The Six Thinking Hats brainstorming technique developed by Edward de Bono is used by thousands of organizations and millions of people around the world.
Six Thinking Hats is a profound and powerful technique. It is used to look at problems and decisions from different perspectives. The idea is that this forces you to think outside your usual constraints. This technique was introduced by Edward de Bono in his book, Six Thinking Hats, first published by Little, Brown and Company in 1985.
Many people think from an analytical, rational point of view. This is one reason why many such people are very successful. However, these same people on many other issues may neglect to consider their problems from a creative, emotional or intuitive viewpoint. This means that they may underestimate resistance to plans, fail to make creative leaps and not make essential contingency plans. Similarly, there is a tendency for pessimists to be defensive. Emotional people may fail to look at decisions calmly and rationally. The approach of the “Six Thinking Hats” technique is to allow people to solve problems using all approaches. Decisions and plans then mix ambition, skill in execution, public sensitivity, creativity
and good contingency planning.
How to Use the Six Thinking Hats
You can use Six Thinking Hats in group meetings or on your own. It makes an excellent approach to developing research proposals. In group meetings, “Six Hats” can block confrontations that happen when people with different thinking styles discuss the same problem. The result is that the energy in these meetings is devoted to moving forward rather than stagnating by a lot of defensive debating. Each “Thinking Hat” represents a different style of thinking that is metaphorically “put on your head” while you think through your issues. Each of the “Six Hats” is explained below:
Blue Hat: The Blue Hat stands for organization and control. The Blue Hat is worn by people chairing meetings and may be shared with others while organizing how the meeting is to be run. de Bono suggests that the Blue Hat be used at the beginning of meetings and at the end of the meetings, sort of like bookends, to help organize the agenda and lay out the discussion plans.
White Hat: The White Hat is the data and information hat. With White Hat thinking, you collect and examine information you have or can get, then look at what you can learn from that information. For example, the number of acres of citrus production is a White Hat topic. Look for gaps in your knowledge or where trends can be revealed, then try to fill them or take account of them. White Hat is where you analyze past trends and extrapolate into the future from available historical data.
Red Hat: Red hat thinking allows you to consider problems using intuition, gut reaction, and emotion. This is where everyone gets to see how other people will react emotionally to the ideas being developed during the session. You do not necessarily have to have logical explanations for your comments under the Red
Hat - just try to get your feelings out. But this is an opportunity to understand the feelings of people about the merits or drawbacks of a project.
Black Hat: Using black hat thinking, you consider the critical aspects of problem solving. Black Hat is an opportunity to examine the issues cautiously and defensively. Try to see why an idea might not work. Black Hat is very important (de Bono says one of the most important) since it highlights potential weak points in a plan. It allows you to eliminate, alter or prepare contingency plans to counter weaknesses in a plan.
Yellow Hat: The yellow hat is the positive hat. It is the optimistic viewpoint that helps you see all the benefits of the decision and the value in it. Yellow Hat thinking helps you to keep going when everything looks gloomy and difficult.
Green Hat: The Green Hat is the creativity hat. Green Hat is where you can develop creative solutions to a problem. It is a freewheeling way of thinking, in which there is little criticism of ideas. A whole range of creativity tools can help you here. Some people think of Green Hat as corresponding to traditional brainstorming techniques.
A variant of this technique is to look at problems from the point of view of different professionals. For example, if you are a grower, try to solve the problem through the eyes of a researcher customer. Researchers can benefit from using “Six Hats” to better understand the issues that growers face going into the future.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Is heart wiser than mind?
A misunderstanding – a misunderstanding between aspects of the One Being we all are. A conflict between light and dark, between yes and no, between good and bad, between truth and lie. This conflict begins "long ago", in the conflict between mind and heart. The mind and heart are such that they can disagree almost to all the things. Their disagreements are not important, except when they take the form of war and conflict, of domination and conquest.
In this context, I always tend to remember one story:
An old Cherokee chief is teaching his grandson about life:
"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.
