170 • 100 GREAT BUSINESS IDEAS
“Six thinking hats” is a powerful technique created by Edward de
Bono. It is used to look at decisions from a number of perspectives,
helping you to think differently and acquire a rounded view of
a situation.
The idea
Many successful people think from a rational, positive viewpoint.
However, if they do not look at a problem from an emotional,
creative, or negative viewpoint, they can underestimate resistance
to plans, fail to make creative leaps, and overlook the importance
of contingency plans. Conversely, pessimists can be excessively
defensive, while emotional people can fail to look at decisions
calmly and rationally. Each of these “thinking hats” is a different
style of thinking, and the “six thinking hats” technique will help you
assess problems from many angles, enabling decisions to combine
ambition, effectiveness, sensitivity, and creativity.
In practice
Adopt a different hat based on your situation and priorities.
- White hat. Focus on the data available. Look at the information
you have and see what you can learn from it. Look for gaps in
your knowledge and either try to fi ll them or take account of
them, by analyzing past trends and extrapolating from data. - Red hat. Look at problems using intuition, gut reaction, and
emotion. Try to think how other people will react emotionally,