Creative Problem Solving

Thinking Hats

The notion of six thinking hats comes from Edward De Bono in 1985.

The thinking hats technique helps to experiment the different ways of thinking and to see the situation and ideas from different angles. It is a simple andeffective system that increase productivity.

There are 6 metaphorical hats and each defines a certain type of thinking.

You can put on or take off one of these hats to indicate the type of thinking youare using. It is essential as it allows to switch from one type of thinking to. another.

Benefits of Thinking Hats

• It provides creative solution / decision making to a given problem or situation.• It is applicable on an individual as well as in a group.• Helps to move out from habitual thinking style.

• Helps to provide the 360 degree view of the situation.• It allows necessary emotion and skepticism to be brought into what would

otherwise be purely rational decisions.• The technique also helps, for example, persistently pessimistic

people to be positive and creative

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Using The Hats• Use any hat, as often as needed.

• It can be used in any sequence.

• Not Necessary to use every hat.

• Have a time under each hat; generally short.

• Discipline is required while using this technique.

• Can be used by an Individual or Group.

WHITE HAT Calls for information known or needed- gathering just the facts. Too often facts and figures embedded in an argument or belief. Wearing white hat allows you to present

information in a neutral and objective way.

While putting this hat you look for: #What information is available? #What information is needed?

#How to get those information?

Proposals, Opinions, Beliefs and Arguments should be put aside.

WHITE HAT This thinking hat helps on focusing the data, facts, figures and information.What you can learn from it?

Remember to look for gaps in your knowledge, and either try to fillThem or take account of them.

This is where you analyze past trends, and try to extrapolate from Historical data.

YELLOW HATYellow Hat calls for optimism, positive aspects. It helps you to analyze a situation form a

logical point of view.Wearing the yellow Hat allows to look for benefits, feasibility and how something can be

done. While putting this Hat you look for: #What are benefits of this option? #Why is this proposal preferable? #What are the positive assets of the design / project? #How can we make this work?

Yellow Hat Thinking is a deliberate search for the positive.

YELLOW HATYellow Hat helps you to see all the benefits of the decision and value in it, and spot the

opportunities that arise from it. Yellow Hat thinking helps you to keep going when everything looks gloomy and difficult.

Benefits are not always immediately obvious and you might have to search for them.

Every creative idea deserves some yellow hat attention.

BLACK HATBlack hat allows you to consider the proposal/ option/ situation critically and logically.The Black hat is used to reflect on why a suggestion does not fit the facts, the availableExperience, or the system in use. While putting this hat you look for: #Costs (Option would be too expensive?) #Norms & Regulations (Is the option permissible?) #Design (might look good, but is practical or not?) #Materials (material is sustainable & high maintenance?) #Safety issues (proper steps?)

Black Hat looks for Judgment, Caution and Evaluation.

BLACK HATMistakes can be disastrous. So the use of this hat is very valuable. While using this hat,

look at the situation pessimistically, cautiously and defensively.

During this phase try to analyze why ideas and approaches might not work. It is important because it highlights the weak points in a plan / course of action and hence helps to eliminate them or alter the approach or to prepare a contingency plans to counter problems that arise.

The Black Hat must always be logical and should not be overused.

RED HATRed Hat cover intuition, feelings, hunches and emotions. Usually, feelings and intuition

can only be introduced into a discussion if they are supported by logic.

Often, the feeling is genuine but the logic is spurious.

While putting this hat look for e.g.: #My gut-feeling is that this will not work. #I don’t like the way it is being done. #My intuition tells me that prices will fall soon. #This proposal is terrible.

This allows you to put forward your feelings and intuitions without need forJustification, explanation or apology.

RED HAT

Red Hat allows feelings to come into the discussion without pretending to be anything else.

It always valuable to get feeling out into the open.

GREEN HAT

As color represents fresh. Green Hat is specifically concerned with creating new ideas and new way of looking the things.

This is where you can develop creative solutions to a problem. It is freewheeling way of thinking in which there is little criticism.

While putting this hat look for e.g.: # possibilities of another or new ideas? # any additional alternatives available or can be take? # Could this be done in the different way? # Could be there any other explanation?

This hat makes time and space available to focus on creative thinking.

GREEN HAT Even if no creative ideas are forthcoming, this hat asks for the creative effort. Often

green hat thinking is difficult because it goes against our habits of recognition, judgment and criticism.

The green hat is for creative thinking, additional alternatives, putting forward possibilities and hypotheses, interesting proposals, new approaches, provocations and changes.

It’s an opportunity to express new concepts and new perceptions.

BLUE HAT

Blue hat focuses on controlling the sequence of thinking. It is the overview or process control. It is for organizing and controlling the thinking process so that it becomes more productive.

While putting this hat look for: #look not at the subject itself but at the thinking about the subject. #set the agenda for thinking. #suggest the next step in thinking. #ask for a summary, conclusion, or decision.

The Blue hat is used for process control.

BLUE HAT

The blue hat is the hat of the leaders/ facilitators and people heading the meetings. During the entire process they may direct the activity to a particular thinking hat.

In technical terms, the blue hat is concerned with meta-cognition. ( awareness and

understanding of one's own thought processes or the system process)

The blue hat is for thinking about thinking.

THINKING HATSSix thinking hats in a nutshell:

• White Hat = the facts & figures.• Yellow Hat = the positive side• Black Hat = the devil's advocate.• Red Hat = the emotional view.• Green Hat = the creative side.• Blue Hat = the organizing view.

STRUCTRED SEQUENCE TO USE THE THINKING HATS

Present the facts of the case

Generate the ideas, how the case could be handled

Evaluate the ideas- list the benefits.

List the drawbacks.

Get everybody’s gut feelings about the alternatives.

Summarize and adjourn the meetings / solutions.