six-hat method

白色思考帽：白色是中立而客观的。代表着事实和资讯。
红色思考帽：红色是情感的色彩。直指我们的感觉、直觉和预感。
绿色思考帽：绿色是春天来到时，争奇斗艳的美妙色彩。那是创意的颜色。
蓝色思考帽：蓝色是天空的颜色，笼罩四野。在控制着事物的整个过程。
黄色思考帽：黄色是顶乐观的帽子。它代表着与逻辑相符合的正面观点。
黑色思考帽：黑色是阴沉的颜色。它意味着警示与批判。

THE SIX HATS
• White (Observer) White paper; Neutral; focus on information available, objective FACTS, what is needed, how it can be obtained
• Red (Self, Other) Fire, warmth; EMOTIONS, FEELINGS, intuition, hunches; present views without explanation, justification
• Black (Self, Other) Stern judge wearing black robe; judgmental; critical; why something is wrong; LOGICAL NEGATIVE view.
• Yellow (Self, Other) Sunshine; optimism; LOGICAL POSITIVE view; looks for benefits, what's good.
• Green (Self, Other) Vegetation; CREATIVE thinking; possibilities and hypotheses; new ideas
• Blue (Observer) Sky; cool; overview; CONTROL of PROCESS, STEPS, OTHER HATS; chairperson, organizer; thinking about thinking


MAIN BENEFITS OF SIX THINKING HATS METHOD
1. Allow to say things without risk. Very strong in preventing the Spiral of Silence.
2. Create awareness that there are multiple perspectives on the issue at hand
3. Convenient mechanism for 'switching gears'
4. Rules for the game of thinking
5. Focus thinking
6. Lead to more creative thinking
7. Improve communication
8. Improve decision making
USING THE SIX HATS
In most group contexts, individuals tend to feel constrained to consistently adopt a specific perspective (optimistic, pessimistic, objective, etc.). This limits the ways and extent to which each individual and thus the group as a whole can explore an issue. With the Six Thinking Hats, one is no longer limited to a single perspective in one's thinking. The hats are categories of thinking behavior and not of people themselves. The purpose of the hats is to direct thinking, not classify either the thinking or the thinker. Indeed, by wearing a hat that is different from the one that one customarily wears, one may chance upon a variety of new ideas. Wearing a hat means deliberately adopting a perspective that is not necessarily one's own. It is important that all group members are aware of this fact. A group member must clearly identify the color of the hat he is wearing while making a statement. Wearing a clearly identified hat separates ego from performance. The Six Hat Method is useful even for individuals thinking by themselves.

TYPICAL STEPS IN A SIX HATS WORKSHOP. PROCESS
Hats may be used in some structured sequence depending on the nature of the issue. Here is an example agenda for a typical 6 hats workshop:

Step 1: Present the facts of the case (White Hat)
Step 2: Generate ideas on how the case could be handled (Green Hat)
Step 3: Evaluate the merits of the ideas - List the benefits (Yellow Hat), List the drawbacks (Black Hat)
Step 4: Get everybody's gut feeling about the alternatives (Red Hat)
Step 5: Summarize and adjourn the meeting (Blue Hat)

Appreciate the sharing. I may forward it to my boss

very interesting,I like the blue Hat,but my control is not very good.

平行思考--六顶思考帽的方法


一种有效地获取信息的技巧 （白帽）
决策时恰当的情感、直觉和预感（红帽）
如何在评估中使用逻辑性正面探索方式（黄帽）
在评估中恰当、有限地使用谨慎地逻辑性反面探索方式（黑帽）
创造性地真正意义及设计创造性解决问题的基本工具（绿帽）
变换认知——一种有效地主持会议不可或缺地技能（蓝帽）

*不同的颜色的帽子代表不同的思考规则。
容易转换思考方式。
帽子为组织思维提供了框架，思维变得更加集中，更加有组织性，更有创造性。

*六顶思考帽的价值
对即将扮演的角色做了明确规定
设立游戏规则，成为一种思维的语言
投射注意力
方便

*六顶帽子的思考方法
白帽: 资料与信息
红帽: 直觉与感情
黑帽: 逻辑与批判
黄帽: 积极与乐观
绿帽: 创新与冒险
蓝帽: 系统与控制

As a group of activities, six hat thinking method requires:

1. group wearing the same hat
All The people understand the direction of thinking, that at the same time very clear way of thinking with which to think.
such as fish bought, and now need to think about the practice of fish, all the people should also think about the matter, whether love is not love at this time. This time everyone has lost self, and what their favorite fish is no longer important. Suppose finally chose braised, then want to change a hat, all to think about how to do braised fish, there are several practices, when asked the same loss of self, all the members to wear the same hat. Thus, lateral thinking can be in the same facts, the same reason all the attention focused on the premise that a possibility of a different consideration, as far as possible the use of collective wisdom, experience and knowledge in all aspects would like to be thorough as possible.

