The de Bono Hats system (also known as “Six Hats” or “Six Thinking Hats”) is a thinking tool for group discussion and individual thinking. Combined with the idea of parallel thinking which is associated with it, it provides a means for groups to think together more effectively, and a means to plan thinking processes in a detailed and cohesive way. The method is attributed to Dr. Edward de Bono and is the subject of his book, Six Thinking Hats.

The paternity of this method is disputed by the School of Thinking. The method is finding some use in the UK innovation sector, is offered by some facilitation companies and has been trialled within the UK civil service.

Underlying principles

The premise of the method is that the human brain thinks in a number of distinct ways which can be identified, deliberately accessed and hence planned for use in a structured way allowing one to develop strategies for thinking about particular issues. Dr de Bono identifies six distinct states in which the brain can be “sensitised”. In each of these states the brain will identify and bring into conscious thought certain aspects of issues being considered (e.g. gut instinct, pessimistic judgment, neutral facts).

A compelling example presented is sensitivity to “mismatch” stimuli. This is presented as a valuable survival instinct, because, in the natural world, the thing that is out of the ordinary may well be dangerous. This state is identified as the root of negative judgment and critical thinking.

Six distinct states are identified and assigned a color:

Information: (White) – considering purely what information is available, what are the facts?
Emotions (Red) – instinctive gut reaction or statements of emotional feeling (but not any justification)
Bad points judgment (Black) – logic applied to identifying flaws or barriers, seeking mismatch
Good points judgment (Yellow) – logic applied to identifying benefits, seeking harmony
Creativity (Green) – statements of provocation and investigation, seeing where a thought goes
Thinking (Blue) – thinking about thinking

Coloured hats are used as metaphors for each state. Switching to a state is symbolized by the act of putting on a coloured hat, either literally or metaphorically. These metaphors allow for more complete and elaborate segregation of the states than the preconceptions inherent in people’s current language. All of these thinking hats help for thinking more deeply. The six thinking hats indicate problems and solutions about an idea or a product you might come up with. Furthermore, Dr de Bono asserts that these states are associated with distinct chemical states of the brain — however, no details or evidence of this are presented.

Parallel thinking

In ordinary, unstructured thinking this process is unfocussed; the thinker leaps from critical thinking to neutrality to optimism and so on without structure or strategy. The Six Thinking Hats process attempts to introduce parallel thinking.

Many individuals are used to this and develop their own habits unconsciously. Sometimes these are effective, other times not. What is certain is that when thinking in a group these individual strategies will not tend to converge. As a result, discussion will tend not to converge. Due to the power of the ego and the identified predilection to black hat thinking in the majority of western culture, this can lead to very destructive meetings. Even with good courtesy and clear shared objectives in any collaborative thinking activity there is a natural tendency for “spaghetti thinking” where one person is thinking about the benefits while another considers the facts and so on. The hats allow this to be avoided so that everyone together considers the problems, or the benefits, or the facts, reducing distractions and supporting cross pollination of thought. This is achieved because everyone will put on one hat, e.g., the white hat, together, then they will all put on the next hat together. In this way all present think in the same way at the same time. The only exception is the facilitator, who will tend to keep the blue hat on all the time to make sure things progress effectively. The blue hat tends to be the outward-looking, leader/trail blazing hat that attracts the leaders of all groups.

Strategies and Programs

Having identified the six states that can be accessed, distinct programs can be created. These are sequences of hats which encompass and structure the thinking process toward a distinct goal. A number of these are included in the materials provided to support the franchised training of the six hats method; however it is often necessary to adapt them to suit an individual purpose. Also, programs are often “emergent”, which is to say that the group might plan the first few hats then the facilitator will see what seems to be the right way to go.

Sequences always begin and end with a blue hat; the group agrees together how they will think, then they do the thinking, then they evaluate the outcomes of that thinking and what they should do next. Sequences (and indeed hats) may be used by individuals working alone or in groups.

Example programs

Initial Ideas – Blue, White, Green
Choosing between alternatives – Blue, White, Green, Yellow, Black, Red
Identifying Solutions – Blue, White, Black, Green
Quick Feedback – Blue, Black, Green, White
Strategic Planning – Blue, Yellow, Black, White
Process Improvement – Blue, White, (Other peoples views) Yellow, Black, Green, Red
Solving Problems – Blue, White, Green, Red, Yellow, Black
Performance Review – Blue, Red, White, Yellow, Black, Green

Types of hat

Included below is a brief description of each of the hats and the thinking processes that they represent. Their use is illustrated by examples from a typical commercial environment and also through the analysis of a simple classroom issue – “Students are talking while their teacher is talking”.

White hat – Facts & Information

Participants make statements of fact, including identifying information that is absent and presenting the views of people who are not present in a factual manner. In many thinking sessions this occurs immediately after an initial blue hat, and is often an extended action with participants presenting details about their organization and the background to the purpose of the thinking session. The key information that represents the inputs to the session are presented and discussed. Key absences of information (i.e. information needs) can also be identified at this point.

Commercial examples are:

Total sales of this product are €x p.a.
Our sales data are two years old
Energy efficiency legislation is expected to impact our ability to run our business in the next five years
The number of elderly people in Europe is increasing

Examples in the referenced article are:

Students are talking while the teacher is talking
There is noise and therefore other students are distracted and can’t hear the teacher
Students don’t know what to do once instructions are given
Many students become distracted and off task resulting in the failure to complete work
Students are not understanding the focused lecture due to lack of concentration

Red hat – Feelings & Emotions

Participants state their feelings, exercising their gut instincts. In many cases this is a method for harvesting ideas – it is not a question of recording statements, but rather getting everyone to identify their top two or three choices from a list of ideas or items identified under another hat. This is done to help reduce lists of many options into a few to focus on by allowing each participant to vote for the ones they prefer. It is applied more quickly than the other hats to ensure it is a gut reaction feeling that is recorded. This method can use post-it notes to allow a quick system of voting, and creates a clear visual cue that creates rapid if incomplete agreement around an issue.

Alternatively it may be used to state ones gut reaction or feelings on an issue under discussion – this is more common when using the hats to review personal progress or deal with issues where there is high emotional content that is relevant to discussion.

Finally this hat can be used to request an aesthetic response to a particular design or object.

Commercial examples are:

I’m enthusiastic about getting involved in selling!
That role in the company doesn’t appeal to me.
I’d like to do that but I feel uncertain about it.
I’m frustrated that we have let the situation get this bad!