On Six Thinking Hats

I recently finished reading Six Thinking Hats by Edward De Bono.

The main premise of the book as summarized by the author is: “Thinking is the ultimate human resource…The main difficulty of thinking is confusion. We try to do too much at once…What I am putting forward in this book is a very simple concept which allows a thinker to do one thing at a time…The six thinking hats allows us to conduct our thinking as a conductor  might lead an orchestra. We can call forth what we will…It is the sheer convenience of the six thinking hats that is the main value of the concept.” Another core concept associated with the thinking hats is that of deliberate thinking which the switching of the hat signals. This type of thinking becomes clear with the following example from Edward: “When you are driving a car, you have to choose roads and follow roads and keep out of the way of other traffic…you are looking for signals and reacting to them. This is reactive thinking…You read signposts and make decisions. But you do not make the map. The other type of thinking has to do with mapmaking. You explore the subject and make the map. You make the map in an objective and neutral fashion. To do this you must look broadly.” The book then goes on to details the mechanism of using the six hats: “You choose which of the six hats to put on at any one moment. You put on that hat and then play the role defined by that hat…When you change thinking hats you have to change roles. Each role should be distinct…Thinking now begins to flow from the acted parts and not from your ego. That is how maps are made. Then, in the end, the ego can choose a preferred route.” These hats have the following purposes: ” The first value of the six thinking hats is that of defined role-playing…The second value is that of attention directing…The third value is that of convenience…The forth value is the possible basis in brain chemistry…The fifth value arises from establishing the rules of the game.” The hat colors have been chosen in a way that makes their corresponding function easier to recall. They are defined as follows: ” 1- White Hat: White is neutral and objective. The white hat is concerned with objective facts and figures…virgin white, pure facts, figures and information. 2- Red Hat: Red suggests anger (seeing red), rage and emotions. The red fives the emotional view….seeing red, emotions and feelings, also hunch and intuition. 3- Black Hat: Black is gloomy and negative. The black hat covers the negative aspects – why it cannot be done…devil’s advocate, negative judgement, why it will not work. 4- Yellow Hat: Yellow is sunny and positive. The yellow hat is optimistic and covers hope and positive thinking…sunshine, brightness and optimism, positive, constructive, opportunity. 5- Green Hat: Green is grass, vegetation and abundant, fertile growth. The green hat indicates creativity and new ideas…fertile, creative, plants springing from seeds, movement, provocation. 6- Blue Hat: Blue is cool, and it is also the color of the sky, which is above everything else. The blue hat is concerned with control and the organization of the thinking process. Also the use of the other hats…cool and control, orchestra conductor, thinking about thinking.”

This book offer a very creative, practical and applicable method of tackling any problem – and through its use achieve more effective outcomes and solutions. A recommended read!

Regards,

Omar Halabieh

Six Thinking Hats

On The Magic of Thinking Big

I just finished reading The Magic of Thinking Big by David. J. Schwartz. Every now and then, one read a book that truly inspires. This is exactly what David has achieved with the Magic of Thinking Big. Not only does he inspire “big” thinking, but he also takes it one step further to inspire action to make it happen. The book is filled with ideas and techniques that can be applied in our everyday life whether at home or at work. These are illustrated by real-life examples that the author draws upon – in which these techniques have proven further success, happiness, and satisfaction to those who have implemented them. Many of the ideas presented, constitute the basis for true leadership.

A very enjoyable and educative read. It is structured in such a way as to allow the readers to read and implement specific ideas/techniques presented in one chapter without necessarily reading the entire book. This is in my opinion, the most effective way to take advantage of the wisdom presented. A highly recommended read!

Below are excerpts from the book that I found particularly insightful:

1- “The thinking that guides your intelligence is much more important than how much intelligence you may have.”

2- “Knowledge is power – when you use it constructively.”

3- “Action cures fear.”

4- “Look at things not as they are, but as they can be. Visualization adds value to everything. A big thinker always visualizes what can be done in the future. He isn’t stuck with the present.”

5- “Practice adding value to things… Practice adding value to people…Practice adding value to yourself.”

6- “…The successful person doesn’t ask, “Can I do it better?” He knows he can. So he phrases the question: How can I do it better?”

