Transcript MPD-560, Topic 1. - Jonathan Weaver's Home Page

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Tools for Innovation:
DeBono’s Six Hats
Darrell Kleinke & Jonathan Weaver
UDM Mechanical Engineering Department
Development support by Prerak Shah
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References
• Edward de Bono, Six Thinking Hats, Little, Brown and
Co., New York, 1999, isbn 0-316-17831-4
• Edward de Bono WEB page
http://www.edwdebono.com/
• BBC Interview with Edward de Bono
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/documentaries/2009/0
9/090901_theinterview_290809_1.shtml?s
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Agenda
Thinking about thinking
The six hats described
The six hats approach
Six hats class project
Conclusion
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Thinking About Thinking
Our “Thinking System” is Ineffective
Illustration
I asked four students to stand in front of Angell Hall and
describe what they see. Here’s what they reported:
1. It is red-brick and glass
2. It has Roman columns
3. It inspires me to study
4. It is energy inefficient
They all thought they deserved
“A” grades. Are they right?
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Thinking About Thinking
Conventional thinking seeks to define “truth”
She’s right, from her perspective
1. It is red-brick and glass
She’s right, her facts are accurate
She’s right, her emotions are hers
2. It has Roman columns
3. It inspires me to study
4. It is energy inefficient
She’s right, her critique is valid
Which one is Right?
Debating right or wrong is not efficient when looking
at something new, but it is the thinking style we know!
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Thinking About Thinking
Innovation requires a different way of thinking
There are six fundamental types of thinking.
Thinking becomes too confusing if we try to think in all modes
simultaneously.
Example: Deer in the headlights
Thinking becomes more effective if we use one type of thinking
at a time. This is accomplished by figuratively putting on
“thinking caps,” one by one.
If groups of people can think in a common mode, they can
devise better solutions to problems at a more rapid pace!
Consider the time wasted when we are not “on the same page”!
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The Six Hats
Hats and colors are simple icons
The hats are symbolic. It is intended to remind us of the phrase
“Let’s put on our thinking caps.” Hats can be easily taken on
and off, just as thinking styles can be turned on and off.
The hats de-personalize discussions. For example, rather than
accusing a person of being too emotional, you would say
“that sounds like red hat thinking.”
The colors are not intended to indicate any sort of rank order.
The colors are memory aids, to help us recall the thinking mode
of each hat.
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Six Hats
Each hat signifies a thinking mode
White: The information hat
Visualize white paper with information written on it.
Red: The emotion hat
Visualize “seeing red,” passion, valentine hearts.
Black: The caution hat (note: this is not a cowboy “bad guy” hat)
Visualize dark consequences.
Yellow: The optimism hat
Visualize the yellow sunshine on a bight new day.
Green: The creativity hat
Visualize green pastures, open fields on which to roam.
Blue: The procedure hat
Visualize the sky over us, we work under the blue sky.
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Six Hats
The approach promotes parallel thinking
The hats are used one at a time. Sometimes hats are used
more than once or a subset of hats are used.
The ideation session begins with the blue hat. Using blue
hat thinking (procedures) the team decides on which
hats to use and in which order. The team also decides
the problem statement.
The team attacks the problem by having ALL members
simultaneously apply a COMMON hat color. For
example, all members discuss an idea optimistically
during “yellow hat,” then all members become
pessimistic during “black hat.”
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Six Hats
The goal is to “Design a way forward”
Rather than arguing over who is on the right (or wrong)
path to a solution, the team is working together to build
on each other’s view of the situation (parallel thinking).
Visualize the team creating a map of a previously
uncharted territory. The team uses collective
knowledge to depict the known territory and identify
where unknown territory remains.
Finally, with map in hand, the team can see a way
forward. In most cases, once the map is created, the
best path becomes obvious.
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Today’s Exercise
A mature product in need of innovation
The product : Bottled water
Your task is to come up with new products or
improvements related to or inspired by this
product. (note: this is a blue-hat statement)
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Blue Hat
Control and organize the thinking process
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Blue hat thinking typically is the first and the last hat used.
Blue hat thinking is used by the team or facilitator to
determine which hats to use and the sequence of use. A final
blue hat is used to as a process check and to decide next steps.
For expediency of today’s demonstration, the instructor has
taken the liberty of making blue hat decisions and will guide
us through the other hats.
The meeting facilitator wears a
blue hat throughout the session.
Blue
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White Hat
Information, facts and figures
Ask:
• What data do we have?
White
• What data do we need?
• What questions need to be asked?
Guidelines using the White Hat:
• Stick to the facts - in an objective manner
• Attempt to be as un-emotional as a computer
• Postpone trying to interpret the facts
• Uncertain “facts” get rated by the likelihood of being true
White is a neutral color as a reminder to not make judgments
during white hat.
