengths of de Bono Thinking System tools. They easily compliment and strengthen current processes and approaches. His team won an innovation 2009 award which I am sure was very satisfying for them.

Lynda, you have been involved in teaching and applying thinking skills to business since 1992, which makes you a real pioneer in the innovation skills arena. What are the biggest changes you have seen over the years regarding innovation in business, and where do you see it heading in the future?

When I started out in 1992 businesses, for the most part, weren't focusing on creativity and innovation as a key driver of business success. There was a huge emphasis on Quality. Well, as de Bono practitioners we knew that Quality was impossible without creativity and innovation. Most businesses have now caught up with this thinking. There is a tremendous focus on innovation today for a wide variety of reasons. The challenge in many companies continues to be the "how." How do we become more innovative? The intention is there. The tools are lacking. So, this is a big change. de Bono Thinking Systems methods certainly help move innovation along.

In the future I think we will see a shift to Robust Thinking which encompasses all aspects of thinking, not just critical and creative thinking. Deb Connors has recognized the need to explore, learn about, and discuss this shift with her conference focus on organization health requiring effective thinkers--Thinking Organizations SUCCEED!

New Video: Could de Bono's Six Thinking Hats Help Politicians Think?

Time to Think: WHO-TV 13 News Video

Time to Think

Check out the article WHOTV.com posted following last night's segment on the news:
TIME TO THINK: Metro company offers help for gridlock by teaching politicians to think

Stimulate Innovation and Creativity

People Vision's blog has several suggestions for stimulating innovation and creativity during the current economic downturn.

My favorite? Tip #3: "train your employees on mind mapping and creative thinking methods."

The Six Thinking Hats and Lateral Thinking techniques are, of course, a good place to start.