THE BLUE HAT: ORGANIZATION (TJ)

Typical Blue Hat Questions

"What needs to be discussed?"

"What has worked in the past?"

"Which hat can best address this question?"

"What is the proper context of this question?"

The blue hat has a dual function. First, blue hat thinking is used to organize available information so that it can be understood. Second, the blue hat directs the act of thinking itself, swapping the other hats in and out as necessary to fully consider an issue.

If the green hat's favorite word is "create," then the blue hat's favorite word might be "control." Where green hat thinking is strongly goal-directed and interested in results, blue hat thinking is strongly process-oriented and concerned with operation. (This attention to organization seems to me to be typical of the combined Myers-Briggs type preferences of "Thinking" and "Judging." In fact, the TJ combination is often referred to in Myers-Briggs circles as the "Administrator" preference.)

This emphasis equips blue hat thinking to direct activity, including the process of thinking itself. By organizing information into coherent forms, the blue hat makes understanding possible. And where there is understanding, there can be effective operational control of activity.

In the case of "thinking about thinking," the blue hat is used to decide what other hats are necessary for reaching a conclusion. If there is a lack of information, the blue hat will call for some white or red hat thinking to acquire such information. If information is available but its quality or potential impact are unknown, the blue hat can request black or yellow hat thinking to analyze these aspects. And if the information doesn't make sense, or does not seem to be leading to any solutions or conclusions, the blue hat can direct thinking in a green hat style, or even in a specific blue hat style.

The blue hat thus acts as a kind of conductor, calling the various kinds of thinking in and out of a discussion as needed to illuminate different aspects of the question under consideration.