"One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego.
"The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope,
serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.
"This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"
The old chief simply replied, "The one you feed."
Its a eternal war that goes on between them over who will take control over the other, the war of power, the war of authority! The "WE" in us is a consequence of this war. Every new fight sequence is a mother of a newborn emotion or a feeling or a reaction to some happening. Or body is the "Kurukshetra" for them. Our total existence remains on the fact that the fight goes on in a balanced way forever. The day the war ceases, we are dead. The mind wins over the heart at times when it is a question of rational calculated judgement. Whereas the heart, is a temporal organ(ism) who takes im"pulse"ive decisions and it often criticized the mind for doing that. As against this, the mind is rational and wins over the brain when it comes to deciding what to buy and what not to buy, even if the heart if fighting over its wants and love for some other stuff. Calculated risks and decisions are jobs of brain. But they are not always in good health and are always ridiculed over by the heart as being "acts of cowardliness". These organ(isms) often come together to fight another one, which is most of the times hazardous to all three : The Heart, The Mind and the Body. They fight collectively with "The Despair". Body in itself cannot survive as a barren piece or war land on which no war is being fought. It eventually dies and "The Despair" searches now for another territory. But most of the times, these two make up a good combo and give a good fight to "The Despair" and banish him out of the territory. Done that, they are again back to original foes and keep on fighting. Long live the war between the Heart and the Mind!
In this context, I always tend to remember one story:
An old Cherokee chief is teaching his grandson about life:
"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.
"One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego.
"The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope,
serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.
"This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"
The old chief simply replied, "The one you feed."
Its a eternal war that goes on between them over who will take control over the other, the war of power, the war of authority! The "WE" in us is a consequence of this war. Every new fight sequence is a mother of a newborn emotion or a feeling or a reaction to some happening. Or body is the "Kurukshetra" for them. Our total existence remains on the fact that the fight goes on in a balanced way forever. The day the war ceases, we are dead. The mind wins over the heart at times when it is a question of rational calculated judgement. Whereas the heart, is a temporal organ(ism) who takes im"pulse"ive decisions and it often criticized the mind for doing that. As against this, the mind is rational and wins over the brain when it comes to deciding what to buy and what not to buy, even if the heart if fighting over its wants and love for some other stuff. Calculated risks and decisions are jobs of brain. But they are not always in good health and are always ridiculed over by the heart as being "acts of cowardliness". These organ(isms) often come together to fight another one, which is most of the times hazardous to all three : The Heart, The Mind and the Body. They fight collectively with "The Despair". Body in itself cannot survive as a barren piece or war land on which no war is being fought. It eventually dies and "The Despair" searches now for another territory. But most of the times, these two make up a good combo and give a good fight to "The Despair" and banish him out of the territory. Done that, they are again back to original foes and keep on fighting. Long live the war between the Heart and the Mind!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Happy Father's Day - Papa
Today is known as father's day. This is the day set aside to remind all of us to remember their father in some way :). This is the day to give expression and appreciation, for the love and care we have received and are receiving, from our fathers. Knowing you care little for a lot of sentimental or emotional praise (like all fathers do), I will limit my words of praise by saying I have, in my life time, met and known many fine fathers, and have read about many great men , yet, I can truthfully say I am glad I am your daughter.
You have always been the tough one in the family and I would say a lot more tougher than my uncles as you are the eldest in the family. You practically justify your zodiac sign (LIBRA) where all your decisions and actions are very balanced. You always wanted me to be someone "Big" in life. I am really not sure if I have really achieved that so far but I am surely only kid, lucky enough to have my very own "Big" dad. You've always been my #1 fan, and believed in me even when I was a rebel or not achieving success at anything in particular. It seems that your faith in me has never wavered, which is both a surprise and a blessing. Even though you don't want to admit it, you and I are very similar. It is only now, as an adult, that I can truly acknowledge, verbalize and respect that realization.
