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Six Thinking Hats®

Looking at a decision in different ways.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

What's your instinctive approach to decision making? If you're naturally optimistic, then chances are you don't always consider the potential downsides to a decision. Similarly, if you're very cautious, you might not focus on opportunities that could open up.

Whatever your gut tells you, the best decisions usually come after you've explored several ways of viewing a problem.

However, it's easy to feel confused if you try to consider multiple angles at once. And things can get even more complicated – even combative – if your whole team weighs in with different points of view.

"Six Thinking Hats" is a way of investigating an issue from a variety of perspectives, but in a clear, conflict-free way. It can be used by individuals or groups to move outside habitual ways of thinking, try out different approaches, and then think constructively about how to move forward.

In this article, we'll explain the principles behind the Six Thinking Hats technique and examine how it could improve decision making for you and your team.

Who Invented "Six Thinking Hats"?

The Six Thinking Hats approach was created by Edward de Bono , a Maltese physician, psychologist and philosopher. He used it in his work advising government agencies, but he also wanted it to be a practical tool for everyday problem solving. It first appeared in his 1985 book of the same name, which has since been revised several times. [1]

De Bono – who died in 2021 – was also the inventor of "lateral thinking," a method of solving problems indirectly, often in creative and surprising ways. Similarly, Six Thinking Hats is a way to understand and explore different types of thinking.

Six Thinking Hats for Decision Making

The Six Thinking Hats technique gets you to look at a problem in six different ways. It takes you and your team beyond any instinctive positions, so that you explore a range of perspectives. That way, you can carefully consider each one, without having to argue your case or make snap decisions about what's "right" or "wrong."

By the time you've tried out all six hats, you should have a rich collection of insights that will help you to decide your next steps.

Here's what each of the Six Thinking Hats represents:

Blue Hat: "the Conductor's Hat"

When you or your team are in blue hat mode, you focus on controlling your thinking and managing the decision-making process. You have an agenda, ask for summaries, and reach conclusions.

Green Hat: "the Creative Hat"

The green hat represents creative thinking. When you're "wearing" this hat, you explore a range of ideas and possible ways forward.

Red Hat: "the Hat for the Heart"

This hat represents feelings and instincts. When you're engaged in this type of thinking, you can express your feelings without having to justify them logically.

Yellow Hat: "the Optimist's Hat"

With yellow hat thinking, you look at issues in the most positive light possible. You accentuate the benefits and the added value that could come from your ideas.

Black Hat: "the Judge's Hat"

This hat is about being cautious and assessing risks. You employ critical judgment and explain exactly why you have concerns.

The black hat is one of the most powerful hats, but it's often overused. Make sure that you and your team can justify any critical or cautionary comments, so that this mode of thinking doesn't dominate your decision making.

White Hat: "the Factual Hat"

The white hat represents information gathering. Think about the knowledge and insights that you've collected already – but also the information you're missing, and where you can go to get it.

Reproduced with the permission of Penguin Random House U.K and the trademark and copyright holder deBono.com. To find out how to use the Six Thinking Hats®️ in teams please contact debono.com .

Some colors have cultural implications, so you may have to pick new colors for one or more of your hats. In China, for example, a green hat can mean an unfaithful spouse. And you might decide to change the black hat to grey, so as not to associate black with faultfinding.

It's fine to use any colors that are appropriate for you and your team – just as long as all six are different, and you stick with the same colors each time you use this technique.

There are several other decision-making techniques that explore problems from different angles.

The Reframing Matrix encourages you to try out a range of perspectives when you're designing a product or service. What are the key considerations from a marketing perspective, say, or from the point of view of your manufacturing team?

Constructive Controversy involves pitting different approaches against each other. This means that it's more combative than Six Thinking Hats. But it can also generate energy, help people to reconsider their positions, and result in well-tested decisions.

And Empathy Mapping is a useful tool when you want to understand the perspectives of key stakeholders, in order to incorporate them in your plans.

The Benefits of Six Thinking Hats

As well as improving the quality of your decisions, the Six Thinking Hats technique has some other benefits to offer:

More organized thinking. You can be confident that you've considered every angle, and it helps you to weigh up the information you obtain efficiently and accurately.

Improved creativity. It gets you to step away from your default positions and approaches. And comparing or combining different perspectives can sometimes spark novel thoughts .

Better thinking skills. It's a great way to strengthen important skills such as curiosity and critical thinking.

Stronger interpersonal skills. It encourages you to practice listening , questioning and answering . So it can also make you more persuasive, better at spotting when others need support, and more confident to resolve conflicts when they arise.

Greater inclusivity in teams. It requires people to set aside any preconceptions and to focus on seeing things from the same perspective for a while. Debate still happens, but it's based on shared understanding – which can help everyone to feel included.

It's important to remember that some members of your team might find some types of thinking challenging – possibly due to neurodivergence – and need reassurance or support. However, they may also excel while wearing particular hats! So use this technique as a chance to play to everyone's strengths.

De Bono's Six Thinking Hats is a powerful technique for looking at decision making from different perspectives.

It involves six distinct types of thinking, which you can do on your own or with your team. Each thinking style is represented by a different hat:

Blue Hat: organization and planning

Green Hat: creative thinking

Red Hat: feelings and instincts

Yellow Hat: benefits and values

Black Hat: risk assessment

White Hat: information gathering

By "wearing" each of the Six Thinking Hats in turn, you can gain a rich understanding of the issues you face – and the best ways forward. You also encourage everyone to be fully involved in the decision-making process.

[1] De Bono, E. (1999). “Six Thinking Hats: revised ed.,” New York: Back Bay Books.

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How to Lead a Six Thinking Hats Exercise (+Questions and Template)

Whether you’ve heard of the Six Thinking Hats before, consider this as your sign to give it a try for yourself at least once. Here’s why. Not only is it an exercise you can do as an individual or as part of a team, but it can also be applied to a wide variety of situations we encounter every day in the workplace. It’s as the founder of the concept, Dr. Edward de Bono, wrote in his book, “It is the sheer convenience of the Six Thinking Hats that is the main value of the concept.”

In the following article, we’ll provide you with a brief but straightforward explanation of the Six Thinking Hats, a list of questions, instructions on how to lead an exercise of your own, and a template to get you started. Let’s begin.

What Is the Six Thinking Hats Exercise?

The Six Thinking Hats is an exercise that can be used to make decisions, develop ideas, challenge assumptions, and spark conversation. Today, it is used by individuals, leaders, and teams around the world in all industries, including business and government.

Originally, the concept was published in the 1985 book, Six Thinking Hats by physician and psychologist Dr. Edward de Bono. In the book, Dr. de Bono explained, “In many cultures, there is already a strong association between thinking and ‘thinking hats’ or ‘caps’. The value of a hat as a symbol is that it indicates a role. Another advantage is that a hat can be put on or taken off with ease.”

How Do You Use the Six Thinking Hats in the Workplace?

The great thing about this exercise is that you can use it in countless different situations, whether with a group or on your own. In fact, here are a few of the most common use cases of the Six Thinking Hats in today’s workplace:

Decision-Making

The arguably most common use of the Six Thinking Hats exercise is during the decision-making process, prompting you to think about a decision from all angles and perspectives.

Debrief/Retrospective

Whether you’re debriefing a project, mistake , or problem, it can be difficult to get everything you need out of retrospective and post-mortem meetings . The Six Thinking Hats exercise is the ideal remedy for this, as it provides structure and ensures every perspective is covered.

Conflict Resolution

When dealing with a workplace conflict where all sides have dug in their heels, the Six Thinking Hats exercise can be used to get people thinking about the situation from a different perspective, which in turn, can make them more amenable to a resolution.

If you’ve come up with an innovative idea or solution, the Six Thinking Hats exercise will help you develop that idea further and come to a conclusion about whether or not it is an idea you want and are prepared to pursue.

Change Management 

After announcing a change initiative, you can use the Six Thinking Hats exercise to help gain buy-in and reduce resistance to change , as it makes people think about the initiative from a perspective they might not have otherwise.

What Do The Six Thinking Hats Stand For?

So, what are the six metaphorical thinking hats, exactly? Here is a brief overview of them and the specific role they play in this exercise:

Blue Hat - The Conductor

The blue hat focuses on translating the thinking of all the other hats into actionable steps. In his book, Dr. de Bono likens the blue hat to a conductor as “conductors get the best out of the orchestra by seeing that what should be done is done at the right time.”

• Where are we now?
• What conclusions can be drawn?
• What do we need to do next?
• Who needs to do what?

White Hat - The Voice of Reason

The white hat is objective and logical. It remains neutral by focusing on facts, data, and information that can be proven, not on offering ideas or opinions of its own.

• What information do I have?
• What do I know to be true?
• What information do I need to obtain?

Red Hat - The Instincts

The red hat leans into their emotions, feelings, instincts, and gut feeling. As Dr. de Bono points out, “Using the red hat gives you an opportunity to [these things] without any need to explain or to justify them.”

• How does this make me feel?
• What is my heart/gut telling me?
• What feels right/appropriate?
• What is making me feel this way?

Yellow Hat - The Optimist 

The yellow hat leans into the desire to “make things happen,” says Dr. de Bono. They are focused on being optimistic and finding value in the problem/decision/task at hand.

• Why is this a good idea?
• Why is this valuable? To whom is it valuable?
• What are the possible benefits/advantages?
• How can I/we make this work?

Black Hat - The Devil's Advocate

The black hat is the one that points out all the reasons why something won’t work. They are focused on foreseeing possible dangers, risks, consequences, difficulties, and roadblocks.

• Why won’t this work?
• What problems could this cause?
• What are the drawbacks/risks?
• Will this create problems or challenges? For who?

Green Hat - The Creative Thinker

The green hat asks, “What’s possible?” They are focused on finding creative, out-of-the-box solutions and alternatives.

• What haven’t I/we thought about?
• Are there any alternatives?
• How can I change/improve this?

Instructions: How To Lead a Six Thinking Hats Exercise

Given that this concept has been around for nearly 40 years, today, many opinions exist about the best way to lead a Six Thinking Hats exercise. While the instructions below are certainly one way to go about it, they aren’t your only option. We encourage you to experiment with them and make them your own over time so that they work as you need them for your team and workplace.

Step 1 - Establish the Order

Always starts and ends up with the blue hat. Beyond that, the rest of the hats have no right or wrong order. Here’s an example: Blue, White, Red, Yellow, Black, Green, Blue.

Step 2 - Allow Time For Prep

Give everyone time to collect their thoughts and make notes under the relevant hat using this Six Thinking Hats template .

Step 3 - Set a Time Limit

Before opening up the floor, set a time limit for each hat so that you don’t accidentally spend the entire time allotted for the exercise on only one or two of the six hats. Of course, if the discussion is going well for a particular hat, you can allow for extra time as needed.

Step 4 - Explain the Exercise

As the leader, outline the purpose of the exercise, explain the situation/decision/problem, set ground rules, and describe what you want to achieve by the end of the exercise.

Step 5 - Open the Floor For Discussion

Start the timer and open the floor for discussion. As the leader, it’s your job to ensure the discussion remains on the hat in question and does not deviate to another. It’s also up to you to capture everyone’s thoughts and take notes. If you’re conducting the exercise virtually, Google Docs or Canva Whiteboards will allow you to do this together in real time. Though, a whiteboard or a wall and some sticky notes will have a similar effect if you’re doing the exercise in person. If you choose the latter, just be sure to snap a picture at the end.

Step 6 - Work Through Each Hat

Repeat the previous step for each of the remaining hats.

Step 7 - Return To the Blue Hat

Once all the hats have been discussed, return to the blue hat so you can draw conclusions and assign any action items that came from the exercise.

Step 8 - Return to the Red Hat (Optional)

In his book, Dr. de Bono notes that, in some cases, you may want to return to the red hat one final time. He writes, “This final red hat reflects back on the ‘thinking performance’: What do we feel about our thinking? Are we happy with the outcome? Did we do a good job?”

Step 9 - Send a Copy to Participants

After the exercise, don’t forget to send a copy of the notes you took to everyone who participated.

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Six Thinking Hats: use parallel thinking to tackle tough decisions

Stuck in a stalemate? Try this time-honored technique on for size.

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Think back to the last major decision your team made together. Was there a struggle to get everyone to offer input? Did one person dominate the discussion? Did everyone quickly rally around one idea without exploring alternatives?

The brilliance of a diverse team is that each individual has unique perspectives to contribute to the larger picture. But tapping into those insights can be a challenge when multiple people are involved in a discussion – especially when a team is tasked with making a difficult decision.

If you’re seeking a more balanced, systematic approach that makes room for everyone’s voice, try the Six Thinking Hats. Below, we’ll explore this decision-making tool that teams at IBM and NASA have used to break down biases and tackle tough choices.

Six Thinking Hats: what is it and where did it come from?

Physician, psychologist, and author Edward de Bono conceived of the Six Thinking Hats and describes how it works in his 1985 book of the same name. In this role-playing exercise, participants “put on” six different metaphorical hats that each represent a certain type of thinking.

According to de Bono, the Six Thinking Hats method serves two main purposes:

• It eliminates confusion by focusing the discussion on one aspect of the decision at a time, such as potential risks or possible benefits.
• It encourages more expansive thinking so a person does not get boxed into only looking at the risks, or conversely, only focusing on the benefits.

De Bono asserts that Western thinking is based on an argument system, where one person makes a statement and another challenges it. The Six Thinking Hats offers an alternative: parallel thinking. 

“Parallel thinking means that at any moment everyone is looking in the same direction,” de Bono writes in Six Thinking Hats. While argument focuses on “what is,” parallel thinking looks at “what can be.”

By looking in the same direction at the same time, the entire team can collaborate on a solution and continuously move the discussion forward, instead of getting mired in debate, resulting in more balanced decision-making.

