Customer Reviews

Six Thinking Hats

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3 star:		(1)
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Good thinking is simple. The goal of effective thinking is to make complexity managable. The Six Thinking Hats Method is by design a KISS system that is not intended to emphasize how clever any individuals in a group are, but to make actionable decisions--in most cases to achieve business results (as de Bono wryly notes elsewhere, most academics aren't interested in effective thinking).

The reason I'm writing this review is to correct an inaccuracy in the previous review. Having each person in a group adopt a different hat is exactly the OPPOSITE of what is intended with the Parallel Thinking method (a virtual synonym for the Six Hat method). The idea is that everyone in a group focusses on a specific element (Hat) at the same time, not individually. Doing it this way reduces argument and the role of ego in the conversation.

As de Bono notes, an important element in his work is also to demystify creativity, and help people understand you don't need lava lamps and candles to "do" creativity effectively. You don't have to be goofy. Ordinary business people working on engines and vaccines--and, as far as that goes, Accounts Payable, Sales, and Project Management--need creativity to be effective and competitive in a 24 hour global marketplace.

I teach this course...

Good thinking is simple. The goal of effective thinking is to make complexity managable. The Six Thinking Hats Method is by design a KISS system that is not intended to emphasize how clever any individuals in a group are, but to make actionable decisions--in most cases to achieve business results (as de Bono wryly notes elsewhere, most academics aren't interested in effective thinking).

The reason I'm writing this review is to correct an inaccuracy in the previous review. Having each person in a group adopt a different hat is exactly the OPPOSITE of what is intended with the Parallel Thinking method (a virtual synonym for the Six Hat method). The idea is that everyone in a group focusses on a specific element (Hat) at the same time, not individually. Doing it this way reduces argument and the role of ego in the conversation.

As de Bono notes, an important element in his work is also to demystify creativity, and help people understand you don't need lava lamps and candles to "do" creativity effectively. You don't have to be goofy. Ordinary business people working on engines and vaccines--and, as far as that goes, Accounts Payable, Sales, and Project Management--need creativity to be effective and competitive in a 24 hour global marketplace.

I teach this course. ....

This book illustrates the advantages of multiple perspectives in creativity and problem solving. It emphasizes multiple perspectives much the same as "Cracking Creativity (The Secrets of Creative Genius)."

Readers will be satisfied with the content of this book as long as they realize that the author has nothing to do with the lead singer for U2. Some people have made that unfortunate confusion to their later dismay.

Edward de Bono does not suffer from a small ego. The first sentence of the preface to his book is: "The Six Thinking Hats method may well be the most important change in human thinking for the past twenty-three hundred years." Digest this and two more pages of obnoxious self-advertisement that follows. Then put the book down. After an hour continue to read the rest of the book. It is worth while.

Essentially, "Six Thinking Hats" is about improving communication and decision-making in groups. De Bono's style is accessible, succinct, well-structured and easy to follow. It is not with a certain justification that he claims that "his work is in use equally in board-rooms of some of the world's largest corporations and with four-year-olds in school." Well, where is the difference, anyway?

What de Bono wants to achieve is to structure thinking and make it more effective. "Thinking often proceeds as drift and waffle and reaction to what turns up from moment to moment. [...] Suggestions, judgements, criticism, information and plain emotions are all mixed together in a sort of thinking stew," he writes. The six "thinking hats" are different ways of looking at an issue that has to be decided: under the white hat one presents the facts, under the red hat one says how one feels about the issue, under the black hat one looks at the negative effects of the decision, under the yellow hat one looks at the positive effects of the decision, under the green hat one thinks of alternatives, and under the blue hat one clarifies which kind of thinking is going on. Overall, thinking becomes clearer when the different parts that go into it are brought into the open.

