“We may have a perfectly adequate way of doing something, but that does not mean there cannot be a better way.” ― Edward De Bono, Six Thinking Hats
There is some contention about the origins of this tool. The School of Thinking created the six Thinking Caps in the early 1980s while Edward de Bono published Six Thinking Hats in 1985. Both tools use the idea of purposefully using different modes of thinking. The contributions made by the School of Thinking are acknowledged and their creative idea of a seventh Grey Hat for Wisdom is appreciated.
The purpose of the Six Thinking Hats is to unscramble thinking so a thinker can use one thinking mode at a time. Instead of wasting time in argument or drifting discussion, a brisk and disciplined approach is used. Without the formality of the hats, some thinkers would remain permanently stuck in one mode (usually the black hat mode). Below are descriptions of the type of thinking associated with each ‘hat’.
Black Hat Logical negatives, Devil’s Advocate Why it won’t work
The black hat thinker points out risks and dangers. Black hat thinking may point out the errors in the thinking procedure and itself. Black hat thinking may project an idea into the future to see what might fail or go wrong. Black hat thinking can ask ‘negative questions’. Black hat thinking should not be used to cover negative indulgence or negative feelings (red hat).
Yellow Hat
Logical positives, optimistic, constructive
Yellow hat thinking probes and explores for value and benefit, and then strives to find logical support for this value and benefit. IT is constructive and generative. From yellow hat thinking comes concrete proposals and suggestions. It is concerned with ‘making things happen’.
White Hat
Pure facts, data, figures and information
When wearing the white thinking hat, the thinker should imitate a computer. White hat thinking is a discipline and a direction. The thinker strives to be more neutral and more objective in the presentation of information.
Red Hat
Emotions and feelings, hunches and intuition
The red hat allows the thinker to say “This is how I feel about the matter”. It provides a convenient method for a thinker to switch in and out of the ‘feeling’ mode in a way that is not possible without such a device. The red hat allows a thinker to explore the feelings of others by asking for a ‘red hat review’. When a thinker is using the red hat there should never be any attempt to justify the feelings or to provide a logical basis for them.
Green Hat
Creative, provocative, go beyond the obvious
The person who puts on the green hat is going to use creative thinking. The search for alternatives is a fundamental aspect of green hat thinking. There is a need to go beyond the known, the obvious and the satisfactory. Provocation is an important part of green hat thinking.
Blue Hat
Summaries, overviews, thinking about the thinking generated by the other hats
The blue hat thinker organises the thinking itself – “thinking about the thinking needed to explore the subject”. The blue hat thinker calls for the use of other hats. A blue hat thinker sets the focus, defines the problems and shapes the questions. Blue hat thinking is responsible for summaries, overviews and conclusions.
Sequencing
The sequence in which the hats are used is important. The sequence most supportive of the creation and synthesis phases in Continuous Improvement and Innovation is: