The Six Thinking Hats

1. The Six Thinking Hats Access to Breast Care for West Texas – ABC4WT Train the Trainer Seminar Saturday, October 16, 2010 Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats

2. The Six Thinking Hats Help us… • look at a project from different perspectives • make better decisions by forcing us to move outside habitual ways of thinking • understand the full complexity of a decision • spot issues and opportunities Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats

3. A new way to make decisions Six Thinking Hats allows us to use all approaches in decision making and planning …mixing ambition, skill in execution, sensitivity, creativity and good contingency planning Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats

4. Why hats? • Signify roles in life • Are easily put on or taken off • Worn one at a time Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats

5. Why hats work… • Structure: focus on one direction of thinking at a time • Total thinking - looks at an issue from several angles in a short amount of time • Multiple uses – groups, alone, two people having a conversation • Easy integration – stand alone process or integration into other processes such as brainstorming or quality improvement Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats

6. Six hats, six ways of thinking • White – Information • Yellow – Logical positive • Black – Caution • Red– Intuition, feelings and emotions • Green– Creativity, alternatives • Blue – Managing the process Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats

7. The purpose … ABC4WT is a group of academic and community healthcare providers that seeks to increase screening and close the gap between diagnosis and treatment for medically underserved women in West Texas. Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats

8. The process… • Introduce one hat at a time • Brainstorm - record responses as stated - go in order; “pass” if no comment - one idea at a time; do not explain - facilitator will keep group on track • Group share (one “ah ha”) Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats

9. The Blue Hat – Managing the process • Looks at the “thinking” about the subject • Defines focus • Controls the other hats • Observations, summaries, reporting Example: What are some conclusions we can draw from this discussion? Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats

10. The White Hat - Information • Information we know to be true • Gaps in knowledge; info needed • Neutral and objective • No interpretations or opinions Example: This is a 3 year project that will eventually cover all counties in West Texas. How will county agencies be reimbursed for project costs? Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats

11. The Yellow Hat – Logical positive • A deliberate search for the positive • Envisions the best possible scenario and maximum benefits • Looks forward to results • Finds value in what’s happened Example: For the first time, we will have breast cancer demographics from all counties Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats

12. The Black Hat – Caution • Must always be logical • Why it might not work; weak points in a plan • Focus on possible problems, difficulties Example: We don’t have a plan in place to replace community leaders as they drop out of the project Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats

13. The Green Hat – Creativity; alternatives • New ideas; creative alternatives • Reduces judgment; no criticism of new ideas • Uses ideas as stepping stones Example: Use church groups to connect with ethnic and rural women Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats

14. The Red Hat – Intuition, feelings, emotions • Permission to put forward feelings • Opposite of neutral and objective • No need to justify or give reasons Example: My gut feeling tells me that some communities may not be receptive to this Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats

15. The Blue Hat – Managing the process Observations? Conclusions? Next step… Action Plan to move forward… Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats