On a recent Thursday afternoon Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity Sister Marcolette Madden presented the Workshop Six Thinking Hats. Sisters who were interested in learning about a practical and positive approach to making decisions and exploring new ideas were exposed to Dr. Edward De Bono, a world-known expert in creative thinking.
The main idea is have a group only wear one hat at a time when considering a problem. The wearing of the hat is metaphorical. At any one time, everyone will wear the same color, in other words, look at the problem at hand from only one perspective, the perspective indicated by the hat color. Team members helped demonstrate the concepts which encourages parallel thinking focusing on looking in the same direction.
Hats represented:
White Hat: Information-what information do we need to know?
Red Hat: Emotions-how do I feel about this issue now?
Black Hat: Caution-What are the risks involved in this project?
Yellow Hat: Positive-What are the good points of this proposal?
Green Hat: Creativity-what alternatives do we have?
Blue Hat: Focus-What is the purpose of our meeting?
May we look for ways to use this kind of discernment in daily living.