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White Hat – Applied to Bottled Water
Let’s take a few minutes to apply White Hat thinking to our
bottled water example
White
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"The most important thing in science is not
so much to obtain new facts, as to discover
new ways of thinking about them."
Sir William Bragg (1862-1942) was a British mathematician, physicist and chemist who
uniquely shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with his son in 1915.
Editor's Note: When it comes to innovation, facts alone don't get the job done. Those
facts must be combined with new ways of thinking.
ideaology
www.ideaologists.com
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Red Hat
Emotions, feelings, intuition, hunches, opinion
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Never need to justify the logic (or lack thereof) during red hat.
Important; comments validating your feelings are NOT permitted
because you will cause others to conceal their feelings.
Unique and unusual ideas tend to emerge since there is no need to
validate an emotion-based idea.
If emotions were not permitted, they would lurk in the background
and affect the thinking process in some hidden way.
Emotions, feelings, intuition and hunches are real. Encouraging
sharing and exploring can result in great ideas.
Red
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Red Hat – Applied to Bottled Water
Let’s take a few minutes to apply Red Hat thinking to our
bottled water example
Red
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Yellow Hat
Optimism, positive, constructive assessment
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Unlike red hat, yellow hat statements must be supported with
logic and reasoning, otherwise it’s just another red hat.
Yellow hat can be about speculation – you cannot be certain
about the future, but try to see the brighter side of things.
Optimism must be balanced with realism to avoid foolishness.
Unfounded optimism and euphoria is red-hat thinking.
The spectrum can range from the initial vision to an extension
of the solution with more ideas.
This process is constructive and
Yellow
generative resulting in
concrete suggestions.
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"Don't confuse facts with problems. Facts describe what we believe to
be so. Problems are demoralizing stories made up about the facts. In
other words, facts are to be challenged but problems, now they are
really a problem."
Sue McPhail (1956-) American writer, attitudinal and behavioral change professional, a pioneer in
the emerging field of innovation-specific corporate cultural change.
Editor's Note: Think back to the last time an idea with great potential was discarded by you
or your business. Most likely, someone decided there were just too many problems
associated with the proposed innovation for it to be viable. Really?
What might have happened if the issues had been considered facts rather than problems?
This week, try a little experiment. Every time you hear or find yourself using the term
“problem,” stop. Rephrase the sentence, this time saying, "This is what we believe is
so." Then, challenge the belief.
ideaology
www.ideaologists.com
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Yellow Hat – Applied to Bottled Water
Let’s take a few minutes to apply Yellow Hat thinking to our
bottled water example
Yellow
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Green Hat
Creativity, new ideas, possibilities
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 Green hat thinking is to look for alternatives, to see beyond the
normal and obvious.
 Green hat explores new ideas further and builds on them.
 Some people are satisfied with the answers obtained very early
and discontinue thinking about new ideas.
 During green hat, everyone is expected to either come up with
ideas or remain absolutely silent.
 Black and Yellow hats are off limits!
Green
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Green Hat – Applied to Bottled Water
Let’s take a few minutes to apply Green Hat thinking to our
bottled water example
Green
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Black Hat
Caution, risk avoidance, critical assessment
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 Black hat is as natural as a “survival” instinct. It stops us from
doing things that are reckless, unethical, harmful, etc. …
 Black hat is the basis of ‘critical thinking’, focusing on what,
why and how things may NOT work as planned.
 Black hat statements should be defensible – otherwise they
become red hat statements.
 This hat should be used sparingly
or it tends to stifle creativity;
I’ve left it for last.
Black
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Black Hat – Applied to Bottled Water
Let’s take a few minutes to apply Black Hat thinking to our
bottled water example
Black
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Blue Hat
Control and organize the thinking process
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Blue hat is a useful last step, used to summarize results,
formulate next steps, and document the findings. Don’t forget
to capture all the green hat ideas, they may come in handy!
The blue hat could also be used to apply special decision
making methods such as a Pugh matrix; however, the “best”
choice is very often apparent to all participants.
Under the final blue hat, the team compares the session
outcome to the original objectives for the session.
Blue
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Should we go forward?
Despite all the analysis, rigor, engineering,
planning, etc, the final decision to go forward
ultimately comes down to which hat?
Red
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Conclusions
The Six Hats method allows teams to take things ‘one at a
time’ thereby removing confusion.
All team members remain on the “same page,” dealing with
pure information, expressed emotions, unleashed creativity,
hopeful optimism and non-threatening criticism, all with
personal sensitivity and process rigor.
Hats de-personalize discussions and encourage all team
members to build each other up, rather than argue, debate and
tear down.
A careful mix and sequential use of the hats ensures a
thorough exploration of the design space and makes the end
route obvious.