Thinking Hats for Decision-making

In our lives, one of the fundamental areas we always have to deal with is when we find ourselves deciding on certain things. Some decisions are simple, some aren't. Some make a difference, some don't.

Edward de Bono introduces a tool called "The Six Thinking Hats" for decision-making. Edward de Bono is regarded by many as the leading authority in the world in the field of creative thinking and the direct teaching of thinking as a skill.

The "six thinking hats" tool - is used to look at decisions from a number of important perspectives. It helps you to get a more rounded view of a situation. Each 'Thinking Hat' is a different style of thinking.

White Hat	You focus on the data available. Look at the information you have, and see what you can learn from it. Look for gaps in your knowledge, and either try to fill them or take account of them. This is where you analyze past trends, and try to extrapolate from historical data.
Red Hat	You look at problems using intuition, gut reaction, and emotion. Also, try to think how other people will react emotionally. Try to understand the responses of people who do not fully know your reasoning.
Black Hat	You look at all the bad points of the decision. Look at it cautiously and defensively. Try to see why it might not work. This highlights the weak points in a plan. It allows you to eliminate them, alter them, or prepare contingency plans to counter them. Many successful people get so used to thinking positively that often they cannot see the possible problems in advance. This leaves them under-prepared for difficulties.
Green Hat	The Green Hat stands for creativity. This 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.
Blue Hat	This stands for process control. This is the hat worn by people chairing meetings. When running into difficulties because ideas are running dry, they may direct activity into Green Hat thinking. When contingency plans are needed, they will ask for Black Hat thinking, etc.

A variant of this technique is to look at problems from the point of view of different professionals or different customers. It opens up the opportunity for creativity within decision-making.

Reference: http://www.mindtools.com