Six Thinking Hats

Six Thinking Hats® is a simple, effective parallel thinking process that helps people be more productive, focused, and mindfully involved. And once learned, the tools can be applied immediately!

You and your team members can learn how to separate thinking into six clear functions and roles. Each thinking role is identified with a colored symbolic "thinking hat." By mentally wearing and switching "hats," you can easily focus or redirect thoughts, the conversation, or the meeting.

	The White Hat calls for information known or needed. "The facts, just the facts."
	The Yellow Hat symbolizes brightness and optimism. Under this hat you explore the positives and probe for value and benefit.
	The Black Hat is judgment - the devil's advocate or why something may not work. Spot the difficulties and dangers; where things might go wrong. Probably the most powerful and useful of the Hats but a problem if overused.
	The Red Hat signifies feelings, hunches and intuition. When using this hat you can express emotions and feelings and share fears, likes, dislikes, loves, and hates.
	The Green Hat focuses on creativity; the possibilities, alternatives, and new ideas. It's an opportunity to express new concepts and new perceptions.
	The Blue Hat is used to manage the thinking process. It's the control mechanism that ensures the Six Thinking Hats® guidelines are observed.

 

Click here for Six Thinking Hats Presentation (Requires Internet Explorer)

As you know, the difference between mediocre and highly effective teams lies not so much in their collective mental equipment, but in how well they use their abilities to think and how well they work together. Six Thinking Hats® helps actualize the full thinking potential of teams. And when used as a meeting management tool, the Six Hats method provides the disciplined process for individuals to be focused and to the point. But possibly most important, it requires each individual to look at all sides of an issue. Employees like the way the Six Hats method neutralizes employee rank in a meeting where several levels of employees are present. It also puts people who are quiet and reserved on an equal playing field with those who are more talkative and might monopolize a meeting.

Pertinent Applications for the Parallel Thinking Process of Six Thinking Hats®

 

 

Six Thinking Hats As a Meeting Management Tool

According to a recent USA TODAY Snapshots® pole 49% of the responders reported that Unfocused Meetings is what makes them feel unproductive at work. Utilize Six Thinking Hats as a meeting management tool and eliminate unfocused and unproductive meetings from your schedule.

 

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Using Six Thinking Hats®, you and your team will learn how to:

• look at problems, decisions, and opportunities systematically
• use Parallel Thinking™ as a group or team to generate more, better ideas and solutions
• make meetings much shorter and more productive
• reduce conflict among team members or meeting participants
• stimulate innovation by generating more and better ideas quickly
• create dynamic, results oriented meetings that make people want to participate
• go beyond the obvious to discover effective alternate solutions
• spot opportunities where others see only problems
• think clearly and objectively
• view problems from new and unusual angles
• make thorough evaluations
• see all sides of a situation
• keep egos and "turf protection" in check
• achieve significant and meaningful results

 

 

Pricing, Use and Return on Investment

 

The online course is $99 per user for 6 months of use. You and your team members may use the courseware anytime and anywhere you have Internet access. Once logged on you and your team members can use the interactive online software to prepare yourselves to effectively function as valuable contributors and users of the Six Hats process. And, as new members join your team, they too will be ready to contribute immediately after they have participated in de Bono Online.

 

Key Benefits to Remember

 

Two key benefits to remember...	Your people spend little if any time being away from the job when you introduce Six Thinking Hats in this manner, and the Six Hats methods can be used immediately after the initial training/online interactive session. There is no delay.
A third key benefit...	The investment is affordable with a reasonable per person cost.
A fourth key benefit...	Training and application of the use of de Bono methods in a variety of organizational settings have a proven and well-established pattern of return on investment record. (Click here for Return on Investment Reporting.)

Request a complimentary 5-day password to use and experience the de Bono Online courseware now. Call The de Bono Group at 1-888-572-2190 or email jpc@debonogroup.com for more information or to order de Bono Online today! You might also want to take a look at the Applications section of this website to see which initiatives you are already implementing will be complemented by de Bono methods.

P.S. – Be sure to ask about the Online Management System, which is included in the de Bono Online package …This revolutionary feature serves as a way to monitor, encourage, and measure Six Thinking Hats usage within teams and across your organization.

 

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Finally, training and learning where everyone is on the same page!

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