Try This Thought Exercise the Next Time You Need a New Product Offering

I recently shared the idea of the business coaching concept of the six hats from the Late Dr. de Bono with our readership and I wanted to go into more detail about the hat that is going to change the way you look at your business. This creative hat will help you find new and innovative ways to serve your customer base and grow your business.

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What Is A Hat?

A “hat” is not a physical piece of clothing, but a state of mind. It is a tool that can be used to push the boundaries of thinking and help you grow as a group and as leaders. You can think of a hat discussion as a movement, NOT an argument. It’s not about asking questions like: “Is this correct?  Do I agree/disagree?” Instead ask yourself:  “Where does this idea take us?”

Green Hat:  Your Creative Genius

For some entrepreneurs, this way of thinking comes naturally to them. You are always thinking of new ideas and creating possibilities and new combinations and mixtures.  The focus of wearing this hat is on using ideas to move you to new and novel ideas.  It’s about creating more and more options.

If you have a creative streak already- congratulations. But if you struggle with this skill set, I want to encourage you to take the time to look at your business from a different perspective.

Questions To Ask While Wearing The Green Hat:

What are some totally new ideas to try out here?

What if…?

List out all the possibilities…?

Brainstorm all the potential ideas…?

Suppose…where would that lead us?

I wonder…?

Imagine if…?

Key Descriptive Phrases:

• Novel ideas, combinations, and possibilities

• Creating options

• Flexibility

• Generation

When thinking about your business from a creative angle replace judgment with movement. Ask yourself where does this idea take us?  Let one idea lead to the next…

The key distinction between the yellow and the green hat is that yellow hat thinking is about finding a idea or solution (often it’s based on improving an existing idea) and green hat thinking is about creating something new, whether it’s useful or not.  So yellow hat thinking is about utility; green hat thinking is about raw generation of new ideas for where they can take you.

Role of Provocation

Rarely is there one “best answer” or solution, so when brainstorming with your mastermind group don’t settle for the one answer or solution you come up with just becomes it comes to mind first.  The real value of green hat thinking comes when you push past the easy and obvious answers, ideas, and proposals.

Two Provocation Techniques:

1.     Reversal

2.     Random word association

Model Green Hat Thinkers:

• Picasso

• Da Vinci

• Steven Spielberg

• Elon Musk

Combine Green Hat With Yellow Hat Thinking for Maximum Impact

So often we think that decision making is the key step.  The point of “deciding” that our culture tends to emphasis is that of the actual decision point.  But quality decisions are don’t come out of thin air.  They are dependent on perceiving quality options.  This is why yellow and green hat thinking is so critical and valuable.