| name | run-six-thinking-hats |
| description | Use when a team needs to make a decision, evaluate a proposal, or solve a problem and wants to avoid groupthink, emotional conflict, or one-dimensional analysis. |
| source | Edward de Bono, "Six Thinking Hats", 1985 (Little, Brown and Company) — Widely adopted at IBM, Siemens, Federal Express, British Airways, ABB, Prudential |
| tags | ["decision-making","group-thinking","meetings","team","groupthink-reduction","problem-solving"] |
| verified | true |
Run Six Thinking Hats
Structure group thinking by having everyone wear the same "hat" simultaneously, separating facts, emotions, risks, benefits, creativity, and process into distinct rounds.
Why This Is Best Practice
Adopted by: IBM, Siemens, Federal Express, British Airways, ABB, Prudential, and
thousands of Fortune 500 teams. de Bono's methods were formally adopted in the national
curricula of the UK, Australia, and Singapore. Used by McKinsey and BCG facilitators
for structured client workshops.
Impact: IBM reported 75% reduction in meeting time on decisions after adopting
parallel thinking. Separating thinking modes eliminates the adversarial dynamic of
traditional debate — ego, status, and seniority stop corrupting the reasoning.
Why best: Traditional debate is a zero-sum contest — whoever argues hardest wins,
regardless of correctness. Six Hats makes every thinking role temporary and shared;
no one "owns" the critical or optimistic position. The Black Hat critic and the Yellow
Hat optimist are roles, not personalities — removing the identity threat that shuts
down honest analysis.