2. group recognized all members of all the people to accept this way of thinking is beneficial. If someone thinks that this way of thinking nothing is meant, then he is in this group play a disruptive role.

3. thinking behavior law requires six thinking hats must act to think that out.

4. to comply with common rules of the game
all members must abide by rules of the game. Must comply with the rules of the game, are neither like what happen. In an organization use this way of thinking, there is a very important principle to follow, that all participants should be equal, whether a leading or subordinate. Although there are hierarchical relations at work (in general leadership of the then more authority and influence), but this way of thinking, asked every person is equal, regardless of age, position, gender, how qualifications. This principle is very important - only equal, open and put their own ideas to share with the team members can use this method better, more transparent.

Six hat thinking method start with a good angle to see the facts as thoroughly, and then find another point of view, which is six hat thinking method's characteristics.

Its most important feature is the same in real life, a problem can have many possible answers. These possibilities exist in real life has a meaning, specifically the possibility of selection which, we should fully consider and discuss the premise.
the benefits of this way of thinking what is it?

1. cultivate a different way of thinking
people think there are some obstacles and misunderstandings, many of which are caused by the habit of thinking. The first advantage of this way of thinking is to overcome the habit of thinking and cultivate a different way of thinking. For example, some comparison of life care, more conservative, consider any problems will start from the worst possibility, the formation of habits of thinking that if he saw any problem would be gray.
six hat thinking method is to foster a positive and innovative way of thinking, this way of thinking is nurtured,polo ralph lauren, not born.

2. guiding attention
different people think about the direction will be different. Six thinking hats method is a collective thinking, it's biggest advantage is to guide the attention of the collective attention to the same direction.

3. easy to think they were all in one direction
thinking, thinking is one thing, this thinking is not only convenient, but also facilitate the exchange. Since the beginning efforts in one direction, so the key is how the problem in this direction to see deep, see through.

4. program thinking, rather than reactive thinking
This is a proactive, planned some of the arrangements, and not run into a sudden reaction later. So, this way of thinking better suited to a particular fact or event to conduct mass, group or collective thinking.

I hope Prof. Ali would teach us how to use these methods into our daily work.

Theory is theory. The key point is how to use the theory to guide our daily work. To be frankly, so far, I have not experienced or heared about which company is using the theory intendedly. The most cases for new ideas are brainstorming.

Step 1: Present the facts of the case (White Hat)
Step 2: Generate ideas on how the case could be handled (Green Hat)
Step 3: Evaluate the merits of the ideas - List the benefits (Yellow Hat), List the drawbacks (Black Hat)
Step 4: Get everybody's gut feeling about the alternatives (Red Hat)
Step 5: Summarize and adjourn the meeting (Blue Hat)


Thank you for your sharing which is very helpful, I will apply it to my daily work~

Guys, call me cynical, but isn’t problem solving technical always about 1) establishing facts & understanding the issue; 2) finding possible solutions 3) evaluating these “solutions”& implementing them 4) monitor/evaluate results & start from the top if have to. I guess this “technique” expands on the 2nd phase, by which is breaking down the process further, which arguably whether by individual effort or by group discussion, would or may (depending on how organize the person is/people are) intuitively do.

Finding the solution could be a functioning of 1) knowing how well the issue is, its limitation/flexibility etc; 2) fitting the fact pattern of the issue to solutions you have seen (call it innovation if you want); 3) completely dream up a solution or mutate the issue from one you can’t solve to one you can manage (call this invention if you fancy)....

Notwithstanding the novelty idea of “hats”, I reckon that the hardest part in solving an issue is not number 2, but number 1, i.e. Understanding the issue. If you know the issue well & hard, you should be able to find the appropriate solution, whether you are wearing a baseball cap, a straw hat, a bow hat or maybe even a bandanna. If you can’t, maybe there is a limitation due to technology, politics, law, practicality or economics, or maybe you don't have the right "database" to solve it. Then what do you do? ask someone who may know (and sly enough you may think of ripping him off his credits! you shouldn't), or group discuss it.....(then take the best ideas and run!)

The point is, you can wear as many hats as you like, however colourful, but problem solving methodology has always been the same. But I appreciate the context here is more on the technique, here may be a good permutation.

