Six Thinking Hats
From the part to the whole
From the different/unique to the
common
From analysis to synthesis
Six Thinking Hats
Parallel thinking
mastermind
Six Thinking Hats
“The six thinking hats allow us to
conduct our thinking as a conductor
might lead an orchestra.”
-- Edward de Bono
TEACHING THINKING SKILLS
To be used with 3 year olds
All ages
All business people
To involve communities in projects
The tool to
Go beyond confusion
Help gifted children become brighter
Help not that gifted children improve and fly
FROM
SOCRATES: DIALECT
PLATO: TRUTH
ARISTOTLE: ARGUMENT
TO CREATIVE PARALLEL THINKING
Co-operation
Blue Hat
Think Blue Sky
The conductor of the
orchestra
The big organizer
Blue Hat – Organizing the Thinking
Process
When you wear the blue hat,
your task is to define the situation,
set the parameters,
decide how you will proceed with the other hats
(which ones to wear, and in which order), and
control the process until a satisfactory resolution is
reached.
Thus, the blue hat is generally the first and the last to
be worn.
FOCUS + PURPOSE
What are we here for?
What are we thinking about?
What is the end goal?
What sequence of hats are we going
to use?
What have we achieved?
White Hat
INFORMATION
in parallel
White Hat – Objective
Facts and Figures
What do we know?
What do we need to know?
What is missing?
What questions do we need to know
How might we get the information
we need?
If information conflicts…
All information is put alongside, then
gets checked
RED HAT:
Fire and warm
EMOTIONS,
FEELINGS,
INTUITION
I do not like this idea at all
My feeling is that this simply will not work
My intuition is that it will be disastrous
I feel it is a waste of time
+
^
-
Not obliged to say why you feel what
you feel
BLACK HAT
CRITICAL THINKING
careful!
Risk assessment
BLACK HAT:
It points out:
dangers, faults, problems
Does this fit our values?
Does this fit our resources?
Does this fit our strategy and
objectives?
Does this fit our abilities?
To indicate a fault in logic
To point out incorrect information
To point out faults and weaknesses
To point out why something does not fit
To point out the “downside”
To point out potential problems
NOT OVERUSE
YELLOW HAT:
VALUE SENSITIVITY
THE LOGICAL POSITIVE
Values, Benefits,
That’s why it should
work!
Optimism
The glass is half full!
see the unseen beauty!
YELLOW HAT:
VALUE SENSITIVITY:
GREEN HAT:
THE INVITATION TO
CREATIVITY
Be Creative or
Be Quiet
NEW IDEAS,
ALTERNATIVES,
POSSIBILITIES,
DESIGNS,
HYPOTHESIS
(PRESOCRATICS)
VISIONS
The balance of neurotransmitters
from ego behavior to a co-operative,
constructive thinker
Easy to teach- easy to learn
A symbology for swift in thinking
Impersonal
Strong
fast
All wear the same hat
Everyone is looking at the same
direction
We do not change the person/
behavior
USE: occasional use of a hat for a
specific subject
Systematic: all hats in sequence
(Time management if needed)
When using the hats systematically:
Pre-set approach of sequence
Evolving: you choose the next hat
after you have finished with the
previous one
START with the BLUE HAT
THE DECISION has been made by
itself
It is self-evident
In assessment
Yellow> Black> Green