Edward de Bono’s six thinking hats

Six Thinking Hats is a meeting and problem-solving method that separates different modes of thought instead of asking participants to analyse facts, feelings, risks and ideas at the same time. A coloured-hat metaphor gives the group permission to think in parallel, then switch direction deliberately.

When to use it

• Use it to structure brainstorming, problem solving and evaluation.
• Use it when adversarial debate or mixed modes of thought make a meeting repetitive or confused.

Origins

Physician, psychologist and creativity consultant Edward de Bono introduced lateral thinking in 1967 and published Six Thinking Hats in 1985. The method reflects his broader interest in deliberate creativity: thinking can be directed through a shared process rather than left to personality, argument and habit.

What it is

Participants do not need physical hats. Each colour represents a temporary thinking instruction, not a permanent role or personality. The group can all use the same hat at once, which turns discussion from “my view against yours” into parallel attention to one question.

• White hat—information. What is known, how reliable is it, what is missing and how can the gap be filled?

• Red hat—feeling. What are the immediate emotions, intuitions and concerns? Participants may state them without constructing a rational defence.

• Black hat—caution. What could fail, conflict with evidence or create unacceptable risk? It protects the decision when used as disciplined judgement rather than automatic rejection.

• Yellow hat—value. What benefits, feasibility and positive consequences could make the idea worthwhile?

• Green hat—creation. What alternatives, provocations, combinations and new concepts can be generated?

• Blue hat—process. What is the purpose, sequence, timing and next step? The blue hat manages the thinking rather than contributing content on the issue.

The method can support product development, customer propositions, segmentation, scenarios and individual reflection. The value comes from sequencing modes deliberately and recording what each reveals.

Developments of the model

A session normally opens with blue to define the question and closes with blue to synthesise decisions and actions. White often follows the opening so the group shares evidence before generating ideas with green. Red can expose reactions, yellow can build the case and black can test it. The sequence should fit the task, and a hat may be revisited as knowledge or feelings change.

Short rounds help maintain focus, but timing is not a rule. A data-rich issue may need longer white-hat work; a complex risk review may need more black-hat time. The facilitator should distinguish a useful extension from repetition or capture by one mode.

How to use it

Define one clear question, explain the hat meanings and appoint a facilitator—usually operating in blue-hat mode. Select a sequence, set approximate time boxes and capture outputs under the correct mode. Do not let participants use a hat to attack one another.

Motorola reportedly used the method during development of the Accompli mobile device. Consumer evidence received sustained white-hat attention, green generated concepts, yellow and black evaluated them and red helped prioritise. The process supported a mobile-office proposition suited to its time.

The Globe and Mail brought together 80 employees to redesign classified advertising. Blue set the goal, green generated alternatives and subsequent hats evaluated a new Marketplace section. Ideas included mixing relevant editorial and advertising, thematic grouping and a cleaner layout. A redesign that had previously taken far longer was developed in months.

Some things to think about

• Use a skilled moderator to explain the rules, protect the sequence, manage time and record ideas.

• Return to a colour when new evidence or a changed concept makes another pass useful.

• Physical hats or coloured areas can make the exercise memorable, provided the theatre does not replace rigorous thinking.

Top practical tip

Have the whole group use one mode at a time and make the blue-hat facilitator responsible for the question, sequence and synthesis. This preserves parallel thinking and prevents stronger personalities from assigning caution or creativity to other people.

Top pitfall

Do not treat yellow as optimism without evidence or black as permission to kill ideas. Every hat has a disciplined purpose, and the final decision must integrate information, value, risk, emotion and alternatives.

Further reading

• de Bono, E. (nineteen eighty-five). Six Thinking Hats. Little, Brown.
• de Bono, E. (nineteen ninety-four). Parallel Thinking. Viking.