The Six Thinking Hats Overview

• Six colors of hats for six types of thinking
• Each hat identifies a type of thinking
• Hats are directions of thinking
• Hats help a group use parallel thinking
• You can “put on” &“take off” a hat

   §   Use the hats for

• Problem solving
• Strategic planning
• Running meetings
• Much more

To know about the hats:

• Direction, not description
• Set out to think in a certain direction
• “Let’s have some black hat thinking…”
• Not categories of people
• Not: “He’s a black hat thinker.”
• Everyone can and should use all the hats
• A constructive form of showing off
• Show off by being a better thinker
• Not destructive right vs. wrong argument
• Use in whole or in part

   §   Benefit of the hats:

• Provides a common language
• Experience & intelligence of each person (Diversity of thought)
• Use more of our brains
• Helps people work against type, preference
• Removal of ego (reduce confrontation)
• Save time
• Focus (one thing at a time)
• Create, evaluate & implement action plans