Edwad de Bono

Six Thinking Hats

Speakers:
Giedrius Žukauskas
Irena Sabaliauskienė
About me
 Education
• since 2007 I have a master's degree in
education management.

• since 2008 member of the Edward de

Bono (dBT) community

• since 2009 certified trainer for Edward de

Bono techniques (CoRT and SHT)
 Profession
• since 2008 I run a small business training
company (Ltd). Its growing up from then.

• since 2010 I have been working with

business advising companies of the EU
structural support issues.

• from 2012 I engaged in various business

projects (new products development,
production, etc.).
 Personal
• I have a five and a half years old son,
name Ąžuolas.
• I have won a green card and I lived in USA
for 2 years
• I like to spend my leisure time with dad in
his garden villa doing reconstruction work
(replacing the roof, windows and so on)
 About YOU

So I would like to know more about you

and your countries
 About YOU

So I would like to know more about

you (your team) and your country
1.Please fill out the forms (3 minutes).

2.Then present it to us (3 minutes).

 Expectations

Expectations of this workshop

 Expectations
1. Discuss your team expectations
of this workshop for 3 min.

2. Write it down on a paper leaflet.

3. Come and put it on right place.

 My tasks for this seminar
1. Introduce Edward de Bono's
thinking methods.
2. Delivery six thinking hats (SHT)
method (theory + practice).
3. Try to use the SHT in real situation.
4. Summarize your experience for the
seminar.
 Time table

14.00 - 16.00 -
15.30 h. 17.30 h.
1. Worm up 15.30
4. SHT theory +
2. dBT practice (3 hats)
methodology
5. Practice
3. SHT theory + 16.00
practice (3 hats) 6. Summarize
Thinking?
 Learn how to THINK
• Edward Charles Francis Publius
de Bono was born in Malta on
19 May 1933.

• Dr Edward de Bono is one of

the very few people in history
who can be said to have had a
major impact on the way we
think. In many ways he could be
said to be the best known
thinker internationally.

• He has written numerous books

with translations into 34
languages.
How does it work?

I'll give you some

principles .

They could help you to

understand Edward de
Bono (dBT) methods
and new thinking
issues.
 Simplicity

• There is nothing complex about Dr.

de Bono’s New Thinking methods.

• He emphasizes that we know and use

his methods instinctively.
 Universality

• Dr. de Bono’s New Thinking methods

are used anywhere and everywhere
by people of all ages and abilities.

• He has rearranged their structure to

give them a new meaning and new
focus.
 Practicality
• Dr de Bono’s New Thinking methods are
designed to be applied; this is the
foundational principle of operacy.

• They are not theoretical perceptions.

• Instead, the obligation to effect our

thinking is built into each CoRT ‘tool’ and
each ‘Hat’.
 Portability

• As an ideal, Dr de Bono’s New

Thinking methods are infinitely
portable.

• This means they are sufficiently

flexible and powerful to be used in a
variety of situations.
 Adaptability

• The ‘power’ of Dr de Bono’s New Thinking

lies in its interactivity.

Green Result
PMI Hat
 Dr Edward de Bono’s
New Thinking methods

• They focus on alternatives, what is

possible...
• They focus on exploring every
situation, listening, sharing,
empathy...
• They encourage the thinker to be
positive and constructive...
 Dr Edward de Bono’s
New Thinking methods

• They are about the generation of a

forward-looking vision...

• They are concerned with design, the

generation of possibilities and
creativity.
 The Six Thinking Hats
(SHT)

The Six Thinking Hats comprise one of the

five de Bono Thinking ‘frameworks’.
Six Hats Framework
 The Six Thinking Hats (SHT)

• Dr de Bono defines a ‘framework’ as ‘an

organizing and isolating device’.
• He goes on to explain that once the
elements of the framework have been
learned, understood and applied, they can
be used to direct attention, explicitly, at
any issue.
 The Six Thinking Hats (SHT)

• The key value of this framework-based

explicitness is that thinking is no longer
characterized by drift, moving from one
thing to another, at random.
Six Hats Framework
 The Six Thinking Hats (SHT)

• Why de Bono use number 6 ?

• Why he call it hats, not tie ?

• Why use color ?

