Andy Coolidge joined a creativity course to provide a contrast to his business education and career experience, which typically involved wearing the "white hat" of facts and forecasts. He has a business administration undergraduate degree and MBA, and 14 years of corporate experience. Coolidge's least comfortable hat is the green hat of creativity and outside-the-box thinking, which is why he enrolled in the creativity course to strengthen that skill.

1. TO: Crash Course on Creativity
FROM: Andy Coolidge
RE: Six Hat Model
DATE: December 4, 2012
One of the primary reasons I joined this course was to provide negative correlation to my other
academic training. I have an undergraduate degree in Business Administration, have spent my entire
professional career in the corporate world, and am currently enrolled in a Master’s of Business
Administration program. Accordingly, my thought process typically begins and ends wearing a white
hat. In my professional life I must focus on the facts available and develop accurate forecasts of future
events. A majority of my research and effort is centered on increasing shareholder value. Therefore, I
use financial tools to analyze opportunities, marketing and relationship efforts to ensure we are
positioned appropriately, and strategic visioning to create our path.
I have been introduced to all facets of an academic business model, including; finance, accounting,
human resources, marketing, negotiations, statistics, operations management, leadership, etc. I have
also been employed and experience ‘real-life’ business operations over the past 14 years.
My least comfortable hat: Understanding that no single person will be able to master all the skills
necessary to be the most effective leader has allowed me to appreciate the different hats. I have
learned about their use and surround myself with those who wear them best. I consider myself to a
‘jack of all trades’, not focused on a specific concept or business specialty. Therefore, when I was

2. introduced to the six hat model it made sense. While I may not excel at wearing each hat, I am aware of
the hats. There are many appropriate analogies to the six hat model; golf, fishing, and even creating this
report for creativity. One must know there are available tools; they must understand how the tools
work, and the appropriate time to use them. There is an abundance of information available about the
six hat model. There are definitions about each hat, when and how to deploy their use, and thousands
of models and images.
If pressed to identify my weakest hat I would have to select the green version. Creativity, outside-the-
box thinking, and acknowledging this weakness is what led me to complement my professional training.
There are so many great and interesting hats available to wear. The single biggest take-away I will
remember every day is to simply “pick a hat”.