Buffs In Chucks

“The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas.” — Linus Pauling

We will take a short break from the topic of leadership and, in this interlude, focus on the question of how to generate new ideas most effectively.

When my wife and child are asleep, I often sit in front of the computer in the evenings, thinking about what topic to write about next on BuffsInChucks. Sometimes it's easy because I draw on those trainings and theories I developed years ago for my leadership courses and speeches. The creative work then mainly involves putting these ideas into a "blog-friendly" format, creating drawings and graphics, and generating suitable images with the help of AI.

Since BuffsInChucks is not only meant to share my ideas with you but also to motivate myself to engage more with new theories or even develop new approaches, I need creative breaks.

Sometimes, ideas just come to me while driving or on a plane trip. Sometimes, when I watch my child playing. In these cases, I dictate them Michael Knight-style into my smartwatch so I don't forget them. In the evening, I listen to them again at my computer and... delete much of it.

Then there are moments when I try to be more organized and strategic in my idea generation. I use a little trick that I learned at a seminar and then adapted for myself. I would like to share this method with you today:

Six Thinking Hats

Edward de Bono developed the Six Thinking Hats in the 1980s. The method aims to help groups structure discussions and teamwork better. In other words, it systematically highlights different perspectives to find creative solutions to problems. Different colored hats are assigned to participants, with each color representing a specific meaning.

• Green Hat (Creativity): Represents creativity and the search for alternative solutions and new ideas.
• White Hat (Information): Focuses on available data and information, asks for facts, figures, and needed information.
• Yellow Hat (Optimism): Focuses on the positives, benefits, and value of an idea.
• Black Hat (Criticism): Serves the critical evaluation of ideas. It looks at risks, weaknesses, and problems.
• Red Hat (Emotions): Allows the expression of feelings, intuitions, and hunches without needing to justify them.
• Blue Hat (Process Control): Used to organize and manage the thinking process, guide the discussion, and summarize the results.

In group activities, people actually wear colored hats in the meeting room. Initially, it's quite amusing, but if participants take it seriously, it really works. There's no official procedure, but it's generally a good idea to start with the blue hat. All participants put on the blue hat to discuss the meeting goals, set the agenda, and define the rules.

Afterward, it's a good idea to switch to the green hat. Now, participants are encouraged—no, required—to think and discuss creative ideas without any restrictions. There are no taboos. In my experience, it often starts slowly, but once the first crazy ideas are shared, a positive dynamic develops. People start having fun, and eventually, ideas begin to flow. This is the core of the discussion, and the more ideas collected, the better.

Since the white hat focuses on facts and information, it is usually next. Now, everyone has the opportunity to put any relevant facts on the table that they can contribute to these ideas.

After the white hat, we switch to the yellow hat. Now, everyone is encouraged to speak positively about the ideas. And it must be exclusively positive. What are the advantages and positive aspects of the ideas mentioned? Try to find positive aspects even for the "craziest" ideas.

Once this point is completed, it's time for the black hat. Now, all risks and potential problems of the ideas are discussed. It is particularly important to identify and clearly articulate risks and potential problems, even for the ideas that have found the most favor with the group.

After that, everyone puts on the red hat and listens to their "gut feelings." I'm still not sure if this hat could be omitted because emotions arise naturally for all participants. The other hats are meant to ensure that decisions aren't made based on personal comfort and beliefs. However, I have colleagues who strongly disagree with me and consider this step fundamental because not everything can be decided with the mind alone, and without the red hat, this gut feeling isn't clearly defined and communicated within the group. It's a matter of personal preference ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Finally, the blue hat is put on again to summarize what has been worked out and to make a decision.

A wonderful technique for generating creative ideas in a group while ensuring that the chances of finding an actual solution increase. 

What does this have to do with my blog?

My Six Thinking Hats

As I mentioned at the beginning, I use this technique by myself, without any other participants. It can be challenging at first to step into each role alone. Plus, I only have a sun hat at home.

Fortunately, it's quite easy to substitute the hats with other things. If you're very visually oriented, you can use colored paper or Excel sheets with different color markings. Essentially, it's enough to write the word "Optimism" on a piece of paper to remind yourself that you're wearing the yellow hat.

Another good trick is to wear different hats in different locations. At my desk, I plan the process and wear the blue hat, while I use my balcony as the place for the green hat to generate as many ideas as possible and be creative. 

Not that everyone has to go to such lengths, but for some people, a clear distinction like this can help them consciously switch into a new role.

Let's take a blog post on BuffsInChucks as an example:

Blue Hat (Control):

• Which target audience should the blog post be relevant for?
• What impact should the post have?

Green Hat (Creativity):

• Free brainstorming, without limitations, on what topics might be interesting.
• Can I create a surprising connection between two seemingly unrelated topics?
• Can I shed new light on well-known theories or find a different use for them?

White Hat (Information):

• What basic facts and data do I need for the topic?
• Are there any recently published studies or reports that I could use?
• Has anyone ever covered this topic the way I intend to? 

Yellow Hat (Optimism):

• What are the benefits of these ideas?
• How could they benefit the reader?
• What do I enjoy the most about writing on this topic?

Black Hat (Criticism):

• What challenges might arise in implementing these ideas?
• Are there significant weaknesses in the arguments or the concept?

Red Hat (Emotions):

• Simply put: Do I feel connected to the topic?

Blue Hat (Control – Conclusion):

• Which ideas seem most promising?
• How will I translate the idea into a complete blog post?
• Schedule for research, writing, and publication (which I'll revise a hundred times).

That's the process before I start writing. Same for this post.

I don't always manage to stick to it perfectly. But trying to keep the Six Thinking Hats in mind (or rather, on my head) helps me look at a topic from multiple perspectives and thus produce a better output.

In the next post, we'll wrap up the topic of leadership for now, I promise. 

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