How it works

In his book, de Bono encourages the use of bits and pieces of his technique and its nomenclature in a variety of situations. You can use the hats in everyday workplace conversations as symbols to request a type of thinking. However, the Six Thinking Hats method as a formal, structured sequence (which we’ll describe below) is best suited for:

• Complicated or significant decisions
• Decision-making discussions involving multiple people
• Discussions in which you’re having a hard time getting everyone to participate (e.g., one person is doing most of the talking or a couple of people are hesitant to speak up).
• Brainstorming sessions where you need to cover all the bases and possibilities thoroughly
• Any situation where you want to explore options and ideas more holistically and be inclusive of everyone’s thoughts and feelings

Step 1: Define an issue to discuss. Six Thinking Hats sessions should be focused on a particular problem that needs to be solved or a decision that needs to be made.

Step 2: Assign the blue hat to one person. The blue hat is the meeting leader who starts and ends the discussion and announces when it’s time to change hats.

Step 3: As a group, go through each hat, one at a time. How much time should your team spend under each hat? De Bono recommends one minute per attendee. So if five people are present, dedicate five minutes total to each hat. If you need to go over, you can extend the time, but de Bono recommends keeping each “hat session” brief and focused. 

Step 4: Define the outcome. By the end of the session, your team should be able to make a decision and decide on the next steps.

The six hats defined

Let’s use an example to illustrate how a team might use the Six Thinking Hats to have more productive discussions and make better decisions faster, based on de Bono’s method.

With this problem statement in mind, let’s cycle through each of the six hats and show how they might be used to solve this issue.

🔵 Blue hat: moderator

When you think of the blue hat, think of the sky overhead: all-encompassing. Under the blue hat, you’ll be “thinking about thinking.”

More on the blue hat

One person wears the blue hat – in essence, acts as a moderator – for the entirety of the session, but all attendees are asked to participate in two “blue hat sessions”: one at the beginning of the discussion to frame the conversation and one at the end to define the outcome and next steps. All the other hats are “worn” by the whole group together.

Whoever puts on that blue hat is the neutral moderator who: 

• Kicks off and ends the meeting
• Frames the intent of the discussion and sets the agenda
• Announces the change of hats
• Poses questions
• Enforces rules
• Asks for the outcome of the discussion

⚪️ White hat: information

The white hat is concerned with “just the facts.” White-hat thinkers remain neutral, looking only at the available information without making interpretations about it. Under the white hat, you may put forth facts that are doubtful (beliefs), but only if you make it clear that you’re unsure of their veracity. If necessary, you can fact check them later.

🔴 Red hat: emotions and instinct

When teams put on the red hat, individuals are free to voice their emotions, but not explain or justify them. The red hat phase is about normalizing and legitimizing gut feelings, which is an important part of the decision-making process that often gets ignored.

Note: Your team should spend as little time as possible under the red hat – you want people to express their gut reaction, without overthinking or explaining. You might need only one minute total for everyone to share their red hat statements.

⚫️ Black hat: Risks

The black hat is the lens of caution. Black hat thinking requires you to consider the potential risks and how you might tackle them. Note that it is not a bad hat, but an essential one that could save money, time, and a variety of other headaches. In fact, de Bono calls the black hat “the most valuable of all the hats and certainly the most used.”

🟡 Yellow hat: Benefits

Like sunshine and smiley face emojis, the yellow hat conjures up positivity and optimism. Wearing the yellow hat requires you to identify the benefits of a suggestion and think of ways to put an idea into motion. De Bono warns that yellow hat thinking is harder than black hat thinking because humans are naturally sensitive to danger. That’s why the yellow hat is so crucial: it inspires us to find the value in an idea.

Note: Yellow hat thinking must be backed by evidence; otherwise, it’s just a positive feeling, and therefore would fall under red hat thinking.

🟢 Green hat: Creativity

Use divergent thinking to generate fresh ideas in your next brainstorm

When faced with a decision, people have a tendency toward tunnel vision, seeing only option A or option B when there might be an option C, D, and so forth. The green hat mitigates this bias by encouraging creative solutions that otherwise might not be considered. It is also the green hat’s role to come up with solutions to the challenges presented under the black hat.

Creating a shared language

Beyond the structured process described above, you can use the Six Thinking Hats informally in a variety of workplace situations. For example, if you sense that a colleague has a bad feeling about a business deal you’re about to close, you might say: “Hey, what’s your red hat thinking on this?” Framing the question in that way frees up people to express emotion, which can be difficult to do in a workplace. The Six Thinking Hats creates a shared vocabulary and symbolism that you and your team can use to communicate more effectively and direct your ways of thinking.

How to reach a decision using the Six Thinking Hats technique

By the end of a Six Thinking Hats session, you’ll have accomplished something that teams stuck in the argument style cannot: You’ll have included everyone in looking at every aspect of a problem, together . This ensures balance, fairness, and as little bias as possible. 

To close the discussion, the designated blue hat wearer asks the group what they’ve concluded. Thanks to the balanced discussion and new insights gained through this role-playing exercise, your team should naturally arrive at a decision and define next steps.

But what happens if you reach a stalemate? Interestingly, de Bono himself recommends that if you’re still stuck on a decision, go with your gut.

“In the end, all decisions are really ‘red hat,’” he writes. “We lay out the factors but the final decision is emotional.”

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The six thinking hats method: how to use it for effective brainstorming

August 10, 2023 by MindManager Blog

Learn how to effectively use the six thinking hats method to foster diverse perspectives and improve decision-making. Discover practical tips and techniques to promote more productive and collaborative thinking in your team!    

What is Edward De Bono’s six thinking hats brainstorming method?  

Edward De Bono’s six thinking hats is a decision-making and problem-solving method that encourages parallel thinking and creativity.   

Parallel thinking is a term coined by De Bono. It’s a collaborative thought process where people explore different perspectives on a topic, enabling a balanced and productive brainstorming environment. 

The six thinking hats process involves a facilitator guiding participants through different thinking styles by symbolically wearing different hats. Using these hats, participants explore a topic, one perspective at a time, giving everyone an equal chance to contribute without debate or criticism. 

We’ll dive deeper into this later, but for now, here’s a quick breakdown of what each hat represents and its related thinking style: 

• White hat: Objective data analysis. 
• Red hat: Emotional and intuitive responses. 
• Black hat: Critical judgment for identifying risks and flaws. 
• Yellow hat: Positive thinking for exploring benefits. 
• Green hat: Creative and innovative ideas. 
• Blue hat: Facilitation and process control. 

In all, the six thinking hats process provides a framework that improves collaboration, decision-making, and problem-solving by leveraging the power of parallel thinking and tapping into group intellect. 

The 6 benefits of six thinking hats  

There are many benefits of the six thinking hats brainstorming technique that may be of interest when problem-solving and decision-making. Some of these include: 

1. Enhanced creativity  

The six thinking hats method stimulates creative thinking by encouraging participants to explore various perspectives, generate new ideas, and think outside the box. 

By wearing different hats, individuals are encouraged to step out of their comfort zones and explore uncommon ideas. Overall, the method promotes nontraditional thinking and unlocks fresh ideas and possibilities. 

2. Balanced thinking 

Each of the six hats ensures balanced thinking by considering all angles of a topic, including:  

• Facts 
• Emotion 
• Critical judgments 
• Positive thinking 
• Creativity 
• Process control 

When all of these factors are considered, the results are more balanced and fairer. This allows participants to see the topic, idea, or problem comprehensively. 

3. Improved collaboration 

The structured framework of the six thinking hats facilitates effective collaboration by ensuring that all participants can contribute to the discussion. Furthermore, they have the opportunity to share their viewpoints without conflicts or interruptions.  

4. Efficient decision-making 

The method enables faster and more efficient decision-making by systematically analyzing different aspects, risks, benefits, and alternative possibilities. 

By doing so, the method helps streamline the decision-making process, reducing the time spent on deliberation and enabling timely outcomes. Moreover, the approach minimizes the risk of overlooking important factors, which helps to create solid solutions. 

5. Reduced bias and subjectivity 

The six thinking hats technique asks participants to temporarily set aside their personal biases and judgments and focus on the specific thinking style that their appointed hat represents.  

By encouraging a temporary shift in thinking, individuals can approach a problem or idea with an objective mindset. This enables them to consider perspectives based on logical reasoning rather than personal biases.  

6. Increased productivity 

The six hats process provides a structured and organized approach to brainstorming , ideation, and planning, which increases productivity. 

During a session, discussions remain concentrated on the overall goal. By channeling efforts towards a common objective, participants can streamline their thought processes, eliminate distractions, and maintain focus throughout the session. 

This increased clarity contributes to heightened productivity as team members use their collective intelligence to achieve outcomes quickly. 

The six thinking hats step-by-step process  

The six thinking hats process, developed by Edward De Bono, is a structured method for brainstorming, problem-solving , and decision-making.  

The process involves the following steps, participants, facilitation, and tools: 

• Define the focus. The session begins by clearly defining the problem, idea, or topic of discussion that requires brainstorming and decision-making.   
• Select participants. Select a diverse group of individuals who bring different perspectives, expertise, and roles to the discussion.   
• Introduce the six hats. The chosen facilitator introduces the concept of the six thinking hats and explains the meaning and role of each hat color. Participants are briefed on the thinking styles associated with each hat and the purpose they serve during the session.   
• Assign hat roles. The facilitator assigns specific hat roles to participants. Each person is responsible for wearing a particular hat for a given period.   
• Hat rotation. The session progresses with hat rotation, where participants switch roles by changing hats at designated intervals. This rotation ensures that every participant has the chance to contribute from different perspectives and prevents individuals from becoming fixated on a single thinking style. 
• Hat exploration. While wearing a specific hat, participants share their thoughts, ideas, observations, or questions related to the topic. The facilitator guides the discussion, ensuring that the focus remains on the thinking style represented by the current hat. 
• Facilitator’s role. The facilitator plays a crucial role in managing the session. They guide the flow of the discussion, enforce hat rotation, encourage active participation, and maintain a balanced and inclusive environment. The facilitator also ensures that all participants have an opportunity to express their views and that the session stays on track.   
• Tools and visual aids. The brainstorming process can be supported by visual aids so that participants can jot down key points, ideas, or observations associated with their hat. Visual representations help in organizing thoughts and summarizing outcomes. 
• Summarize and analyze. At the end of the session, the facilitator summarizes the key insights, observations, ideas, and conclusions from each thinking style. This summary helps to consolidate the collective understanding, identify patterns, and inform subsequent decision-making processes. 

The six thinking hats colors and what they represent 

Each hat in the six thinking hats method represents a distinct thinking style. The collective use of these hats during a brainstorming session facilitates the evaluation of ideas and well-rounded decision-making. 

Red hat  

The red hat represents emotions and intuition. When wearing the red hat, participants can express their feelings, gut instincts, and subjective opinions without the need for justification.  

This hat encourages the open sharing of personal perspectives and taps into the intuitive and emotional aspects of decision-making. It helps to foster a more holistic understanding of the topic at hand. 

Green hat  

The green hat symbolizes creativity and new ideas. Participants wearing the green hat are encouraged to think innovatively, develop fresh ideas, and explore alternative possibilities.  

This hat promotes divergent thinking, encourages brainstorming, and stimulates creative solutions. It adds a spark of inventiveness to the session. 

Blue hat  

The blue hat represents process control and organization. It plays the role of a facilitator in the brainstorming session.  

The blue hat wearer manages the overall thinking process, guides the discussion, and ensures the session stays on track. They summarize outcomes, coordinate the contributions of different hats, and keep the session focused and productive. 

Yellow hat  

The yellow hat signifies positive thinking. Participants wearing the yellow hat focus on exploring the benefits, advantages, and positive aspects of the ideas or proposal.  

Yellow hat wearers look for value, prospects, and optimistic perspectives. In addition, they help to create a constructive and forward-thinking atmosphere. 

White hat  

The white hat is associated with facts and information. It represents a logical and objective thinking style.  

Participants wearing the white hat gather and analyze data, facts, and information relevant to the topic. They provide an objective foundation and add evidence-based insights, helping the group make well-informed decisions. 

Black hat  

The black hat embodies critical judgment. Participants wearing the black hat take a cautious and critical approach.  

They identify potential risks, flaws, and negative aspects of ideas or proposals. The black hat thinking style aims to identify pitfalls, challenge assumptions, and encourage careful evaluation. 

When to use the six thinking hats method 

The six thinking hats method provides a framework for collaborative brainstorming that maximizes the potential of a team’s collective intelligence. As a result, sessions may be more creative and effective. 

The six hats thinking method is particularly useful in situations where: 

• A team needs to generate new ideas or solutions. 
• There are diverse opinions or conflicts among team members. 
• A comprehensive evaluation of ideas is required. 
• Emotional or intuitive aspects need to be considered alongside logical reasoning. 
• The decision-making process needs to be more objective and rational. 

Six thinking hats example  

To understand the six thinking hats method more fully, here’s an example of how the process may play out in a real-life scenario:

• Team : The marketing team at a tech company. 
• Objective : Generate innovative marketing campaign ideas for a new product launch. 
• Process : The team leader introduces the six thinking hats method and assigns specific hat roles to each team member. 
• Red hat (emotions and intuition): The individual wearing the red hat openly expresses their gut feelings and emotional responses towards the marketing campaign ideas at hand. They discuss their personal inclinations and share their enthusiasm or concerns about specific campaign concepts. 
• Green hat (creativity) : The green hat team member freely shares creative marketing campaign ideas without criticism. They generate diverse ideas, such as viral videos, interactive social media campaigns, and experiential events. 
• White hat (facts and information): The team transitions to the person wearing the white hat. Here, the individual analyzes the feasibility and gathers data on the market campaign ideas. They consider budget constraints, target audience demographics, and competitor analysis. 
• Black hat (critical judgment): Moving to the black hat, this individual critically evaluates the ideas on the table. They identify potential risks, such as legal implications, negative public perception, or budget overruns. They weigh the pros and cons of each idea and highlight any drawbacks or challenges. 
• Yellow hat (positive thinking): The person wearing the yellow hat focuses on the positive aspects of the campaign ideas. They discuss potential benefits, advantages, and opportunities for each concept. They also highlight the possible impact on brand awareness, customer engagement, and market differentiation 
• Blue hat (process control): This team member takes on the role of session manager. They summarize the key insights and guide the discussion toward the most promising ideas. They also highlight the most feasible concepts from the overall hat discussion. 
• Results : The brainstorming session allowed the marketing team to explore various creative marketing campaign ideas. The team considered diverse perspectives, backed by data and discussion. 

