Happy Friday morning to you! Hope you have a great weekend planned.

Do you ever had that nagging feeling that there is some aspect of an issue that you have not addressed? Or maybe in one of your meetings everyone seems to be saying the same thing? Or maybe the strongest personality in the room is overly pessimistic or optimistic so everyone else adopts the same approach? Regardless, you know that you are missing something.

Well there is a way of parallel thinking that will help you and your team fully think about and discuss issues. It is called The Six Thinking Hats. In this approach you learn how to separate thinking into six distinct functions and roles that help you to have a more robust analysis of the issue.

First is the White Hat – this aspect just deals with the information that you have or need. Just the facts.

The Green Hat deals with all the possibilities, alternatives, new concepts, and so on.

The Yellow Hat is when you explore the positives and look for value and benefit.

The Black Hat is where you look for the difficulties and dangers and explore why something might not work.

The Red Hat deals with emotions, hunches, and intuition. Here is where you express your fears as well as hopes.

The Blue Hat is the managing of the thinking process ensuring that all of the “hats” are used in the process.

So, if you want a more robust examination of an issue, try wearing a selection of the 6 Thinking Hats.