Edward deBonos

Six Thinking Hats

How to use Edward deBonos structured parallel thinking to increase efficiency in meetings

What is parallel thinking?

At any moment everyone is looking in the same direction.

So the six hats are?

Six colors of hats for six types of thinking

Each hat identifies a type of thinking Hats are directions of thinking

Hats help a group use parallel thinking

You can put on and take off a hat

The Six hats

White: objective facts & figures Red: emotions & feelings Black: cautious & careful Yellow: hope, positive & speculative Green: creativity, ideas & lateral thinking Blue: control & organization of thinking

General hat issues

Direction, not description
Set out to think in a certain direction Lets have some black hat thinking

Not categories of people

Not: Hes a black hat thinker. Everyone can and should use all the hats

A constructive form of showing off

Show off by being a better thinker Not destructive right vs. wrong argument

Use in whole or in part

Benefits of Six Thinking Hats

Provides a common language regardless of culture and background. Experience & intelligence of each person (Diversity of thought) Use more of our brains Helps people work against type, preference Removal of ego (reduce confrontation) Save time Focus (one thing at a time) Create, evaluate & implement action plans

Using the hats

Use any hat, as often as needed Sequence can be preset or evolving Not necessary to use every hat Time under each hat: generally, short Requires discipline from each person
While using it, stay in the idiom

Adds an element of play, play along Can be used by individuals and groups

The blue hat

Thinking about thinking Instructions for thinking The organization of thinking Control of the other hats Discipline and focus

The blue hat role

Control of thinking & the process Begin & end session with blue hat Facilitator, session leaders role Choreography
open, sequence, close Focus: what should we be thinking about Asking the right questions Defining & clarifying the problem Setting the thinking tasks

Open with the blue hat

Why we are here what we are thinking about definition of the situation or problem alternative definitions what we want to achieve where we want to end up the background to the thinking a plan for the sequence of hats

and close with the blue hat

What we have achieved Outcome Conclusion Design Solution Next steps

White Hat Thinking

Neutral, objective information Facts & figures Questions: what do we know, what dont we know, what do we need to know Excludes opinions, hunches, judgements Removes feelings & impressions Two tiers of facts
Believed Facts Checked Facts

Red Hat Thinking

Emotions & feelings Hunches, intuitions, impressions Doesnt have to be logical or consistent No justifications, reasons or basis All decisions are emotional in the end

Yellow Hat Thinking

Positive & speculative Positive thinking, optimism, opportunity Benefits Best-case scenarios Exploration

Green Hat Thinking

New ideas, concepts, perceptions Deliberate creation of new ideas Alternatives and more alternatives New approaches to problems Creative & lateral thinking

Black Hat Thinking

Cautious and careful Logical negative why it wont work Critical judgement, pessimistic view Separates logical negative from emotional Focus on errors, evidence, conclusions Logical & truthful, but not necessarily fair

Six hats summary

Blue: control & organization of thinking White: objective facts & figures Red: emotions & feelings Yellow: hope, positive & speculative

Green: creativity, ideas & lateral thinking

Black: cautious & careful