Book review: “Six Thinking Hats”

Looking at a decision from all points of view

The de Bono Hats system (also known as “Six Hats” or “Six Thinking Hats”) is a thinking tool for group discussion and individual thinking. Combined with the idea of parallel thinking, it provides a means for groups to think together more effectively and a means to plan thinking processes in a detailed and cohesive way. The method is attributed to Dr. Edward de Bono and is the subject of his book, Six Thinking Hats.

Author Dr. Edward de Bono is regarded as a leading international authority in the teaching of thinking as a skill. His book is easy to follow and describes his method. Edward de Bono (born May 19, 1933 in Malta) is a physician, author, inventor and consultant. He originated the term lateral thinking, wrote this best-selling book and is a proponent of teaching deliberate thinking as a subject in schools. He developed his theory of the “hats” in the early 1980s. His books and other teaching tools are widely available through national book chains or on his website.

In his opinion, “Many successful people think from a very rational, positive viewpoint. This is part of the reason that they are successful. However, they may fail to look at a problem from an emotional, intuitive, creative or even negative viewpoint. This can mean that they underestimate resistance to plans, fail to make creative leaps and do not make essential contingency plans. Similarly, pessimists may be excessively defensive and more emotional people may fail to look at decisions calmly and rationally.”

The author’s underlying principles explain his strategy clearly: “The premise of the method is that the human brain thinks in a number of distinct ways which can be identified, deliberately accessed and hence planned for use in a structured way, allowing one to develop strategies for thinking about particular issues.”

Dr. de Bono identifies six distinct states in which the brain can be “sensitised”. In each of these states, the brain will identify and bring into conscious thought certain aspects of issues being considered (e.g., gut instinct, pessimistic judgment, neutral facts). Six Thinking Hats is a great tool for use during business meetings or in other areas of daily life, and helps you make a decision on your own. During meetings, it has the benefit of blocking confrontations that can happen when people with different thinking styles discuss the same problem.

Dr. de Bono is one of 250 people worldwide who have contributed to fostering better communication on a personal and social level, have positively influenced problem solving and have never earned any criticisms from anyone in the academic community.

The impact this book had on me is I have benefited from Dr de Bono’s hypotheses, always being aware that there are many ways to look at a problem and only considering one aspect of a conundrum might limit my decision-making in a big way. His suggestions allow necessary emotion and scepticism to be brought into what would otherwise be a purely rational decision. It opens up the opportunity for creativity within the decision-making process. The technique also helps persistently pessimistic people to be positive and creative.

Source from: Dr Edward de Bono; Six Thinking Hats (1985) ISBN 0-316-17831-4