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Creative Problem Solving

with
Six Thinking Hats
Edward deBono’s
parallel thinking in
problem solving

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The Basics
• There are six different imaginary hats that you can
put on or take off.
• Think of the “hats” as thinking icons.
• Each hat is a different color and represents a
different type or mode of thinking.
• We all wear the same hat (do the same type of
thinking) at the same time.
• When we change hats - we change our thinking.

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What does each Hat mean?
White Hat Data, Facts, Information known or needed.

Red Hat Feelings. Emotions and Intuition.

Yellow Hat Values and Benefits- Why something may


work. (Advantages)
Black Hat Difficulties, potential problems- why something
may not work. (Disadvantages)
Green Hat Creativity- possibilities, alternatives, solutions,
new ideas.
Blue Hat Manages the thinking process, focus, next
steps, action plans.
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Simplifies thinking by having to deal
with one thing at a time

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Benefits of Six Thinking Hats
• Provides a common language
• Experience & intelligence of each person
(Diversity of thought)
• Use more of our brains
• Helps people work against type, preference
• Removal of ego (reduce confrontation)
• Save time
• Focus (one thing at a time)
• Create, evaluate & implement action plans

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The blue hat role
• Control of thinking & the process
• Begin & end session with blue hat
• Facilitator, session leader’s role:
– open, sequence, close
– Focus: what should we be thinking about
– Asking the right questions
– Defining & clarifying the problem
– Setting the thinking tasks

6
Thinking Process
• Why we are here
• what we are thinking about
• Definition of the situation or problem
• Alternative definitions
• what we want to achieve
• where we want to end up
• The background to the thinking
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Closing Brainstorming Session:
What we want to take away
• What we have achieved
• Outcome
• Conclusion
• Design
• Solution
• Next steps

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Summary of The
Facilitator’s Role:
• Define the focus of the thinking
• Plan the sequence and timing of the
thinking
• Ask for changes in the thinking if needed
• Handle requests from the group for changes
in the thinking
• Form periodic or final summaries of the
thinking for consideration by the team
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Participant’s Role
• Follow the lead of the facilitator
• Stick to the hat (type of thinking) that is in
current use
• Try to work within the time limits
• Contribute honestly & fully under each of
the hats
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White Hat Thinking
• Neutral, objective information
• Facts & figures
• Questions: what do we know, what
don’t we know, what do we need
to know
• Excludes opinions, judgments
• Removes feelings & impressions

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Green Hat Thinking
• New ideas, concepts, perceptions
• Deliberate creation of new ideas
• Alternatives and more alternatives
• New approaches to problems
• Creative & lateral thinking

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Yellow Hat Thinking
• Positive & speculative
• Positive thinking, optimism, opportunity
• Benefits
• Best-case scenarios
• Exploration

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Black Hat Thinking
• Cautious and careful
• Logical negative – why it won’t work
• Critical judgement, pessimistic view
• Separates logical negative from emotional
• Focus on errors, evidence, conclusions
• Logical & truthful, but not necessarily fair

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Red Hat Thinking
• Emotions & feelings
• Hunches, intuitions, impressions
• Doesn’t have to be logical or consistent
• No justifications, reasons or basis
• All decisions are emotional in the end

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Hats sequence in meetings
Facilitator (Blue Hat)
Open Session
Focus: what should we be thinking about
Asking the right questions
Defining & clarifying the problem
Setting the thinking tasks

1. Present the facts of the case (White Hat).


2. Generate ideas on how the case could be handled (Green Hat).
3. Evaluate the merits of the ideas, List benefits (Yellow Hat).
4. List drawbacks (Black Hat).
5. Get everybody's gut feeling about the alternatives (Red Hat).
6. Summarize (Blue Hat).

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