Six Thinking Hats 

Dr. Edward de Bono observed that our thinking is improved when attention is directed to the connection between ways of thinking and resulting "points of view". In analogy to "putting on your thinking cap", he uses hats of different colors to identify six principal styles of human thinking. When the participants in a thinking session understand the Six Hats, they can deliberately direct their thinking on an idea or problem in each of the six ways of thinking. The result can be more complete and more compact thinking, more mapping of collective minds and less arguing, posturing and feeling misunderstood.

De Bono insists on using colors rather than names for his thinking hats because he believes that words limit our understanding of concepts. He wants us to understand the sense of the Six Hats and to avoid adopting tight, limiting labels.
 

	White is neutral and objective. White Hat Thinking presents the observable facts as completely and objectively as possible. It is "fair witness" to all of the data. The White Hat avoids interpretation, leaving that to other hats. The White Hat also identifies information that is missing.
	Red suggests heat and strong feelings. Red Hat Thinking legitimizes the emotional view. The Red Hat uncovers much valid, intuitive thinking that is often masquerading as fact or analysis under another hat.
	Black recalls the judge, the courtroom and critical thinking. Black Hat Thinking is incisive analysis that discovers what's wrong with a thought - why it can't be done. Black Hat Thinking is at the core of hypothesis testing and, therefore, is essential to rational thought. The liability of the Black Hat is that analytical people have trouble taking it off and putting on another of the Six Hats.
	Yellow is sunny and positive. Yellow Hat Thinking probes for value and benefit and seeks logical support for these. The Yellow Hat works the positive assessment just as the Black Hat works negative assessment.
	Green suggests fertility and growth. Green Hat Thinking concentrates on creativity and new ideas. The Green Hat creates new hypotheses. Green Hat Thinking is the launching point for using de Bono's earlier tools, Lateral Thinking and Provocation.
	Blue is the sky's color and arches over everything else. Blue Hat Thinking is thinking about the thinking. It is concerned with the organization of the thinking process. The Blue Hat suggests the effective use of the other hats.

In Six Hats Thinking we deliberately, if figuratively, put on one of the hats and hold our thinking to that style for the moment. We ask others to put on the same hat and work the topic from that point of view. Then we switch hats and work the topic collectively from another style of thinking. We can use the Six Hats model to clarify what other participants "seem to be saying". We can also use the model to ensure completeness in our thinking about an idea, problem or subject.