7- “Big success calls for persons who continually set higher standards for themselves and others, persons who are searching for ways to increase efficiency, to get more output at lower cost, do more with less effort. Top success is reserved for the I-can-do-it-better kind of person.”

8- “In summation, use these tools and think creatively…Believe it can be done…Don’t let tradition paralyze your mind. Be receptive to new ideas. Be experimental. Try new approaches. Be progressive in everything you do…Ask yourself daily, “How can I do better?”…Ask yourself, “How can I do more?” Capacity is a state of mind. Asking yourself this question puts your mind to work to find intelligent short-cuts. The success combination is business is: Do what you do better…and do more of what you do…Practice asking and listening…Stretch your mind. Get stimulated. Associate with people who can help you to think of new ideas, new ways of doing things.”

9- “How you think determines how you act. How you act in turn determines: How others react to you.”

10- “The way we think toward our jobs determines how our subordinates think toward their jobs.”

11- “The person who does the most talking and the person who is the most successful are rarely the same person. Almost without exception, the more successful the person, the more he practices conversation generosity, that is, he encourages the other person to talk about himself, his views, his accomplishments, his family, his job, his problems.”

12- “The test of a successful person is not an ability to eliminate all problems before they arise, but to meet and work out difficulties when they do arise. We must be willing to make an intelligent compromise with perfection lest we wait forever before taking action. It’s still good advice to cross bridges as we come to them.”

13- “Persisting in one way is not a guarantee of victory. But persistence blended with experimentation does guarantee success.”

14- “A second way to profit from the “Be-Human” rule is to let your action show you put people first. Show interest in you subordinates’ off-the-job accomplishments. Treat everyone with dignity. Remind yourself that the primary purpose in life is to enjoy it. As a general rule, the more interest you show in a person, the more he will produce for you. And his production is what carries you forward to greater and greater success.”

Regards,

Omar Halabieh

The Magic of Thinking Big

On Thinking Strategically

I just finished reading Thinking Strategically by Avinash Dixit and Barry Nalebuff. This book was recommended to me by my manager as one of his favorite business/leadership books. Thinking Strategically is a book that talks about the different decision requiring situations that involve multiple parties within a variety of settings – politics, corporate etc and the underlying game theory fundamentals. Namely some situations are where the parties involved act simultaneously and ones where they move in a sequential manner. For each backward reasoning is used to determine the different strategies and outcomes for each of the parties. The authors not only present the strategies, but also the reasoning on how one arrives to them and their superiority in different settings and more importantly their weakness in some of the scenarios. Not all problems, after all, have an equilibrium solution.

While there are a number of other books that discuss the topic of thinking and making decisions, this book set itself apart by the plethora of applied examples. My only criticism is that there is quite a bit of overlap amongst other sections. While that serves the reader who is reading one section at a time well, if you are reading the book cover to cover, you will find some repetition.

I will conclude with one of my top learnings from this book is and I quote: “…it suggests that in the case of making offers, “‘Tis better to give than to receive.”" This was in reference to tactics on bargaining.

Regards,

Omar Halabieh

Thinking Strategically

On Thinkertoys

I just finished reading “Thinkertoys” by Michael Michalko. As the title hints, this is a handbook on creative thinking techniques.

The techniques described in this book can be applied to any problem small or large. They are divided into two broad categories: linear and intuitive. Linear thinkertoys make use mostly of the left side of the brain. They rely on analysis, patterns etc. These techniques include mind mappings, fractionation, reversal and matrix just to name a few. Intuitive thinkertoys make more use of the right side of the brain. They rely on intuition, imagination etc. These techniques include analogies, relaxation and imagery to name a few.

What makes this book stand out are the depth and breadth in which the abstract topic of thinking is discussed. In addition the author provides numerous concrete examples of situations in which these techniques were employed. This is an addition to the blueprint on how the technique should be applied. That being said, the guidelines leave room for interpretation which is crucial for generating new ideas. Overall a very interesting and unique read thats highly recommended for anyone looking to learn more about thinking in general and creative thinking in particular. It is highly applicable to any individual regardless of business area.

To make the most use out of this book, its advisable to read one or two sections at a time and try to apply the preached techniques to solve one’s every day problems.

Regards,

Omar Halabieh

 

ThinkerToys