De Bono Thinking Training Tutorial. Six Thinking Hats: Six Thinking Hats

Author: Edward de Bono
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-07-01
Features: What truly brought Edward de Bono's lateral thinking theory recognition, promotion, and application was a thinking method and training model he developed based on this theory: Six Thinking Hats. He believed that when people insist on their own views being right from different perspectives, discussions are ineffective. A meeting can easily turn into an antagonistic debate. The two sides in the argument usually lock themselves into their positions, showing more interest in winning or losing the debate than in exploring the issue. If someone disagrees with an idea, they won't make an effort to find arguments in favor of it—and vice versa. Therefore, only by separating the thinker's personal attitude from their thinking methods can the thinker overcome emotional contagion, avoid wasting time on mutual arguments, and make the discussion effective. The Six Thinking Hats method separates different aspects of thinking and analyzes and discusses different sides of the problem in turn, with the aim of finding the correct solution. The six different colors represent six different aspects of discussing the same problem.
White Hat: Objective examination of materials and information;
Red Hat: Analysis of feelings and intuitive reasoning;
Black Hat: Discussion of risks;
Yellow Hat: Analysis of benefits;
Green Hat: Generating new ideas;
Blue Hat: Controlling the thinking process.
The chairperson (the person wearing the "Blue Hat") can ask participants to wear the same-colored "hat" simultaneously to express opinions on one aspect of the problem. For example, when everyone is wearing the "Yellow Hat," even those who disagree with a certain viewpoint must make an effort to explore the potential benefits of that viewpoint. This thinking management tool thus avoids criticism, debate, and opposition, while being constructive, design-oriented, innovative, and creative. Many world-renowned companies, such as Microsoft, Motorola, Panasonic, McDonald's, IBM, DuPont, Boeing, and Ericsson, use this method to train managers at all levels.