I have always been a rebellion through out and in-spite of that you congratulated me on my freedom when I entered college. Not a single exam of mine, you wished me "All the best" but your actions did speak louder than words. When I would be getting my results, mom would be like all happy and excited but you would be just quite. I know that you would be all excited and happy but would not want to express the same!
Then came the day when I got married. Among all three sisters, if someone who was the closest to you was me. We shared many and many good moments together and I could see all fading away the day I got married. I just did not want to leave my home and start a new life. You gave me the strength and courage to go ahead and start a new life.
Dads are very special and I am proud to have you as my father and my inspiration.
Love you!!!
You have always been the tough one in the family and I would say a lot more tougher than my uncles as you are the eldest in the family. You practically justify your zodiac sign (LIBRA) where all your decisions and actions are very balanced. You always wanted me to be someone "Big" in life. I am really not sure if I have really achieved that so far but I am surely only kid, lucky enough to have my very own "Big" dad. You've always been my #1 fan, and believed in me even when I was a rebel or not achieving success at anything in particular. It seems that your faith in me has never wavered, which is both a surprise and a blessing. Even though you don't want to admit it, you and I are very similar. It is only now, as an adult, that I can truly acknowledge, verbalize and respect that realization.
I have always been a rebellion through out and in-spite of that you congratulated me on my freedom when I entered college. Not a single exam of mine, you wished me "All the best" but your actions did speak louder than words. When I would be getting my results, mom would be like all happy and excited but you would be just quite. I know that you would be all excited and happy but would not want to express the same!
Then came the day when I got married. Among all three sisters, if someone who was the closest to you was me. We shared many and many good moments together and I could see all fading away the day I got married. I just did not want to leave my home and start a new life. You gave me the strength and courage to go ahead and start a new life.
Dads are very special and I am proud to have you as my father and my inspiration.
Love you!!!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Balancing act....
Lets start this write-up with Newton's third law, that is:
The mutual forces of action and reaction between two bodies are equal, opposite and collinear. This means that whenever a first body exerts a force F on a second body, the second body exerts a force −F on the first body. F and −F are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. This law is sometimes referred to as the action-reaction law, with F called the "action" and −F the "reaction".
Simply put, "Every action has a equal and opposite reaction".
Over a period of time I have started sensing that it is just not a "Physical force" or a "Physical action" that follows this law but "Actions" in general follow this. It can be termed by different people differently like "after happiness there is sadness, after night there is day, your good deeds will pay back, God has an account of all right and wrong that will determine if we will be heaven or hell, etc". I strongly feel that one does not need to wait till death to close his accounts of deeds. Just like the way there is a balance sheet where you need to balance your assets and liabilities, there is some force around each one of us that maintains a balance sheet of your deeds.
Another analogy that I could think of relating with my Interiors Background is that of "Symmetry". Symmetry is the ordering principle in nature that represents the center of balance between two or more opposing sides. There are three types of symmetry (rather many types, but fundamentally three types):
1) Translation symmetry
2) Reflection symmetry
3) Rotational symmetry
Your deeds are more like reflection symmetry. Every deed you perform will have a reflection in some form nor the other. Sometimes, a correlation pattern can be clearly observed and hence you as a human will tend to relate it but sometimes it is just so abstract that one cannot really relate to it. But it is surely balanced always!
Many of my recent life incidences assert this fact!
The mutual forces of action and reaction between two bodies are equal, opposite and collinear. This means that whenever a first body exerts a force F on a second body, the second body exerts a force −F on the first body. F and −F are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. This law is sometimes referred to as the action-reaction law, with F called the "action" and −F the "reaction".
Simply put, "Every action has a equal and opposite reaction".
Over a period of time I have started sensing that it is just not a "Physical force" or a "Physical action" that follows this law but "Actions" in general follow this. It can be termed by different people differently like "after happiness there is sadness, after night there is day, your good deeds will pay back, God has an account of all right and wrong that will determine if we will be heaven or hell, etc". I strongly feel that one does not need to wait till death to close his accounts of deeds. Just like the way there is a balance sheet where you need to balance your assets and liabilities, there is some force around each one of us that maintains a balance sheet of your deeds.
