- The document introduces Edward De Bono's concept of the Six Thinking Hats, a method of parallel thinking that divides thinking into six colored "hats" representing six different perspectives. - Each hat represents a different mode of thinking - white for neutral facts, red for emotions, black for caution, yellow for optimism, green for creativity, and blue for organization and control. - Wearing the different hats allows groups to look at ideas from different viewpoints at once rather than debating from a single perspective. This can make meetings more productive and improve communication and decision making.

1. 6 Thinking Hats
By Edward De Bono
Edward De Bono

2. Agenda
Background
Parallel Thinking
Advantages
Six Thinking Hats - how to use it?
Case Studies - Apply Hats to the Problems

3. Background

4. Background
Edward De Bono
Most Revolutionary thinking change of 2300 yrs
Examples - ABB, Siemens, GE etc.
Thinking - ultimate resource | Confusion - ultimate problem in thinking
One thing at a time

5. Advantages of Six Hats
More productive Meetings
Time Saving
Create, evaluate and execute action plans
Improved communication and understanding
Removal of Ego (reduce confrontation)
And much More..

6. Parallel Thinking

8. At any moment everyone is looking in
the same direction.

9. Traditional Vs. Parallel Thinking
● Take sides. Opposite
point of view.
● Argue your point
● Prove other side wrong
● All parties think from same
point of view. Co-ordinate.
● Lay out all the
differing/different ideas
● Get a full view of the
problem from all the angles
using six hats

11. Six thinking hats are..
Six Different types of thinking.
Hats help groups to do parallel thinking.
You can ‘Put on’ and ‘Put off’ Hats.

12. Six Colors
White: neutral, facts
Red: emotional, feeling
Black: caution, danger
Yellow: positive, optimistic
Green: creative
Blue: organizational

13. General Warnings
Hats are not category of people. Don’t put people into box.
Constructive way of showing off - better thinker
Everyone must use all the hats. E.g. I am not a Red hat thinker.
Requires discipline while using the hat. Play along.
No fixed sequence. No need for all the hats.

14. White Hat
Neutral. Objective.
Be Like Computer.
Facts, figures and information.

15. White Hat Thinking
Neutral hats, talks only about facts, figures and data.
Be like computer while wearing the hats. Excludes emotions.
What info do we have? What are the facts? and/or What info do we need?
Two tier facts: Believed facts & Checked facts

16. Red Hat
Feeling. Hunches.
Emotions.
How do we feel about this?

17. Red Hat Thinking
Gives you an opportunity to express feeling and emotion.
Intuition and hunches. Likes and Dislikes.
Legitimize the emotion as part of discussion
No need for justification.

18. Black Hat
Caution and Careful.
Focus on Risks & Problems.
What are the potential problems in it?

19. Black Hat
Black hat thinking is concerned with caution and careful
Hat of survival. Base of critical thinking.
Logical negative: why it wont work
We need to consider the risks, dangers, potential problems
Most abused hat. As we are naturally programmed for this.

20. Yellow Hat
Positive and Optimistic.
Looking for upside.
What are the benefits?

21. Yellow Hat Thinking
Develop ‘value sensitivity’ (opposite to danger sensitivity)
Naturally not programmed to do so unlike black hat
Yellow hat looks for positive side and benefits
I know the risk of doing it, now need some yellow hat thinking on it!
Why something may work though it is outrageous!

22. Yellow Hat
..before we start meeting I need you to put Yellow hat
(than black hat) and decide the time for office daily!
..now that you told be all the downside of the idea,
Why you don’t like it and why it will fail. Can you do
Some yellow hat thinking now?

23. Green Hat
Creativity. Growth.
New ideas and alternatives.
Suggest me some new ideas to increase
sales without lowering price?

24. Green Hat Thinking
Hardest hat to wear.
Hat of Creativity, new approach to problems
Generation of new ideas and find new alternatives
Collect the idea with green hat then do some Yellow hat and black hat thinking on
it.

25. Blue Hat
Organizational hat.
Control of other hats.
Facilitator

26. Blue Hat Thinking
Should be used in Starting and End of the session
Setting the thinking tasks: Why are we here
Why are we here? And What we want to achieve?
Focus and control of the process.
Decide the sequence of other hats

27. And closing with Blue hat
Outcome of the whole session
Solution
Next steps
Conclusion

28. Thank you
Presented by Yuvraj Zala