Thinking books · Creativity · Edward de Bono, 1985
Six Thinking Hats — the big ideas
A method for doing one kind of thinking at a time, especially in groups.
Free — no account needed to read
The big ideas
Ordinary discussion runs facts, feelings, risks, benefits and creativity simultaneously, which is why groups argue past each other and why the most confident voice wins.
Everyone doing the same kind of thinking at the same time removes the ego contest: nobody is the critic or the optimist, because everyone is, in turn.
It legitimises saying a feeling without justifying it, which otherwise leaks into the discussion disguised as an argument.
Practise it — no need to have read it
Take a decision and go through all six in turn on your own: facts, feelings, risks, benefits, alternatives, and what thinking is needed next.
A hint: Write each separately. The discipline is not mixing them.
Where it shows up in real life
- Meetings that go in circles
- Your own stuck decision
- Reviewing a proposal fairly
Described in our own words with the source named — never quoted, and not a substitute for reading the book.
Thinking methods from this book
- Six directions of thinking — Doing one kind of thinking at a time instead of all at once.
The thinking it builds
- Creative Thinking — Generate possibilities and new approaches
- Decision Thinking — Make better decisions under uncertainty