Another analogy that I could think of relating with my Interiors Background is that of "Symmetry". Symmetry is the ordering principle in nature that represents the center of balance between two or more opposing sides. There are three types of symmetry (rather many types, but fundamentally three types):
1) Translation symmetry
2) Reflection symmetry
3) Rotational symmetry
Your deeds are more like reflection symmetry. Every deed you perform will have a reflection in some form nor the other. Sometimes, a correlation pattern can be clearly observed and hence you as a human will tend to relate it but sometimes it is just so abstract that one cannot really relate to it. But it is surely balanced always!
Many of my recent life incidences assert this fact!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
A stressful project - how do u manage your cool?
From the past year or so, work for me has been extremely hectic and at the same extremely stressful in terms of meeting milestones, delivery, deployments and to add all of above, DEAL WITH CHANGE! Finally after one year of slogging out, would ike to specifically share my experience.
Stay focused on one project at a time - Most of the time, I have several things that I am trying to do at once. I could be writing an email and at the same time I am thinking about an upcoming meeting. This split distraction puts strain on my focus and affects the quality of my work.
Depending on the task, I may set the timer for 30 minutes and try to knock the work out in that time frame. If I need more time, I let the timer beep at me and then I reset it for the appropriate amount of time. This allows me to focus on this one task.
Break the project down into tiny chunks - There are days when I feel that the length of tasks in my list would scare the hell out of someone! And then instead of getting the whole stuff done, my brain often shuts down in response to the overwhelming list. One thing that does help me is take a quick quick round outside my office and gulp in lots of water! I then break down my first big task into twenty minute chunks. When the project seems more manageable, I pick an easier 20 minute chunk and accomplish it. By doing this I boost my confidence and get my emotions back into a positive state.
Take a weird break - When I say weird, I mean here do something that you have never done before like pull someone leg, go for a walk, play TT, etc. There are so many ways we can pull ourselves out of a stressful state if we just take a moment to be creative.
Work for yourself - Many a times, when the project is too long, half way through I loose the motivation to accomplish the same. Then I try to figure of if the company's goals are aligned to my need. A constant watch at the same helps me not deviate and keeps me motivated.
Think only about the positives - I am sure it is much easier said than done but when going through a stressful phase, try to think about the positives and review them. By shifting my perspective to the positive, I’m able to let go of my negative thinking cycle and realign myself with the good things in my life.
Cope up with change as fast as possible - A change of any form like people leaving, organizational structure change, etc also adds to the stress levels. The best way to deal with this is to accept the change as soon as possible. This makes sure that it pinches you less and hence less stress.
And I personally believe that most of the work happiness comes from our relationship with ourselves!
Stay focused on one project at a time - Most of the time, I have several things that I am trying to do at once. I could be writing an email and at the same time I am thinking about an upcoming meeting. This split distraction puts strain on my focus and affects the quality of my work.
Depending on the task, I may set the timer for 30 minutes and try to knock the work out in that time frame. If I need more time, I let the timer beep at me and then I reset it for the appropriate amount of time. This allows me to focus on this one task.
Break the project down into tiny chunks - There are days when I feel that the length of tasks in my list would scare the hell out of someone! And then instead of getting the whole stuff done, my brain often shuts down in response to the overwhelming list. One thing that does help me is take a quick quick round outside my office and gulp in lots of water! I then break down my first big task into twenty minute chunks. When the project seems more manageable, I pick an easier 20 minute chunk and accomplish it. By doing this I boost my confidence and get my emotions back into a positive state.
Take a weird break - When I say weird, I mean here do something that you have never done before like pull someone leg, go for a walk, play TT, etc. There are so many ways we can pull ourselves out of a stressful state if we just take a moment to be creative.
