It was the simplest of exercises. You take a piece of paper and fold it a few times and voila, you get a paper hat. I practiced multiple times before introducing it in one of my classes, where I just couldn’t make it work. Eventually I figured out my mistake and everyone ended up with their own paper hat. The entire reason I struggled to get people involved was to introduce a conflict-free, highly effective strategy in problem solving and creative thinking: Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats concept.
De Bono, a physician, psychologist and philosopher, wrote Six Thinking Hats in 1985 to help groups examine an issue from different perspectives. The great thing about this concept is that people aren’t tied to one approach; it allows people to communicate and look at decision making from a variety of perspectives without apologies or excuses.
Briefly, here’s what happens when you put on each hat:
[ White hat thinking is all about facts. It is logical, evaluative thinking and creates a framework for exactly what is known. No opinions here. ]
Black hat thinking is all about what could go wrong, and is a cautious, conservative perspective. It is often seen as the most important hat.
Red hat thinking is all about emotion, gut feelings and preferences. Here, with no apology, one can say, “I have a feeling they won’t go for it.” Or “I just like him and I can’t tell you why, there’s something about him I trust.” Emotion and feelings are typically either avoided in meetings or are introduced with apology.
Green hat thinking is all about possibilities, alternatives, creativity and new ideas. You can go as far as you want with out-of-the-box concepts when wearing this hat.
Yellow hat thinking is positive thinking, with logic. What are the benefits and value. You’re an optimist when wearing this hat.
Blue hat thinking is about managing all the other hats and being in control. Blue hats set agendas, ensure guidelines are observed and discuss summaries, conclusions and decisions.
As an example, you’re in a meeting and the facilitator says, “OK we need some red hat thinking people, we’ve already gone over the facts but we’re still a long way from reaching a decision.” Or you’ve got a wild, enthusiastic group of people ready to move forward and the boss says “Before we sign the contract, let’s at least put on our black hats and make sure we’re not missing anything.” This concept also allows people to say things like “I’m putting on my yellow hat here, and I see a great deal of potential when we factor in…”
Bottom line, six hat thinking allows everyone to have a say without being labeled, helps people see outside their own perspectives, and can really produce some amazing results, whether you opt to create your own paper hats or not. I’m going to put on my red hat here and say I really feel like this gets people involved in a variety of ways, and is definitely worth checking out.
