Armaghan Saqib

Following is a Dr. Edward de Bono’s lecture on his “six thinking hats” technique which is one of the most used thinking tool.

Six hats technique allows you to neatly identify and express six different kinds of thinking modes (positive, negative, creative, facts, emotions, control) during a discussion. You are expected to use each hat as good as the remaining others. If you are good at negative thinking, you are expected to be equally good at positive thinking etc.

Our traditional method of discussion is what Edward de Bono calls as “clash culture”. Some of the attributes of this “culture” are as follows:

1. You protect your position and attack other’s position as vigorously as possible. The more you attack the better your chances of “winning”.
2. You are not willing to admit your mistakes. (because you will lose points.)
3. You are not willing to admit any good done by the other party. (because this would give some edge to the other party.)

You can observe this clash culture in action during any political discussion. (and most of other discussions too.)

Needless to say this way of discussing things is a huge waste of our intellect and time.

The correct way is to explore a given subject or issue during a discussion and coming up with various suggestions and solutions. There is a frame work for this. It is called six thinking hats.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ndomer73/2547744730/

There are too many injustices in the world; red tape is too long, your boss treats you badly, your friends are selfish, you don’t have enough money to buy the latest clothes and shoes, your work hours are too long, your parents don’t understand your problems, your spouse is not happy. (the list is really long)

Ok I got it.

There are two possible ways to channel your energy:

1. Complain about these injustices and keep complaining forever.
2. Manage yourself to take some small positive steps; learn new skills, make new connections, read books, volunteer somewhere, tell others what you can do for them etc.

Guess which approach is going to help you and make this world a better place?

I keep hearing complains all day and I am tired of these people. Please don’t be one of them.

Black hat is not enough. You need to use yellow and green hats too.

As I said earlier, positive thinking is not the only thinking you need to do. Thinking about thinking is also an important one. You may need to sit down alone, preferably with a paper and a pencil, and start asking questions.

Warning: Your own answers can be scary.

1. Why I am doing what I am doing? Can I do something better? When will I do that?
2. What is the worst thing that can happen if I stop doing this today? Can things get better? Perhaps I shall get rid of my ever scolding boss and start living with dignity.
3. What other possibilities (perhaps better ones) are there for me? Have I ever tried to explore?
4. Should I re-evaluate my priorities? Reading, teaching, kids, spending, eating, pleasure, exercise, money, volunteering etc.
5. What I am going to do in next 10,20,30 years?
6. What is my past performance for the last 2, 5, 10, 15 years? Do I need to change my tactics radically?
7. Is it time to develop new habits or get rid of old ones?
8. Am I thinking too little?
9. Am I thinking too much? (with too little action)

Not every question is tied to money.

Thinking about thinking comes under green and blue hats.

Every one asks you to think positively, to get rid of your negative thoughts and emotions. Many articles, blog posts and books have been written on the power of positive thinking.

Right? Probably wrong. Though the above advice might somewhat help those who are deeply in negative thinking, it often causes confusion to people trying to improve themselves just with positive thinking.

The other types of thinking (including negative and emotional ones) are equally important too.

… Without negative thinking you can’t be aware of any risk elements in a new venture, dangers at a new place or bad intentions of a stranger etc.

… Have you ever tried getting rid of your emotional thinking? You should not and in fact you can’t.

… Without some creating thinking you cannot move ahead in your life.

So the trick is to give equal share to each type of thinking.

Dr. Edward de Bono has divided our thinking into six types (symbolized by metaphorical hats):

1. Positive thinking with all the logic. (Yellow hat)
2. Negative thinking with all the logic. (Black hat)
3. Emotions without any logic and justification. (Red hat)
4. Actual facts which can be verified independently. (White hat)
5. Creative thinking; new ideas, inventions. (Green hat)
6. Control of your thinking. Forcing yourself to do due justice to every type of thinking. (Blue hat)

An emotional decision is not bad as long as you have given due time to thinking of all other types.

A good thinker has to be good at all types of thinking.

Are you a good thinker?

Six thinking hats framework by Dr. Edward de Bono helps you stay focused and productive during meetings and discussions. Hats framework allows you to detach your ego from your discussions and focus on results.

Hats are used symbolically and there is no need to actually wear a particular hat. You just state that you are going to wear a particular hat. Hats are used to simulate the role playing. Six hats framework is extremely easy to learn and can be taught in 5-10 minutes to anybody including children. (who love role playing)

To use the hats during a meeting or discussion, you explain the six hats metaphor to everybody. During the discussion, everybody explicitly states the hat he or she is wearing and makes a statement according to his or her hat’s color. Hats can be changed as many times as you like.

For example if you want to make an emotional statement, you will put on your red hat and put forward your statement. Similarly to say anything negative, you will tell the participants that you are now going to make black hat statement.

Blue hat is normally used by someone who is conducting the discussion (the controller) and allows him or her to keep everyone stay focused on the subject of the discussions. If the discussion drifts to off-topics, he can wear his blue hat and ask everyone to stay on the topic.

Some people are always positive, some find satisfaction in findings faults. Some others are creative. Six hats framework forces you to recognize your favorite hat and expects you to use all the hats in a balanced way. For example if you are too much critical (black hat) or emotional (red hat), it is expected from you that you use the yellow hat (positive) and white hat (facts) too.

To use the hats effectively you need to use the correct hat for each statement. For example you cannot say something emotional and make it look like a white hat statement. White hat is reserved for pure facts and you are expected to be asked for a reference which can prove that your statement is a pure fact.

Here is a mind map of six thinking hats which you can print and distribute before meetings/discussions or use as your computer desktop background for easy reference.

The one of the easiest ways to offend someone is saying something emotional and presenting it as “facts”. de Bono’s six thinking hats make it easy to show the color of your thinking or ask others to label their thoughts.

White hat is all about pure facts, figures and information.

Black hat finds faults and design errors pointing out why something will not work.

Red hat signifies the emotions, feelings, hunch and intuition.

Yellow hat thinking is about positive and constructive ideas.

Green hat is for new ideas and creativity.

Blue hat is for the control and direction of the thinking process.

For example my last comment on Dubai is a red hat thinking.