The “Six Hats” Approach to Executive Problem Solving

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The “Six Hats” Approach to Executive Problem Solving

An article published in the April, 2012 issue of Psychology Today cited a study which found individual brainstorming was, on average,

far more productive than group brainstorming. The study built on long-established research, which showed that individuals were able to generate more than twice as many potential solutions to a given problem when working on their own rather than as part of a group.

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Well-known business consultant Edward de Bono offers a unique model for brainstorming and collaboration meetings, known as

the “six hats” approach, commonly known as “Six Thinking Hats.”

Organizations such as Nestle, Oracle, LinkedIn and P&G have successfully used Six Thinking Hats to solve a variety of business

problems. McDonald’s Japan for example had their executive team use it to solve internal issues.

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Less than a year after implementing Six Thinking Hats, staff identified the following results:

• Meeting times have been cut by about 25%.

• The culture of the workplace has become more positive by reducing the proportion of Black Hat Thinking.

• Open communication has been enhanced, due to every staff member’s involvement in all types of thinking.

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Essentially, deBono’s model divides up teams into six groups, each of which wears a different-colored “hat:”

• The blue hat is worn by the meeting leader, who supervises brainstorming and collects the ideas being generated for individual presentation and consideration

• The white hat is worn by members who will apply fact- and data-based analytical modes to the ideas under discussion

• The red hat is worn by members who rely on intuition, hunches and emotional responses

• The green hat is worn by members who apply creativity and unconventional thinking to generate alternatives

• The yellow hat is worn by members responsible for highlighting the positives and potential benefits of every idea under discussion

• The black hat is worn by members responsible for playing “devil’s advocate,” and considering the negatives and potential undesirable outcomes of every idea under discussion

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If you have been leading unfocused, unproductive brainstorming and collaboration sessions, De Bono’s “six hats” approach holds the potential to dramatically improve your outcomes.

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