# Six Thinking Hats Worksheet ## Overview Six Thinking Hats is a decision-making and problem-solving technique developed by Edward de Bono. It encourages parallel thinking by having everyone look at a problem from six different perspectives, represented by different colored "hats." This method helps teams explore ideas more thoroughly and make better decisions. ## Pre-Session Setup **Organization:** _________________________________ **Date:** _____________ **Facilitator:** _________________________________ **Participants:** _________________________________ **Topic/Decision:** _________________________________ **Session Duration:** _____ minutes ## Problem/Opportunity Statement **What are we trying to solve or decide?** _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ **Why is this important now?** _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ **Success criteria for this session:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ ## Hat Sequence Planning *Recommended order, adjust as needed* 1. ⚪ White Hat - _____ minutes 2. 🔴 Red Hat - _____ minutes 3. ⚫ Black Hat - _____ minutes 4. 🟡 Yellow Hat - _____ minutes 5. 🟢 Green Hat - _____ minutes 6. 🔵 Blue Hat - _____ minutes ## ⚪ White Hat Thinking - Facts & Information *Objective, neutral thinking focused on data and facts* ### What We Know **Confirmed Facts:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ 4. _________________________________________________________________ 5. _________________________________________________________________ **Available Data:** - Metric: _________________ Value: _________ Source: _______________ - Metric: _________________ Value: _________ Source: _______________ - Metric: _________________ Value: _________ Source: _______________ - Metric: _________________ Value: _________ Source: _______________ **Verified Information:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ ### What We Don't Know **Information Gaps:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ 4. _________________________________________________________________ **Questions to Research:** 1. Question: _________________ Who can answer: ________ By when: _____ 2. Question: _________________ Who can answer: ________ By when: _____ 3. Question: _________________ Who can answer: ________ By when: _____ **Assumptions We're Making:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ ## 🔴 Red Hat Thinking - Emotions & Intuition *Feelings, hunches, and gut reactions without justification* ### Initial Reactions **How do we feel about this?** - Participant 1: ______________________________________________________ - Participant 2: ______________________________________________________ - Participant 3: ______________________________________________________ - Participant 4: ______________________________________________________ - Participant 5: ______________________________________________________ ### Emotional Temperature Check **Overall team feeling:** ☐ Very Negative ☐ Negative ☐ Neutral ☐ Positive ☐ Very Positive **Specific Emotions Present:** - [ ] Excitement - About: _____________________________________________ - [ ] Fear - About: __________________________________________________ - [ ] Anger - About: _________________________________________________ - [ ] Hope - About: __________________________________________________ - [ ] Anxiety - About: _______________________________________________ - [ ] Confidence - About: ____________________________________________ ### Intuitive Insights **Gut feelings (no justification needed):** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ 4. _________________________________________________________________ **What does your intuition tell you?** _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ ## ⚫ Black Hat Thinking - Caution & Critical Judgment *Identifying risks, obstacles, and why something might not work* ### Potential Problems **What could go wrong?** 1. Risk: _________________ Likelihood: H/M/L Impact: H/M/L 2. Risk: _________________ Likelihood: H/M/L Impact: H/M/L 3. Risk: _________________ Likelihood: H/M/L Impact: H/M/L 4. Risk: _________________ Likelihood: H/M/L Impact: H/M/L 5. Risk: _________________ Likelihood: H/M/L Impact: H/M/L ### Weaknesses & Flaws **What are the weak points?** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ 4. _________________________________________________________________ ### Obstacles & Barriers **What stands in our way?** - [ ] Resource constraints: ___________________________________________ - [ ] Technical limitations: __________________________________________ - [ ] Organizational barriers: ________________________________________ - [ ] Market conditions: ______________________________________________ - [ ] Regulatory issues: ______________________________________________ - [ ] Cultural resistance: ____________________________________________ ### Worst-Case Scenarios 1. Scenario: _________________ Impact: ____________ Mitigation: _______ 2. Scenario: _________________ Impact: ____________ Mitigation: _______ 3. Scenario: _________________ Impact: ____________ Mitigation: _______ ## 🟡 Yellow Hat Thinking - Optimism & Benefits *Positive thinking, benefits, and best-case scenarios* ### Benefits & Advantages **What are the positives?** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ 4. _________________________________________________________________ 5. _________________________________________________________________ ### Opportunities **What opportunities does this create?** 1. Opportunity: _________________ Value: $_________ Probability: ____% 2. Opportunity: _________________ Value: $_________ Probability: ____% 3. Opportunity: _________________ Value: $_________ Probability: ____% 4. Opportunity: _________________ Value: $_________ Probability: ____% ### Best-Case Scenarios **If everything goes perfectly:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ ### Value Creation **How does this create value?** - For customers: ______________________________________________________ - For employees: ______________________________________________________ - For shareholders: ___________________________________________________ - For partners: _______________________________________________________ - For society: ________________________________________________________ ### Success Factors **What will make this successful?** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ 4. _________________________________________________________________ ## 🟢 Green Hat Thinking - Creativity & Alternatives *New ideas, creative solutions, and possibilities* ### Creative Ideas **Brainstorm without judgment:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ 4. _________________________________________________________________ 5. _________________________________________________________________ 6. _________________________________________________________________ 7. _________________________________________________________________ 8. _________________________________________________________________ 9. _________________________________________________________________ 10. ________________________________________________________________ ### Alternative Approaches **Different ways to achieve our goal:** **Option A:** _________________________________________________________ - Pros: _______________________________________________________________ - Cons: _______________________________________________________________ **Option B:** _________________________________________________________ - Pros: _______________________________________________________________ - Cons: _______________________________________________________________ **Option C:** _________________________________________________________ - Pros: _______________________________________________________________ - Cons: _______________________________________________________________ ### Innovation Opportunities **How can we do this differently?** 1. What if we: _______________________________________________________ 2. What if we: _______________________________________________________ 3. What if we: _______________________________________________________ ### Wild Ideas **No constraints thinking:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ ### Building on Ideas **Combining or improving ideas:** - Idea 1 + Idea 2 = __________________________________________________ - Improving Idea X by: _______________________________________________ - Reversing Idea Y gives us: ________________________________________ ## 🔵 Blue Hat Thinking - Process Control & Summary *Managing the thinking process and drawing conclusions* ### Session Management **Process Observations:** - What worked well: ___________________________________________________ - What was challenging: _______________________________________________ - Time management: ____________________________________________________ - Participation balance: ______________________________________________ ### Key Insights by Hat **⚪ White Hat Summary:** - Most important facts: _______________________________________________ - Critical unknowns: __________________________________________________ **🔴 Red Hat Summary:** - Dominant emotions: __________________________________________________ - Team alignment: _____________________________________________________ **⚫ Black Hat Summary:** - Biggest risks: ______________________________________________________ - Must-address issues: ________________________________________________ **🟡 Yellow Hat Summary:** - Greatest benefits: __________________________________________________ - Best opportunities: _________________________________________________ **🟢 Green Hat Summary:** - Most promising ideas: _______________________________________________ - Breakthrough concepts: ______________________________________________ ### Decision/Next Steps **Recommended Decision:** _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ **Action Items:** | Action | Owner | Deadline | Priority | |--------|-------|----------|----------| | | | | H/M/L | | | | | H/M/L | | | | | H/M/L | | | | | H/M/L | | | | | H/M/L | **Follow-up Required:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ ## Implementation Planning ### Quick Wins *Based on thinking session outcomes* 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ ### Risk Mitigation Plan *Addressing Black Hat concerns* 1. Risk: _________________ Mitigation: _______________________________ 2. Risk: _________________ Mitigation: _______________________________ 3. Risk: _________________ Mitigation: _______________________________ ### Innovation Pipeline *Green Hat ideas to explore further* 1. Idea: _________________ Next step: ________________________________ 2. Idea: _________________ Next step: ________________________________ 3. Idea: _________________ Next step: ________________________________ ## Participant Feedback ### Individual Reflections **Most valuable hat for this topic:** - Participant 1: _____ because ________________________________________ - Participant 2: _____ because ________________________________________ - Participant 3: _____ because ________________________________________ - Participant 4: _____ because ________________________________________ **Key Personal Insights:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ ### Process Improvements **For next Six Hats session:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ ## Documentation ### Decision Record **Date:** _____________ **Decision Made:** ____________________________________________________ **Key Factors:** 1. _________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________ **Dissenting Views:** _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ ### Communication Plan | Stakeholder | Message | Channel | Timing | Responsible | |-------------|---------|---------|--------|-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ## Example Six Thinking Hats Session **Topic:** Should we expand into the Asian market? **White Hat:** Current Asian market worth $50B, growing 15% annually. We have 0% market share. Competitors X and Y have 20% and 15% respectively. **Red Hat:** Team excited about growth but anxious about cultural differences. CEO very enthusiastic. Sales team worried about complexity. **Black Hat:** Language barriers, regulatory complexity, $10M investment needed, 3-year break-even, potential IP theft issues. **Yellow Hat:** Access to 2B new customers, first-mover advantage in 3 countries, potential 40% margin improvement, strategic partnerships available. **Green Hat:** Virtual market entry via partnerships, acquire local competitor, create region-specific product line, hire local leadership team. **Blue Hat:** Decision: Proceed with phased approach. Start with Singapore (English-speaking, clear regulations), then expand based on learnings. --- *Completed by:* _____________ *Session Date:* _____________ *Next Review:* _____________