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by vivegi 1601 days ago
Just putting forward a case for something or case against something misses out a lot. Don't get me wrong, it can be used as a provocation to stimulate discussion. But that is only part of the benefit.

If one were to use an approach like Six Thinking Hats, one could use a hat sequence such as 1.Blue -> 2.White -> 3.Green -> 4.Yellow -> 5.Black -> 6.Green -> 7.Red -> 8.Blue. Each colored hat represents a specific thinking mode. We assign a predetermined time for each stage and use the thinking mode exclusively related to the hat color.

1.Blue: Establish a focus (for eg: building an app that does X)

2.White: What information do we have (for eg: addressable market size, MVP scope, any research/data available on prospective customers etc.,)

3.Green: The creative details (for eg: We will do Y1, Y2, Y3, ...)

4.Yellow: List the benefits

5.Black: List the drawbacks, pitfalls, challenges, risks etc.,

6.Green: Address the drawbacks, pitfalls and challenges creatively and try to mitigate risks

7.Red: Get a gut check from the team if the proposed idea/solution is trending in the right direction

8.Blue: Setup a follow-up action plan (for eg: Next steps on xx/xx/xxxx, task owner ABC).

The article's main point on putting forward the case against is only the #5.Black hat thinking. We are all natural black hat thinkers. But that is just one of the modes and focusing on that alone doesn't lead to a robust solution.

More on Six Thinking Hats in this book here: https://www.amazon.com/Six-Thinking-Hats-Edward-Bono/dp/0316...