My version of it, is the “hat trick”(see above).

Teaspoon wrote:Notwithstanding the novelty idea of “hats”, I reckon that the hardest part in solving an issue is not number 2, but number 1, i.e. Understanding the issue. If you know the issue well & hard, you should be able to find the appropriate solution, whether you are wearing a baseball cap, a straw hat, a bow hat or maybe even a bandanna. If you can’t, maybe there is a limitation due to technology, politics, law, practicality or economics, or maybe you don't have the right "database" to solve it.

As Ali said,"Ask the right question".

Does any of you know why Prof. Ali didn't ask us to try this in classes yet?

The six hat method is quite useful to effectively and quickly make a decision for a group. The leader needs to control that all the team members are in the same color at the same time. And when it becomes to a habit of our own, we will just follow it without really wearing those hats, but bear those hats and process in our heads.

In my opinion, six hats method is summarized and theorized from our daily skills in problem solving, but most of us do not use the full steps, but rather, we may skip some steps to the final stage.

In actual, we all use such method in our daily life, but are not aware of such is a chain of steps. Thus, Six Hat helps us review our previous habits in problem thinking, and to improve it to be logical.

Six Thinking Hats is a good technique for looking at the effects of a decision from a number of different points of view.It allows necessary emotion and skepticism to be brought into what would otherwise be purely rational decisions. It opens up the opportunity for creativity within Decision Making. It also helps, for example, persistently pessimistic people to be positive and creative.

In our daily live and work, we may do not have 6 real hats when we have a discuss or need to make a decision, but we can try to imagine the 6 hats, I believe we can benefit from this thinking methord.

Try it...

The exercise is very interesting, especially for me. I have a legal background and I am trained to think critically, that is, I always need to wear black hat. So it’s totally different for me to feel the other ways to think and talk. I’d like to experience more in future work.

The 6 hats thinking method told me to think our biz model from differnet perspective, and Jazz told

us that we should adapt to varied environments and giving rise to many distinctive

styles.Combining them together, I think they can cultivate our leadership by a large margin.

liuqian_10GA_2010961496 wrote:The 6 hats thinking method told me to think our biz model from differnet perspective, and Jazz told

us that we should adapt to varied environments and giving rise to many distinctive

styles.Combining them together, I think they can cultivate our leadership by a large margin.

Very new angel to make a good connection between the 6 thinking hats and Jazz. Thank you for inspiring me with such unique perspective, which has deepened my understanding on these two topics. Smart girl

I think six-hat method can let people not only focus but also have brainstorm.
This method can make the team members focus on one issue, but when discuss this issue, the members can have brainstorm.
So it is an efficient method and not limit the imagination of the members.

At first we was not used to applying six hats method in discussion. Our group did not finish the discussion in time. I think the leader of the group is very important.
The method also seems like another strong leader controlling the steps of group thinking. But with the steps, maybe some member skip good ideas flash into mind. So it's necessary to make some note through the process.

On the other hand, I still puzzle how it can be used into real work. How many people would be the appropriate for the method? 10 or 50 or even more? Is there any method to train our colleague? If they don't realize the advantages of the method,they will think it's ideal but not actual.

I think it is a good tool for a group discussion for making a result.
It means always keep the team in same chanel.
Sometime, the team wastes much time on urguring or someone said, the rest all stop thinking or thinking critically.
Six hats is a powerful tool to keep everyone in same side, and contribute to the discussion.

Why Six hat?
A cube has 6 sides right.
You can image that you are holding a cube, a secret thing just inside the cube, you are rounding the cube to see it clearly.
It means that we look the things from 6 different angles.
so ,maybe we dont need so many hats, just use a cube instead of hats.

jaychen10GB wrote:At first we was not used to applying six hats method in discussion. Our group did not finish the discussion in time. I think the leader of the group is very important.
The method also seems like another strong leader controlling the steps of group thinking. But with the steps, maybe some member skip good ideas flash into mind. So it's necessary to make some note through the process.

On the other hand, I still puzzle how it can be used into real work. How many people would be the appropriate for the method? 10 or 50 or even more? Is there any method to train our colleague? If they don't realize the advantages of the method,they will think it's ideal but not actual.

Our team didn't finish the discussion as well. It's really hard to keep all the members in the same steps, so the controller is very important.

And I found that our method of thinking is not ruled by steps, such as positive first and critical later. Our mind always jumped from one hats to another. So it's also really hard for one to control his/her own mind to follow the hats-steps.

We probably need more practices to improve and to apply this thinking method in real life.