De Bono’s Thinking Hats
This week I’m sharing a reference to the De Bono 6 Thinking Hats process.
De Bono:
It’s a simple, effective parallel thinking process that helps people be more productive, focused, and mindfully involved. A powerful tool set, which once learned can be applied immediately! You and your team members can learn how to separate thinking into six clear functions and roles. Each thinking role is identified with a coloured symbolic "thinking hat." By mentally wearing and switching "hats," you can easily focus or redirect thoughts, the conversation, or the meeting. You can use this approach to be more empathetic, encourage more creative thinking, and present a well-rounded analysis of any problem. You can actively try to wear all hats in your work or target specific hats if that’s a development area for you. I’ll be using this concept in some upcoming workshops so please get across the model if you’re not already.
The White Hat calls for information known or needed. "The facts, just the facts."
E.g. the evidence or trend data shows that…
The Yellow Hat symbolizes brightness and optimism. Under this hat you explore the positives and probe for value and benefit.
E.g. this is going to work and make things better by…
The Black Hat is judgment - the devil's advocate or why something may not work. Spot the difficulties and dangers; where things might go wrong. Probably the most powerful and useful of the Hats but a problem if overused.
E.g. this won’t work or make things worse by…
The Red Hat signifies feelings, hunches and intuition. When using this hat you can express emotions and feelings and share fears, likes, dislikes, loves, and hates.
E.g. I feel like this is the right thing to do or doing this will make people feel…
The Green Hat focuses on creativity; the possibilities, alternatives, and new ideas. It's an opportunity to express new concepts and new perceptions.
E.g. what if we did something completely different like…
The Blue Hat is used to manage the thinking process. It's the control mechanism that ensures the Six Thinking Hats® guidelines are observed.
E.g. taking all things into account the overall best course of action appears to be…, or
E.g. I’m hearing why this will work but what about reasons it might not work…
http://www.debonogroup.com/six_thinking_hats.php
https://www.debono.com/six-thinking-hats-summary
Happy thinking! 😊