6 hats

thinking skills
edward de bono
• White Hat ThinkingWhite Hat thinking focuses on data, facts,
information known or needed.
• Black Hat Thinking
Black Hat thinking focuses on difficulties, potential problems.
Why something may not work.
• Red Hat Thinking
Red Hat thinking focuses on feelings, hunches, gut instinct, and
intuition.
• Green Hat ThinkingGreen Hat thinking focuses on creativity:
possibilities, alternatives, solutions, new ideas.
• Yellow Hat ThinkingYellow Hat thinking focuses on values and
benefits. Why something may work.
• Blue Hat ThinkingBlue Hat thinking focuses on manage the
thinking process, focus, next steps, action plans.
•  
• Six Thinking Hats
• • Edward DeBono
• • Parallel Thinking
• • Uses all resources
• • A Facilitated Discussion Process
• • Everyone looks at every perspective
• • Less confusing and more organized
• Thinking Together
• • There are many ways to look at the same
• situation.
• • Our goal is to think collectively, to use the
• best thinking skills to learn together
• • Thinking is not about making a case for
• one position but looking at all the angles.
• • Organized thinking is holistic and more
• complete.
• Six Thinking Hats
• Blue Hat:
• – Organize the conversation
• – Summarize
• – Overview
• – Plan
• The Blue Hat often starts and finishes the
• process.
• White Hat
• • What information do we have?
• • What information do we need?
• • What’s missing?
• • What questions do we need to ask?
• • How are we going to get the information?
• • Neutral, just the facts, ma’am.
• • Computer-like, curiosity
• • First class facts: verifiable & verified
• • Second class facts: we think we know
• Black Hat
• • Caution and criticism
• • Stops us from doing something illegal,
• immoral or unwise
• • Identifies risks, obstacles, weaknesses to
• be overcome
• • Distinguishes when it does not fit our
• Values
• Yellow Hat
• • What are the positive aspects?
• • The bright side
• • What are we building?
• • Opportunities
• • Visions
• Red Hat
• • About emotions
• • How do you feel about it?
• • All emotions are legitimate and don’t
• require a logical basis or justification.
• • Simple: Mad, sad, glad, afraid, etc.
• • Complex: hunches, intuition, gut reactions
• • Don’t analyze the feelings
• Green Hat
• • Creativity and growth
• • New ideas and ways of looking
• • New concepts and perceptions
• • Brainstorming
• Six Thinking Hats
• White Hat - pure facts,
• figures & objective
• Information

• Red Hat - emotions &

• feelings, hunches &
• Intuition

• Black Hat - devil’s

• advocate, logical negative
• judgement, why it won’t
• Work

• Yellow Hat - sunshine,

• brightness & optimism,
• positive constructive
• Thought

• Green Hat - fertile,

• creative, new ideas,
• movement, provocation

• Blue Hat - cool &

• control, orchestra
• conductor, thing about
• thinking, control of
• the other hats
• Edward de Bono, Six Thinking Hats, Little Brown, 1985.
• Six Thinking Hats
• Pink Hat – information available and needed
• Red Hat – intuition, feelings and hunches
• Yellow Hat – benefits and value
• Black Hat – caution/risks, problems &
difficulties
• Green Hat – alternatives and creativity
• Blue Hat – managing the thinking, focus and
summary
• Guiding Principles:
• • Use the hats to direct attention, not to categorise
existing thinking.
• • Focus the thinking – only one hat at a time.
• • Don’t have to use all the hats, and can use a hat more
than once.
• • No debate or argument - brainstorm.
• • Generally begin and end with the Blue Hat.
• • Red Hat generally very brief.
• • Maintain a brisk time discipline (ie 3-4 minutes per hat).
This forces thinkers to focus and prevents rambling.
• • If you need help to stimulate ideas or creative thinking,
consider using a ‘Random Word’ (refer last slide).