Six Thinking Hats by Edward De Bono

Date finished 07 Nov 2020

This is a simple method for approaching decisions that forces everyone to look from different angles, one at a time. The concept is great and I’d highly recommend this book as a way to raise awareness of the different ways of looking at problems. The book is short and it could be shorter. In practice the approach can seem infantilising, although I’m sure as de Bono claims, for some groups the method has worked wonders. For me the value is in its use on a personal level; noticing the different perspectives and using them…without annoying everyone by talking about hats.

My notes

• Summary

  • Use Parallel Thinking to arrive at faster, better decisions.
    • the hats are different directions.
    • at any moment everyone is looking in the same direction.
    • the hats are not descriptions of people but modes of behaviour.
    • everyone wears the same hat at an appointed time.
  • Results this provides:
    • power, through focussing everyone’s energy in the same direction.
    • time saving, less arguments and posturing.
    • removal of ego from the equation.
    • consider one thing at a time.
  • The neutrality of the hats allows them to be used without embarrassment.
    • White hat. White is neutral and objective. The White hat is concerned with objective facts and figures.
    • Red Hat. Red suggests anger, rage and emotions. The Red hat gives the emotional view.
    • Black hat. Black is sombre and serious. The black hat is cautious and careful. It points out the weaknesses in an idea.
    • Yellow hat. Yellow is sunny and positive. The yellow hat is optimistic and covers hope and positive thinking.
    • Green hat. Green is grass, vegetation and abundant, fertile growth. The green hat indicates creativity and new ideas.
    • Blue hat. Blue is cool and is also the colour of the sky, which is above everything else. The blue hat is concerned with control, the organisation of the thinking process and the use of other hats.
  • The hats can be used singly to request a type of thinking. Or, the hats can be used in sequence to explore a subject or solve a problem.
    • Blue hat should be used like two bookends
      • Before
        • why we are here.
        • what we are thinking about.
        • the definition of the situation or problem.
        • alternate definitions.
        • what we want to achieve.
        • where we want to end up.
        • the background to the thinking and.
        • a plan for the sequence of hats to be used.
      • After
        • what we have achieved.
        • outcome.
        • conclusion.
        • design.
        • solution.
        • next steps.
    • Red hat may follow to get emotions on the table - but not the boss for want of making others follow
    • In an assessment situation put the Yellow hat before the black hat because if you can’t find much value in an idea there’s no point in proceeding further

