Six Thinking Hats audiobook cover - A revolutionary approach to get the most out of working in a group

Six Thinking Hats

A revolutionary approach to get the most out of working in a group

Edward de Bono

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CreativityCareer & SuccessPsychology

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Mind Map

Six Thinking Hats
Core Concept+
Rules of Application+
White Hat (Data)+
Red Hat (Emotions)+
Black Hat (Caution)+
Yellow Hat (Optimism)+
Green Hat (Creativity)+
Blue Hat (Process Control)+
Real-World Benefits+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 9
What is the primary purpose of the Six Hats method?
  • A. To assign permanent personality roles to different team members.
  • B. To compartmentalize thoughts and allow the group to engage in parallel thinking.
  • C. To ensure that emotional responses are completely removed from professional decision-making.
  • D. To identify the single most intelligent thinker in a group setting.
Question 2 of 9
What is the recommended time-management rule when a group puts on a specific hat?
  • A. Spend exactly ten minutes on each hat regardless of the group's size.
  • B. Allow unlimited time for the Black Hat to ensure all potential risks are caught.
  • C. Spend one minute per person under a particular hat to foster concentration and reduce idle talk.
  • D. Give the group leader twice as much time as the other participants to speak.
Question 3 of 9
When a group is using the White Hat, what is their primary focus?
  • A. Brainstorming wild and zany alternatives to the current problem.
  • B. Expressing their gut feelings and intuitions about a proposal.
  • C. Pointing out the potential risks and logical flaws in a new strategy.
  • D. Discussing available data, missing information, and hard facts neutrally.
Question 4 of 9
Which of the following is a crucial rule when engaging in Red-Hat thinking?
  • A. Participants must logically justify why they feel a certain way.
  • B. Participants can express their intuition and emotions without needing to explain or justify them.
  • C. Only positive and encouraging emotions are allowed to be shared.
  • D. The group leader should skip participants who are uncomfortable sharing their feelings.
Question 5 of 9
What is the primary function of the Black Hat, and what is its associated danger?
  • A. It highlights dangers and negative outcomes; the danger is obsessing over finding faults and becoming overly cautious.
  • B. It focuses on optimism and benefits; the danger is setting unrealistic expectations.
  • C. It generates creative ideas; the danger is losing track of the original problem.
  • D. It manages the thinking process; the danger is micromanaging the team's conversation.
Question 6 of 9
How does Yellow-Hat thinking differ from simply having a wild imagination?
  • A. It focuses solely on emotional enthusiasm rather than actual outcomes.
  • B. It requires optimism to be logically based and values realism over fantasy.
  • C. It is only used at the very end of a meeting to make people feel good about the outcome.
  • D. It relies on criticizing other people's negative viewpoints to appear positive.
Question 7 of 9
According to the text, what is a common misconception about creativity that the Green Hat helps to overcome?
  • A. That creative ideas must always be grounded in historical data.
  • B. That creativity is less important than identifying risks.
  • C. That creativity is only the responsibility of the one 'creative person' in the group.
  • D. That only the group leader is allowed to suggest zany alternatives.
Question 8 of 9
Who typically wears the Blue Hat, and what is its main purpose?
  • A. The newest team member; to provide a fresh, unbiased perspective on the problem.
  • B. The facilitator or leader; to control the thinking process, enforce discipline, and summarize outcomes.
  • C. The most creative person; to generate alternatives to the alternatives.
  • D. The group's financial expert; to ensure all ideas are within the budget.
Question 9 of 9
What main benefits did companies like ABB and Statoil experience by implementing the Six Hats method?
  • A. They completely eliminated the need for management roles.
  • B. They successfully transitioned all their employees to remote work.
  • C. They saved significant amounts of time and money in their decision-making processes.
  • D. They increased their marketing budgets by finding hidden financial resources.

Six Thinking Hats — Full Chapter Overview

Six Thinking Hats Summary & Overview

Six Thinking Hats offers you valuable tools for group discussions and individual decision making. The book shows ways to compartmentalize different ways of thinking to help you and your group use your brains in a more detailed, cohesive and effective way.

Who Should Listen to Six Thinking Hats?

  • Anyone in a position of leadership
  • Anyone responsible for facilitating effective communication
  • Anyone who wants to make better decisions and improve their thinking

About the Author: Edward de Bono

Edward de Bono was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford and has held faculty appointments at the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, London and Harvard. In addition to his academic career, he has offered consultation to many multinationals, including IBM, Procter & Gamble, Shell and Ford. His bestselling books include Lateral Thinking, De Bono’s Thinking Course and Teach Your Child How to Think.

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