Six Thinking Hats
A way of running a group discussion: everyone adopts the same mode of thinking at once, represented by a colored hat, and they switch it as they go.
What it’s for
Keeps a meeting from turning into a fight between those who defend an idea and those who attack it.
Key elements
White
Data and available information.
Red
Emotions and intuitions, without justifying them.
Black
Risks and reasons for caution.
Yellow
Benefits and reasons for optimism.
Green
New ideas and alternatives.
Blue
Organizing the discussion: what comes next and what is concluded.
How it’s done
Set out the topic and the order of the hats.
Think together wearing the same hat, and switch when it’s time.
Conclude with blue: what is decided.
Applications in design
When to use it
To assess ideas or decisions with a group, after ideation.
Avoid
Using the hats to label people (“you are the black hat”).
Don’t fall for it
The black hat is useful, but it should not take up the whole session: give it its turn, like the others.
Connections
Authors and works
- 1985
Edward de Bono
Proposed “parallel thinking”: the group explores a topic in the same direction at the same time, instead of clashing.
Sources
Original sources
- de Bono, E. (1985). Six thinking hats. Little, Brown.
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