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Bono’s Six Thinking Hats

Get the most out of group work by aligning different ways of thinking

Pratique


Aim

This structured brainstorming method enables you to get the full potential out of all forms of thinking (factual, emotional, creative, etc.) in order to benefit innovation and creativity.

Invented by Doctor Edward de Bono in 1987, this methodology aims to establish shared, parallel thinking: instead of mixing all types of thought like we do on a daily basis in our unstructured thought processes, the group tries to separate them by imagining they are wearing the corresponding “hat”.

Six different ways of looking at things (process, facts, negative, positive, emotional and creative) are symbolised by six different coloured hats, which the participants try on one by one.

All members of the group all use the same type of thinking at the same time. They feed each other’s ideas and convergence becomes much easier.

Edward de Bono and creative thinking:

Intructions

Time needed: 20 to 45 minutes

Materials

Download the Six Thinking Hats posters

As facilitator, you wear the “blue hat” throughout the entire process: you don’t take part in the discussion, but make sure that the group are using the correct thinking type.

You can also fulfil the role of scribe: take note of all the discussions and ideas that come up during the session. Don’t filter them! If you need to divide the group into several smaller groups, the role of scribe is assumed by one member of each sub-group.

Each hat corresponds to one single form of thinking, which all participants must adopt for one single round. The rounds are deliberately short (2 to 5 minutes maximum) to facilitate a spontaneous “straight-off-the-beat” dynamic. With the green hat, it can sometimes take a bit longer to cover all the ideas, even the craziest! (5 to 15 mins).

Key steps


  1. Blue hat: process
    As wearer of the blue hat and therefore controller of the process, you must start by presenting the problem that the group will be working on, the context, the aim of the workshop and how the session will work (origin and benefits of the method, roles of each hat, order and timings).
  2. White hat: facts
    Ask the group to state facts that relate to the problem: what do they know about the situation, what information do they have, what figures to they have, what are the related standards, what information do they need, etc.
  3. Black hat: the negatives
    Ask the group to see the situation with a “glass half empty” approach: what is slowing each situation down, what are the disadvantages, what’s missing, what are the potential obstacles, etc.
  4. Yellow hat: the positives
    Now ask them to reflect on the problem in terms of advantages, opportunities, benefits and even dreams.
  5. Red hat: feelings
    Ask each participant to express how they feel in relation to the problem, without justifying it: whatever their intuition tells them, what does it inspire them to do, what are their beliefs, what feelings arise, etc.
  6. Green hat: creativity
    Now that they have looked at the problem from all angles, ask the participants to respond to it: all ideas are good ideas, whether they are realistic or not!
  7. Blue hat: convergence
    With the help of the whole group, separate the ideas into themes and wrap up the session: what to take away from it, what solution are they going to work towards, what are the next steps, etc. You can also split the participants into project groups to reflect on the advantages and disadvantages of each idea if you want them to get working on them straight away.

Example.
For the following topic: Nature & Découvertes flavours. Below are the types of questions that you could prepare in advance:

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