3The Six Thinking Hats

After using mind maps successfully to improve organisation and planning, Fawzooz decided to adopt a new technique called the Six Thinking Hats. He was fascinated by how it encourages participants to look at problems from different angles, strengthening group thinking and leading to more innovative, well-rounded solutions.

Introducing the team to the technique. Fawzooz organised a workshop for his team, explaining the principles of the Six Thinking Hats and how to use them.

“Each hat sees what the others cannot.”

The six hats are

The white hat. For rational thinking and focusing on the available data.

The red hat. For expressing feelings and intuition without justification.

The black hat. For looking at downsides and risks.

The yellow hat. For looking for benefits and value.

The green hat. For creative thinking and searching for new alternatives.

The blue hat. For organising the thinking and managing the process.

Applying it to a real project. Fawzooz chose the project to update the village’s water distribution system as the first trial of the six hats. Each team member chose a hat to wear, and they began analysing the project from their chosen hat’s perspective.

Results of the session

The white hat presented data on current consumption and water sources.

The red hat highlighted farmers’ personal worries about water availability.

The black hat warned of the risks of water contamination and high costs.

The yellow hat focused on improving efficiency and reducing waste.

The green hat proposed innovative solutions such as drip irrigation.

The blue hat helped organise the discussion and make sure every aspect was covered.

The technique’s impact. The session led to a deeper understanding of the problem and a comprehensive solution that took every possible aspect into account. The six hats helped the team avoid many potential mistakes and led to a system that was more effective and more widely accepted by residents.

By adopting this approach, Fawzooz began encouraging the use of the Six Thinking Hats in all kinds of projects and meetings, helping build a culture of innovation and multi-dimensional thinking in the village.