Work for yourself - Many a times, when the project is too long, half way through I loose the motivation to accomplish the same. Then I try to figure of if the company's goals are aligned to my need. A constant watch at the same helps me not deviate and keeps me motivated.
Think only about the positives - I am sure it is much easier said than done but when going through a stressful phase, try to think about the positives and review them. By shifting my perspective to the positive, I’m able to let go of my negative thinking cycle and realign myself with the good things in my life.
Cope up with change as fast as possible - A change of any form like people leaving, organizational structure change, etc also adds to the stress levels. The best way to deal with this is to accept the change as soon as possible. This makes sure that it pinches you less and hence less stress.
And I personally believe that most of the work happiness comes from our relationship with ourselves!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
My experience with leaders
Over the past years, I have worked with a good number of people in various fields. We can distinctly draw a pattern or pen down personality traits of what makes one a effective leader.
Effective leaders are joyous and fun. One of the main reasons they are good leaders is because they have eager followers. People like to follow leaders who are fun and who demonstrate obvious joy in their lives. After all, who wants to follow a grumpy and joyless leader?
Effective leaders have a strong work ethic. In fact, one of the greatest challenges of these leaders is maintaining balance. They are prone to be on the task 24/7.
Effective leaders are self-aware. They are able to see their strengths and weaknesses with a great deal of objectivity. They seek out critical evaluations from people they trust to tell them the truth. Because they are self-aware, they are constantly seeking to improve.
Effective leaders take initiative. These leaders do not need to be prodded to complete a task. To the contrary, they go well beyond others’ expectation. Good managers complete an assigned task. But good leaders are regularly envisioning a better way and better strategy.
Effective leaders love people. Some effective leaders are extroverts; they are energized when they are around people. Other effective leaders are introverts. Put them in a crowd sharing small talk, and they will be drained by the end of the day. But both types of leaders have a love for people. They truly care about others.
Effective leaders are tenacious. You rarely hear about them giving up. While others may view a setback as failure, the effective leaders see it as an opportunity to move in another direction.
But the good news is one can easily develop all of these skills. For some it may just come naturally but for some they might have to work on the same.
Effective leaders are joyous and fun. One of the main reasons they are good leaders is because they have eager followers. People like to follow leaders who are fun and who demonstrate obvious joy in their lives. After all, who wants to follow a grumpy and joyless leader?
Effective leaders have a strong work ethic. In fact, one of the greatest challenges of these leaders is maintaining balance. They are prone to be on the task 24/7.
Effective leaders are self-aware. They are able to see their strengths and weaknesses with a great deal of objectivity. They seek out critical evaluations from people they trust to tell them the truth. Because they are self-aware, they are constantly seeking to improve.
Effective leaders take initiative. These leaders do not need to be prodded to complete a task. To the contrary, they go well beyond others’ expectation. Good managers complete an assigned task. But good leaders are regularly envisioning a better way and better strategy.
Effective leaders love people. Some effective leaders are extroverts; they are energized when they are around people. Other effective leaders are introverts. Put them in a crowd sharing small talk, and they will be drained by the end of the day. But both types of leaders have a love for people. They truly care about others.
Effective leaders are tenacious. You rarely hear about them giving up. While others may view a setback as failure, the effective leaders see it as an opportunity to move in another direction.
But the good news is one can easily develop all of these skills. For some it may just come naturally but for some they might have to work on the same.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Happy Mother's Day Mom
As someone has rightly said "Since God cannot reach everywhere, he created a MOTHER". Happy Mother's Day Mom!!!
Since, I am the eldest in the family, I had the privilege of having the first emotional attachment with you and spending the most time with you. Few incidences that completely overwhelm me are my important years to education that is 10th and 12th. I still remember you at that age taking care of me, milkshakes, water, waking up just to wake me up, in your way telling me "Don't worry Purwa, we are sure that you will do well!". You always gave me the liberty to make my own decisions and trusted me. There are many a times that I did take you for granted and I apologize for that. In-spite of surely not being the best daughter, you always stood by me and never left me alone!
