Decision-making can be as tricky as trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube blindfolded. We overthink, second-guess, and sometimes freeze up entirely. The Six Thinking Hats technique, developed by Dr. Edward de Bono, is a structured way for parallel thinking to be more productive, focused, and mindfully involved when making decisions.
Instead of juggling logic, creativity, and panic all at once, you break them down into six distinct perspectives—each represented by a different hat. You wear one hat at a time, allowing yourself to fully engage with its thinking before moving on to the next.
Many Fortune 500 companies, educators, and leaders use this technique to solve problems and spark innovation. Google, IBM, and even NASA have used this approach to make high-stakes decisions without getting lost in endless debates.
What Are The Six Thinking Hats?
The Six Thinking Hats technique gets you to look at a problem in six different ways. Each “hat” represents a distinct mode of thinking, allowing you to approach a problem from different perspectives.
Instead of getting stuck in a single mindset, you switch hats strategically to analyze, critique, and innovate with clarity. By the time you’ve tried out all six hats, you should have a rich collection of insights to help you decide your next steps.
The great part is that this exercise can be practiced by individuals or in groups to separate conflicting thinking styles.
Here’s how you can start wearing each of the Six Thinking Hats to solve that big decision problem:
Blue Hat: Big Picture & Organization
The Blue Hat is the coordinator, the traffic controller, the one making sure this decision doesn’t turn into an all-out war of opinions. This person decides the problem to be solved, keeps the discussion on track, sets all the rules, and announces the final decision.
- What is our goal?
- What should we think about next?
- How do we summarize and take action?
Pro Tip: Set a time limit for each hat to keep discussions moving.
White Hat: Facts & Data
The White Hat deals with numbers, research, and hard evidence, leaving opinions aside. When wearing this hat, you gather and analyze information without bias.
- What information do we have?
- What are the gaps in our knowledge?
- What research is needed?
Pro-Tip: If no solid data exists, move to another hat or research further.
Red Hat: Feelings & Intuition
Gut feelings aren’t always rational, but they matter. This hat allows you to express your instincts and feelings about a situation.
- What are my feelings telling me?
- Do I sense any risks or concerns?
- What do others emotionally feel about this?
Pro-Tip: Keep this short to avoid overthinking and having too many emotions to handle!
Black Hat: Caution & Risks
Wear the Black Hat to play devil’s advocate. It is the lens of caution requiring you to consider the potential risks and how you might tackle them. This hat identifies risks, weaknesses, and reasons why an idea might fail. De Bono calls the black hat “the most valuable of all the hats and certainly the most used.”
- What could go wrong?
- What are the weaknesses of this approach?
- Are there ethical or legal concerns?
Pro-Tip: It should identify challenges, not dismiss ideas completely.
Yellow Hat: Opportunities & Benefits
Wearing the yellow hat requires you to focus on potential benefits, opportunities, and reasons this idea is great. It is about highlighting positive points, long-term benefits, and ways to succeed despite challenges.
- What are the potential advantages?
- How can we make this idea work?
- What value does this bring?
Pro-Tip: Back your thinking with evidence; otherwise, it’s just a positive feeling and, therefore, would fall under red hat thinking.
Green Hat: Ideas & Innovation
The Green Hat pushes us to think outside the box and explore creative ways to execute an idea. This requires you to think of creative alternatives and new ideas going beyond conventional methods.
- Are there other ways to approach this?
- Can we innovate or think outside the box?
- What if we remove existing constraints?
Pro-Tip: Don’t judge ideas immediately—let creativity flow freely first, then refine.
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How to Use the Six Thinking Hats in Decision-Making
A structured process can help maximize the benefits of the Six Thinking Hats method.
Step 1: Assign the blue hat to one person
The blue hat is the meeting leader who starts and ends the discussion and announces when it’s time to change hats.
Step 2: Write your decision in the question at the top
Clearly state the decision to be made. Example: Should we upgrade our product with AI?
Step 3: Apply each hat in your decided sequence
Move through each hat systematically. The sequence can be adapted based on needs:
- White Hat – Facts, trends, and data. AI adoption is rising. Competitors are already integrating AI. Costs are high. Ethical concerns exist. Customers demand smarter solutions.
- Red Hat – Emotional reactions. Excited about innovation but anxious about costs and complexity. Some feel AI is essential; others fear overpromising and underdelivering.
- Black Hat – Identify challenges. AI requires heavy investment. Errors could hurt credibility. Overpromising could backfire. Some users prefer human interaction.
- Yellow Hat – Explore benefits. AI can improve efficiency, customer experience, and market position. Potential long-term cost savings and competitive edge.
- Green Hat – Brainstorm solutions. Instead of full AI integration, start with a small AI-powered feature. Explore automation without AI as a middle ground.
- Blue Hat – State decision. Are we going with AI or not?
Important Secrets:
Switch hats as needed. If you get stuck, move to a different perspective.
Timing is key. One minute per person per hat—five people, five minutes max. Solo? Same deal. Set a six-minute timer, one per hat. Think fast, write, and move on. Overthinking kills clarity.
This sequence helps you think logically, explore emotions, minimize risks, maximize benefits, and generate creative solutions.
How to Reach a Decision?
So, you have walked through all six hats, dissected your decision from every angle, and gathered insights from logic, emotions, creativity, and risk analysis. Now what?
The next step is to take all that thinking and turn it into a concrete decision.
Identify what patterns emerged, what the data says, whether it aligns with your long-term vision, whether the risks are manageable, or whether you are just emotionally attached to a bad move.
Go for it if there’s a clear winner after all six hats.
If there are unresolved issues, run another quick round—maybe the Green Hat needs a second pass, or the Yellow Hat needs to find a workaround for the Black Hat’s concerns.
But trust the process if you’ve put in the work and a strong choice emerges. You have thought about this from every angle possible—logic, emotion, risk, reward, innovation, and control. Now, act.
Does It Really Work?
Research on parallel thinking shows that breaking down decision-making into distinct modes reduces mental overload and improves outcomes. A 2019 Journal of Business Research study found that teams using structured thinking methods, like the Six Thinking Hats, made faster and more effective decisions compared to unstructured brainstorming.
This technique works because it forces structured thinking. Most of us make decisions in a way that’s either too emotional, too logical, or too impulsive.
We cherry-pick information that fits our biases, ignore risks we don’t want to deal with, and often convince ourselves that our first instinct was right. The Six Thinking Hats rips that comfort zone apart. It forces you to see things you’d rather not, to challenge your assumptions, and to take a moment before making a call you’ll regret later.
If nothing else, it’s a solid excuse to pretend you are in a high-stakes boardroom drama rather than just debating whether to finally upgrade that outdated software.
Why You Should Start Using the Six Thinking Hats Today
- It helps eliminate biases in decision-making.
- Encourages creativity and structured discussions.
- It stops overthinking – No more mental chaos.
- Improves collaborative problem-solving in teams.
- Forces balanced thinking – Every angle is considered.
- It works for everything – Business, personal life, relationships.
Next time you face a complex decision, don’t rely on just one way of thinking. Put on each of the Six Thinking Hats and make a truly balanced, thoughtful, and effective decision.
Have you tried the Six Thinking Hats method before?