The session facilitated inclusive participation and balanced the exploration of ideas. As a result, the team identified three promising campaign concepts:  

• A gamified social media contest. 
• An influencer-driven product launch event. 
• An interactive augmented reality experience.  

The team left the session with a clear direction for further developing and refining these ideas. This led to a more informed and effective marketing strategy for the new product launch. 

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Six thinking hats frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Below are a few commonly asked questions about the six thinking hats brainstorming method:  

What is six thinking hats? 

The six thinking hats is a method developed by Edward De Bono for structured thinking and decision-making. It involves wearing six metaphorical hats, each representing a specific thinking style. 

This technique explores ideas, analyzes information, considers emotions, and facilitates well-rounded and effective discussions.  

How do teams use six thinking hats?   

Teams use the six thinking hats to develop unique perspectives and ideas. By assigning different hats to each participant, teams can work together to think outside the box and enjoy efficient and productive brainstorming, problem-solving, and decision-making. 

What are the benefits of six thinking hats?   

The benefits of six thinking hats include: 

• Enhanced creativity 
• Balanced perspectives 
• Improved decision-making 
• Efficient collaboration 
• Effective problem-solving 
• Increased productivity 

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Six Thinking Hats

What is the Six Thinking Hats Technique by Edward De Bono?

The Six Thinking Hats is a role-playing model developed by Edward de Bono  in 1986.  Each hat represents a different lens or perspective on a particular issue and is an insightful activity that prevents narrow thinking. 

It serves as a team-based problem solving and brainstorming technique that can be used to explore problems through various perspectives in order to uncover options that might otherwise be overlooked. 

The basic premise behind the Six Thinking Hats is that most people think and reason in a specific way based on their personality type.  This means that a more emotional person may generate ideas differently than a more analytical person, and vice-versa. Similarly a pessimist will approach a situation very differently than an optimist.

An example of the benefit of running the thinking hats techniques is therefore to encourage different perspectives to be shared, seen and discussed as part of the decision making process.

The six types of “Thinking Hats” are:

• White Hat:  Similar to the calm and pure emotions associated with the colour white, this type of thinking focuses on analytical, objective thinking, with an emphasis on facts and feasibility.
• Red Hat:  We often associate the colour red with anger and heat and hence this represents emotional thinking, subjective feelings, perception, and opinion.
• Black Hat:  The colour black has been stereotypically linked with doom and gloom and so this forms a type of thinking that is critical, skeptical, focused on risks, and identifying problems.
• Yellow Hat:  Often symbolising sunshine and happiness, the yellow hat is about thinking optimistic, speculative, best-case scenarios.
• Blue Hat:  Blue being the colour of the sky and high above creates a sense of structured thinking, high-level overview of the situation, the big picture.
• Green Hat:  Associated with the colour of trees and nature, the green hat is about creative, associative thinking, new ideas, brainstorming, out-of-the-box.
• Pros and Cons
• PESTLE Analysis
• PEST Analysis
• Encourage each person to contribute to each of the perspectives. Avoid putting people into categories – Everyone can and should use all the hats.
• One or more hats can be used at any point during a discussion process.They are used as a convenience for directing and switching the thinking process as needed. (E.g. “Let’s have some black hat thinking…”)
• Simple sequences of two or three hats may be used together for a particular purpose, for example:
• The yellow hat followed by the black hat may be used to assess an idea.
• The black hat followed by the green hat may be used to improve a design.
• Six Thinking Hats is excellent at eliciting different perspectives, but there is less guidance on how to resolve conflicting views among the different hats. Sometimes a group will naturally move together toward one resolution during the discussion. If not, another framework might be needed to resolve the discourse.

Use the Six Thinking Hats for Better Meetings

Six Thinking Hats is a powerful technique for decision making that includes different points of view.

The process and methodology allows emotion and skepticism to be brought into what might normally be a purely rational process, and it opens up the opportunity for creativity within decision making.

Decisions made using the Six Thinking Hats technique can be more resilient and based on a holistic perspective, allowing you to avoid pitfalls and gaps before you have committed to a decision.

When Should I use the Six Thinking Hats Technique?

Use the Six Thinking Hats model to help with:

• Running better and more structured meetings especially if there tends to only be a single view at every meeting.
• Making better decisions by having a more holistic and wide ranging view of the problem. 
• Approaching problems from various angles of facts, emotions and creativity.
• Inspiring idea generation as an ice-breaker activity by having different people play different roles.
• More collaboration during brainstorming and decision making with assigned roles including facilitator responsibilities.

Six Thinking Hats Template Example

Imagine if you are facilitating a meeting to introduce a new product or service to the market. In doing so, you might ask people to wear different hats, or to navigate between the hats around this goal.

“What are the facts that we know?”

 – Our survey last month indicated a 5% preference of the green product by women aged 25 – 45.

– Return rates from sales has fallen by over 50% since the introduction of the new delivery packaging.

– There are new delivery routes available via Company Logistics.

“Why should we be optimistic?”

  – The new product could increase our revenue diversification stream and increase our family of products.

– We can start receiving better feedback and testimonials from our customers.

– The impact from damage from delivery will meet our service standards.

“What are your gut reactions?”

– The green colour inspires a sustainable look and is very appealing. This is even a great shade.

– The impact on the reduced return rates could mean additional resources.

– How do the new delivery routes impact our delivery times? I would certainly be interested in learning more about it.

 “How can we create opportunities?”

– A green range could be expanded to a different colour range set or be symbolic.

– Creating multiple channels will allow us to establish new partnerships and partners.

– Speeding up quality and reliability of delivery could allow us to bundle exisiting products.

“What risks should we keep in mind?”

– Is a 5% preference sufficient for us to make a single colour product? What happens if preferences change.

– What is the cost of maintaining the packaging quality and sustainability?

– The new delivery routes may not have been proven as reliable yet or may increase our costs.

“What systems or processes will be needed?”

  – Let’s go around the room and discuss the colour options based.

– How has the reduced return rates impacted our warehousing department?

– Would there be any other changes to our workflow with a new delivery partner and will it change our logistics technology?

How to Use the Six Thinking Hats to Run Better Meetings

Six Thinking Hats is a powerful technique for looking at decision-making from different points of view. By introducing a structured parallel thinking process, it helps people to be more focused and mindfully involved in a discussion.

Start brainstorming through each of the different hats.

Review the responses for common themes that can be grouped.

Have people voted on the topics that they would like to discuss the most.

Share the results and facilitate the discussion towards a decision.

Facilitate the conversation (wearing the blue hat).

As an inspiration, check the following example of how to use Six Thinking Hats sequentially to resolve a problem with alternative solutions:

• White Hat: Present the facts of the problem
• Green Hat: Generate ideas on how the problem can be solved
• Yellow Hat: Evaluate the ideas by listing their benefits
• Black Hat: Evaluate the ideas by listing their drawbacks
• Red Hat: Get everybody’s gut feelings about the alternatives
• Blue Hat: Summarise the discussion and agree on the conclusions

You may decide which sequence of hat use fits best for your purpose. In general, it is recommended that each hat is worn at some point however, there are some sensible sequences too.

Once you have completed the brainstorm for each thinking hat, review the responses and look for common themes which can be grouped into one.

This step is more time consuming if the brainstorming was performed individually – or completed at different times and locations. Using a software tool like GroupMap to group ideas can significantly reduce the time and effort required in this step – and result in a better outcome.

Now that there are clear themes, encourage your participants to vote on the top three ideas they would like to discuss further.

You can facilitate this by advising participants to vote based on: 

• the level of importance to action or implement; 
• aspects that they would like to discuss or explore further; 
• areas that they have questions on and require clarification. 

Combining individual voting into an overall score is much easier and faster if you use an online tool like GroupMap, especially if you can vote on ideas individually and independently.

With the votes tallied, you can now better facilitate the discussion in the meeting and help the group come to a more considered and educated decision.

Sharing the outcomes of the Six Thinking Hats process ideas and comments with the wider group of stakeholders as well as the team is essential to getting buy in! 

The results of your Six Thinking Hats should allow for the next steps of:

• Communication to relevant stakeholders. 
• Further analysis using other business tools such as a SWOT Analysis for each of your top voted discussions. 
• Product and design thinking activities, including customer personas.

Save effort, time and money with GroupMap

Whether you have your best minds together in the same room, or distributed around the world , GroupMap’s unique technology allows groups of up to 2000 to submit ideas independently at separate times, from different places, in different timezones. Prevent dominant personalities swaying the group, drowning out the opinions of others – GroupMap allows everyone to brainstorm independently then effortlessly combines that information to reveal the full spectrum of ideas. GroupMap templates keep the objective front and center throughout the session, keeping everyone on task. This ensures the activity identifies actionable issues rather than becoming just a discussion on ideas. GroupMap gives you all the group decision making tools you need to prioritize, decide and take action.

Create your first map and invite people in to start sharing their thoughts right NOW. Experience the power of GroupMap with our 14-day, no risk, FREE trial. You don’t even need to provide your credit card details to access to all of our features, including the entire suite of templates, for a full 14 days.

• Guide: Six Thinking Hats

• January 21, 2024
• Learn Lean Sigma

The Six Thinking Hats method, conceptualized by Edward de Bono, offers a framework for enhancing decision-making and problem-solving in both individual and group settings. By adopting six distinct thinking modes, symbolized by colored hats, this method encourages a multifaceted examination of issues.

It not only enables comprehensive understanding by embracing diverse perspectives—emotional, cautious, creative, and more—but also helps streamline communication and reduce conflict in group discussions. This innovative approach, pivoting away from traditional argumentative methods, simplifies complex thought processes and encourages a balanced viewpoint, making it a versatile tool in various contexts like business strategies, educational discussions, and personal decision-making.

Table of Contents

What are the six thinking hats.

The Six Thinking Hats method, created by Edward de Bono, is a revolutionary approach designed to enhance thinking and decision-making in both group and individual contexts. This method is based on the premise that by considering problems from various angles, one can uncover more innovative and effective solutions than through conventional thinking approaches. The core concept involves metaphorically donning and removing different colored hats, each symbolizing a specific mode of thinking. This symbolic action serves as a cue to adopt a particular perspective, thereby structuring the thought process in a way that is both systematic and imaginative.

The Six Thinking Hats approach offers several benefits:

• Encourages Full-Spectrum Thinking : By systematically exploring different perspectives (emotional, cautious, creative, etc.), it ensures a more comprehensive understanding of the problem at hand.
• Facilitates Communication : In group settings, it helps in structuring discussions, ensuring that all viewpoints are considered without devolving into chaotic arguments.
• Reduces Conflict : By externalizing the thinking process (attributing it to the ‘hat’), it helps reduce personal tensions – opinions are seen as contributions to the process rather than personal positions.
• Enhances Decision-Making : By forcing individuals or groups to shift perspectives, it leads to more balanced and thorough decision-making.

The Concept and Purpose of Six Thinking Hats

The underlying concept of the Six Thinking Hats is that the human brain is capable of different modes of thinking, each with its unique strengths and weaknesses. Edward de Bono posited that we could become more effective thinkers by consciously adopting these different modes as needed. This idea counters the traditional argumentative approach to problem-solving, where different viewpoints often lead to conflict rather than constructive solutions.

The primary purposes of the Six Thinking Hats method are:

• Simplification of Thought : By breaking down thinking into six clear functions, the method makes it easier for individuals and groups to tackle complex problems without getting overwhelmed.
• Focused Thinking : It allows people to concentrate on one aspect of a problem at a time, reducing confusion and helping in deeper exploration of each aspect.
• Switching Perspectives : The method facilitates easy transition between different types of thinking, encouraging flexibility and adaptability in thought processes.
• Balanced Viewpoint : It ensures that all sides of a problem are considered, leading to more robust and well-rounded solutions.

In practice, the Six Thinking Hats method is highly adaptable and can be applied in various contexts, including business strategy sessions, educational discussions, creative workshops, and personal decision-making. It’s particularly useful in situations where diverse perspectives are essential, or where there’s a risk of getting stuck in a one-dimensional thought process. By fostering a culture of collaborative and multi-dimensional thinking, the Six Thinking Hats method stands as a powerful tool for enhancing creativity, problem-solving, and decision-making in a wide array of settings.

The Six Hats and Their Meanings

Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats method uses different colored hats as metaphors for specific thinking modes. Each hat represents a distinct approach to understanding and solving problems, and they are designed to focus thinking in one direction at a time. Here’s a detailed look at each hat and its intended purpose:

The White Hat: Information and Data

• Function : When wearing the White Hat, thinkers concentrate exclusively on available data and information. They look at what is known, identify missing information, analyze past trends, and see what can be learned from the facts at hand.
• Application : It’s particularly useful in the initial stages of decision-making and problem-solving, where gathering and analyzing data is crucial.

The Red Hat: Feelings and Intuition

• Function : It allows a person to put forward feelings, hunches, and intuitions without any need to justify them. Under this hat, emotional responses are given validity, even if they don’t seem logical.
• Application : This hat is essential for understanding the emotional responses to a particular issue, which might be overlooked in purely logical analysis.

