Six Thinking Hats—Tools For Problem Solving, Meetings That Produce Actionable Output in Less Than Half The Time, Plus Enhanced Creative Thinking

Six Thinking Hats is a fast-paced, interactive workshop.  The measurable results include shorter meetings, thorough decisions, better communication and easier problem resolution.  By mentally wearing and switching symbolic “hats”, individuals or teams separate thinking into six categories for analyzing matters objectively and comprehensively.  It’s overwhelming to see the results that can be accomplished by a person or team who know how to separate emotion from facts, the positive from the negative, and critical thinking from creative thinking.

Six Thinking Hats can help a team achieve greater results, reduce conflicts, propel quality initiatives, hold productive meetings, and also to think creatively.  Six Hats puts an end to time-consuming, unproductive meetings, and the related stress and conflict. Six Thinking Hats features SIX TOOLS that can cut meeting time in half and can help accomplish more output while eliminating argument and antagonism.  This practical, skill-building process, method, or structure replaces one-dimensional thinking with six-dimensional, parallel thinking.  The Six Metaphorical Hats (or modes of thinking) are:

·        The WHITE Hat:  The White Hat calls for information known or needed.  “The facts, just the facts.”

·        The YELLOW Hat:  The Yellow Hat symbolizes brightness and optimism.  Under this hat you can explore the positives and probe for value and benefit.

·        The BLACK Hat:  The Black Hat is judgment—the devil’s advocate or why something may not work.  Spot the difficulties and dangers, where things might go wrong.

·        The RED Hat:  The Red Hat signifies feelings, hunches, and intuition.  When using this hat you can express emotions and feelings and share fears, likes, dislikes, and hates.

·        The GREEN Hat:  The Green Hat focuses on creativity; the possibilities, alternatives, and new ideas.  It’s an opportunity to express new  concepts and new perceptions.

·        The BLUE Hat:  The Blue Hat is used to manage the thinking process.  It’s the control mechanism that ensures the Six Thinking Hats guidelines are observed.

The Six Thinking Hats process has four specific uses:

1)         A critical meeting facilitation tool

2)         An outstanding team productivity/communication tool

3)         A creativity enhancer

4)         A control mechanism used to maximize and organize a person’s thoughts. 

When used as a meeting management tool, Six Thinking Hats directs all individuals to be focused and to-the-point.  It’s also very effective in neutralizing employee rank, equalizing input when the very assertive and the introverted are on the same team.

 “Ideas are the currency of success; they separate you from your competition.” 

(Edward de Bono)

Six Thinking Hats provide skills and tools that can be easily and powerfully applied.  The Hats are based on the philosophy--The difference between brilliant and mediocre teams lies not so much in their collective mental equipment, but in how well they use it and how well they work together.

“Six Thinking Hats excites everyone in the organization.  It has added a new dimension and accountability in our workplace and has shown excellent results.  We have adopted it as a company philosophy.” 

(Ron Barbaro, Prudential Insurance)