Six Thinking Hats

Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats is used to bring different perspectives to your thinking process in a systematic way.

Steps
3
Last edited
Apr 19, 2023
Created by
Nova

About this process

Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats is used to bring different perspectives to your thinking process in a systematic way. It is also a good exercise for a team in that it trains team members to use alternative ways of thinking more often. For example, those who tend to think about problems can learn to think about possibilities and vice versa. Created by: Edward de Bono Recommended Book: The Six Thinking Hats, Edward de Bono

The process in detail

3 steps
  1. 1

    Choose a Hat

  2. 2

    Discuss / add your input

  3. 3

    Compile best ideas

Read the full text
1. Choose a Hat

Choose a hat from the card deck at the bottom of this step. That is the hat you will be using during discussion moving forward. A hat is used to emphasize a certain way of thinking or to switch to a different style of thinking when you get stuck during a brainstorm session or meeting. Before and after using the hat, the conversation is a typical discussion. Additional Tips For Using Hats Allow limitless time for white hat discussions when a lot of information needs to be digested, but keep the thinking focused on the subject. Be flexible with green hat thinking. Switch to a different hat once the flow of ideas has stopped. You can always come back to the green hat later on. Restrict red hat thinking to 30 seconds to prevent people from wanting to explain or justify their feelings. Only allow more time when intuition and feelings are a major issue in the subject of study. For example, you may want to extend time for the red hat when discussing how a customer feels. The hats represent a style of thinking. They do not describe people, thinking habits or thoughts.

2. Discuss / add your input

Add your input on the subject under discussion to the board below. Make sure to discuss based on the hat you are using for the discussion. If this session of Six Thinking Hats is ongoing over a number of days, add to the board on an ongoing basis.

Work on the whiteboardDiscussion, Discovery and Evaluation
3. Compile best ideas

The team should condense the best ideas from the previous steps to be carried forward in other sessions, and add to the session output.

Write a note
Discussion, Discovery and Evaluation
  • This is a sticky note.
  • Name
  • Name
  • Name
  • Name
  • Name
  • Name
  • This is a sticky note.
  • This is a sticky note.
  • This is a sticky note.
  • This is a sticky note.
  • This is a sticky note.
  • This is a sticky note.
  • This is a sticky note.
  • This is a sticky note.
  • This is a sticky note.
  • This is a sticky note.
  • This is a sticky note.
  • This is a sticky note.
  • This is a sticky note.
  • This is a sticky note.
  • This is a sticky note.
  • This is a sticky note.
  • This is a sticky note.
Use this process
Capabilities
Fully editableAdapts as work changesAdd more sessions anytimeAI can be assigned
N
Created byNova·Official process
Last edited Apr 19, 2023·3 steps