The hats represent sixthinking strategies.

De Bono championed the cause which drove the creative

prooesses in individuals. He would often hypothesi
one or two ofthe approaches and that people devel
those approaches. De Bono believed that iithe vari
their use developed which could be taughq that pe(
collaborating within groups and teams by deliben*,
As a result of his investigations, de Bono was able to describe aprocess of deliberately adopting a
particular
approach to a problem
as an implementation
of parallei thinking, as well * * uio to lateral
thinking. Six different approaches are descri
^,1,
imd each is symbolised u], *re u"t Jprrttirrg on
"
colored hat, either actually or imaginatively. This he suggests can be done either by io'ai"ic"ur.
working alone or in groups.
The Red Hat represents.llgtional
thinking. The'fellow Hat represents
positive
thinking. The Black
Hat represents critical thinking and more. The white Hat is purlly the facts. The Green Hat is
Creative thinking. The Blue Hat represents the Big Picture, sort oitooking at it from all the viewpoints.
Edward De Bono offers an interesting manual on fire process
ofthinking. Hs srrggests and
p-ersuasively
argues thllkegnrne our thoughts ordered and divided between the
i'5ix
Thinking Hats,,
allows us to be more effective with our decision making.
Each hat has a time and a place during the decisiorn making process, the white hat is neuftal, red is for
our passionate
and sometimes irrational emotions, etc etc.
Quotes:
'The
difference between a good thinker and a poor: thinker often lies int he ability to focus.,,
"There may be very powerful positive points that me not at all obvious... that is how entreprenuers
work. They see the value that those around them have not yet spotted. value and benefite i. oy oo
means always obvious."
"The
good thinker is supposed to be cool and detached and not influenced by emotion. The good
thinker is supposed to be objective and to consider the facts in their own rigirt and not for their
relevance to his or her emotional needs... yet any good decision must be emofional in the end. ...
Fmotions
give relevance to our thinking and fit that thinking to our needs and the contexf of tle
moment.tt
"Thinking can change emotions. It is not the logical part of thinking that changes emotions but the
perceptual part. If we see something differently, ouLr emotions may-alter with fre altered perception."
"Truth and facts are not as closely relatedas most people seem to imagine. Truth is related to a word-
garne system known as philosophy. Facts are related to checkable e*pE ience. ... If every swan we
happen to see is white, can we make the bold statement that
'all
swans are white"? We can and we
do.
".
The first black swan we see makes the statement untrue... Unless we choose to call the black
swan something else. Now it becomes a matter of words and definitions. IF we choose to keep
whiteness as an essential part ofthe definition of a swan, then the black swan is something else. If we
drop whiteness as an essential part of the definition, then we can include the black r*-...-It i, th"
design and manipulation of such definitions thaf is fhe essence of philosophy."
!9
lono's six thinking hats covers the different mind-sets for the thinker. He explains the need for
different types of thinking processes,
each type of thinking ry*uotizeo by wearing a ditrerent hat. The
book is filled with amusing ideas and interesting philosopty
abo;Airki;g.
It is a-easy read. I believe
that
ifthe
logic ofthis book is followed before m,iti"g iritpo.t*t decisions, one will never rush into a
conclusion they are not prepared
for. some people in tire ire born with the ability to think....or they
lave fud
much practice....-others
follow the-progam previously
set in place o, *hut they are told.
Practice thinking and you can become a six hat tttinter. Read this book a let a thinker...De
Bono....teach you how powerful your mind can brrcome
One ofthe most interesting aspects of writing agt'eatdeal is that I've found that writing works much
better if you break it dov_vn into littler pieces. Fi.st co-es the brainstonning: what basic-idea is behind
this piece? What basic elements do I need to convey? Then, organi zation:what order should these
pieces go in? How can I .*:
T
orderly progression
from the-basie understanding at the start to a
new understandrng at the end? Thcn, application: how can I make it seem real and-tangible? Then,
criticism: what's wrong with the ideas, and how can I improve them? Theq finally, t fote the whole
thing' taking all of those little pieces and combining tlrem rogether into r;"thidfto;irlly)
smootla
readable, and thought provoking.
