The six thinking hats is a framework that facilitates group and individual thinking. The aim is to wear a specific hat for a defined amount of time. To wear a hat means to direct our attention and energy towards a specific type of thinking.
The sequence of these thinking hats depends on the issue at hand (problem solving, dispute resolution, and exploration).
However, the blue hat should always be used at the beginning and end of each session. The blue hat directs basically stands for organizing and managing. Thus, blue hat thinking at the beginning of the session directs our thinking towards:
Why are we here
What are we thinking about
The definition of the problem
The alternative definitions
What we want to achieve
Where we want to end up
The background to the problem
A plan for the sequence of hats to be used
The final blue hat indicates:
What we have achieved
Outcome
Conclusion
Solution and next steps
In emotional situations the red hat (emotions, intuition, gut feeling, etc) can be used immediately after the blue hat. This provides an opportunity to get those feelings out in the open right at the beginning.
The Six Hats:
The White Hat – Involves the objective statement of facts and figures. In practice there are two types of facts. The first types of facts are those that contain the checked/validated facts. The second type includes facts that are believed to be true but yet have not been fully checked. The white color indicates neutrality.
The Red Hat – this hat legitimizes emotions and feelings as an important part of thinking. In this type of thinking there should never be an attempt to justify the feelings or to provide a logical basis for them. Two types of feelings are covered under this hat. First, there are ordinary emotions as we know them, ranging from strong emotions such as dislike to the more subtle ones like suspicion. Second, there are the complex judgments that go into such types of feelings as hunch, intuition, sense, taste, aesthetic feeling and other not visibly justified types of feeling.
The Black Hat – this type of thinking is concerned with caution. At some stage we need to consider the dangers, risks, obstacles, potential problems, and the downside of a suggestion.
The Yellow Hat – this thinking is positive and constructive. Yellow hat thinking is concerned with positive assessment just as black hat thinking is concerned with negative assessment. Yellow hat thinking covers a positive spectrum ranging from the logical and practical at one end to dreams, visions, and hopes at the other end. It also probes and explores for value and benefit and strives to find logical support for this value and benefit. From Yellow hat thinking come concrete proposals and suggestions. However, yellow hat thinking is not concerned with mere euphoria (red hat) not directly with creating new ideas (green hat).
The Green Hat – this is reserved for creative thinking or lateral thinking. The search for alternatives is a fundamental aspect of green hat thinking. It includes forward thinking where judgments are not made. Ideas are created and nurtured. See Lateral Thinking for more information.
The Blue Hat – As mentioned earlier this hat is responsible for control and management. The blue hat thinker is like the conductor of an orchestra. Blue hat thinking is responsible for setting the focus of the problem, it helps in shaping the questions, determines the thinking tasks that are to be carried through. During this process summaries, overviews, and conclusions are generated. Blue hat also monitors the thinking and ensures all rules are followed. Blue hat may be used to set the sequence of hats to be used, to interject, and to facilitate. Even though this role is assigned to one person, it is still open to anyone to offer blue hat comments and suggestions.
