What If? by Paul Cook

Who was Edward De Bono?

Edward de Bono

Physician born 1933

Edward de Bono is a Maltese physician, author, inventor and consultant.  He originated the term lateral thinking and wrote the book Six Thinking Hats.

For those of you who are proponents of the ‘The hats’, you will know that it is a model of effective systems thinking that increases productivity.  There are six metaphorical hats and each defines a certain type of thinking.

You can put on or take off one of these hats to indicate the type of thinking you are using but must only use that style of thinking.

Thus

 

This putting on and taking off is essential, because it allows you to switch from one type of thinking to another.  Notwithstanding the truly magnificent effect of a Zest facilitation of this model, the question we (at Zest) are commonly challenged with is ‘do we actually have to wear the hats?’

Superman didn’t actually have to wear the audacious letter S on his pristine blue apparel; in fact, he doesn’t need a costume at all; however it does tend to add a certain authenticity and belief when one is travelling faster than a speeding locomotive or rescuing citizens from a burning building.  If he tried either of these super tasks dressed as Clark Kent, the punters may not feel so safe.  Actually wearing the hats gets your team into innovative super mode.

Accordingly, now look at the above chart for the theme of the day; as we discuss emergency and contingency planning for your business known as the what if? THE BLACK HAT.

Imagine if De Bono theory had been used in some past emergency and contingency planning for these infamous pre-businesses.  And let’s apply the black hat.

BUSINESS	HAT COLOUR FOR PLANNING TEAM	THINKING
Enron	Black	What if the CEO and execs aren’t telling the truth?
White Star Liners	Black	What if the ships can’t take a direct hit from an iceberg?
DeLoreon Motor Co	Black	What if we moved production away from the centre of a war zone?
Sony Betamax	Black	Could there be anything else on the market that is better, faster, more value?
Polaroid	Etc
Woolworths	Etc
British Leyland	Etc

And so on to ancient history and a shining example of the greatest business contingency and emergency planning of all time.

The year is AD 79, the people lived in a well-planned, well protected carefully architectured environment.  The emperor presided over his many teams and plans were regularly laid and discussed; sea defence systems, strengthened well trained armies, crop rotation and supply for sustained use, economic contingency for unseen competition, carefully monitored currency trading, health planning and above all, democratic reasoning and inclusion of views from the community.  Yes this was a civilisation prepared for anything, they consistently applied the ‘what if?’  And then a man in a black hat appeared and said ‘what if that big mountain behind us suddenly explodes?’

As Mount Vesuvius poured down on Pompeii the emperor must have wondered ‘where is superman?’

Probably getting changed…