Discovering this process on my own over time was exciting. Sure, it,s an extension of the writing
process I leamed from myhigh school English teacher, buithen it was just
a process to follow, not
really something that I rmderstood as an aid t9 malkg my thinking ana writingtetter. It was exciting
because, by breaking it down in this fashion, it mo:de me thinh i a certain way abod each stage of rhe
writing, almost as if I were using a completely diffbrent part of my brain.
This is almost exactly the premise of Edward de B<
of the book is that problems are best solved by th
intentionally looking at the problem
and the soh
switching to new angles. He refers to these..angle
of thinking about a situation.
Using the llats
Obviously, the "six hats" metaphor is intended to indicate six different ways of looking at a problem.
De Bono suggests a bunch of different ways to use the hats: individually oi in groups,iingty
or in
sequence, and in varying sequence. The real key is to realizn that when yoo .uo ioio-"
"daOUto"t
i,
solving a problem, putting on a different
(hat'
might help
-
in otheiwords, step back and make a
tangible effort to look at the problem in a specific way. In other words, when you'rl stuclq try one of
the following six approaches (or have someone elsre apply that approach) to tackle the problem.
Each of the sections below offers a ton of examples and supporting information for each way of
thinking about a problenl well worth reading through if you're intrigued.
TheWhite IIat
The white hat refers to the simple gathering
of factl. It's neutral and objective. All you,re tryrng to do
with the white hat is
just gather information.
I put on the white hat wten I'm researching something. If I come to a spot where I realize I'm out of
my realm of expertise, it's time to step back and
jur;t
gather facts and look at them to see that I
q
{elstand
what they're
_saying,
then perhaps go back and gather more facts. If I,m at the library, the
white hat is on. If I'm doing intense reading the white hat ii usualty on.
The Red Hat
Red hat thinking is geared towmd the emofional side of things. How does this particular
fact make you
feel? What is your emotional response to the siturfion?
I use the red hat when I'm thinking of real-life examples of how something,s going to work"
particularly when it m1 family or myself.
'when-['m
lvriting a heartfelt-aneidote
about my
children or my grandfather,
relating those facts to their lives, the tJO nut is firmly in place.
The BlackEat
The black hat comes around when you're playing the devil's advocate, trying hard to find flaws in
thinking and being very carefirl about absorbing new ideas. The critic *"urs trt" black hat constantly,
making what he or she is reviewing win fiem over by overcoming the negatives.
My black hat comes out of the closet when I've collected the facts I need for an article and have
aLeady decided on how it will progress. At that grinq I try hard to pick some holes in it. What,s
wrong with this article? Will it be uny good? Does this idia make sense? Is it actually supported?
Does this piece actually fit with else? I'm tryingtopoke holes in things, in orfu to ..t"
the end solution better.
The Yellow Hat
The yellow hat is the
'opositive
thinking'hat, looking at the best possible outcome of the situation.
Yellow is almost the opposite of the blaclq because wttite btact looks for the problems, y"tto* toot*
for the best case scenario, the reason why all of thiis will pull together and work" and the big rewards
when it does click.
I use the yellow hat when I see the message gettrql lost in negativity. In the end" personal finance is a
positive thing, but there are many negative pieces tn the pvzzle. fvn* something feels overly negative,
I put on the yellow hat and see where it fits in a bncader iontext of positive persJnal finances.
The Grcen Hat
The green hat is the brainstorming ha! where you.iust pull out ideas and throw them on the table. It
doesn't matter whether they're good or not (black lhat will work on that) or whethet tfr"V te supported
(whife hat, please!). The purpose is simply to get some fresh ideas out there.
Most of my posts start offwith the green hat
-
the5r begin as
jottings
in my notebook. I try to wear the
green hat as much as possible, looking everywhere for ideas and recording them when they come up.
In fact' my green hat is usually on whenever I'm not actively engaged in the process of writing
-
t'm
just
brainstorming along the path of life.
