Skip to main content

6 Thinking Hats

❓What is it

  • Design thinking and group discussion are highly complex processes in which thoughts are shared, ideas bubble up, and others are buried. De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats technique provides a systematic solution to sharing and improving ideas by eliminating idea-destructive elements during brainstorming meetings. The method is based on the metaphor of wearing different "hats," with each hat representing a different mode of thinking or viewpoint.

👥Who

🛠 Running the technique

  • The group swaps hats in an agreed order. All participants wear the same hat at each stage of the exercise. For idea creation, the following sequence is recommended.

  • The white hat set sets the scene representing the facts and information about the opportunity space.
  • The green hat sparks brainstorming of ideas in the opportunity space.
  • The blue hat facilitates reflection on the ideas generated, and begins to group them into high level themes
  • The red hat provides an opportunity for the group to articulate their intuitive feelings, positive or negative, about the ideas generated and their potential
  • The black hat enable the group to surface risks and challenges on the ideas generated and the opportunity space in general.

📖Additional source