• How you can apply/use these

hats?
 Rules for using SHT
• ACCEPT ideas from others. Do not
criticize or stop them. write all ideas or
opinion on a sheet.
• Use ONE hat at ONE time. All members
should have time/right to speak.
• Think DIRECTLY in mode / hat color your
group are thinking. Be quick, short and
concentrated.
 Rules for using SHT

• If you or your team member do NOT have

more ideas or opinion, leave it. USE
IDEAS you HAVE at THIS MOMNET.

• Your thinking has to lead to the some

RESULT. You have to know how you will
use this RESULT.
 Six Thinking Hats

Data and Feelings and Benefits

Information emotions Optimism

Caution and Creativity and The thinking

Judgment New Ideas process
30
YELLOW HAT
Benefits and Optimism
 Purposes

There three main purposes for using :

• Assessing value,
• Extracting benefits
• Making something work.
 Purposes

Assessing value
• First, we can use the Yellow Hat as part of an assessment and then
move to the Black Hat.
• The Yellow Hat part of the assessment involves listing the good
points and the benefits in the proposal or idea. The Black Hat then
examines the weak points, difficulties and dangers.
• Using the Yellow Hat in this way is part of making a judgment.
 Purposes
Extracting benefits
• Yellow Hat can be used in a deliberate
effort to extract some benefit or good
points from something which has generally
been thought unworkable, unattractive or
potentially a ‘disaster’.
 Purposes

Making something work

• Yellow Hat can be used in an effort to make something
work. This is the constructive use of the Yellow Hat.
• For example, after the Green Hat has put forward
possibilities, the Yellow Hat may seek to give these a
solid basis. This is an active process, not just an
assessment.
 Example

Your team need to write a report about this

SHT seminar to all partnership organizations

Use YELLOW HAT in a group .

• Looking for good points...

• Looking for benefits

 BLACK HAT

Caution and Judgment

 Purposes

The two main purposes for using

the Black Hat are:

•To find weaknesses.

•To make assessments.

 Purposes

• We may use the Black Hat early in

our exploration of an idea in order
to find the weaknesses.

• We find these weaknesses in order

to overcome them and put them
right.
 Purposes

• When using the Black Hat to find

weaknesses, our goal is to improve
on the idea.

• We may use the Black Hat at the

end of an exploration to make an
assessment or judgment
 Example

When we need the Black Hat to be

sure we are not making a mistake.
Example

•Your children
ask you give
them the boat
and allow
fishing.
Use BLACK
HAT
 RED HAT

Feelings and emotions

 Purposes

There are two main uses of the Red

Hat:
• Making feelings known

• Making assessments and choices

 Purposes

Making feelings known

• At any moment we may signal that we are
putting on the Red Hat:
• "Putting on my Red Hat, I am unhappy
about the demands the community is
placing on our schools."
 Purposes

Making feelings known

• We could have put forward the same
feelings without the Red Hat. It is precisely
the for-mality of labeling the feelings with
the Red Hat, however, that makes the
feelings more acceptable.
 Purposes

Making assessments and choices

• The Black Hat checks out the idea.

After this Black Hat thinking, we then
use the Red Hat: What do I now feel
about the idea?
 Purposes

Making assessments and choices

• The Black Hat checks out the idea.

After this Black Hat thinking, we then
use the Red Hat: What do I now feel
about the idea?
 Purposes

Making assessments and choices

• In choices and decisions, there is an
assessment of each alternative with both
Yellow and Black Hats. When this has
been done and the full picture is available,
then it is up to the Red Hat to make the
final choice.
 Purposes

Making assessments and choices

• What alternative do we like better? In
practice we may want to recheck with the
Black Hat:
• This is the alternative I like–let me check
to see whether anything terrible would
happen if I went ahead.
 Example

What do you think about the weather

in Lithuania?
SHT PRACTICE

Movie clip
 SHT PRACTICE

There is an idea is to create a

running track for a dog
 SHT PRACTICE

Use YELLOW , BLACK and RED

HATS to speak/make decision
about it.

Benefits Caution and Feelings and

Optimism Judgment emotions
 Coffee brake

15.30
Iki
16.00
WHITE HAT
Data and
Information
 Purposes

The main purposes of the White Hat can be

summarized in three questions:
• What information do we have?

• What information do we need?

• How do we get the information we need?

