“I had written him a letter which I had, for want of better
Knowledge, sent to where I met him down the Lachlan, years ago,
He was shearing when I knew him, so I sent the letter to him,
Just `on spec', addressed as follows, `Clancy, of The Overflow'.”
I am sitting in my dingy little office, where a stingy
Ray of sunlight struggles feebly down between the houses tall,
And the foetid air and gritty of the dusty, dirty city
Through the open window floating, spreads its foulness over all.
Banjo Patterson, “Clancy of the Overflow”
Armed with a healthy dose of scepticism I recently attended a workshop on “Six Hats Thinking” with the hope that I might discover some wisdom that would help me ‘find’ some time in my busy schedule and provide me with something of value which I could pass on to my colleagues – most of whom are equally cynical.
So whilst perhaps not quite “on spec”, or even from “my dingy little office”, come with me for a moment and just imagine we are somewhere “down the Lachlan” looking for the shearer. Thank you.
Right now, it will be obvious to you that we are all heading in the same direction – down the Lachlan. Perhaps we might diverge a little to the left, or a little to the right, but we will very rarely be heading in opposite directions or pushing upstream against the flow. Sure, we will all have different ideas of how to find ‘Clancy’ but we’ll gather our thoughts and work through them in a structured way. We might first consider the needs and benefits of the journey with perhaps some bright ideas coming from a “place of lowing cattle” (‘left field’), secondly we would discuss the difficulties and challenges of our journey before gathering ourselves and heading off, down the Lachlan.
This is pretty much the same trip and the same focus penned in Edward de Bono’s “Six Thinking Hats”. De Bono, it seems, is of the view that everybody has the same capacity to be actively involved in several different areas of thought, six to be precise. We apparently, generally just do it “our way” – even if we are pushing upstream, against others, and not necessarily making headway.
Having enjoyed our brief sojourn to the bush, I must draw you back to the city where the “stingy ray of [winter] sunlight struggles feebly down between the [buildings] tall” and back to the offices of the city. Here, in her continuing efforts to manage a continuous improvement and knowledge management program within Land Victoria, Vikki Hope has engaged the services of the VPSCIN to provide a group of 16 volunteers with a run-down on Edward de Bono’s teaching in ‘thinking’.
The facilitator and therefore the “blue hat” person in this workshop took us through a series of presentations and scenarios to explain the power and use of Six Hats Thinking. On the face of it, and particularly for those of us who take a little bit more convincing than others that something other than ‘plain English’ might be useful, how does it help if we refer to green hats, red socks, blue gloves or any other item of clothing that could be worn on any other part of one’s anatomy, if we could simply refer to the need for ‘positive thinking’ or ‘risk assessment’?
The facilitator assured us that the power of an expression such as ‘Yellow Hat thinking’ or ‘Black Hat mode’, which, when used in an environment that understands the ‘Hats’ processes has a far greater impact than using plain English. It might be likened to the use of acronyms – a language that is well known to most public servants but as I was to find out, a language that is not as clear as the ‘Hats’.
When the next opportunity arises to do some thinking, ask yourself if you and your organisation might benefit from exposure to the ‘Hats’. Unlike Banjo Patterson’s view, “townsfolk [do] have time to grow”. As part of your performance planning, or even additional training, perhaps you could see your way clear to attend a tutorial or workshop that provides methods of improving your work life and you will be half way to seeing the “visions splendid”. In English, this could be referred to as positive thinking – in ‘Hats’ terminology that’s the ‘Yellow hat’ you have just used. Or is it creative thinking and therefore a little bit of ‘Green hat’? Then when you have convinced yourself of the benefits, think of some of the checks and balances you might have to cover off (that’s right, black hat stuff) to confirm your decision that you have selected the right option.
Not only will this be useful at work, our ‘blue hat man’ is of the view that about 90% of the advantages each individual derives from using the thinking processes espoused by de Bono would be provided in their private life and only about 10% at work. Something about work-life balance here – another positive!
‘Hats’ is all about modes of thinking. Different styles of thinking that are deliberately selected at different parts of a meeting, a process or problem solving session to provide a defined outcome or purpose e.g. to find Clancy. ‘Hats’ is not a personality assessment tool that indicates a likely psychological type, a management style or the emotional intelligence of a person, the ‘Hats’ philosophy provides a process and focus on six different types of thinking that can be applied to every event requiring thought.
I could go on, and provide you with more facts and information (White hat detail) but you can easily find them for yourself. Just follow your instinct, don’t dwell or over analyse the options, just do it (Red hat) because you “have no time to waste”.
With the possible exception of learning how to type (as distinct from “the thumbnail dipped in tar”), and provided ‘Hats’ thinking could be universally adopted within my work place, this tool has the greatest chance of helping me to become more efficient. It will save significant time and lead to better, more rewarding, decision making.
Now, gold digging, in a measure,
Affords much greater pleasure
To your obedient servant,
"Clancy of the Overflow".
Thomas Gerald Clancy, “Clancy’s reply”
On April 20 a group of 
