The Six Thinking Hatsin Detail
The Blue Hat
The Blue Hat • FACILITATOR ROLE • The role of the facilitator • Focuses and refocuses thinking • Makes calls for the group to make decisions
The Blue Hat • Questions • How do we sequence the events • Explain? Summarize. • What is your conclusion? • What next? Action plan? • What is the main idea? • What was the problem? How was it solved?
The Blue Hat • Describe a typical meeting • _____________________________ • _____________________________ • _____________________________ • _____________________________ • _____________________________ • _____________________________
The Blue Hat • Which of your meetings would benefit from the Six Thinking Hats framework? • _____________________________ • _____________________________ • _____________________________ • _____________________________ • _____________________________ • _____________________________
The Blue Hat TECHNIQUE: Choose the right hat or tool FOCUS: Decide on what you what to think about TIME: Set limits and work within them
The Blue Hat • CREATIVE HIT LIST • List three areas where you need new ideas • Try not to think about problems • Look for opportunities • Develop a focus statement for each starting with “how to …” • Focus 1: _______________________ • Focus 2: _______________________ • Focus 3: _______________________
The White Hat
The White Hat • FACTS AND LOGIC • Separates fact from speculation • Specifies action needed to fill gaps • Assesses the relevance and accuracy of information
The White Hat • Questions • Who, what, when, where? • What do you know about? • What are the facts about? • What do you need or want to know about? • Where might you go to find out about?
The White Hat • In White Hat mode, think about one of the following … • Focus 1: Traffic Congestion • Focus 2: Noise Pollution • Focus 3: Human Nutrition
The White Hat • Here are some questions to help you focus on the white hat: • What do we know? • What do we need to know? • Where are we going to get the information we need to know? • What OPVs should we consider? Who are these people and what are their views?
The Red Hat
The Red Hat • EMOTIONS AND FEELINGS • Gives permission to express feelings, hunches and intuitions • Can be used to help make a decision • Does not require justification or explanation • Limited to 30 seconds or less • Best expressed in a word or two
The Red Hat • Questions • What are you feeling now? • Did your feelings change? How? • What prejudices are present? • What is your hunch about? • What does your intuition tell you? • Which way do you like based on your feelings?
The Red Hat • How do you currently manage your feelings? • _____________________________ • _____________________________ • _____________________________ • _____________________________ • _____________________________
The Red Hat • How are emotions dealt with on your team? • _____________________________ • _____________________________ • _____________________________ • _____________________________ • _____________________________
The Red Hat • How do you feel about? • Flexitime at work • Legalizing marijuana • Bungee jumping team exercise • Mandatory retirement at 55 • Eliminating titles at work • Banning smoking everywhere • Cloning humans ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________
The Red Hat • Sorting ideas using the red hat • What ideas are most interesting to me? • What ideas have most potential? • What ideas do I thinking are boldest?
The Red Hat • Group using the ABC Sorting technique • A: Which ideas could we ACT on right now? • B: What ideas are BEGINNING ideas? • C: What ideas are CONCEPTS (broad ideas)?
The Yellow Hat
The Yellow Hat • LOGICAL POSITIVES • Explores the benefits of an idea • Must give reasons why an idea is valuable or might work • Reinforces creative ideas and new directions
The Yellow Hat • Questions • What are the benefits? • What is good about? • What is a positive outcomes? • What is the value? • Can this be made to work? Explain. • What did you like about?
The Yellow Hat • What are the benefits of? • Focus 1: Birthdays only when deserved • Focus 2: Weekly 24hr broadcasting ban • Focus 3: An unreliable friend • Focus 4: Black toothpaste
The Black Hat
The Black Hat • LOGICAL NEGATIVES • Explores why an idea may not work • Must give logical reasons for concerns • Points out difficulties
The Black Hat • Questions • What should you be cautious about? • What are the consequences of? • What were the difficulties of? • Why won’t/didn’t this work? • What did you dislike about? • What are the risks of?
The Black Hat • Is there someone you work with who tends to overuse black hat thinking? What is the impact? • _____________________________ • _____________________________ • _____________________________ • _____________________________
The Black Hat • What are the downsides, both existing and potential of? • Focus 1: World-wide smoking ban • Focus 2: Identity card schemes • Focus 3: Making poverty history • Focus 4: Electronic tagging for everyone
The Green Hat
The Green Hat • CREATIVTITY AND IMAGINATION • Encourages a search for new ideas • Seeks to modify and removes faults from existing ideas • Makes time for creative effort
The Green Hat • Questions • What if? • What is good about? • What is the value of? • How can we make this work? • What are the alternatives? • What else can we do?
The Green Hat • What is holding your team back from being creative? (Creative Barriers) • ____________________________ • ____________________________ • ____________________________ • ____________________________ • ____________________________
The Green Hat • Thinking of other uses for: • Balloon Golf Tee ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ • Toothbrush Paperclip ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________
The Green Hat • Thinking of other uses for: • Balloon Golf Tee ____Shower Cap_____ _____Toothpick_____ _____Traffic Sign_____ _____paper Holder___ _____Scarecrow______ ___________________ • Toothbrush Paperclip ____Silver Cleaner____ ___Popping discs_____ ____Paint Cleaner_____ _____Jewellery______ ___________________ ___________________
The Green Hat • The Three Ps • Positive: Every idea is potentially valuable, record all • Prolific: The more ideas the better, build ideas on each other • Playful: It is easier to tame a wild idea, than make a boring idea interesting
The Green Hat • Generate Ideas on • Focus 1: Reducing traffic congestion • Focus 2: Increasing leisure time
The Six Thinking Hats • Which hat is? • “Retooling will take a minimum of six months” • “I am unhappy with the merger” • “Our product is the most expensive on the market” • “It will increase our profile in the community” • “Low staff morale is causing high attrition” • “The meeting seems to be drifting” • “Joe told me he was worried about a staff issue” • “We tried that and the staff are not supportive” • “It would be easy to implement a new logo” • “We could offer two for the price of one • “I am concerned about staff morale • “Are we ready to commit to a decision?”
The Six Thinking Hats • Which hat is? – my ideas • “Retooling will take a minimum of six months” • “I am unhappy with the merger” • “Our product is the most expensive on the market” • “It will increase our profile in the community” • “Low staff morale is causing high attrition” • “The meeting seems to be drifting” • “Joe told me he was worried about a staff issue” • “We tried that and the staff are not supportive” • “It would be easy to implement a new logo” • “We could offer two for the price of one • “I am concerned about staff morale • “Are we ready to commit to a decision?”
The Six Thinking Hats Managing the Thinking Setting the focus Making summaries Overviews & conclusions Action Plans White Hat Red Hat Blue Hat Information & Data Neutral and objective Checked and believed facts Missing information & Where to source it Feelings and Intuition Emotions and hunches No reasons or justifications “At this point” Keep it short FOCUS Creative Thinking Possibilities * Alternatives New Ideas * New Thinking Overcome black hat issues Reinforce yellow hat issues Why it may work Values * Benefits (both known and potential) Logical reasons must be given Black Hat Green Hat Yellow Hat Why it may not work Cautions * Dangers Problems * Faults Logical reasons must be given
