How to become a decision - making wizard

Have you ever been stuck while making a crucial decision? They may be major decisions such as:

• Is this the right time to buy a house?

• Should I accept that new job offer?

• Should I move to a bigger city?

I have. I used to be paralyzed, with the thoughts running around in my mind crazily.

“What if the house value drops?”

“What if I don’t like the work culture?”

“What if I do not like my lifestyle in the new city?”

Over time, more and more information, emotions and judgement kept coming up until it was difficult to think well about the decision itself.

Recently I read about “the 6 thinking hats method” and I was intrigued. It seems to be an elegant way to think clearly and take a good decision. The method was developed by Edward de Bono, A Maltese physician, writer, inventor and consultant.

He has written books on a variety of topics:

The method involves looking at the decision through different lenses. You’re asked to imagine wearing different coloured thinking hats. Each coloured hat represents one way/ perspective of thinking.

• ⚪️ White hat - Logic.

  • Look at data, information, and facts.

  • Imagine a scientist’s lab coat.

• 🟡 Yellow hat - optimism.

  • Look at what can go right.

  • Imagine the sun.

• ⚫️ Black hat - judgement, risks.

  • Look at what can go wrong.

  • Imagine a judge’s robe.

• 🔴 Red hat - feelings.

  • Look at the heart, emotions, gut feeling.

  • Imagine the heart

• 🟢 Green hat - think outside the box, new possibilities.

  • Look at the possible growth and opportunities.

  • Imagine a growing plant

• 🔵 Blue hat - evaluate all previous colours to take the decision.

  • Think like a manager.

As mind maps are an awesome way to visualize information, here is one:

But why should you know about this?

According to research, we make up to 35,000 decisions a day!! While most of them might be trivial ones such as:

“What do I have for diner tonight?“

“What should I wear to the office tomorrow“

There would be at least a handful which are going to define the shape of your life. This quote sums it up perfectly:

For the important decisions, a systematic framework is essential. It helps:

• To Gain clarity.

• Exploration from all angles.

• Remove the effect of cognitive biases.

How you can use this knowledge to your advantage:

The best way is to learn from an example. Suppose I’m looking to change my job. This is how things would look after using the method:

How to use this in your daily life:

Not all decisions are created equally. For the ones which really matter, it helps to slow down and analyze using frameworks such as these.

So, the next time your mind is full with thoughts and information about a decision:

STOP

Use the 6 thinking hats framework.

In a world of information overload and reduced attention spans, it will help you slow down and make the right choice.

I hope this knowledge helps in your personal and professional life. And if so, share the article with your friends and family.

Further reading:

• Six thinking hats.

• How to Make Difficult Decisions in 6 Simple Steps.