- White hat – information
You have to purely consider what information is available. This point of view is oriented on facts.
- Red hat – emotions
What is your intuitive and instinctive gut reaction or statement? Just take your emotional feeling into account without any justification.
- Black hat – discernment
Here we come to the logical point of view. The way of looking at a problem has to be cautious and critical.
- Yellow hat – optimism
Put your focus on identifying benefits. Focus on the best case scenario.
- Green hat – creativity
Be provocative and investigative. Let your thoughts flow even to absurd ideas.
And that’s how it works: Every team member puts on a hat – literally or metaphorically – and deals with the problem according to the corresponding color. Then, you switch hats. Every session starts and ends with the blue hat which moderates and structures the ideas of all participants. The blue hat embodies the “big picture” – the blue sky of the whole process.
Summarized: First, the team discusses the topic and exchanges background information, then they do the thinking in different hat perspectives and in the last part, the team evaluates the result and defines actions derived from these results.
This method supports your team in parallel thinking. Since the team members are put in different roles, more open discussions are possible. Additionally, you can ensure that decisions are made consciously by considering various perspectives.
By the way: Conceptboard is the perfect tool to use the technique of the six thinking hats, since your participants even do not have to be in one room, and it gives you a perfect documentation of the creative process. Generate more and better ideas quickly by using our Six Thinking Hats template and give it a try!