The Black Hat: Caution and Judgement

• Function : It’s used for identifying potential negative outcomes, examining why an idea or approach might not work, and assessing risks. This hat encourages critical evaluation, looking for problems and inconsistencies.
• Application : The Black Hat is valuable for preventing mistakes and making more robust plans by foreseeing challenges.

The Yellow Hat: Optimism and Benefits

• Function : While wearing the Yellow Hat, the focus is on the positives. It drives people to identify values, benefits, and the feasibility of ideas. It’s about exploring opportunities and looking for what can work.
• Application : This hat is essential for motivating and maintaining a sense of hope, especially when challenges arise.

The Green Hat: Creativity and Alternatives

• Function : This hat encourages thinking outside the box, brainstorming new ideas, and exploring alternatives. It’s about lateral thinking, where the usual ways of thinking are challenged.
• Application : The Green Hat is crucial for innovation, developing new concepts, and finding solutions that are not immediately obvious.

The Blue Hat: Control and Organization

• Function : The Blue Hat is about managing the thinking process. It sets the agenda for thinking, organizes the use of the other hats, and ensures that guidelines are followed. It’s also used for summarizing and drawing conclusions.
• Application : This hat plays a crucial role in ensuring that the thinking process remains focused and productive, and that all other hats are utilized effectively.

Each of these hats serves a unique function, encouraging individuals or groups to switch their way of thinking according to the need of the moment. By compartmentalizing thinking modes, the Six Thinking Hats method facilitates a more organized, thorough, and versatile approach to problem-solving and decision-making.

Implementing the Technique

Individual use.

Process : When applied individually, the Six Thinking Hats method serves as a framework for thinking more effectively and making well-rounded decisions. The individual consciously switches between the different hats, focusing on one aspect of thinking at a time. This process can be sequential or based on the specific needs of the problem at hand.

Benefits : This methodological switching of hats prevents the common problem of cognitive overload, where multiple lines of thought lead to confusion. It helps in organizing thoughts and considering the problem from various angles. For example, an individual might start with the White Hat to gather information, then switch to the Green Hat for creative solutions, followed by the Black Hat for critical analysis of those solutions.

Application : This technique can be particularly useful for personal decision-making, planning, or problem-solving in situations where an individual is working independently, such as in a professional or academic setting.

Synchronized Thinking : In a group setting, the Six Thinking Hats method can synchronize the thinking process among team members. By having everyone ‘wear’ the same hat at the same time, the group can collectively focus on one aspect of the issue – be it gathering information (White Hat), exploring creative solutions (Green Hat), or identifying potential risks (Black Hat).

Diverse Perspectives : Alternatively, group members can wear different hats to ensure that a range of perspectives is considered simultaneously. This can lead to a more dynamic and comprehensive exploration of the issue.

Conflict Reduction : A significant advantage of this method in group dynamics is its ability to reduce confrontations. Since the focus is on the ‘hat’ rather than the individual, it depersonalizes criticism and opinion sharing. This approach helps in creating an environment where ideas are scrutinized without offending the contributors.

Structured Discussions : The Six Thinking Hats technique provides a clear structure for discussions, making meetings more focused and productive. It can prevent the common pitfalls of group discussions, such as digression or domination by a single perspective.

In conclusion, the Six Thinking Hats method is a dynamic and structured approach to thinking that brings clarity and creativity to decision-making and problem-solving. Each hat, from the data-driven White Hat to the process-focused Blue Hat, plays a unique role in guiding individuals and groups through different thinking styles. The method’s versatility allows for its application in diverse scenarios, ensuring that all aspects of a problem are considered.

By compartmentalizing thought processes, it not only streamlines individual thinking but also enhances group dynamics, fostering a collaborative environment where ideas are examined critically yet constructively. Ultimately, the Six Thinking Hats stand as a testament to the power of structured, multifaceted thinking in navigating complex challenges in various situations.

Q: What is the Six Thinking Hats method?

A: The Six Thinking Hats method is a thinking and problem-solving technique developed by Edward de Bono. It involves using six distinct types of thinking, represented by different colored hats, to explore and analyze issues from multiple perspectives. Each hat—White, Red, Black, Yellow, Green, and Blue—symbolizes a specific mode of thinking, such as factual, emotional, critical, optimistic, creative, and organizational thinking, respectively.

Q: How does the Six Thinking Hats method improve decision-making?

A: The method enhances decision-making by encouraging individuals or groups to look at a problem from different viewpoints. This leads to a more comprehensive understanding of the issue, as it includes factual analysis (White Hat), emotional response (Red Hat), critical assessment (Black Hat), optimistic reasoning (Yellow Hat), creative exploration (Green Hat), and structured process management (Blue Hat). By systematically exploring these perspectives, decisions are more well-rounded and considered.

Q: Can the Six Thinking Hats be used in group discussions, and if so, how?

A: Yes, the Six Thinking Hats is particularly effective in group settings. It can be used by having all members ‘wear’ the same hat simultaneously to focus on one aspect of thinking, or by assigning different hats to different members to ensure a variety of perspectives. This method helps structure discussions, reduces conflict, and encourages collaborative problem-solving.

Q: Is the Six Thinking Hats method suitable for individual use?

A: Absolutely. Individuals can use the Six Thinking Hats method for personal decision-making and problem-solving. By consciously switching between the hats, individuals can explore various aspects of a problem one at a time, leading to clearer and more effective thinking. It’s especially useful for organizing thoughts and considering all facets of a complex issue.

Q: Are there any specific scenarios or environments where the Six Thinking Hats method is particularly effective?

A: The Six Thinking Hats method is versatile and can be effective in various scenarios, including business strategy sessions, educational discussions, creative workshops, conflict resolution, and personal decision-making. It’s particularly useful in situations requiring comprehensive analysis, innovative thinking, or collaborative problem-solving. The method has been widely adopted in corporate, educational, and personal settings for its effectiveness in enhancing the quality of thinking and decision-making.

Daniel Croft

Daniel Croft is a seasoned continuous improvement manager with a Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma. With over 10 years of real-world application experience across diverse sectors, Daniel has a passion for optimizing processes and fostering a culture of efficiency. He's not just a practitioner but also an avid learner, constantly seeking to expand his knowledge. Outside of his professional life, Daniel has a keen Investing, statistics and knowledge-sharing, which led him to create the website learnleansigma.com, a platform dedicated to Lean Six Sigma and process improvement insights.

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Six Thinking Hats Technique explained

Six Thinking Hats technique: this article explains the Six Thinking Hats technique , developed by Edward de Bono in a practical way. This article contains the meaning of the Six Thinking Hats technique and a practical explanation of all six thinking hats, including examples. You will also learn about different related concepts, such as parallel thinking . The article also contains advantages and disadvantages of this method to extract maximum value and to avoid pitfalls. Enjoy reading!

What are the Six Thinking Hats?

Six Thinking Hats technique or dr Edward de Bono ’s Six Hats is a good decision making technique and method for group discussions and individual thinking.

Combined with the parallel thinking process , this technique helps groups think more effectively. It is a means to organize thinking processes in a detailed and cohesive manner.

Edward de Bono is the founding father of this six thinking hats technique and wrote a book about this called the Six Thinking Hats in 1985.

Six Thinking Hats Technique: meaning of thinking hat

A thinking hat is a metaphor for a certain way of thinking. By mentally wearing different thinking hats people are forced to look at a problem from different perspectives. Thus a one-sided way of thinking is excluded and new insights are created.

He distinguishes six different frames of mind in which the brain can become sensitive. Each of these frames of mind can be found in the brain and create conscious thoughts for certain aspects of the issues that are being discussed, (e.g. gut feeling, pessimistic views, neutral facts).

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is one of the most effective and widely used methods to kick-start innovation. Brainstorming sessions can be organised anywhere, from the office workspace to the laboratory.

However, the sessions are not always equally effective. This is usually due to a lack of leadership or because of conflicts. Edward de Bono , a pioneer in creative thinking , has developed six thinking hats to eliminate most of these disadvantages.

The technique enables the user to think in six different directions. By only wearing one hat at a time, a synergy can be created between the people participating in the brainstorming session. And on top of that, brainstorming and lateral thinking also stimulate creativity and expand the scope of solution-based thinking.

Types of six thinking hats technique

The six different frames of mind (six thinking hats) are identified in the shape of a hat and each of the hats is a different colour:

Information: consider only information that is available, what are the facts? The white hat pushes all available information and data to be considered forward. This includes information both from within and outside the scope of the discussion or brainstorming session. This delays the assessment of this data.

It is important to be clear and specific when it comes to data so that any ambiguity can be prevented. The general goal is to better understand the concept or subject that is up for discussion, which is easier when the data is being managed in a neutral way.

Emotions: intuitive reactions or gut reactions, or expressions of feelings (but no justification required). The red hat is the emotions hat. Whenever this hat is worn, the emotional thinking process is targeted.

Emotions can be both positive and negative. Examples of positive emotions include joy, happiness, admiration, enthusiasm and expectation.

Negative emotions include, for example, disappointment, jealousy, cynicism or anger. More neutral emotions would be curiosity and intuition. The objective behind wearing the red hat is to address the credibility of the emotions that play a part in a certain discussion.

Judgement: logic applied to identification of mistakes or  barriers, looking for a mismatch. The black hat is the hat of caution. This also includes critical evaluations.

All shortcomings of the concept that is up for discussion are noted. The scope of the problem is maximised, through which the ‘worst case scenario’ can be found. The moment this hat is worn, the participant is required to play devil’s advocate.

Positive view: logic applied to the identification of opportunities, looking for harmony. The yellow hat is the hat of positivity. The wearer of this hat is required to bring forward as many positive aspects related to the subject as possible. It is vital that, whilst wearing this hat, positivity is encouraged at all times.

The point of view of this hat is on how something works, not on how it doesn’t work. All positive aspects that come up will be jotted down. This hat focuses to understand all benefits and positive points of the various ideas.

Creativity: statements of provocation and investigation, hearing what an idea is about. The green hat is the hat of ideas.

Feasibility and judgment are temporarily set aside when this hat is worn, ensuring participants are free to generate as many ideas in the scope as possible. New ideas inspire you to think of even more new ideas. In this situation, everything is adapted to ‘out of the box’ thinking. The objective of this hat is to generate as many new ideas as possible.

Thinking: thinking about thinking. The blue hat is about the flow of the brainstorming session or discussion itself.

Thinking about thinking is also referred to as metacognition . The agenda and timeline are also part of this. How long do the sessions take? When do you need to wear a particular hat, and for how long? The group’s controller should wear the blue hat for as long as the session takes.

Extra information

The coloured hats are used as metaphors for the various states of mind. Switching to a certain type of thinking is symbolized by wearing a coloured hat, literally or metaphorically.

These six thinking hats metaphors provide a more complete and comprehensive segregation of the types of thinking than the prejudices that are inherent to the immediate thoughts of people. All these thinking hats help people to think more deeply about a certain topic.

Parallel thinking

In ordinary and unstructured thinking, this method seems unfocused. The thinker moves from critical thinking to neutrality, to optimism, etcetera, without structure or strategy. The process of the six thinking hats introduces the process of parallel thinking .

Many people are used to ordinary thinking and they unconsciously navigate on their own habits. Sometimes these are effective and sometimes they are not. What is certain is that when people think in a group using their individual thoughts, they often fail to come to an agreement. As a consequence, there are no discussions.

The power of the ego and the identified preference for black hat thinking can lead to disastrous meetings. Even with courtesy and good manners and clear common objectives in cooperative thinking activities , people have a natural tendency for the so-called “spaghetti-thinking” in which one person is thinking about the advantages whereas another is considering the facts and so on.

Edward de Bono ’s six thinking hats prevent this, so that everybody shares each other’s opinions about the problems, advantages, facts, reducing distraction and supporting thought cross pollination.

This will be accomplished because everyone will put on a hat together, for instance the white hat. After the attendants have expressed their thoughts in a round of discussion, they will put on the next hat.

In this way all the attendants will think in the same way at the same time. The only exception is the facilitator, who will tend to keep the blue hat to ensure that the discussion will progress effectively.

Six Thinking Hats technique: the strategies and programmes

After the six types of thinking have been identified, different programmes can be created. These are sequences of hats that structure the thinking process towards a clear goal.

A number of these goals have been included in the materials that support the franchise training of the six thinking hats method, however, it is often necessary to adapt these for individual purposes.

Sequences always begin and end with a blue hat, the group agrees on how they will think together, then they do the thinking and finally they evaluate the outcomes of the thinking process and what to do next. Sequences (and indeed hats) may also be used by individuals who work alone or in groups.

The following division can be made:

• Initial Ideas – Blue, White, Green
• Choosing between alternatives – Blue, White, Green, Yellow, Black, Red
• Identification of solutions – Blue, White, Black, Green
• Fast Feedback – Blue, Black, Green, White
• Strategic planning – Blue, Yellow, Black, White
• Process improvement – Blue, White, Yellow, Black, Green, Red
• Problem-solving – Blue, White, Green, Red, Yellow, Black
• Performance assessment – Blue, Red, White, Yellow, Black, Green

Examples of the Six Thinking Hats technique

The human, natural way of speaking and interacting is often a combination of different thinking hats, as is established by Edward De Bono .

For example, someone might say: this idea ties in with our strategy and could strengthen our market position but I don’t know if the cost is acceptable or if our customers will love the idea. This sentence flows from a white hat (in line with the strategy), to a yellow hat (improving the market position), to a red hat (customers may not like it).

The Six Thinking Hats method helps managers and others to analyse different statements and judge them separately.

Below are some examples of phrases that fall under each of the thinking hats.

