Edward de Bonos Six Thinking Hats

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Edward de BonosSix Thinking Hats

• Tools for Parallel Thinking

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Outline of the training

• Theoretical introduction why 6 hats?
• Trying the hats on for size!
• Practical application.
• Sequences and scenarios.
• Problems, problems! A practical session.

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Who is Edward de Bono?

• Leading international authority on creative
  thinking and teaching of thinking skills
• Mechanism of the Mind (1969) nerve networks
  of brain behave as self-organizing system.
• Designer of CoRT thinking program for schools

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Who is Edward de Bono?

• Has worked with IBM, Shell, Siemens, DEC,
  Motorola, MM Mars, Ericsson et al
• 1991 inception of Advanced Practical Thinking
  Training Inc. to publish training materials
• The Textbook of Wisdom, Teach Yourself How to
  Think, Serious Creativity and Simplicity
  recent works

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Why Six Hats?

• The six hats are a tool for parallel thinking
• They release us from the historical argumentative
  mode
• They lay out all views side by side and then
  design a way forward
• They allow us to separate out the different
  aspects of thinking, instead of trying to do
  everything at once
• They provide a tool with which to manage thinkers
  and thinking

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Why Six Hats?

• The coloured hats help make abstract thinking a
  concrete process
• They can focus all group members
• Link Put on your thinking cap,
• They can be switched quickly and easily
• They indicate a role, they are an instant symbol
  when dressing up

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Why Six Hats?

• Putting on each hat represents a different type
  of thinking. They are mutually exclusive.
• Golf club analogy.
• Six has been proven to be the right number and
  the maximum people can remember.
• The hats are NOT categories of thinker but we can
  have preferences. The hats manage those
  preferences.

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White Hat Information

• What information is available?
• What information would we like to have?
• What information do we need?
• How are we going to get the information?
• FACTS not speculation.
• Notes conflicting views.

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Red Hat Feelings

• What are my feelings right now?
• What does my intuition tell me?
• What is my gut reaction?
• Limit to 30 secs.
• No justification necessary
• Can be used before or after a decision.

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Black Hat Caution

• What could be the possible problems?
• What could some of the difficulties be?
• What are the points for caution?
• What are the risks?
• Give logical reasons.
• Powerful assessment tool.
• Identifies obstacles.

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Yellow Hat Benefits

• What are the benefits?
• What are the positives?
• What are the values?
• Is there a concept in this idea that looks
  attractive?
• Can this be made to work?
• Requires a deliberate effort.
• Must give reasons for why an idea might work.
• Powerful counter to BLACK hat.

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Green Hat Creative

• Are there other ways to do this?
• What else could we do here?
• What are the possibilities?
• What will overcome our difficulties?
• Fresh, new ideas.
• Alternatives.
• Outside the box.

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Blue Hat Process

• What is our agenda?
• What is our next step?
• Which hat are we using now?
• How can we summarise the discussion so far?
• What is our decision?
• Facilitator.
• Open to all at any time.
• Focuses and re-focuses the thinking.

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Sequences and Scenarios
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GREEN HAT THINKING Creative Thinking
Generating ideas, possibilities and
alternatives. Expanding your options the world
of the possible. Generating ideas that will
overcome the difficulties pointed out in black
hat thinking. Designing your way into the
future. RED HAT THINKING Intuition Communicating
your hunches, gut instincts or feelings about a
subject. It also enables the mind to move beyond
initial reactions and get down to the productive
business of exploring a subject much more
thoroughly. BLUE HAT THINKING Process Control
Thinking about your thinking before doing
your thinking. Managing the thinking process.
Creating thinking plans that will cover the
appropriate thinking bases in order to achieve
your desired end result.

• WHITE HAT THINKING
• Facts Identifying and
• communicating all of the relevant
• data and facts, and to gather the
• necessary missing data for any
• project, problem, decision, concern
• or opportunity in order to arrive at a
• sound conclusion.
• YELLOW HAT THINKING
• Positive Value Identifying and
• finding the value, feasibility and
• benefits in ideas, proposals,
• suggestions or potential solutions. A
• mind shift from the idea killer habit of
  knocking ideas down as soon as
• they are suggested.
• BLACK HAT THINKING
• Difficulties Identifying all of the
• logical reasons why something might not work. To
  use this valuable
• information to design a project plan