Gary Dichtenberg CyberSkills, Inc. Creative Problem Solving with Six Thinking Hats How to use Edward deBono’s parallel thinking in problem solving

Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc. Goals of this program  Define parallel thinking  Identify each of the six hats  Learn how to ask a good question  Apply six hats method to problem solving

Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc. What is parallel thinking? At any moment everyone is looking in the same direction.

Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc. So the six hats are…?  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” and “take off” a hat

Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc. Uses for Six Hats  Problem solving  Strategic planning  Running meetings  Much more

Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc. Six colors…  White: neutral, objective  Red: emotional, angry  Black: serious, somber  Yellow: sunny, positive  Green: growth, fertility  Blue: cool, sky above

Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc. …and six hats  White: objective facts & figures  Red: emotions & feelings  Black: cautious & careful  Yellow: hope, positive & speculative  Green: creativity, ideas & lateral thinking  Blue: control & organization of thinking

Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc. General hat issues  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

Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc. Benefits of Six Thinking 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

Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc. Using the hats  Use any hat, as often as needed  Sequence can be preset or evolving  Not necessary to use every hat  Time under each hat: generally, short  Requires discipline from each person While using it, stay in the idiom  Adds an element of play, play along  Can be used by individuals and groups

Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc. The blue hat  Thinking about thinking  Instructions for thinking  The organization of thinking  Control of the other hats  Discipline and focus

Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc. The blue hat role  Control of thinking & the process  Begin & end session with blue hat  Facilitator, session leader’s role  Choreography open, sequence, close Focus: what should we be thinking about Asking the right questions Defining & clarifying the problem Setting the thinking tasks

Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc. Open with the blue hat…  Why we are here  what we are thinking about  definition of the situation or problem  alternative definitions  what we want to achieve  where we want to end up  the background to the thinking  a plan for the sequence of hats

Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc. …and close with the blue hat  What we have achieved  Outcome  Conclusion  Design  Solution  Next steps

Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc. White Hat Thinking  Neutral, objective information  Facts & figures  Questions: what do we know, what don’t we know, what do we need to know  Excludes opinions, hunches, judgements  Removes feelings & impressions  Two tiers of facts Believed Facts Checked Facts

Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc. Red Hat Thinking  Emotions & feelings  Hunches, intuitions, impressions  Doesn’t have to be logical or consistent  No justifications, reasons or basis  All decisions are emotional in the end

Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc. Yellow Hat Thinking  Positive & speculative  Positive thinking, optimism, opportunity  Benefits  Best-case scenarios  Exploration

Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc. Green Hat Thinking  New ideas, concepts, perceptions  Deliberate creation of new ideas  Alternatives and more alternatives  New approaches to problems  Creative & lateral thinking

Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc. Black Hat Thinking  Cautious and careful  Logical negative – why it won’t work  Critical judgement, pessimistic view  Separates logical negative from emotional  Focus on errors, evidence, conclusions  Logical & truthful, but not necessarily fair

Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc. Six hats summary Blue: control & organization of thinking White: objective facts & figures Red: emotions & feelings Yellow: hope, positive & speculative Green: creativity, ideas & lateral thinking Black: cautious & careful

Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc. Asking the right question  We can’t get the right answer if we ask the wrong question  Crucial blue hat skill  One technique: five whys

Creative Problem Solving Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc.

“Traditional” CPS  Mess-finding  Data-finding  Problem-finding  Idea-finding  Solution-finding  Acceptance-finding

Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc. Common idea-finding methods  Brainstorming  Mind Maps  Free association  Freewriting  Incubation

Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc. Six hats & problem solving  A more deliberate process than CPS  Like CPS, uses creativity (green hat)  Unlike CPS, provides a mechanism for evaluating ideas & making decisions

Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc. Hypothetical problem solving program using the hats - 1  Blue hat Organize the process  Red hat Emotional issues & feelings  White hat What do we know, need to know  Yellow hat Proposals & suggestions; what ifs, why nots

Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc.  Blue hat Focus on the areas that need new ideas  Green hat Generate new ideas & concepts  Blue hat Organize ideas & process for evaluation  White, yellow & green hats Constructive thinking Hypothetical problem solving program using the hats - 2

Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc.  Yellow hat Positive assessment of viable alternatives  Black hat Screening for impossible, unusable Challenge the alternatives  Yellow & green hats Overcome objections, correct faults, remove weaknesses, solve problems  Black hat Further scrutiny; point out risks, dangers Hypothetical problem solving program using the hats - 3

Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc.  Blue hat Overview of achievements so far Organize choice of route  Red hat Express feelings about the choices  Yellow & black hats Looking for the best alternative  Blue hat Strategy for implementation Hypothetical problem solving program using the hats - 4

Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc. Want to learn more?  Workshops by Paul Reali CyberSkills, Inc or  Lateral Thinking, deBono’s Thinking Course, and other books by Edward deBono