• ‘We will talk about this problem for one hour’
• ‘Besides the other, what are the benefits of this plan?’
• ‘Let’s put our emotions to the side for a moment: we will take action when it’s time for the red hat’
• ‘What will the costs be to produce one unit of the product?’
• ‘Over the past year, the turnover has increased by 10%’
• ‘It is estimated there are 80 million people in the United States between the age of eighteen and thirty-five’
• ‘Instead of opening the factory in China, we could also upgrade the one in New York’
• ‘This is a difficult matter. Let’s get together with the team and organise a brainstorming session’
• ‘Are there any other options we have not yet considered?’
• ‘Can we save on products and energy in order to cut costs?’
• ‘Our sales team has many years of experience in selling programs’
• ‘Tapping into a new market offers room to expand’
• ‘Finishing this project next week makes me happy’
• ‘The results from this research make me angry!’
• ‘Research shows our customers are afraid of a change in recipe’
• ‘With the current capacity we can never expand that quickly’
• ‘I am almost certain that would be illegal’
• ‘This idea has many advantages. What problems does it involve?’

Advantages and disadvantages of the Six Thinking Hats technique

The use and application of the Bono Six Thinking Hats technique of has several advantages and disadvantages. These are listed below.

Advantages and benefits of the Six Thinking Hats technique

• The Six Thinking Hats method is a properly defined method
• It stimulates parallel thinking
• The Bono method provides structure to a brainstorming session or meeting
• The Six Thinking Hats method motivates a clear thought process
• The method inspires creative and effective thinking
• The Six Thinking Hats method provides a variety of possible solutions to a problem
• The method stimulates team engagement and performance

Disadvantages of the Six Thinking Hats technique

• Applying the method in a team is time-consuming
• In using the method, people can still disagree strongly and there can even be conflicts about different perspectives

It’s Your Turn

What do you think? What is your experience with the Six Thinking Hats technique by Edward De Bono? Do you use the six hats to discuss issues from a variety of perspectives? Do you recognize the practical explanation or do you have more suggestions? What are your success factors for good decision making?

Share your experience and knowledge in the comments box below.

More information

• Silverstein, D., Samuel, P., & Decarlo, N. (2009). The Innovator’s ToolKit: 50 Techniques for Predictable and Sustainable Organic Growth . Wiley .
• De Bono, E. (1985). Six Thinking Hats: An Essential Approach to Business Management . Little, Brown, and Company.

How to cite this article: Mulder, P. (2016). Six Thinking Hats technique . Retrieved [insert date] from Toolshero: https://www.toolshero.com/decision-making/six-thinking-hats-de-bono/

Original publication date: 03/14/2026 | Last update: 11/11/2023

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Patty Mulder

Patty Mulder is an Dutch expert on Management Skills, Personal Effectiveness and Business Communication. She is also a Content writer, Business Coach and Company Trainer and lives in the Netherlands (Europe). Note: all her articles are written in Dutch and we translated her articles to English!

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2 responses to “six thinking hats technique explained”.

The only limitation I perceive with 6 thinking hats, and I am novice with its use, is that all parties must be trained in the model for it to work. This is fine if all parties are from the same organisation, but if from different organisations, they might not be exposed to six thinking hats and probably aren’t. Have I misunderstood the model with my belief?

Thank you for your comment and question, Tim.

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Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats Technique

Yes, Six Thinking Hats is the technique you’ve been looking for (but you didn’t know you needed.)

Seriously, I’ve used the Six Thinking Hats technique for several years at Microsoft to unlock better thinking and create inclusive team dynamics.

If you’re looking to improve your own thinking or enhance the productivity of your team, give the Six Thinking Hats Technique a try and unlock the full potential of your collective intellect.

Edward de Bono created Six Thinking Hats to improving your thinking by directing your attention.

If you know how to use the Six Thinking Hats, you can directly address with 3 very common problems.:

• The first problem is incomplete thinking.
• The second problem is deadlocks in meetings.
• The third common problem is non-inclusive thinking.

I used to dread attending meetings that resulted in deadlock and drained my energy.  In addition, I have witnessed numerous ideas fail due to lack of perspective and inclusivity. However, since discovering the Six Thinking Hats technique, I have been able to solve all three problems with ease.

What is the Six Thinking Hats Technique?

In the book, Six Thinking Hats , Edward de Bono introduces the Six Thinking Hats technique.

The Six Thinking Hats technique is a tool for group problem-solving and decision-making that was developed by Edward de Bono.

It involves a structured approach to thinking that encourages individuals and teams to explore multiple perspectives, identify blind spots, and work collaboratively towards effective solutions.

The technique uses the metaphor of different colored hats to represent different modes of thinking, and it helps to reduce conflict, avoid one-track minds, and improve collaboration.

What are the Six Thinking Hats?

Here’s the Six Thinking Hats, according to Edward de Bono:

• White Hat – the facts and figures
• Red Hat – the emotional view
• Black Hat – the “devil’s advocate”
• Yellow Hat – the positive side
• Green Hat – the creative side
• Blue Hat – the organizing view

Why Use the Six Thinking Hats Technique?

Here are a few of reasons for using Six Thinking Hats:

1. More complete thinking.

Six Thinking Hats helps you leverage more complete thinking.  In the Six Thinking Hats, each hat represents a different perspective (facts, emotions, critic … etc.)

If you think of the problem as a pie, then each hat or perspective is a slice of the pie.

If you only have the Devil’s advocate, then you’re missing several other perspectives.

By cycling through the hats, you get a more complete view.

2. More collaborative meetings.

By using the Six Thinking Hats, you can get everybody thinking about the problem in a collaborative way.

Everybody can put on the same hat at the same time.  The real key here is that rather than circular or deadlock debates, you focus the group on a particular viewpoint at a time.

This is a similar to writing, then editing vs. editing while your write, or brainstorming, then critiquing vs. critiquing while you brainstorm.

The big difference is that rather than just brainstorming and critiquing, you’re looking at the issue from multiple, specific angles.  On the people side of this technique, you’re letting people wear a different “hat”, in a safe, constructive way.

3. More inclusive decision-making.

By allowing everyone to explore and express their thoughts from different angles, the Six Thinking Hats technique provides an inclusive environment that ensures all voices are heard and considered.

This leads to a more well-rounded and diverse range of solutions that take into account the different perspectives and experiences of all team members.

How the Six Thinking Hats Helps Harness Cognitive and Neurodiversity in Problem-Solving

The Six Thinking Hats technique can help with cognitive diversity and neurodiversity by providing a structured and inclusive way for individuals with different thinking styles and cognitive abilities to participate in problem-solving and decision-making processes.

Each hat in the technique represents a different type of thinking, such as analytical, creative, or emotional .

By cycling through all six hats, the technique allows individuals to explore a problem from multiple perspectives and consider different types of information.

This approach can help individuals with different thinking styles , including those with neurodivergent conditions such as autism, ADHD, or dyslexia, to engage in the conversation and contribute their unique insights.

The Six Thinking Hats technique can also help to reduce the impact of biases and stereotypes that may be present in a group setting.

By wearing different hats and considering the problem from different perspectives , individuals are encouraged to set aside preconceived notions and judgments and approach the problem with an open mind .

Overall, the Six Thinking Hats technique provides a framework for inclusive and collaborative decision-making that can benefit individuals with a variety of cognitive styles and abilities.

It allows everyone to participate fully in the discussion and contribute to the best outcome, regardless of their cognitive profile.

How To Use the Six Thinking Hats Technique

This approach for using Six Thinking Hats is lightweight and low-overhead but gets you 80% there without requiring everybody to know the details of the Six Thinking Hats.

The key is to list questions that everybody can focus on and cycle through.

Step 1.  List the questions that represent the six thinking hats

List a set of questions on the whiteboard to represent the hats.  You can do this either at the start of the meeting or when you hit a sticking spot.

Here’s an example set of questions you can use to represent the hats:

• White Hat : What are the facts and figures?  What evidence do we have?
• Red Hat : What’s your gut reaction?  How do you feel about this?
• Black Hat : Why can’t we do this?  What prevents us?  What’s the downside?
• Yellow Hat : What do we like about this? How could we do this?  How might we do this?
• Green Hat : What are additional opportunities?  What would make this interesting or compelling?
• Blue Hat : How should we think about this? (What are the metaphors or mental models)

The sequence of the questions can matter.  For example, it wouldn’t make sense to start thinking up solutions before you’ve focused on the problem.

Step 2.  Walkthrough each question as a team

Walkthrough each question as a team.  This is the key.  Rather than debating each other, you’re now collaborating.

You’ll be surprised when suddenly your team’s “Devil’s Advocate” is now showing off their ability to dream up wild solutions that just might work!

Step 3.  Modify the approach.

If it’s not working, change the approach.  For example, you might find that you started with the wrong “hat” or question.  See if switching to another question or hat makes a difference.

The key is to keep this lightweight but effective.

This isn’t a heavy-handed approach.  Instead, it’s a subtle shift in strategy from free-for all debate to focusing and coordinating your team’s thinking power in a deliberate way.

This lets everybody get heard as well as really bang on a problem from multiple angles in a teamwork sort of way.

Collaborative Problem-Solving Made Easy with Six Thinking Hats

The Six Thinking Hats technique is a powerful tool that helps individuals and teams approach problem-solving and decision-making in a more complete and collaborative way .

By cycling through the different hats, you gain a better understanding of the issue from multiple perspectives , leading to better ideas and better decisions .

This approach encourages creative thinking, reduces conflict, and promotes a more cohesive team dynamic.

By wearing different hats and exploring different perspectives, you gain a deeper understanding of the problem at hand and can approach it with a clear and open mind.

The key to success with this technique is to invite people from different backgrounds and experiences to the discussion, ensuring a diversity of perspectives .

By structuring the discussion so that everyone collectively considers the problem wearing all six hats, you can be confident that you’ve explored all angles and are making the best decision possible .

Slow Down to Speed Up with the Six Thinking Hats Technique

In today’s fast-paced world, it’s easy to get caught up in the first solution that comes to mind.

The Six Thinking Hats technique helps you slow down and approach problems in a more thoughtful and deliberate way.

By utilizing all six perspectives, you’ll be able to make better decisions and solve problems more efficiently.

So, the next time you’re faced with a tough problem, consider using the Six Thinking Hats technique to unlock your creativity, reduce conflict, and achieve more complete and collaborative thinking.

You’ll be amazed at the insights and solutions that come from looking at the problem in a new light.

Get the Book

If you’re looking to improve your own thinking or enhance the productivity of your team, give the Six Thinking Hats Technique a try and unlock the full potential of your collective intellect:

View on Amazon

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How to Solve Problems Using the Six Thinking Hats Method

Every problem contains within itself the seeds of its own solution. – Stanley Arnold

Does Every Problem Serve a Purpose?

When life unexpectedly throws you a curveball, things can get overwhelming and ridiculously frustrating very quickly.

If you’re unable to deal with these challenges, this puts you at a clear disadvantage and sabotages your growth and development. And, this is precisely where most people struggle. They’re just ill-prepared for the adversity that life throws their way.

However, irrespective of the problems you face, your issues do actually serve a purpose. That purpose might not be immediately evident, but it’s certainly there.

Every problem you experience has a purpose. That purpose can come in the form of an opportunity . For instance, an opportunity for growth, for improving efficiency, for learning from a mistake , for expanding your perspective, etc.

Problems are typically opportunities that can help improve how you think about your life, yourself, and about your circumstances. They can serve to optimize how you work and live in remarkable ways. However, you need to first embrace these problems with an open heart and mind.

It has been said, that it’s not what happens to us that matters, it’s rather how we respond to what happens that makes all the difference.

Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats method will help you handle adversity, setbacks, and obstacles in far more optimal ways. It presents an efficient method for problem-solving that can be used individually or in a team environment.

This particular interpretation of the Six Thinking Hats  is specifically targeted toward individuals who deal with daily challenges in their business, career, and life.

Therefore, if you’re currently struggling with an array of problems , then the Six Thinking Hats  method can become an excellent source of inspiration. It can help guide you through these problems in more optimal ways.

To explore additional articles in this series, please click through on the links below:

• Part 1: Strategic Questions • Part 2: Creative Thinking • Part 3: Problem Solving • Part 4: Critical Thinking • Part 5: Six Thinking Hats

The Managerial Blue Hat Thinker

An effective problem solver has to have a method for directing their thoughts in proactive ways. Moreover, they must understand how to guide each of their thoughts in a neutral and unbiased manner with the primary intention of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the process.

In this section, let’s discuss each of the characteristics and attributes that give birth to the Blue Thinking Hat. Let’s delve into the roles, goals, and objectives of a blue hat thinker. We will then conclude with a set of questions that can help you to think through your problems in rational ways.

The Role of the Blue Hat

The metaphorical role of the blue hat is the  Movie Director .

A movie director manages actors, cameramen, shooting angles, props, and scripts that are critical for creating a successful blockbuster movie experience.

In precisely the same way, a blue hat manages the thinking process — allowing for better synergy between the thought patterns and habits of the other thinking hats.

Here is a breakdown of the roles the blue hat typically plays:

• To think about thinking.
• To define the problem.
• To gather global perspectives about the problem and the solution.
• To manage the other thinking hats.
• To manage time.
• To manage the flow of ideas.
• To manage the implementation of ideas.

The primary role of the blue hat is to think about the process of thinking.

Every thought that it has is focused on improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the thinking process. This subsequently filters through to the other five hats.

The smoother, faster, and more efficient the process, the higher the probability that a practical solution can be found.

The blue hat must, however, clearly describe the problem in writing. If it fails to define the problem clearly, then it will waste precious time directing its energies on irrelevant thoughts, activities, and tasks.

It’s important to note though, that the blue hat is detached from the actual problem. It prefers to sit back and play the role of the court judge who oversees events from a global perspective. It then uses these insights to decide on a suitable plan of action .

