home < articles < creativity and problem solving < different hats home < neurocare home < general education < creativity and problem solving < different hats Generating New Idea by Putting on Different Hats Excerpted from the writings of Edward DeBono White Hat -- Information Black Hat Blue Hat Red Hat -- Feelings Green Hat Yellow Hat Some Hints on White and Red Hat Thinking   Introduction There are many techniques available for brainstorming--the deliberate process by an individual or group to generate new ideas, products, or activities. Edward DeBono is a physician who left medicine to pursue a teaching and writing career in creativity and business. DeBono coined the phrase "lateral thinking" and devised techniques to enhance learning and creativity. The following material is meant to be used by groups or individuals to generate new ideas. It goes something like this: A group leader/facilitator explains that everyone is simultaneously going to symbolically put a hat on. Let's say it's the white hat. The background material on "white hat thinking" is presented. Then the "white hat" session begins. Another group member takes notes or writes the ideas/answers on a board or easel. Then the next hat is "put on" and the same process is done. Through putting on a series of hats in a sequential fashion new ideas are generated, explored, refined, and then, hopefully, used later. White Hat -- Information Return to Top Menu Think of a blank piece of paper — a computer printout . The White Hat means neutral information. Ask the following three questions, exploring the issues under the questions: What information do we have? Lay out facts, figures, etc. Express personal knowledge or experience. However, it must be labeled as such: "In my experience ..., As far as I know ..." Express info that's unsaid but "between the lines," guesses, deductions, possibilities. The important thing is state clearly what type of information it is: "This is a fact as shown in these tables. My guess is that ... From the way that the keys are left in the car, I deduce that the driver must have intended to return. The generally accepted view is that ..." What information is missing? Try to find the gaps in our information. Do we have enough information for our thinking or for our decision? If not, what else do we need? How do we get the information we need? Listening, reading, research Asking questions: What questions should we be asking? What do you want the question to do for you? Shooting question: yes or no answer; Fishing question: not knowing what we will catch. Red Hat -- Feelings Return to Top Menu Think of fire and warm. The Red Hat is for emotions, feelings, hunches, and intuition. Normally, when we put forward a hunch or intuition we seek to construct a reasonable basis for them. Often this basis is false, while the hunch or intuition has validity. The Red Hat allows one to put forward a hunch or intuition without a need to justify it. Say something like this: "Putting on my Red Hat, I have a hunch that ..." The Red Hat covers feelings "at this moment." At the beginning of a session the Red Hat feelings may be very different than at the end. A feeling is only valid if it is genuine and sincere. Sometimes we're not sure how we feel about something or we may have both good and bad feelings simultaneously. Report your mixed feelings like this: "There are some aspects I feel good about — and others I feel bad about." Some Hints on White and Red Hat Thinking Return to Top Menu Sometimes the difference between the two (Information from the White Hat and feelings from the Red Hat) is blurred, such as in, "I feel the toy will sell well." Obviously you cannot be certain, but if you can provide good reasons (sales of similar toys, test markets, etc.) it is White Hat thinking. If you can provide no reason it is Red Hat thinking. If two people put forward information that challenge each other in regard to correctness, then both are put down alongside each other. Black Hat Return to Top Menu Black reminds us of a judge's robe. The black hat is for caution. The black hat stops us from doing something that may be harmful. The black hat points out the risks and why something may not work. Green Hat Return to Top Menu Green suggests vegetation, which suggests growth, energy, and life. The green hat is the energy hat. The green hat allows you to bring up possibilities. When the green hat is on, everyone makes an effort to be creative. Under the green hat you: Offer proposals and suggestions Discuss new ideas and alternatives. Talk about modifications and variations of a suggested idea. Blue Hat Return to Top Menu The blue hat is for looking at the thinking process itself. We use the blue hat at the beginning of a discussion in order to define what we are thinking about and to decide what we want to have achieved at the end of our thinking. The blue hat may be used to order the sequence of hats that we are going to be using and to summarize what we have achieved. The "blue hat" questions are: : What should we do next? What have we achieved so far? Yellow Hat Return to Top Menu Yellow suggests sunshine and optimism. Under the yellow hat we make a direct effort to find the values and benefits in a suggestion: What is good about this? Even if we do not like the idea, the yellow hat asks us to seek out the good points: Where are the benefits? Who is going to benefit? How will the benefits come about? What are the different values? Copyright 2005, Robert I. Winer, M.D.