The idea of the "hat" has the advantage that it allows people to play with a new perspective. People who argue by criticism, for example, can remain mostly critical. But by putting on the red hat they can voice their emotions, or by putting on the yellow hat they can think about positive effects. Western thinking tends strongly to focus on "black hat thinking," says de Bono: "At a Western-style meeting the participants sit there with their points of view and in many cases the conclusion they wish to see agreed upon. The meeting then consists of arguing through these different points of view to see which survives the criticism and which attracts the most adherents." De Bono wants to get away from this judgmental, confrontational style towards a more open, positive, creative and playful way of discussing.

De Bono's model tries to make discussions more rational. It acknowledges the importance of emotions in decision-making, and tries to separate them from the facts and from the positive or negative implications of the decision: "once the emotions are made visible, then a thinker is more free of them". But making the discussion more transparent and structured is not enough. De Bono's model needs a "facilitator", a person who puts a "blue hat" on, someone who organizes the discussion and leads it.

In the world of business, discussions are very often about power. The "six thinking hats" model requires a very enlightened, open-minded "powerful" person to work, or very assertive, courageous "less powerful" persons.

What are the problems with power? A person in power can abuse his "blue hat" position, for example. Or the culture of the company can be built on "black hat" critical thinking, where "yellow hat" positive thinkers tend to become scapegoats when things go wrong. "Red hat" revelations of the emotions behind one's point of view or "green hat" creative ideas are not forthcoming when power games are being played. People in power can abuse any of the six thinking hats. Here the book could profit from some ideas about how to deal with the abuse of power in communication. But having said that, I want to stress that it was stimulating to read this book, and I found it very interesting to analyse my own thinking under the "hat" categories of de Bono.

Edward de Bono's "hats" method has been practiced by people in a variety of organizations, from executives in multinational corporations to children in elementary schools. It provides a convenient, easy way to cut through confusion and make decisions based on clear thinking. The hats are useful visualization tools to help sidestep the ego and provide a nonjudgmental path to decision making. Each chapter provides a clear descriptions of a different color hat. The book offers plenty of quotes to suggest how to use the hats in conversation. We [...] recommend this book as particularly helpful for managers, teachers, group leaders or anyone involved in group decision making.

Have you ever attended a meeting to resolve an issue and found some of the participants causing havoc simply because they don't share yours and your colleagues point of view? You know, some people always argue and their quite good at it too, so why not let the same people argue your case? With the six thinking hats you can do just that.

By putting on a different hat you are obliged to argue the case in question colored by that hat. So the only person who is allowed to be negative has the black hat. The person who wears the yellow hat speaks truly on the behalf of the case. The one with the white hat simply states facts and share objective information. If you feel strongly about something, put on the red hat and say it. When you wear the green hat your role is to generate ideas. And finally blue is the leader handling the hat swapping and the process of reaching a solution.

It is absurdly strange what a colored hat can do to change a person's mind. You won't believe how a negative person will open up when he is put to challenge his own thoughts! And it is in fact a relief having a red hat, because then you h-a-v-e to say what you feel about the issue, an often needed thing to do to clear the air. And the result are evident: You get to know each other a lot better, solving issues faster and thus getting better solutions.

It is of course an advantage that you do this with a group of people which is open-minded and is willing to do such "stupid" thing as wearing hats during a meeting. A bit of preparation and practice is recommended. Enjoy and get better results faster!

This is a very useful model for facilitating groups/brainstorms/conflicts. I have used the different hats often in facilitating groups with great success. The book is easy to read (chapters can be a little choppy) but otherwise a great read.

This book was given to me during an interview, and I have used it's simple principals over and over again. The six thinking hats represent each of the thinking styles we employ when problem solving or generating new ideas and concepts. Each "hat" represents a step used in the decision-making process (i.e, red hat = emotions, white hat = information, blue = organizing, etc.) Each "hat" focuses on one thought process at a time. This is an exceptional and powerful set of tools when needing to quickly bring a group to concensus. I highly recommend the book for individual or group decision making.

This book is useless, don't waste your time and money. Instead read DeBono's Lateral Thinking book.