FROM THE BLOG

Don’t think you are creative? Nonsense. I have found I am  most creative when I go through a non-process-process. Yes, you read that right. I have figured out what works for me (process) but the acts within the process are not really cut and dried process-oriented actions (non-process). Confused? I may have actually just confused myself.

To explain, there are a couple processes that I often go through when there’s something on my mind that I know I want to brainstorm on. The one I want to focus on this week is what’s called the six thinking hats. These are hats that you put on to indicate which type of thinking you are using at that time. People that work closely with me have probably heard me talk about segmenting my time to have my creativity hat on versus my other hats. This is where it comes from.

There are 6 metaphorical hats that one puts on and takes off to indicate the type of thinking used:

White: looks at the information and data

Black: exercises caution and judgment

Green: the hat of alternatives, proposals, provocations and changes

Red: covers feelings, emotions and intuition

Yellow: finds reasons why something will work

Blue: the process control gate. Looks not at the subject itself but at the thinking of the subject

Try the hat process with your team- it’s a fun and easy way to think through a complicated idea. It really works!

And for those of you who want a beginner’s guide to nurturing creativity, stay tuned for next week’s 5 step process.

Until next week,

Posted by Tarah Carlow Senior Vice President, Marketing & Advisor Loyalty