 Purposes

• At the beginning of many thinking

tasks, we need information to get
started.
• We need information to start thinking.
Without information, there can be no
thinking.
 Example

• For example, a business would do market

research to see if there was a market for a
new product.
• An archaeologist who has formed a theory
about ‘Civilization x’ will look around to
see if the available information and/or
evidence supports the theory.
 Example

You need to move to the city of Panevėžys

Use WHITE HAT in a group to collect information.

•What information do we have?

•What information do we need?

•How do we get the information we need?

THE GREEN HAT
Creativity and new Ideas
 Purposes

The main purpose of Green Hat thinking

is to be generative, productive and to
move thinking forward.
 Finding completely new ideas is only one
means of making progress.
 Purposes

Look at main activities of Green Hat

thinking:

• Generating reactive ideas.

• Generating starting ideas.
• Generating further and better ideas.
• Generating new ideas.
 Purposes

• Green Hat thinking can help when we need to

take an action, provide an explanation,
forecast an outcome or design something new
to fit a need.
• The overall question for Green Hat thinking
is: What ideas do we have?
 Example

Your group need to get to airport tonight.

But there is no bus or train going late
time.

• What ideas do you have?

 THE BLUE HAT
The thinking process
Page  66
 Purposes

• The Blue Hat is most often used at the

beginning, in the middle and at the end
of a thinking session. Some key words
to describe the use of the Blue Hat are
focus, purpose, agenda, observations,
next step, outcome and summary.
 Purposes

• With the Blue Hat we try to take

charge of our thinking in order to
organize what is going on. The Blue
Hat is like the conductor of the
orchestra who organizes what the
instruments are playing at any
moment.
 Purposes

Three questions to ask with the Blue

Hat are:

• What thinking has been done?

• What's our thinking goal?
• What is the next step to reach the goal?”
 Purposes

Three questions to ask with the Blue

Hat are:

• What thinking has been done?

• What's our thinking goal?
• What is the next step to reach the goal?”
 Purposes
The five main uses include:
• Defining focus and purpose.
• Setting out a thinking agenda.
• Making observations and comments.
• Deciding the next step.
• Defining outcomes and summarizing.
 Examples
Giedrius is hardly tractable child. You
are parent and want to propose a
new idea but you are afraid of
judgment.

• How your group will organize an interview

with him? What hats you will use for this
purpose?
SHT PRACTICE

Movie clip
 SHT PRACTICE

You must provide an explanation

why the cat did not listen
hedgehog.
 SHT PRACTICE

Use WHITE , GREEN and BLUE

hats to speak/make decision
about it.

Data and Creativity and The thinking

Information New Ideas process
Six Thinking Hats: Simple
Sequences

The Hat definitions

refer to sequences,
one Hat being used
for a specific
purpose then
followed by another.
 Six Thinking Hats: Simple
Sequences

- explanation
Data and Creativity and
Information New Ideas
 Six Thinking Hats: Simple
Sequences

Explanation introduces the

matter of individual
perception and a chance to
resolve related matters.

•The White Hat asks: What do we know about the

situation?
•The Green Hat asks: What are the possible
explanations?
 Six Thinking Hats: Simple
Sequences

- Choice
Benefits Caution and Feelings and
Optimism Judgment emotions
 Six Thinking Hats: Simple
Sequences

The final choice depends

on our feelings, which
means the application of
our values—what we think
is important.
•The Yellow Hat asks: What are the good points?
•The Black Hat asks: What are the difficulties and
dangers?
•The Red Hat asks: How do we feel about this?
DESISION MAKING
PRACTICE

Make a
decision by
using SHT
methods.
 DESISION MAKING
PRACTICE
SITUATION:

• If your group want to get certificates and

founding for participating in this seminar
YOU MUST stay till 19.00 and do a test.

• No test - no founding from The Lifelong

Learning Program.

• But you have other activities from 18.00h.

 DESISION MAKING
PRACTICE

• 10 minutes for decision

• 5 minutes for summarizing

experience in groups

• 2 minutes for report

 Make a desition by using
SHT methods.

Data and Feelings and Benefits

Information emotions Optimizm

Caution and Creativity and The thinking

Judgement New Ideas proces
Conclusions
 Conclusions

Please find and write the answers

to the following questions
in your group (6 min)
 Conclusions
Considering this 3 hours work shop Please
find and write the answers to the following
questions in your group:

A. Your feelings and emotions

B. Your understanding and main value

C.Your misunderstanding and uncertainty