Edward de Bono's thinking hats

The method gives a subject a thorough working-over from several points of view.

It comes from Edward de Bono, a psychologist who worked on methods of creative thinking.

When to use it

  1. When you are weighing up a decision and want to know what its consequences will be.
  2. When arguments break out and start circling a handful of details.
  3. When you are looking at what solving a problem would do to the organisation.

When not to use it

  1. When you are trying to understand how (5W+H) and why (5 Why; the Ishikawa diagram) a problem came about.

The goal: used well, the tool helps you consider a subject from several sides.

How to use it

The thinking hats let the team concentrate together on one aspect of a subject at a time. That cuts down on people arguing past each other, and gets more out of a meeting.

1. The six hats

Hat What it covers
Blue the process, and the results
White facts, without interpretation
Red instinct, first associations, feelings
Green new ideas, alternatives, provocation
Yellow benefits, uses, gentle opportunism, the positive
Black counter-arguments, uncertainties and risks, drawbacks

2. The rules

  1. The BLUE hat opens and closes the meeting, and it is the one steering towards the result you came for.
  2. We suggest wearing them like this:
    1. The BLUE hat belongs to one person for the whole meeting — the person who cares about reaching the goal.
    2. The other hats go on the whole project team for a set time (five minutes, say), and everybody discusses from that one point of view.
  3. Before the meeting, the BLUE hat settles the order of the hats.
  4. Depart from it as you see fit — splitting into subgroups, changing the order — whenever that helps reach the goal.
  5. RED should be short, a minute at most. What you want is the first association.
  6. You do not have to use every hat in a meeting.

3. Running orders

Which colours you use, and in what order, depends on what you are after. It is common to use one colour more than once.

3.1. Solving problems

You have a problem whose causes you understand, and you are looking for ways to stop it happening.

Blue (opening) → White (facts) → Red (reaction) → Green (ideas) → Black (limits) → Yellow (benefits) → Blue (closing).

3.2. Improving a process

The process works, but not everywhere. How do you improve it?

Blue (opening) → White (facts) → White (what other people think) → Yellow (what is good) → Black (what does not work) → Green (what can we do about it?) → Red (could that work?) → Blue (closing).

3.3. Strategic planning

You want to settle the direction of an organisation or a team, taking its strengths and weaknesses into account.

Blue (opening) → Yellow (strengths and possibilities) → Black (threats and weaknesses) → White (where things stand) → Blue (where do we want to be?) → Green (how do we get there?) → Blue (closing).

3.4. Getting first solutions together

You need a set of solutions that can be worked through later.

Blue (opening) → White (facts) → Green (ideas) → Blue (summing up).

4. Running the meeting

  1. Define the purpose clearly. DESCRIBE THE PURPOSE AND THE RESULT VERY CLEARLY.
  2. Let the team paraphrase it, to see whether it has been understood as clearly as you think.
  3. Go through the rules from point 2.
  4. Keep the order of hats you mean to use in front of you.

5. Put a hat on

Say which colour it is, and exactly what the team is thinking about under it.

Good practice: write down the running orders you use — it will save you time at the next meeting.

6. Write the conclusions down

At the close, you sum up what came out of the meeting. Write it down.

Use it in TeamKit