Another role that the blue hat plays is that of a manager. In this role, the blue hat helps to improve the flow of communication between all the hats , thereby encouraging better insights and ideas that bring about ideal solutions to the problem at hand.

The blue hat understands the importance of time and how critical it is for problem-solving. With this in mind, the blue hat plays the role of the timekeeper. It allocates precise chunks of time to the other hats and to specific topics under discussion.

The blue hat is well aware that time should be spent wisely on areas that will bring about the highest returns on investment.

The blue hat also manages the flow of ideas between the hats. It attempts to piece together all the scattered thoughts to help generate an ideal solution to the problem.

Each thinking hat has a unique set of ideas, approaches, and perspectives. The blue hat must constructively merge these unique thoughts, otherwise, the thought process will stumble and stagnate in the face of adversity.

Unique and creative ideas are, of course, wonderful. However, unless we find a means of integrating them into our physical reality, then we will, unfortunately, fail to grasp the opportunities they present us with. For this very reason, the blue hat’s final role is to manage the implementation of these ideas.

The Objectives of the Blue Hat

Throughout the problem-solving process, the blue hat has a set of predefined objectives that it seeks to accomplish. By successfully attaining these goals, it’s better able to synchronize its habitual thought patterns with the other thinking hats.

This subsequently leads to a more efficient and effective process of thinking that brings to light a greater array of solutions and opportunities. These objectives include:

• Improving efficiency and effectiveness of the thinking process.
• Formulating suitable questions to help direct thinking.
• Outlining an agenda, rules, goals, and tasks for problem-solving.
• Organizing ideas and drawing up plans for action.

The blue hat’s primary objective is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the thinking process. The better it’s able to manage the “thinking” of the other hats, the more readily it can identify key ideas and insights needed to expedite the problem-solving process.

The blue hat understands that asking the right kinds of questions can generate helpful insights and potential solutions. However, it must ask these questions cautiously.

The blue hat must pose questions that help stimulate the thinking process. However, it must do so in a way that minimizes the personal biases and limitations that each hat brings to the table.

The blue hat initiates this process by setting an agenda, by outlining rules for discussion, and by setting tasks and objectives that continuously drive the thinking process forward.

The blue hat’s final objective is to then collate all the ideas, facts, and opinions brought forward by the other thinking hats. It then uses that information to structure a practical plan of action for solving the problem.

The more thoroughly it’s able to piece together these dispersed thoughts and ideas, the more ammunition it has to bring its plans to fruition.

Blue Hat Questions

Here is a list of questions that will help you think more effectively about your problems from a blue hat’s perspective:

What problem am I facing? How can I best define this problem? What is my goal and outcome? What do I seek to achieve by solving this problem? What is the most effective method of proceeding from this position? How can I best organize and arrange my thinking to help move me beyond my present circumstances?

Keep in mind that this list of questions is only a starting point that will help guide you in the right direction. Additional questions that you formulate by yourself should take into account each of the roles and objectives that are critical to the mindset of a blue hat thinker.

The Neutral White Hat Thinker

An effective problem solver needs a means of collecting, collating, organizing, and presenting information in a neutral and unbiased way. Moreover, they must have a method for reaching effective logical solutions based on the data they have collected.

In this section, let’s discuss each of the characteristics and attributes that give birth to the White Thinking Hat. Let’s delve into the roles, goals, and objectives of a white hat thinker. We will then conclude with a set of questions that can help you to think through your problems in objective ways.

The Role of the White Hat

The metaphorical role of the white hat is The Detective .

A detective searches for clues, for evidence, and for facts that help them solve a case. They openly acknowledge that a piece of evidence can be misleading. They, therefore, maintain a neutral stance and don’t jump to quick conclusions. They, instead wait for all the facts to be presented before reaching a conclusion.

In precisely the same way, a white hat collects facts, stats, and data that help it piece together the information it needs to reach logical fact-based solutions. That’s essentially its primary role. It collects this evidence to help the other thinking hats work through the problem more effectively.

The white hat must, however, avoid making conclusions or judgments about the information it has collected. Jumping to conclusions or making unjustified assumption could potentially derail the problem-solving process.

The Objectives of the White Hat

Throughout the problem-solving process, the white hat has a set of predefined objectives that it seeks to accomplish. By successfully attaining these goals, it’s better able to synchronize its habitual thought patterns with the other thinking hats.

• Bringing forward stats, facts, and data that can be used to solve the problem.
• Prioritizing facts over opinions and beliefs.
• Highlighting gaps in knowledge, perspective, and awareness.
• Bringing forth logical solutions to the problem at hand.

The white hat’s primary objective is to collect and collate relevant facts, stats, information and data about the problem. This is designed to help open new avenues for brainstorming possible solutions.

These facts are based on questions that address the what, when, where, and how of problem-solving.

In the realm of white hat thinking, there are no beliefs or opinions, there are just solid concrete facts and evidence. These facts, therefore, take precedence over everything else.

Through its exposition of key facts and data, the white hat goes to work unlocking valuable titbits of information about the problem. Its key objective is to bring forth a set of logical, but neutral solutions that will help stimulate further thinking and exploration.

All this, of course, sets the foundations for the reflective thinking that is about to take place.

White Hat Questions

Here is a list of questions that will help you think more effectively about your problems from a white hat’s perspective:

What do I know about this problem? What don’t I know about this problem? What can I learn from this problem? What more would I like to learn about this problem? How will I go about acquiring the facts, stats and data that will help me resolve this problem? What potential solutions exist based on the facts, stats, and data I have collected?

Keep in mind that this list of questions is only a starting point that will help guide you in the right direction. Additional questions that you formulate by yourself should take into account each of the roles and objectives that are critical to the mindset of a white hat thinker.

The Intuitive Red Hat Thinker

An effective problem solver needs a means of intuitively making sense of each problem and the possible solutions that could arise. Moreover, they must have a method for adequately filtering out any preconceived biases that may sway their intuitive feelings and opinions.

In this section, let’s discuss each of the characteristics and attributes that give birth to the Red Thinking Hat. Let’s delve into the roles, goals, and objectives of a red hat thinker. We will then conclude with a set of questions that can help you to think through your problems in intuitive ways.

The Role of the Red Hat

The metaphorical role of the red hat is The Heart .

A heart is a very intuitive organ that senses subtle changes in feeling and emotion when circumstances change.

In precisely the same way, a red hat brings to light its intuitive feelings and opinions to help guide the problem-solving process. That’s essentially its primary role.  It intuitively presents effective solutions and direction for further action based on its personal feelings and hunches.

The red hat must, however, avoid rationalizing or trying to justify its feelings. There is no logic here. It must primarily follow its gut instinct.

The Objectives of the Red Hat

Throughout the problem-solving process, the red hat has a set of predefined objectives that it seeks to accomplish. By successfully attaining these goals, it’s better able to synchronize its habitual thought patterns with the other thinking hats.

• Bringing to light intuitive insights.
• Seeking out other people’s feelings and hunches.
• Exploring the emotional point of view.
• Revealing hidden strengths behind ideas.
• Identifying weaknesses based on hunches.
• Uncovering hidden internal conflicts.

The red hat’s primary objective is to intuitively bring to mind proposals and plans for action that are based on its personal feelings and hunches.

Our feelings are very interesting and somewhat mysterious chemical processes that stimulate mental activity in the brain. When they are pure and removed from personal emotion and bias, they can lead us in unexpected directions towards solutions we logically would never have considered.

The red hat is very open-minded and seeks to identify and clarify other people’s feelings. They then intuitively relate that back to the problem at hand.

They fully understand that when someone is completely removed from the problem, that they’re likely to bring to mind ideas and insights that would frequently cloud their judgment. The red hat can, however, be swayed by their emotional tendencies.

They often seek an emotional understanding of the problem, and, therefore, bring to mind solutions based on their unconscious emotional tendencies.

It’s, of course, particularly important for the other thinking hats to recognize this, as it could unveil certain personal biases, hidden emotions, and reactions that may effectively sabotage the problem-solving process. However, when the red hat is in-tune with their feelings, that is when they truly shine.

For instance, sometimes ideas and potential solutions to problems may seem weak and somewhat impractical at first. However, if the red hat intuitively brings to mind a plan that it feels should be pursued, then this naturally should open the door to further discussion and an exploration of opportunities.

By giving this new idea its deserved attention, you are now expanding possibilities that you may never have considered before.

The red hat’s intuitive feelings may also be used to uncover hidden weaknesses in ideas. This is particularly evident when the solutions we have in mind aren’t as clearcut as they seem. In such instances, contingency plans may need to be set in place just in case things don’t go to plan.

Another essential point to consider is that the red hat’s intuitive feelings may, in fact, bring to mind personal weaknesses or gaps in skill and knowledge. These gaps may need to be addressed to solve the problem under question.

For instance, if the red hat’s feelings are in conflict with the current solution that’s on the table, then this could very well indicate that you don’t have enough resources, skills, knowledge, or experience to make the most of this proposed solution.

The red hat is, however, no shaman or prophet. Its natural tendencies and decisions may, therefore, indirectly reveal subtle internal conflicts that boil up within its psyche. These conflicts can affect the red hat’s hunches and could essentially lead to biased feedback that may sabotage the problem-solving process.

It’s, of course, of primary importance that the blue hat spots these tendencies. It must bring these conflicts to the surface before a final decision is reached.

Red Hat Questions

Here is a list of questions that will help you think more effectively about your problems from a red hat’s perspective:

What is my gut telling me about this solution? What are my feelings telling me about the choice I am about to make? Based on my feelings, is there a better way to go about this? Intuitively, is this the right solution to this problem?

Keep in mind that this list of questions is only a starting point that will help guide you in the right direction. Additional questions that you formulate by yourself should take into account each of the roles and objectives that are critical to the mindset of a red hat thinker.

The Pessimistic Black Hat Thinker

An effective problem solver needs a means of proactively identifying the pitfalls, dangers, and flaws of possible solutions. Moreover, they must have a method of presenting this information in an unemotional and detached manner that isn’t riddled with preconceived ideas or biases.

In this section, let’s discuss each of the characteristics and attributes that give birth to the Black Thinking Hat. Let’s delve into the roles, goals, and objectives of a black hat thinker. We will then conclude with a set of questions that can help you to think through your problems more critically and realistically.

The Role of the Black Hat

The metaphorical role of the black hat is The Reaper .

A Reaper is a mythical creature who brings death and destruction to the living. The Reaper isn’t necessarily good or evil. Yes, its nature is dark and gloomy, however, as with everything in life, it has a purpose and plays a critical role in the cycle of life.

In precisely the same way a black hat is pessimistic and gloomy in nature. It always seeking to pinpoint holes, flaws, weaknesses, and dangers in ideas. It doesn’t do this to be spiteful or destructive, but rather to bring to mind worst-case scenarios that may not have been considered.

Sharing these grim scenarios helps the other hats put in place suitable contingency plans to overcome likely problems.

The black hat’s primary role is to evaluate, judge, caution, and scrutinize the solutions and plans that have been brought forth by the other thinking hats.

The black hat must, however, avoid bringing to mind personal biases that are tinged with fear, jealousy, anger or any other harmful emotions that may impede a solution or magnify the problem.

The Objectives of the Black Hat

Throughout the problem-solving process, the black hat has a set of predefined objectives that it seeks to accomplish. By successfully attaining these goals, it’s better able to synchronize its habitual thought patterns with the other thinking hats.

• Bringing to light possible flaws and dangers.
• Highlighting inadequate resources.
• Eliminating weaknesses and bad ideas.
• Questioning inadequate contingency plans.

The black hat’s primary objective is to expose all the possible flaws and dangers that could derail the goals you are seeking to achieve.

Every solution you come up with may seem wonderful on the surface. However, below the surface, it could be riddled with dangers.

The black hat excels at finding fatal flaws in potential plans and solutions before you jump headfirst into a pool filled with hungry sharks.

The black hat, however, doesn’t just poke holes in ideas. It will also bring to mind the various resources that you will likely need to accomplish your objective. These resources could include skills, knowledge, support, and time.

If the solution you are aiming for requires key resources you are sorely lacking, then the black hat will make you aware of these inadequacies.

The black hat’s primary indirect objective is to eliminate all weaknesses and ill-thought-through ideas.  It does this indirectly through it’s pessimistic and critical nature.

Once these weaknesses have been brought to light, that is when the yellow hat takes over. The yellow hat’s primary objective is to overcome these weaknesses using a logical sequence of steps.

The black hat’s final objective is to bring to mind inadequate contingency plans that may seem fool-proof on the surface. As a result, the black hat persistently asks itself:

How is this likely to fail?

The answers to this question set the course for inspired yellow and green hat thinking.

Black Hat Questions

Here is a list of questions that will help you think more effectively about your problems from a black hat’s perspective:

What is the fatal flaw in this idea? What is the drawback to this way of thinking? How many ways is this likely to fail? What are the potential risks and consequences associated with this? Do I have the necessary resources, skills, and support to pull this off?

Keep in mind that this list of questions is only a starting point that will help guide you in the right direction. Additional questions that you formulate by yourself should take into account each of the roles and objectives that are critical to the mindset of a black hat thinker.

The Optimistic Yellow Hat Thinker

An effective problem solver needs a means of realistically analyzing problems and bringing to light promising ideas that can help inspire effective solutions. Moreover, they need to cultivate a resilient mindset that inspires proactive action in the face of criticism and adversity.

In this section, let’s discuss each of the characteristics and attributes that give birth to the Yellow Thinking Hat. Let’s delve into the roles, goals, and objectives of a yellow hat thinker. We will then conclude with a set of questions that will encourage you to think through your problems more optimistically and favorably.

The Role of the Yellow Hat

The metaphorical role of the yellow hat is The Sun .

A sun is bright, happy, and powerful. It helps give life to everything it touches.

