6 Thinking Hats
Edward de Bono
A very easy to read book that provides a simple yet
structured approach for exploring ideas and problems through thinking from
different perspectives in a systematic manner.
There are six hats with different characteristics:
- White Hat: facts, figures, information, objective
- Red Hat: emotions and feelings, justification and
intuition
- Black Hat: critical, negative judgement
- Yellow Hat: optimism, logical positive
- Green Hat: creativity, possibilities, new ideas
- Blue Hat: controlling of the hats and thinking, organizer
The idea of the hat is that a person will put on or be asked
to put on a hat and to express a view from that perspective. This is to allows
participant to think in different ways and as it is a play-acting; one will be
more willing to express views from under the security of the hat that otherwise
may be left unsaid.
Overall, the 6 thinking hats is a good concept that required
commitment from all participants.
If the participants are not familiar with the process, it
can be difficult to facilitate.
I recommend sharing the process with people prior to the
meeting and then reviewing the process again before you get started.
Example agenda of a typical 6 hats meeting for problem
solving:
1. Present the background/fact of the problem.(WHITE HAT)
2. Generate solution/ideas on how the problem could be
addressed (GREEN HAT)
3. Evaluate the solutions - List the benefits (YELLOW HAT) ,
list the drawbacks (BLACK HAT)
4. Get participant's gut feeling about the potential
solution (RED HAT)
5. Summarize and compile action items if needed (BLUE HAT)