The Blue Hat
The blue hat is all about organizing and planning. l\re things in a sensible order? What sort of
shucture needs to be here to complete the projecfl Does the first step go before the second step?
I use the blue hat when I pick out brainstormed ideras (from my green hat thinking) and combinethem
with facts that I've researched (white hat thinking). These need io come togetherln ,ome sensible
order
-
how do the facts line up to present a case? l. also use my blue hat wlen actually planning
my
daily schedule.
Some Thoughw On Six Thinhins Eats
More than anything eke f've ever read, the
6six
thinking hats" metaphor reauy clicked with
how I thinlc I had never considered it in the sense of discrete ways of
^ort'inking
before, but nem$ ttre
entire book made sense to me. Prior to it, I had focused mostly on creative thougtrt
-
green hat stuff-
but I hadn't considered how important the other hats were and how I had to use them all to really pull
things together.
The author needs to get his ego in check a bit
rWhile
there is a lot of compelling information here,
the preface
is almost insufferable. "The Six Thinking Hats method may weli be thi most important
change in human thinkinq fo-t ft9 past twenty three f,undred years."
come on, that,s a bit over the top.
It almost made me close the book right then and tlhere.
Ifrtf"
conceptually g,|pr-the
metaphor goes a ilittle far. Some of the examples of howto use the
hats in meetings go a littlg far. Literally mentionimg the hats is a bit over ttre top, and I canot conceive
of people actually doing that. While it makes for ar great mefaphor within the bbok, I,m not sure it
sfretches into the real world.
Is Six Thinkine Hoe Wonh Reading?
Six Thinkinq Hats rs avery compelling boolq broken down into perfect little bite sized pieces for
contemplation. The overall concept that de Bono lays down, about how to separate out the pieces
of
your thought prooess ald puletrol into using
liffiorent
aspects or varying rp'th;
"J;i,
u"".y
shong one, indee4 and matches the way I think better than any other-book I^'ve read.
!9cryse
of that' I'd say Six ThinkingHats is worthwhile reading for anyonein a career that
gtilizes
thinking skills.
That doesn't mean I think that everything in it is right on. The book takes using the metaphor a bit far.
While the tools can be very useful within yo* owrihead
-
and can be very useful when used in
conjunction with others
*
sitting in a meeting talking about "putting on your redhaf, doesn,t really
help anyone at all. In shorl utilize what the book says in betweeiyour olwn ears more then
anywhere else. Make an effort to understand how you're thinking and try hard to slip on a different
hat on occasion
-
it can really help.
Book Review: Six Thinking llats
Edward de Bono believes thinking is a skill that can be improved. He provides shategies for doing so
in his book "Six Thinking Hats". According to de Bono tlre problem we face with ogi with tftiof.iig is
*We
tY to do too much at once, Emotions, information, logii, hope and creativity all crowd in on
us. It's like juggling
with too many balls.,,
To avoid this jumbled
ttinkinq de Bono proposes tlhat when you approach a problem you play only
one of five roles at any glven time. Namely pretendt to be a persontirat
thinks only:
.
Factually
o
Emotionally,
o
Pessimistically,
r
Optimistically, or
o
Creatively.
One of the key assumptions of the book is that thinlcing is a tearn sport. De Bono proposes that each
member of ateam wear one of the five
'ohdlq"
mentioned above andthe thinking o"""o as a group
discussion. The facilitator of the thinking team weaxs the "sixth hat'and guides the team. It is the
facilitator's job
to set the stage for a productive sessiion and make sure thJteam stays focused.
we have used de Bono's techriques in orn facilitafied brain*orming
helo raise ideas trat might not e,nerge using othr brainstorminit]
techniques useful witho't a bam. rus pernitting yo'rself
soml
five hals can help yorn thought process-
If the book has a down side it is in its description of the
.osixth'
hd
-
tt
describes what the mleis it doesn't do a great;ou
of describing how to
is something
rhat's
hafd to learn ftom a boolc
The book has been ors over 20 yarsnorv
but it techniques are timele
to read it (again?)
and bring the techniques to your nexbrainstorming
role.
this role.
an eapyread. it's
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