1. Creative Problem Solving with
Six Thinking Hats
How to use Edward deBono’s
parallel thinking in problem solving
Gary Dichtenberg
CyberSkills, Inc.

2. Goals of this program
 Define parallel thinking
 Identify each of the six hats
 Learn how to ask a good question
 Apply six hats method to problem solving
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

3. What is parallel thinking?
At any moment
everyone is looking in the same direction.
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

4. So the six hats are…?
 Six colors of hats for six types of thinking
• Each hat identifies a type of thinking
• Hats are directions of thinking
 Hats help a group use parallel thinking
• You can “put on” and “take off” a hat
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

5. Uses for Six Hats
 Problem solving
 Strategic planning
 Running meetings
 Much more
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

6. Six colors…
 White: neutral, objective
 Red: emotional, angry
 Black: serious, somber
 Yellow: sunny, positive
 Green: growth, fertility
 Blue: cool, sky above
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

7. …and six hats
 White: objective facts & figures
 Red: emotions & feelings
 Black: cautious & careful
 Yellow: hope, positive & speculative
 Green: creativity, ideas & lateral thinking
 Blue: control & organization of thinking
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

8. General hat issues
 Direction, not description
• Set out to think in a certain direction
• “Let’s have some black hat thinking…”
 Not categories of people
• Not: “He’s a black hat thinker.”
• Everyone can and should use all the hats
 A constructive form of showing off
• Show off by being a better thinker
• Not destructive right vs. wrong argument
 Use in whole or in part
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

9. Benefits of Six Thinking Hats
 Provides a common language
 Experience & intelligence of each person
(Diversity of thought)
 Use more of our brains
 Helps people work against type, preference
 Removal of ego (reduce confrontation)
 Save time
 Focus (one thing at a time)
 Create, evaluate & implement action plans
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

10. Using the hats
 Use any hat, as often as needed
 Sequence can be preset or evolving
 Not necessary to use every hat
 Time under each hat: generally, short
 Requires discipline from each person
• While using it, stay in the idiom
 Adds an element of play, play along
 Can be used by individuals and groups
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

11. The blue hat
 Thinking about thinking
 Instructions for thinking
 The organization of thinking
 Control of the other hats
 Discipline and focus
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

12. The blue hat role
 Control of thinking & the process
 Begin & end session with blue hat
 Facilitator, session leader’s role
 Choreography
• open, sequence, close
• Focus: what should we be thinking about
• Asking the right questions
• Defining & clarifying the problem
• Setting the thinking tasks
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

13. Open with the blue hat…
 Why we are here
 what we are thinking about
 definition of the situation or problem
 alternative definitions
 what we want to achieve
 where we want to end up
 the background to the thinking
 a plan for the sequence of hats
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

14. …and close with the blue hat
 What we have achieved
 Outcome
 Conclusion
 Design
 Solution
 Next steps
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

15. White Hat Thinking
 Neutral, objective information
 Facts & figures
 Questions: what do we know, what don’t
we know, what do we need to know
 Excludes opinions, hunches, judgements
 Removes feelings & impressions
 Two tiers of facts
• Believed Facts
• Checked Facts
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

16. Red Hat Thinking
 Emotions & feelings
 Hunches, intuitions, impressions
 Doesn’t have to be logical or consistent
 No justifications, reasons or basis
 All decisions are emotional in the end
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

17. Yellow Hat Thinking
 Positive & speculative
 Positive thinking, optimism, opportunity
 Benefits
 Best-case scenarios
 Exploration
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

18. Green Hat Thinking
 New ideas, concepts, perceptions
 Deliberate creation of new ideas
 Alternatives and more alternatives
 New approaches to problems
 Creative & lateral thinking
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

19. Black Hat Thinking
 Cautious and careful
 Logical negative – why it won’t work
 Critical judgement, pessimistic view
 Separates logical negative from emotional
 Focus on errors, evidence, conclusions
 Logical & truthful, but not necessarily fair
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

20. Six hats summary
Blue: control & organization of thinking
White: objective facts & figures
Red: emotions & feelings
Yellow: hope, positive & speculative
Green: creativity, ideas & lateral thinking
Black: cautious & careful
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

21. Asking the right question
 We can’t get the right answer
if we ask the wrong question
 Crucial blue hat skill
 One technique: five whys
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

22. Creative Problem Solving
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

23. “Traditional” CPS
 Mess-finding
 Data-finding
 Problem-finding
 Idea-finding
 Solution-finding
 Acceptance-finding
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

24. Common idea-finding methods
 Brainstorming
 Mind Maps
 Free association
 Freewriting
 Incubation
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

25. Six hats & problem solving
 A more deliberate process than CPS
 Like CPS, uses creativity (green hat)
 Unlike CPS, provides a mechanism for
evaluating ideas & making decisions
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

26. Hypothetical problem solving
program using the hats - 1
 Blue hat
• Organize the process
 Red hat
• Emotional issues & feelings
 White hat
• What do we know, need to know
 Yellow hat
• Proposals & suggestions; what ifs, why nots
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

27. Hypothetical problem solving
program using the hats - 2
 Blue hat
• Focus on the areas that need new ideas
 Green hat
• Generate new ideas & concepts
 Blue hat
• Organize ideas & process for evaluation
 White, yellow & green hats
• Constructive thinking
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

28. Hypothetical problem solving
program using the hats - 3
 Yellow hat
• Positive assessment of viable alternatives
 Black hat
• Screening for impossible, unusable
• Challenge the alternatives
 Yellow & green hats
• Overcome objections, correct faults, remove
weaknesses, solve problems
 Black hat
• Further scrutiny; point out risks, dangers
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

29. Hypothetical problem solving
program using the hats - 4
 Blue hat
• Overview of achievements so far
• Organize choice of route
 Red hat
• Express feelings about the choices
 Yellow & black hats
• Looking for the best alternative
 Blue hat
• Strategy for implementation
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.

30. Want to learn more?
 Workshops by Paul Reali
• CyberSkills, Inc.
• 336.774.1411
• www.cyberskills.com or www.omniskills.com
• preali@cyberskills.com
 Lateral Thinking, deBono’s Thinking Course,
and other books by Edward deBono
Paul Reali • CyberSkills, Inc.