Look: A Practical Guide for Improving Your Observational Skills by Jim Gilmore’s introduces a metaphor of “six looking glasses.” Each looking glass represents a particular skill to master in order to enhance the way we look at the world. It was a takeoff of Edward De Bono’s 6 Thinking Hats and also De Bono’s lesser known book the 6 Action Shoes.
Each serves somewhat of a related purpose. Each serves as a trigger to put us in a different mindset. These are great exercises and serves their intended purpose well. Viewing them made think, the purpose of them right, about a technique I have used for years, SCAMPER. The SCAMPER technique is one of the easiest and direct methods for creative thinking and problem–solving through a number of techniques or question types; (S) substitute, (C) combine, (A) adapt, (M) modify, (P) put to another use, (E) eliminate and (R) reverse.
My first inclination was to view this entire grouping, Look, Thinking, and Action from a systemic perspective. How could I SCAMPER them? After playing with the idea a few times, I thought about using the whole grouping as a way of determining and remembering a persona. It led to a fun exercise in a workshop of building personas. Try your hand at it below by thinking of a person or stereotype a group that might fit the description.
A person with pink slippers and a yellow hat looking through a microscope.
What group might have a green hat, purple riding boots and blindfolds?
Could you build a persona of our presidential candidates?
There are not right or wrong answers just something to have fun with. What other uses do you see for this collective group?
You can listen to the recent podcast with Jim at Developing Your Observation Skills.