Edward de Bono is a well-known authority in the creative thinking field. In 1967, he created the term ‘lateral thinking’, which is “solving problems through an indirect and creative approach, using reasoning that is not immediately obvious and involving ideas that may not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic”. In his opinion the hard thing about thinking is the confusion as we are trying to juggle too much at once – information, logic, creativity, etc. To simplify our thinking process, he created the “Six Thinking Hats” method.

The principle of the hats are to prompt people to think in a certain way at a particular time. By using the “hat” as an idiom, people put an effort to think out of their comfort zone using a different thought process. This technique allows a switch in thinking and can be used in a group setting or by an individual when they are solving problems. The book has lots of examples to help readers understand how each technique works. So here is a brief summary of the ‘hats’.

White Hat – The Facts and Figures Hat

The white signifies neutrality and objectivity. This method of thinking is used to obtain information or to fill in information gaps. The white hat should not be used to put forward arguments to a problem.
De Bono also explains that there are two tiers of facts – checked fact and unchecked fact (belief). Under the white hat, we need to think like a computer that only shows us the facts and figures on demand.

… your own opinion is never permissible under white hat thinking.

Red Hat – The Emotional Hat

Emotions and feelings are an important part of thinking. Using the red hat allows a person to express how one feels about a subject without having to justify the feelings or providing a logical basis.

Just like the facts under the white hat, there are two general types of feeling – the ordinary emotions (e.g. fear, anger, love) and complex judgements (e.g. hunch, intuition). Importantly when using the red hat in a group setting, a person should not be allowed to say “pass”.

Yet any good decision must be emotional in the end. …our choice of route is determined by values and emotions.

Black Hat – The “Devil’s Advocate” Hat

As the colour suggests, the black hat symbolises cautious thinking. It is the basis of critical thinking and it is always logical. This hat is used to consider risks, dangers, and obstacles. The black hat thinking can also be used to identify weaknesses in an idea or process so that those weaknesses can be corrected.

However, the black hat should not be used to create or lead into an argument. The purpose of the hat is still to lay down all statements in parallel to create a full map before creating or picking the route.

One way of putting forward comments under the black hat is to say: “I see a danger …”

Yellow Hat – The Positive Hat

Just like the colour of sunshine, the yellow hat represents optimism or positive thinking, which is the opposite of the black hat thinking. It is not just about making a positive statement about the matter at hand but it is a deliberate search for the benefits.

The yellow hat thinking is concerned with the generation, the positive assessment, and the developing / building up of a proposal. Using the yellow hat, we can correct the faults or weaknesses that have been picked out by the black hat thinking.

Yellow hat thinking covers a positive spectrum ranging from the logical and practical at one end to dreams, visions, and hopes at the other end.

Green Hat – The Creative Hat

The green colour symbolises growth and seeding of new ideas. The fundamental part of green hat thinking is the search for alternatives, however, these need to go beyond the known and obvious alternatives.

The idea of the creative hat is to use ’movement’ rather than ‘judgements’ which are used for the other hats (e.g. ‘is this good or bad?’). Instead ‘movement’ is the concept of moving forward from one idea to reach a new idea. One way of doing so is by using a provocation as a stepping stone.

One provocation is the reversal method whereby you reverse or turn a normal situation back to front. An example of the reversal method mentioned in the book is this:

Normal situation: shoppers usually pay for the goods they buy

Reversal method: the store pays the customers

Your first reaction to this reverse sentence would be confusion. The reversal does not fit with the typical understanding of how things work. However the reversal makes you pause and think about what is normal and from this new ideas can develop.

Unlike other hats, when using a green hat in a group setting we cannot demand an input, we can only demand an effort.

What is interesting in this idea? What is different in this idea? What does this idea suggest? What does this idea lead to? Such questions are all part of the movement idiom.

Blue Hat – The Organising Hat

When you think of blue, you think of the colour of the sky. The blue hat implies being cool and in control. It is used to think about the thinking process. We usually see this role in the conductor of the orchestra or the chairman or facilitator of the meeting.

The blue hat thinking helps to set the focus, to define the problems as well as to enforce discipline. Blue hat thinking can be used at the start of a meeting to lay out the agenda as well as at the end of the meeting to summarise the results and path forward.

Blue hat thinking monitors the thinking and ensures that the rules of the game are observed… stops argument and insists on the map type of thinking.

De Bono suggests that the blue hat is used at the start and at the end of the thinking process – at the start to map out the necessary thinking process / sequence and at the end to develop the conclusion and path forward. However there are many ways of structuring your thinking around the hats including the sequence of the hats and the timing for each hat.

Reading through the book I found that the use of colours helped to emphasize the meaning or purpose of the hats. For example, I can really relate to the word “red” with “emotional” or “black” with “cautious”. By using the coloured hats and deliberately forcing yourself to think in a certain way, you might be surprised with the ideas you can come up with and the approach you take!

In practice, one of the most striking things about the use of the Six Hats method is that decisions seem to make themselves. When you come to the final blue hat, the decision is often obvious to everyone present.