Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats is a step-by-step method for decision making based on solid psychological research. Each hat represents a different perspective from which to view a problem - and it works.
Just ask the government of Sri Lanka. After the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004, a German organisation pledged a substantial amount of money to assist in the reconstruction process. But there was a hitch. This organisation would not release the funding until the Sri Lankan government had developed a specific plan for renewal.
Five months after the disaster, there was still no plan in place and still no funding.
Not until Sir Peter Low, director of Edward de Bono Training in Singapore, was invited to facilitate a strategic planning session, during which the officials would use De Bono methods to come up with a reconstruction plan.
Sir Peter was made Knight Commander of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great by Pope John Paul II in 2003 for his achievements in charity fund-raising and the promotion of international goodwill through cultural exchanges through the choir which he founded in 1970.
The first two days of his visit to Sri Lanka were spent in the capital, Colombo, where he introduced
47 government officers to the Six Hats method as well as some components of Lateral Thinking