• Using the hats

  • White hat
    • Focus exclusively on information
      • what info do we have?
      • what do we need?
      • what’s missing?
      • what questions do we need to ask?
      • hard facts and soft, opinions and feelings (reporting someone else’s, your own is for red hat)
      • define the info that’s missing!
    • Used at the beginning as background or end as assessment.
    • Neutral, reports on the world.
    • Separates fact from extrapolation or interpretation.
    • There are believed facts and checked facts. the merely believed are second class. The important point is the use to which the facts are put. Before using it for the basis of a decision we need to check it.
    • We need the belief tier because the tentative, the hypothetical and provocative are essential for thinking. They provide the frameworks which move ahead of the facts.
    • Your own opinion isn’t permissible- you can report the opinion of someone else.
    • Japanese style meetings. No one puts forward a ready-made idea. Information is offered in Whitehat fashion. The Japanese notion is that ideas emerge as seedlings, nurtured and allowed to grow into shape. in contrast with the western notion that ideas should be hammered into shape by argument.
    • The spectrum of [[likelihood]]may be expressed as follows: Always true. Usually true. Generally true. By and large. More often than not. About half the time. Often. Sometimes true. Occasionally true. Been known to happen. Never true. Cannot be true (contradictory).
    • Who puts on the hat?
      • Put on your own hat. Ask someone to put on the hat. Ask everyone to put on the white hat. Choose to answer with the hat on.
• Red hat
  • Gives you an opportunity to express feelings, emotions and intuition without any need to explain or to justify them.
  • Must relate to a specific idea. the thinker can’t change the idea.
  • Individuals should not be allowed to say “pass“ when they are asked for their Red Hat feelings. They can use terms like neutral, undecided, confused, doubtful or mixed. If feelings are defined as mixed then the facilitator may ask what goes into the mix. The purpose of the Red Hat is to express feelings as they exist not to force a judgement.
  • Emotions and feelings are the opposite of neutral, objective information. They’re hunches, intuitions, impressions. There is no need to justify. No need to give reasons or the basis.
  • If emotions and feelings aren’t permitted as inputs into the thinking process they will lurk in the background and affect all the thinking in a hidden way. Emotions, feelings, hunches and intuitions are strong and real. The Red Hat acknowledges this.
  • Opinions may be expressed under red, black or yellow hats. When the red hat is used, it is best to express an opinion as a feeling.
  • Used for reacting and getting upset. To show that this is what I feel about this meeting. Anyone who feels the need to be emotional has a defined way of doing so. Use this as a way to find out the feelings of others without guessing; you can ask them directly to put their red hat on and give you their opinion.
• Black hat
  • For caution. Stop us doing something illegal, dangerous, unprofitable etc.
  • The basis of critical thinking. Points out when something is contradictory or inconsistent.
  • Points out how something does not fit our resources, or policy, or strategy, or ethics, values, and so forth.
  • Always must be a logical basis for criticism.
  • In its “design” role, the black hat points out the weaknesses in an idea so that those weaknesses can be put right.
  • Content and process; point out errors in thinking. Question the strength of the evidence. Does the conclusion follow? Is it the only possible conclusion?
  • To avoid interactions during the process the thinker should note and accumulate the main points of criticism and put them forward only when the black hat is in use.
  • At the end there should be a clear map of possible problems, obstacles, difficulties and dangers. These can be clarified and elaborated. Under the green hat and attempt is made to overcome or cope with the difficulties suggested under the black hat.
  • The past and the future. What is likely to happen in the future? Does this fit past experience? What are the risks?
  • The problem of overuse; it’s easy to be critical. Some people enjoy being only critical. The need to contribute.
  • Black hat thinking is not about arguments and must not be allowed to generate into argument. The purpose of black hat thinking is to put the caution points on the map.
• Yellow hat
  • Optimism. Positive thinking. Sunshine and brightness. Focus on benefit. Constructive thinking and making things happen. The thinker sets out to find whatever benefit there might be in a decision and how to put it into practice.
  • Harder to use than the black hat, people naturally think of dangers.
  • Should be logically based.
  • Self interest is a strong basis for positive thinking. The yellow hat does not have to await such motivations.
  • Optimistic suggestions should be noted and put on the map. No reason to assess them before doing so; but worth labelling with a rough estimate of [[likelihood]]. #probability
    • Proven.
    • Very likely, based on experience and what we know.
    • Good chance - through a combination of different things.
    • Even chance.
    • No better than possible.
    • Remote or long shot.
  • Having it on the map means we have a choice.
  • Reasons and logical support; what is your positive view based on? Why do you think it will happen this way? Background reasons for the optimism.
  • Constructive thinking. making things happen. Proposals and suggestions.
  • Speculation. Looking into the future. The value of “if”. The best possible scenario.
  • Opportunity thinking.
  • You start with the best possible scenario because if the benefits aren’t sufficient with that then the idea is not worth pursuing.
  • The speculative aspect of yellow hat thinking is also concerned with vision.
  • Difference between constructive and creative. Yellow hat thinking is not directly concerned with creativity which is green hat thinking. A person can be an excellent yellow hat thinker and never have a new idea. The effective application of old ideas is a proper exercise of yellow heart thinking.
  • Can define an opportunity and leave it to green hat thinking to come up with some novel way of exploiting that opportunity.
• Green hat
  • Creativity, energy, growth.
  • Gives people that never thought of themselves as creative encouragement to start making a creative effort, increases their confidence and they therefore can contribute in a meaningful way.
  • It gives us possibilities. Without possibilities you cannot make progress. 2000 years ago, Chinese technology was way ahead of western technology. Then progress seemed to come to an end. The explanation often given is that the Chinese did not develop the hypothesis. Without this key piece of mental software it was impossible to make progress. Those that believe progress arises from the analysis of information and steps of logical deduction are totally wrong. Without the framework of possibilities we cannot see the information in new ways.
  • The green hat may be used to overcome some of the difficulties put forward under the black hat. It may suggest modifications to an idea to avoid the difficulties.
  • Creative thinking: new ideas, new concepts and new perceptions. The deliberate creation of new ideas. Alternatives and more alternatives. Change. New approaches to problems.
  • Lateral thinking in its relation to creativity. Humour and lateral thinking. Pattern switching in a self organising information system.
  • Movement instead of judgement. Using an idea is a stepping stone. Where does it take me? The forward effect of an idea. Movement as an active idiom. We use an idea for its movement value. With movement we use an idea for each forward effect. We use an idea to see where it will get us.
  • The need for provocation. Use of the word po. The logic of the absurd. Random provocation. We use provocations for their movement value. Po as an indicator that an idea was put forward as a provocation and for its movement value. The letters stand for provocative operation.
  • You can use random words as a po. To many people it may seem unthinkable that a random word could be value in solving a problem. Random means the the word has no special relationship. In the logic of an asymmetric patterning system, it is easy to see why a random word works. It provides a different starting point. As we chase our way back from that new starting point, we increase the chance of arriving back along the track we would never have taken when thinking about the subject directly.
  • Alternatives. The first answer may not be the best; we acknowledge it and can always go back to it; then we look for alternatives. We create routes; different levels of alternatives. We can look at alternatives within a route (or different routes altogether). “You ask me for alternative ways of loading the trucks. I’m going to tell you that it would make more sense to send your product by train”.
  • Personality and skill: changing masks is is easier than changing faces - putting on a different hat changes the mask. People take pride in the exercise of a skill.
  • What happens to the ideas: shaping and tailoring ideas. The concept manager.
  • The shaping of an idea is done by bringing in constraints. They are brought in as shapers and not as a rejection screen. Part of the creative process is to shape the idea so that it better fits the need profile of those who are going to have to buy the idea.
  • Steps: Collect the output from green hat thinking. Next is the yellow hat stage; this includes the constructive development of the idea, the positive assessment and the search for support of benefits and values. Black hat thinking comes next. At any stage white hat thinking can be called upon to supply data required for evaluating whether the idea will work and will be valuable if it does. Final stage: red hat thinking; do we like the idea enough to proceed further?
  • Green hat thinking is a mix of attitudes, idioms and techniques including movement, provocation and po for cutting across patterns in a self organising asymmetric patterning system. It is used to generate new concepts and perceptions.
• Blue hat
  • For thinking about thinking.
  • Control of thinking: thinking about thinking. Instructions for thinking. The organisation of thinking. Control of the other hats.
  • Focus: asking the right questions. Defining the problem. Setting the thinking tasks.
  • Programme design: step-by-step. Software for thinking. Choreography.
  • The blue hat customises the programme to fit the situation, just as a carpenter plans how he’s going to make a chair or a cabinet.
  • Summaries and conclusions: observation and overview. Comment. Summaries, conclusions, harvesting and reports.
  • Control and monitoring: the chairperson. Discipline and focus. Who is in charge?