One of the most obvious similarities is the powerful and practical approach clarifying the choices you have in how you approach something using the metaphor of hats. Both tools also help people switch headspace to redirect thinking in ways that create engagement, open up possibility and action.

Edward de Bono is regarded by many to be the leading authority in the field of creative thinking and the direct teaching of thinking as a skill. He has written 62 books with translations into 37 languages and is a widely sought after speaker. He is the originator of lateral thinking which treats creativity as the behavior of information in a self-organizing information system - such as the neural networks in the brain. From such a consideration arise the deliberate and formal tools of lateral thinking, parallel thinking etc.

Continue reading the article and get:

• A quick Six Hats primer from the folks at The deBono Group
• A chart that depicts the inherent synergy of the two hat traditions
• Some easy ways of integrating One Hat At A Time cards with the Six Thinking Hats
• Distinctions between the Six Thinking Hats and One Hat At A Time

The magician's hat has been tickling my consciousness lately. In addition to wishing I could pull this article "out of my hat," Magicians and their symbolic top hats keep popping up everywhere...from Frosty the Snowman, to a remark in a teleclass I am participating in, to the Six Hats article in this issue, even in the television show "The West Wing."

As facilitators and presenters we are like magicians in that we create an experience, without revealing all of the principles & practices that create it. We can rely on certain "tricks" of the trade; by adhering to certain principles that seem very basic in the light of day, but mystical in what can be created by following them. So is the space we create an illusion? Or is it a deeper expression of magic?

Mystery abounds regarding the origin of the word Abracadabra. One meaning, which has been put forth (although it may be a myth and has been challenged by scholars) is that the source of the word lies in an incantation from the Jewish mystical teachings of the Kabbalah, Abarah K'Dabarah or "I create as I speak." This leads me to wonder...when I facilitate, what do I create as I speak? What are the intentions I speak to the group or to myself in the course of my work?

I think we often seek to be an invisible force and tend to remove ourselves from the picture, putting the group and their goals in the foreground. We go in with intentions for the participants and for the group as an entity -- perhaps, some intentions for the work -- but what do we speak and create for ourselves?

How do you create your magic - does it feel like a deceptive illusion? Or like a conscious creation? The energy and space you create with groups is nothing less than magical...if that is what you intend. -LLB

Meggin McIntosh first used the hats with 65 substance abuse trainers who train folks within hours of last fix and those who have been in recovery for a long time.

The one-day training session was focused around using what is known about brain research to help people who are in our training sessions learn more. The basic approach included using The Art of Changing the Brain as the basis for story as powerful metaphor; and using stories all day long to illustrate points being made.

Meggin: "In the afternoon I had them write out a story they tell to illustrate recovery issues. Then I divided them into groups of 6-7 people and each person took turns telling their story. Someone else drew the card and then the group re-told their story from the perspective of the different hat. We used this exercise to practice retelling stories in a way that would connect correctly with their audience. People were laughing, having a good time and it busted them out of the rut of a singular approach/perspective.

In the evaluations at the end of the class, people mentioned the hat exercise as a highlight, saying "this made me realize that I can think about things in different ways."</ p> Thanks for sharing your hat approach with us Meggin!