In exactly the same way, a yellow hat brings forth a positive, welcoming, and radiant energy that breathes life into every idea.

The yellow hat seeks to infuse positive ideas into the problem-solving process that enhances motivation and opens doors to new opportunities and understandings.

The primary role of the yellow hat is to move through the myriad of obstacles to a solution in a realistic and positive way. 

The yellow hat sees no boundaries or limitations and wholeheartedly believes that if there is a means, then they will find a way.

The yellow hat must, however, avoid getting caught up in pessimistic thoughts. They must also avoid bringing to mind hopeful solutions based on hypothetical facts, feelings, and opinions.

The Objectives of the Yellow Hat

Throughout the problem-solving process, the yellow hat has a set of predefined objectives that it seeks to accomplish. By successfully attaining these goals, it’s better able to synchronize its habitual thought patterns with the other thinking hats.

• Exploring benefits of each scenario that is presented.
• Seeking out potential opportunities that might exist.
• Making a positive risk-assessment.
• Assessing the feasibility of ideas.
• Infusing the problem-solving process with positive energy.

The yellow hat persistently seeks out benefits. It sees a problem and brings to mind effective contingency plans and solutions that help pave the way forward.  Its primary objective is to search for answers that lead to a higher array of opportunities .

It wholeheartedly understands that within every problem there is an equivalent seed of opportunity that is waiting to be discovered.

The yellow hat, of course, recognizes that there are risks associated with every action that’s aimed at a solution to the problem. It, therefore, realistically assesses these risks and draws up a practical plan that counteracts, minimizes, and eliminates them.

Another primary objective of the yellow hat is to assess the feasibility of ideas based on the resources (skills, knowledge, time, and support) you have available.

It takes these resources into consideration and formulates ideas and plans that make the best use of the resources you have at your disposal while minimizing the effect of what you’re missing.

The final objective of the yellow hat is to instill a sense of positive expectation that moves the problem-solving process forward. It, therefore, tackles every challenge with optimism, patience , determination , and resolve.

Yellow Hat Questions

Here is a list of questions that will help you think more effectively about your problems from a yellow hat’s perspective:

How can I best approach this problem? How can I logically and realistically make this work? What positive outcomes could result from this action? What are the long-term benefits of this action?

Keep in mind that this list of questions is only a starting point that will help guide you in the right direction. Additional questions that you formulate by yourself should take into account each of the roles and objectives that are critical to the mindset of a yellow hat thinker.

The Creative Green Hat Thinker

An effective problem solver needs a means of processing problems in an open, flexible, and unconstrained way. Moreover, they must become a possibility thinker who persistently thinks outside the box and bends the rules of problem-solving. Furthermore, they must do this free from judgment and self-criticism .

In this section, let’s discuss each of the characteristics and attributes that give birth to the Green Thinking Hat. Let’s delve into the roles, goals, and objectives of a green hat thinker. We will then conclude with a set of questions that will encourage you to think through your problems in creative ways.

The Role of the Green Hat

The metaphorical role of the green hat is The Seedling .

A seedling sprouts from the ground and grows persistently over time. It expands its leaves and branches in many unexpected directions.

In exactly the same way, a green hat instills an ever-growing and expanding sense of unpredictability into the thought process.

The green hat isn’t one to be controlled by rules or limitations. It knows and understands that it’s free to think beyond the norms and boundaries of reality. With this in mind, it brings forth a myriad of creative and mind-bending ideas that expand the possibilities and bring to light unique and seemingly unexpected solutions.

The primary role of the green hat is to open the doors to unique creative ideas and perspectives that shatter the boundaries of reality and unlock new understandings and opportunities.

The green hat must, however, avoid criticizing or judging the ideas that it brings to mind.

The Objectives of the Green Hat

Throughout the problem-solving process, the green hat has a set of predefined objectives that it seeks to accomplish. By successfully attaining these goals, it’s better able to synchronize its habitual thought patterns with the other thinking hats.

• Expanding thinking and awareness of ideas and potential solutions.
• Thinking outside the box and bending conventional rules and practices.
• Providing creative ideas and solutions.
• Installing new perspectives through creative insights and ideas.

The primary role of the green hat is to expand the possibilities of reality in surprising and unexpected ways beyond box-like thinking methods.

It seeks out new strategies, tactics, and methods for thinking about problems then twists them in multi-dimensional ways that lead to new insights, answers, and understandings.

The green hat isn’t constrained by standard rules of thinking about a problem. It understands that rules are made to be broken. And so, it completely disregards all rules and guidelines. Instead, it’s always thinking, expanding, analyzing, daydreaming, and manifesting crazy and wacky ideas that sometimes make no logical sense.

It’s not the green hat’s duty to live in the logical world. This is what the other hats do very well. Its responsibility is rather within the realm of fantasy  — within free-flowing lateral thinking that breaks the boundaries of reality. And it’s this method of thinking that brings to light improbable ideas and wacky solutions.

The green hat uses numerous creative problem-solving techniques that help to expand its awareness and understanding of the problem. These methods bring to mind unique ideas and solutions that challenge the other thinking hats to think in original ways.

The green hat’s process of thinking presents the other hats with new perspectives and modes of looking at the problem (and its possible solutions). This successfully breaks down the boundaries of understanding and opens the doors to new solutions.

Green Hat Questions

Here is a list of questions that will help you think more effectively about your problems from a green hat’s perspective:

What alternative possibilities could exist here? Could this be done in a different way? How can I look at this problem from a unique perspective? How can I think outside the box about this? What if…?

Keep in mind that this list of questions is only a starting point that will help guide you in the right direction. Additional questions that you formulate by yourself should take into account each of the roles and objectives that are critical to the mindset of a green hat thinker.

How to Use the Six Thinking Hats

Now that you have a solid understanding of the Six Thinking Hat’s problem-solving process, it’s time to briefly point out how these hats work together to help you formulate effective solutions and new ideas.

Okay, so, the process begins when the managerial blue hat (Director) allocates thinking time to each of the six hats, including itself. Often the order of thinking would progress in the following way:

• The blue hat  defines and outlines the problem under question. It then guides the other thinking hats through the thinking process.
• The white hat  collects all the facts, data, and statistics related to the problem. It then uses this information to settle on several logical solutions to the problem.
• The red hat  intuitively reflects on the solutions. Then, based on its hunches, it selects the best course of action moving forward.
• The black hat  quickly pinpointing holes, dangers, flaws, and limitations of the proposed plans.
• The yellow hat  now challenges the black hat’s pessimism by bringing to light logical ideas and contingency plans that help circumnavigate these dangers.
• The green hat  then takes these ideas and enhances them using its out-of-the-box thinking mentality.
• After all the thinking hats have had their say, the blue hat continues to transition between the hats in a logical order. It may, for instance, ask the red hat for its intuitive insights about the green hat’s ideas. Or, it may ask the white hat to gather more facts and information about the dangers that the black hat brought to light. After which, it may ask the yellow hat to bring forth some logical solutions to the problem at hand.

No matter how the blue hat decides to orchestrate the thinking process, it’s always seeking to obtain a global perspective and understanding of the problem. Its objective is to bring to light an ideal solution to the problem.

Staying presently aware of this objective will help you cycle through the Six Thinking Hats  problem-solving process far more effectively.

Edward de Bono Discusses The Six Thinking Hats

Concluding Thoughts

The Six Thinking Hat’s  problem-solving method provides us with a multi-dimensional tool that can dramatically improve the effectiveness and efficiency of how we think and work through problems. However, its use goes well beyond just problem-solving.

Whether your objective is to solve a problem , to overcome an obstacle , to brainstorm a new idea , to improve your decision-making or for academic purposes, the Six Thinking Hats will help you find the solutions, answers, and the opportunities you need to keep you ahead of the game.

Now the choice is yours. You can either just leave your hats hanging on the coat-hanger collecting dust, or you can consistently and persistently use them to improve the quality of your life.

Time to Assimilate these Concepts

GET THIS MAP

Did you gain value from this article? Is it important that you know and understand this topic?   Would you like to optimize how you think about this topic? Would you like a method for applying these ideas to your life?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then I’m confident you will gain tremendous value from using the accompanying IQ Matrix for coaching or self-coaching purposes. This mind map provides you with a quick visual overview of the article you just read. The branches, interlinking ideas, and images model how the brain thinks and processes information. It’s kind of like implanting a thought into your brain – an upgrade of sorts that optimizes how you think about these concepts and ideas. 🙂

Recommended IQ Matrix Bundles

If you’re intrigued by the idea of using mind maps for self-improvement then I would like to invite you to become an IQ Matrix Member.

If you’re new to mind mapping or just want to check things out, then register for the Free 12 Month Membership Program . There you will gain access to over 90 mind maps, visual tools, and resources valued at over $500. 

If, on the other hand, you want access to an ever-growing library of 100s of visual tools and resources, then check out our Premium Membership Packages . These packages provide you with the ultimate visual reference library for all your personal development needs.

Gain More Knowledge…

Here are some additional links and resources that will help you learn more about this topic:

• Boost Your Brainstorming with the Six Thinking Hats Method @ Lifehacker
• 6 Thinking Hats: Mind Map & Downloadable Information Sheet @ Spiritual Inspiration
• 6 Thinking Hats: A Tool for Strengthening Critical Thinking @ LinkedIn
• The 6 Thinking Hats Introduction @ Mind Tools

About The Author

Adam Sicinski

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The Six Thinking Hats

The Six Thinking Hats are used by individuals and groups to separate out conflicting styles of thinking. They enable and encourage a group of people to think constructively together in exploring and implementing change, rather than using argument to fight over who is right and who is wrong.

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Attachments

Instructions

Thinking about and managing the thinking process

The blue hat is the control hat. It is used for thinking about thinking. The blue hat sets the agenda, focus and sequence of hats, ensures the guidelines are observed and asks for summaries, conclusions, decisions and plans action.

Generating ideas

The green hat is for creative thinking and generating new ideas, alternatives, possibilities and new concepts.

Intuition and feelings

The red hat is about feelings, intuitions and instincts. The red hat invites feelings without justification.

Yellow Hat:

Benefits and values

The yellow hat is for a positive view of things. It looks for the benefits and values.

Black or Grey Hat:

The black or grey hat identifies risk. It is used for critical judgment and must give the logical reasons for concerns. It is one of the most powerful hats.

Information

The white hat is all about information. What information you have, what information you need and where to get it.

Important points to note

The hats can be used on your own or in a group.

In group discussions, it is essential that everyone uses the same hat (mode of thinking) at the same time . This is to avoid personal preferences and conflicts between modes of thinking.

​The black hat is powerful and essential. It is a necessary part of thinking but often overused.

​We respect that colours have different cultural contexts. For example, in China wearing a green hat signifies an unfaithful spouse. While it would undervalue the black hat to assume it is a bad hat, we respect that you may prefer to use grey to indicate risk assessment. You may change the colours of the hats if you wish. For the method to be effective, it is important that there are six distinct modes of thinking and that everyone has a common language to communicate these.

Training in the use of the hats includes how to structure the hats into sequences to address different situations. This provides a structure and direction for the thinking, leading to more productive and enjoyable discussions.

This summary was reproduced with permission from de Bono . The Six Thinking Hats were created by Dr. Edward de Bono and have been adopted in training programs by organisations around the world since 1991. The de Bono network includes accredited trainers and facilitators in 72 countries through 18 training partners who act as Authorised Distributors . We provide in person and virtual training and facilitation, supported by interactive digital courses and applications, to help you apply the methods to topics that are important to you. Please contact us  https://www.debono.com/authorised-distributors .

The Six Thinking Hats is a registered trademark. Copyright Edward de Bono Ltd 2021.

Comments ( 2 )  

Hope mc nish.

I agree with the point about changing the colours based on cultural context. I have encountered concerns about the Black Hat being used to symbolize the negative perspective.

This has become one of my key references for decision-making as it helps individuals and groups to make sound decisions by allowing all perpectives to be considered.

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The Power of Six Thinking Hats: A Comprehensive Guide to Making Better Decisions

When it comes to decision-making and problem-solving, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut. We tend to approach problems from the same perspective, relying on the same thought processes and biases. But what if there was a way to break free from these patterns and explore problems and solutions from multiple perspectives?

That’s where the Six Thinking Hats method comes in. Developed by Edward de Bono in the 1980s, this method is a powerful tool for group decision-making and problem-solving. It breaks down thinking into six distinct modes, represented by coloured hats. Each hat encourages a different type of thinking, from creativity and intuition to logic and analysis. By wearing each hat in turn, you can explore problems and solutions from multiple perspectives and make more informed decisions.

Let’s take a closer look at each hat and its corresponding mode of thinking:

• The White Hat: This hat represents objective thinking and data collection. When wearing the white hat, you focus on gathering information, facts, and figures to inform your decision-making.
• The Red Hat: This hat represents emotional thinking and intuition. When wearing the red hat, you focus on your feelings, instincts, and reactions to a situation.
• The Black Hat: This hat represents critical thinking and caution. When wearing the black hat, you focus on potential problems, risks, and drawbacks of a particular decision.
• The Yellow Hat: This hat represents optimistic thinking and positivity. When wearing the yellow hat, you focus on the benefits, opportunities, and possibilities of a particular decision.
• The Green Hat: This hat represents creative thinking and innovation. When wearing the green hat, you focus on generating new ideas, solutions, and alternatives.
• The Blue Hat: This hat represents strategic thinking and organisation. When wearing the blue hat, you focus on managing the thinking process itself, setting goals, and evaluating progress.

By using each hat in turn, you can explore a problem or decision from multiple angles and perspectives. This can help you identify potential blind spots, biases, and assumptions that might be limiting your thinking. It can also help you to make more informed and balanced decisions, considering both the pros and cons of each option.

