The Six Thinking Hats
Access to Breast Care for West Texas – ABC4WT
Train the Trainer Seminar
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Dr. Edward De Bono
The Six Thinking Hats
The Six Thinking Hats
Help us…
• look at a project from different
perspectives
• make better decisions by forcing us to
move outside habitual ways of thinking
• understand the full complexity of a decision
• spot issues and opportunities
Dr. Edward De Bono
The Six Thinking Hats
A new way to make decisions
Six Thinking Hats allows us to use all
approaches in decision making and
planning …mixing ambition, skill in
execution, sensitivity, creativity and
good contingency planning
Dr. Edward De Bono
The Six Thinking Hats
Why hats?
• Signify roles in life
• Are easily put on or taken off
• Worn one at a time
Dr. Edward De Bono
The Six Thinking Hats
Why hats work…
• Structure: focus on one direction of
thinking at a time
• Total thinking - looks at an issue from
several angles in a short amount of time
• Multiple uses – groups, alone, two people
having a conversation
• Easy integration – stand alone process or
integration into other processes such as
brainstorming or quality improvement
Dr. Edward De Bono
The Six Thinking Hats
Six hats, six ways of thinking
• White – Information
• Yellow – Logical positive
• Black – Caution
• Red – Intuition, feelings and emotions
• Green – Creativity, alternatives
• Blue – Managing the process
Dr. Edward De Bono
The Six Thinking Hats
The purpose …
ABC4WT is a group of academic and
community healthcare providers that
seeks to increase screening and close
the gap between diagnosis and
treatment for medically underserved
women in West Texas.
Dr. Edward De Bono
The Six Thinking Hats
The process…
• Introduce one hat at a time
• Brainstorm
- record responses as stated
- go in order; “pass” if no comment
- one idea at a time; do not explain
- facilitator will keep group on track
• Group share (one “ah ha”)
Dr. Edward De Bono
The Six Thinking Hats
The Blue Hat – Managing the process
• Looks at the “thinking” about the
subject
• Defines focus
• Controls the other hats
• Observations, summaries, reporting
Example:
What are some conclusions we can
draw from this discussion?
Dr. Edward De Bono
The Six Thinking Hats
The White Hat - Information
• Information we know to be true
• Gaps in knowledge; info needed
• Neutral and objective
• No interpretations or opinions
Example:
This is a 3 year project that will eventually cover all
counties in West Texas.
How will county agencies be reimbursed for project
costs?
Dr. Edward De Bono
The Six Thinking Hats
The Yellow Hat – Logical positive
• A deliberate search for the positive
• Envisions the best possible scenario
and maximum benefits
• Looks forward to results
• Finds value in what’s happened
Example:
For the first time, we will have breast
cancer demographics from all
counties
Dr. Edward De Bono
The Six Thinking Hats
The Black Hat – Caution
• Must always be logical
• Why it might not work; weak points in a
plan
• Focus on possible problems, difficulties
Example:
We don’t have a plan in place to
replace community leaders as they
drop out of the project
Dr. Edward De Bono
The Six Thinking Hats
The Green Hat – Creativity; alternatives
• New ideas; creative alternatives
• Reduces judgment; no criticism of new
ideas
• Uses ideas as stepping stones
Example:
Use church groups to connect with
ethnic and rural women
Dr. Edward De Bono
The Six Thinking Hats
The Red Hat – Intuition, feelings, emotions
• Permission to put forward feelings
• Opposite of neutral and objective
• No need to justify or give reasons
Example:
My gut feeling tells me that some communities
may not be receptive to this
Dr. Edward De Bono
The Six Thinking Hats
The Blue Hat – Managing the process
Observations?
Conclusions?
Next step…
Action Plan to move forward…
Dr. Edward De Bono
The Six Thinking Hats