In my Engineering, you had gained complete confidence in me that I would manage my studies with all other things I did very well. You told me in your own way that these are just few years before you get married, so make the most of it now.
Then when I got married, I just hate the memories of parting away with you. I could not see myself without you. I always had a shoulder to cry but when got married, I suddenly found myself all alone. But you gave me the strength and silently told me to take control of my life.
When I entered motherhood, you were the ONLY one who stood by me in all the ups and downs we faced while bringing up Siya. I hate to give myself and Vipul alone the credit for bringing her up. She is this way because she is with you. Me and Vipul can work and enjoy our lives comfortably only because we know that Siya is in safe hands. You never objected the fact that because of just being there for Siya, you would be giving up a good bit of your personal life!
8th Oct, 2009 was the worst and the best day of my life ever. I have never got so scared ever as I did that day when you underwent a by-pass and was in a 11hr long operation. When I saw you after the surgery, I just could not see you in pain. It is very difficult to see a person who has always been a part of my pain, in so much pain! I thank God for this day too because it is because of him that I have not lost my PILLAR. Thank You God.
I thank God everyday for the wonderful relationship we share. All my dreams and hopes are for you, and though you might not always see the way I do things now, I know you always trust me to do my best. You know, whenever I feel down and sad, I still go to our own happy place. I remember you talking to me softly and telling me everything’s going to be fine. That’s how much I value your trust in me, Mom. I know you have faith in me so I do my best to get through all my troubles with you as my model of strength. Even when we’re apart, believe me when I say you will always be in my heart. I will never forget the way you held me when I thought I had no one to turn to. Mom, I cannot thank you enough for being there for me.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY AGAIN MOM!!!
Since, I am the eldest in the family, I had the privilege of having the first emotional attachment with you and spending the most time with you. Few incidences that completely overwhelm me are my important years to education that is 10th and 12th. I still remember you at that age taking care of me, milkshakes, water, waking up just to wake me up, in your way telling me "Don't worry Purwa, we are sure that you will do well!". You always gave me the liberty to make my own decisions and trusted me. There are many a times that I did take you for granted and I apologize for that. In-spite of surely not being the best daughter, you always stood by me and never left me alone!
In my Engineering, you had gained complete confidence in me that I would manage my studies with all other things I did very well. You told me in your own way that these are just few years before you get married, so make the most of it now.
Then when I got married, I just hate the memories of parting away with you. I could not see myself without you. I always had a shoulder to cry but when got married, I suddenly found myself all alone. But you gave me the strength and silently told me to take control of my life.
When I entered motherhood, you were the ONLY one who stood by me in all the ups and downs we faced while bringing up Siya. I hate to give myself and Vipul alone the credit for bringing her up. She is this way because she is with you. Me and Vipul can work and enjoy our lives comfortably only because we know that Siya is in safe hands. You never objected the fact that because of just being there for Siya, you would be giving up a good bit of your personal life!
8th Oct, 2009 was the worst and the best day of my life ever. I have never got so scared ever as I did that day when you underwent a by-pass and was in a 11hr long operation. When I saw you after the surgery, I just could not see you in pain. It is very difficult to see a person who has always been a part of my pain, in so much pain! I thank God for this day too because it is because of him that I have not lost my PILLAR. Thank You God.
I thank God everyday for the wonderful relationship we share. All my dreams and hopes are for you, and though you might not always see the way I do things now, I know you always trust me to do my best. You know, whenever I feel down and sad, I still go to our own happy place. I remember you talking to me softly and telling me everything’s going to be fine. That’s how much I value your trust in me, Mom. I know you have faith in me so I do my best to get through all my troubles with you as my model of strength. Even when we’re apart, believe me when I say you will always be in my heart. I will never forget the way you held me when I thought I had no one to turn to. Mom, I cannot thank you enough for being there for me.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY AGAIN MOM!!!
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