Describe to me technique called "Six Thinking Hats"?

Question

Give me examples and details. Example of how you applied it to your job.

without this technique how will the discussion be? can you provide me with an application example?

Answer 1

You are referring to the six hats of creative thinking of Dr. Edward de Bono. I have used them with teachers in presenting new ideas or strategies they were to incorporate into their teaching. They allow people to give their honest opinions when issues are controversial, but also allow people to see the perspectives of others more clearly. They lead to more focused thinking and better decision making.

These links should help.

Answer 2

You are thinking of Edward de Bono's "Six Thinking Hats."


There are six "hats" that are basically the responsibilities each member in a group discussion has. They are:

* White Hat - the person with this responsibility asks group members for information and also provides data already given

* Red Hat - this person talks about emotions/feelings involved in the discussion

* Yellow Hat - this person focuses on positive affects or benefits of that which is the focus of the discussion

* Black Hat - this person focuses on why something might not work...the negatives

* Green Hat - this person offers creative responses (possibilities, alternatives...)

* Blue Hat - this person manages the thought processes


When I taught in a gifted school center, my students wore hats of the various colors (in groups of six) to discuss things related to books we were reading or topics of study. Sometimes I would have a group discuss something while others took notes if the numbers didn't quite work out...

The process helped ALL students be involved in the discussions and they knew what to contribute (rather than thinking "I don't know what to say about this..."). I loved the strategy and they enjoyed it as well.


Hope this helps!

Answer 3

Looking at the problem with the White Hat, they analyze the data they have. They examine the trend in vacant office space, which shows a sharp reduction. They anticipate that by the time the office block would be completed, that there will be a severe shortage of office space. Current government projections show steady economic growth for at least the construction period

With Red Hat thinking, some of the directors think the proposed building looks quite ugly. While it would be highly cost-effective, they worry that people would not like to work in it.

When they think with the Black Hat, they worry that government projections may be wrong. The economy may be about to enter a 'cyclical downturn', in which case the office building may be empty for a long time.

Try the link. Really good.

Answer 4

Six Thinking Hats is the title and subject of a book by Edward De Bono, published in 1985.

De Bono considered human cognition and thought to be of several types, approaches, or orientations. He theorized that of these approaches, most people used only one or two of the approaches and that people developed thinking habits which in turn limited people to those approaches. De Bono believed that if the various approaches could be identified and a system of their use developed which could be taught, that people could be more productive in meetings and in collaborating within groups and teams by deliberately using the approaches.

As a result of his investigations, De Bono was able to describe a process of deliberately adopting a particular approach to a problem as an implementation of Parallel Thinking™ as well as an aid to lateral thinking. Six different approaches are described, and each is symbolised by the act of putting on a coloured hat, either actually or imaginatively. This he suggests can be done either by individuals working alone or in groups.

De Bono's six hats are:

White hat (Blank sheet): Information & reports (objective)
Red hat (Fire): Intuition, opinion & emotion (subjective)
Yellow hat (Sun): Praise, positive aspects, (objective)
Black hat (Judge's robe): Criticism, negative aspects, modus tollens (objective)
Green hat (Plant): Alternatives, new approaches & 'everything goes' (speculative/creative)
Blue hat (Sky): "Big Picture," "Conductor hat," "Meta hat," "thinking about thinking", overall process (overview)
The main purposes of using Six Thinking Hats are:

focus and improve the thinking process
encourage creative, parallel and lateral thinking
improve communication
speed up decision making
avoid debate
De Bono believed that the key to a successful use of the Six Think Hats methodology was the deliberate focusing of the discussion on a particular approach as needed during the meeting or collaboration session. For instance, a meeting may be called to review a particular problem and to develop a solution for the problem. The Six Thinking Hats method could then be used in a sequence to first of all explore the problem, then develop a set of solutions, and to finally choose a solution through critical examination of the solution set.

So the meeting may start with everyone assuming the Blue hat to discuss how the meeting will be conducted and to develop the goals and objectives. The discussion may then move to Red hat thinking in order to collect opinions and reactions to the problem. This phase may also be used to develop constraints for the actual solution such as who will be affected by the problem and/or solutions. Next the discussion may move to the Green hat in order to generate ideas and possible solutions. Next the discussion may move between White hat thinking as part of developing information and Black hat thinking to develop criticisms of the solution set.

Because everyone is focused on a particular approach at any one time, the group tends to be more collaborative than if one person is reacting emotionally (Red hat) while another person is trying to be objective (White hat) and still another person is being critical of the points which emerge from the discussion (Black hat).