Much of what you do throughout your career is solve problems. At times you may work in teams to solve problems, but oftentimes you're required to work through them individually. You may feel pressured and "under the gun" to come up with the perfect solution in a short amount of time. It's common to get stuck in our usual ways of thinking, and to feel overwhelmed when faced with a new problem to solve.

The most confident and successful problem solvers employ a systematic process when approaching a problem.

Six Thinking Hats is a proven problem-solving technique developed by Dr. Edward de Bono, who is regarded as the leading international authority in the field of creative thinking, innovation, and the direct teaching of thinking as a skill. The de Bono methods are based on an understanding of how the brain handles information, yet they're very simple, practical, and are used by people of all ages and professions.

Each of the Six Thinking Hats represents a different direction or type of thinking, which is identified by a color.

Using the hats in a sequence, one after another, allows you to examine a problem thoroughly. The process reduces confusion and keeps your thinking on track. The Six Hats techniques help you clarify the focus of your thinking so you have a thorough understanding of the problem, which will help you manage your time as efficiently as possible.

You'll define in advance what you wish to acheive by the end of your problem-solving session, so you create the best possible solution and a set of next steps. The Six Thinking Hats tools will ensure that your solutions are based on a balanced, carefully considered exploration of the problem.

Develop Your Individual Problem-Solving Skills With Six Thinking Hats

We offer three ways for you to learn the proven Six Thinking Hats system for problem solving:

Customized, on-site one-day Six Thinking Hats training seminar for 5 or more employees. Learn the techniques and apply or practice them in a customized setting.
One-day Six Thinking Hats seminar in Des Moines with individuals from other organizations. Click for dates.
Customized Six Thinking Hats webinar plus 3 follow up phone coaching sessions.

	Blue Hat Clearly define the problem, next steps, action plans
	White Hat Data, information known or needed
	Green Hat Creativity; new ideas, alternatives, solutions
	Red Hat Feelings, hunches, gut instinct, & intuition
	Yellow Hat Values / benefits. Why a solution may work
	Black Hat Difficulties, potential issues. Why a solution may not work