The Six Thinking Hats method is not just for group decision-making. You can also use it on your own to help you think more creatively, critically, and

The benefits of Six Thinking Hats

The Six Thinking Hats method offers a range of benefits for individuals and groups looking to improve their decision-making and problem-solving skills. Here are some of the key benefits:

• Encourages creativity: The green hat encourages creative thinking and innovation, which can lead to new ideas and solutions that may not have been considered otherwise.
• Promotes critical thinking: The black hat encourages critical thinking and caution, which helps to identify potential problems, risks, and drawbacks of a particular decision.
• Balances emotions and logic: The red hat represents emotional thinking and intuition, while the white hat represents objective thinking and data collection. By considering both emotions and logic, the Six Thinking Hats method helps to balance these two aspects of decision-making.
• Increases collaboration: The Six Thinking Hats method is designed for group decision-making, encouraging collaboration and communication among team members.
• Reduces groupthink : Groupthink is a phenomenon where a group of people make decisions based on the desire for conformity, rather than considering all options. The Six Thinking Hats method helps to reduce groupthink by encouraging individuals to consider multiple perspectives and ideas.
• Improves decision-making: By considering multiple perspectives and weighing the pros and cons of each option, the Six Thinking Hats method can help individuals and groups make more informed and balanced decisions.
• Enhances problem-solving skills: The Six Thinking Hats method is a structured approach to problem-solving, providing a clear framework for individuals and groups to work through problems and find solutions.
• Increases engagement: By using different hats to represent different modes of thinking, the Six Thinking Hats method helps to keep individuals engaged and focused on the task at hand.

Overall, the Six Thinking Hats method offers a range of benefits for individuals and groups looking to improve their decision-making and problem-solving skills. By encouraging creativity, promoting critical thinking, balancing emotions and logic, increasing collaboration, reducing groupthink, improving decision-making, enhancing problem-solving skills, and increasing engagement, this method is a powerful tool for anyone looking to make better decisions and solve problems more effectively.

The risks of the Six Thinking Hats method

While the Six Thinking Hats method has many benefits, there are also some risks associated with its use. Here are some of the potential risks to consider:

• Oversimplification: The Six Thinking Hats method provides a structured framework for decision-making and problem-solving. However, there is a risk of oversimplification, where complex problems are reduced to a set of predetermined categories. This may limit the ability to consider all relevant factors and may result in incomplete or inadequate solutions.
• Bias: The Six Thinking Hats method is designed to encourage balanced thinking and reduce bias. However, there is still a risk of bias creeping in, particularly if individuals are not aware of their own biases or if group dynamics lead to conformity and pressure to conform to a particular viewpoint.
• Lack of depth: The Six Thinking Hats method is focused on generating ideas and considering different perspectives. However, there is a risk that the method may not go deep enough into each perspective or idea. This can result in shallow analysis and incomplete understanding of complex issues.
• Time-consuming: The Six Thinking Hats method requires a significant investment of time and effort, particularly for groups. It can be difficult to get all team members on board and committed to the process, and it may be challenging to find the time to fully explore all perspectives and ideas.
• Limited applicability: The Six Thinking Hats method may not be appropriate for all types of problems or decisions. It may be more effective for straightforward problems with clear solutions, rather than complex issues that require more nuanced and multifaceted solutions.

Overall, while the Six Thinking Hats method is a powerful tool for decision-making and problem-solving, there are some risks to be aware of. To mitigate these risks, it is important to use the method thoughtfully and critically, to remain aware of biases and potential oversimplifications, and to ensure that the method is appropriate for the problem at hand.

The White Hat

When wearing the white hat, individuals focus on gathering information, facts, and figures to inform their decision-making.

The White Hat encourages individuals to approach decision-making and problem-solving in a logical and rational manner. It is a tool for collecting and analysing data, without making any judgments or assumptions. This hat encourages individuals to focus on gathering all relevant information before moving on to the next step.

One of the benefits of the White Hat is that it helps to reduce bias and subjectivity. By focusing on objective facts and data, individuals are less likely to be influenced by their own biases, emotions, or preconceived ideas. This can lead to more accurate and informed decision-making.

The White Hat is particularly useful in situations where there is a lot of data to be collected and analysed. For example, when making a business decision, individuals may need to collect and analyse financial data, market research , and other relevant information. The White Hat provides a structured approach to gathering and organising this information.

Some of the specific techniques used when wearing the White Hat include data analysis, research, and fact-checking. Individuals may also use tools such as spreadsheets or databases to organise and analyse large amounts of data.

By focusing on objective facts and data, individuals can make more informed and accurate decisions, reducing the risk of bias and subjectivity.

The Red Hat

When wearing the red hat, individuals focus on their feelings, instincts, and reactions to a situation.

The Red Hat encourages individuals to approach decision-making and problem-solving from an emotional perspective. It is a tool for exploring gut feelings, hunches, and intuitions, without the need for logical or rational justification. This hat encourages individuals to consider the emotional impact of a decision or situation.

One of the benefits of the Red Hat is that it allows individuals to bring their own personal experiences and perspectives into the decision-making process. This can help to foster empathy and understanding among team members, and can lead to more creative and innovative solutions.

The Red Hat is particularly useful in situations where there is a lot of ambiguity or uncertainty. For example, when making a decision about a new product launch, individuals may need to consider how customers will emotionally respond to the product. The Red Hat provides a structured approach to exploring these emotional responses.

Some of the specific techniques used when wearing the Red Hat include brainstorming , free association, and visualisation. Individuals may also use tools such as mood boards or mind maps to explore their emotions and reactions.

The Red Hat encourages individuals to explore their feelings and intuitions, the Red Hat can lead to more creative and empathetic solutions, fostering a deeper understanding among team members.

The Black Hat

When wearing the black hat, individuals focus on potential problems, risks, and drawbacks of a particular decision.

The Black Hat encourages individuals to approach decision-making and problem-solving from a critical perspective. It is a tool for identifying potential roadblocks and limitations, and for assessing the risks and drawbacks of a particular decision or solution.

One of the benefits of the Black Hat is that it helps to reduce the risk of making hasty or ill-informed decisions. By focusing on potential problems and risks, individuals can better assess the feasibility and effectiveness of a particular solution. This can lead to more informed and balanced decision-making.

The Black Hat is particularly useful in situations where there are potential risks or drawbacks to a particular decision or solution. For example, when making a decision about a new product launch, individuals may need to consider potential risks such as market saturation or regulatory hurdles. The Black Hat provides a structured approach to exploring these potential risks.

Some of the specific techniques used when wearing the Black Hat include risk analysis, problem identification, and root cause analysis. Individuals may also use tools such as checklists or decision matrices to assess the potential risks and drawbacks of a particular decision.

The Black Hat encourages individuals to approach decision-making from a critical perspective, the Black Hat can lead to more informed and balanced decisions, reducing the risk of making hasty or ill-informed decisions.

The Yellow Hat

The Yellow Hat represents optimistic thinking and positivity. When wearing the yellow hat, individuals focus on the benefits, opportunities, and possibilities of a particular decision.

The Yellow Hat encourages individuals to approach decision-making and problem-solving from a positive perspective. It is a tool for exploring the potential benefits and advantages of a particular decision or solution, without being bogged down by potential limitations or risks.

One of the benefits of the Yellow Hat is that it helps to foster a positive and optimistic mindset among team members. By focusing on the potential benefits of a decision or solution, individuals can feel more motivated and inspired to work towards a common goal.

The Yellow Hat is particularly useful in situations where individuals may feel stuck or uninspired. For example, when developing a new marketing strategy, individuals may need to focus on the potential benefits of different approaches to reignite their enthusiasm. The Yellow Hat provides a structured approach to exploring these potential benefits.

Some of the specific techniques used when wearing the Yellow Hat include brainstorming, positive affirmations, and goal setting. Individuals may also use tools such as vision boards or motivational posters to maintain a positive mindset.

The Yellow Hat encourages individuals to approach decision-making from a positive perspective, the Yellow Hat can help to foster a sense of motivation and inspiration, leading to more creative and innovative solutions.

The Green Hat

The Green Hat represents creative thinking and innovation. When wearing the green hat, individuals focus on generating new ideas, solutions, and alternatives.

The Green Hat encourages individuals to approach decision-making and problem-solving from a creative perspective. It is a tool for exploring new and innovative ideas, without being constrained by traditional or conventional thinking.

One of the benefits of the Green Hat is that it helps to foster creativity and innovation among team members. By encouraging individuals to think outside the box and explore new ideas, the Green Hat can lead to more original and impactful solutions.

The Green Hat is particularly useful in situations where individuals may feel stuck or uninspired. For example, when developing a new product or service, individuals may need to explore new and innovative ideas to differentiate themselves from competitors. The Green Hat provides a structured approach to generating these new ideas.

Some of the specific techniques used when wearing the Green Hat include brainstorming, mind mapping , and lateral thinking. Individuals may also use tools such as creativity exercises or random word generators to spark new ideas.

Overall, the Green Hat encourages individuals to approach decision-making from a creative perspective, the Green Hat can help to foster a sense of innovation and originality, leading to more impactful and effective solutions.

The Blue Hat

The Blue Hat represents strategic thinking and organisation. When wearing the blue hat, individuals focus on managing the thinking process itself, setting goals, and evaluating progress.

The Blue Hat encourages individuals to approach decision-making and problem-solving from a strategic perspective. It is a tool for organising and managing the thinking process, ensuring that the group remains focused and on track.

One of the benefits of the Blue Hat is that it helps to provide structure and organisation to the decision-making process. By setting goals and evaluating progress, individuals can ensure that they are making effective use of their time and resources.

The Blue Hat is particularly useful in situations where there are many different ideas or perspectives to consider. For example, when developing a strategic plan, individuals may need to consider a wide range of factors, including market trends, customer needs, and organisational capabilities. The Blue Hat provides a structured approach to organising and prioritising these different factors.

Some of the specific techniques used when wearing the Blue Hat include goal setting, agenda setting, and progress monitoring. Individuals may also use tools such as Gantt charts or project management software to manage the decision-making process.

By encouraging individuals to approach decision-making from a strategic perspective, the Blue Hat can help to provide structure and organisation to the decision-making process, leading to more effective and efficient solutions.

Implementing the six thinking hats approach

Implementing the Six Thinking Hats approach can be a powerful tool for decision-making and problem-solving. Here are some steps for effectively implementing this approach:

• Define the problem or decision to be made: Before starting the Six Thinking Hats process, it is important to define the problem or decision that needs to be made. This will help to ensure that everyone is on the same page and that the thinking process is focused on the relevant issues.
• Assign roles: Assign different hats to each team member or individual, ensuring that everyone has a clear understanding of their role and responsibilities.
• Set ground rules: Establish ground rules for the thinking process, such as encouraging open communication, respecting different perspectives, and avoiding judgement or criticism.
• Use each hat in turn: Begin the thinking process by using each hat in turn, starting with the white hat and moving through each hat in sequence. This will help to ensure that all perspectives are considered and that the thinking process is balanced.
• Use techniques specific to each hat: Use specific techniques and tools associated with each hat, such as data analysis for the white hat, brainstorming for the green hat, and risk analysis for the black hat.
• Evaluate progress: Throughout the thinking process, evaluate progress against the problem or decision to be made. This will help to ensure that the thinking process is focused and productive.
• Synthesise solutions: Once all perspectives have been considered, synthesise the solutions or options that have been generated. Evaluate each option against the problem or decision to be made, and choose the option that is most effective and feasible.
• Implement the decision: Once a decision has been made, implement it effectively. Ensure that all team members are aware of the decision and their roles in implementing it.

By following these steps, you can effectively implement the Six Thinking Hats approach, leading to more informed and effective decision-making and problem-solving.

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New & Custom Home Builders in Elektrostal'

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Victor Mukhin

• Scientific Program

Title : Active carbons as nanoporous materials for solving of environmental problems

However, up to now, the main carriers of catalytic additives have been mineral sorbents: silica gels, alumogels. This is obviously due to the fact that they consist of pure homogeneous components SiO2 and Al2O3, respectively. It is generally known that impurities, especially the ash elements, are catalytic poisons that reduce the effectiveness of the catalyst. Therefore, carbon sorbents with 5-15% by weight of ash elements in their composition are not used in the above mentioned technologies. However, in such an important field as a gas-mask technique, carbon sorbents (active carbons) are carriers of catalytic additives, providing effective protection of a person against any types of potent poisonous substances (PPS). In ESPE “JSC "Neorganika" there has been developed the technology of unique ashless spherical carbon carrier-catalysts by the method of liquid forming of furfural copolymers with subsequent gas-vapor activation, brand PAC. Active carbons PAC have 100% qualitative characteristics of the three main properties of carbon sorbents: strength - 100%, the proportion of sorbing pores in the pore space – 100%, purity - 100% (ash content is close to zero). A particularly outstanding feature of active PAC carbons is their uniquely high mechanical compressive strength of 740 ± 40 MPa, which is 3-7 times larger than that of  such materials as granite, quartzite, electric coal, and is comparable to the value for cast iron - 400-1000 MPa. This allows the PAC to operate under severe conditions in moving and fluidized beds.  Obviously, it is time to actively develop catalysts based on PAC sorbents for oil refining, petrochemicals, gas processing and various technologies of organic synthesis.

Victor M. Mukhin was born in 1946 in the town of Orsk, Russia. In 1970 he graduated the Technological Institute in Leningrad. Victor M. Mukhin was directed to work to the scientific-industrial organization "Neorganika" (Elektrostal, Moscow region) where he is working during 47 years, at present as the head of the laboratory of carbon sorbents.     Victor M. Mukhin defended a Ph. D. thesis and a doctoral thesis at the Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia (in 1979 and 1997 accordingly). Professor of Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia. Scientific interests: production, investigation and application of active carbons, technological and ecological carbon-adsorptive processes, environmental protection, production of ecologically clean food.   

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