Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats The Six Thinking Hats Access to Breast Care for West Texas – ABC4WT Train the Trainer Seminar Saturday, October 16, 2010

Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats The Six Thinking Hats Help us… look at a project from different perspectives make better decisions by forcing us to move outside habitual ways of thinking understand the full complexity of a decision spot issues and opportunities

Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats A new way to make decisions Six Thinking Hats allows us to use all approaches in decision making and planning …mixing ambition, skill in execution, sensitivity, creativity and good contingency planning

Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats Why hats? Signify roles in life Are easily put on or taken off Worn one at a time

Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats Why hats work… Structure : focus on one direction of thinking at a time Total thinking - looks at an issue from several angles in a short amount of time Multiple uses – groups, alone, two people having a conversation Easy integration – stand alone process or integration into other processes such as brainstorming or quality improvement

Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats Six hats, six ways of thinking White – Information Yellow – Logical positive Black – Caution Red – Intuition, feelings and emotions Green – Creativity, alternatives Blue – Managing the process

Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats The purpose … ABC4WT is a group of academic and community healthcare providers that seeks to increase screening and close the gap between diagnosis and treatment for medically underserved women in West Texas.

Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats The process… Introduce one hat at a time Brainstorm - record responses as stated - go in order; “pass” if no comment - one idea at a time; do not explain - facilitator will keep group on track Group share (one “ah ha”)

Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats The Blue Hat – Managing the process Looks at the “thinking” about the subject Defines focus Controls the other hats Observations, summaries, reporting Example: What are some conclusions we can draw from this discussion?

Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats The White Hat - Information Information we know to be true Gaps in knowledge; info needed Neutral and objective No interpretations or opinions Example: This is a 3 year project that will eventually cover all counties in West Texas. How will county agencies be reimbursed for project costs?

Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats The Yellow Hat – Logical positive A deliberate search for the positive Envisions the best possible scenario and maximum benefits Looks forward to results Finds value in what’s happened Example: For the first time, we will have breast cancer demographics from all counties

Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats The Black Hat – Caution Must always be logical Why it might not work; weak points in a plan Focus on possible problems, difficulties Example: We don’t have a plan in place to replace community leaders as they drop out of the project

Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats The Green Hat – Creativity; alternatives New ideas; creative alternatives Reduces judgment; no criticism of new ideas Uses ideas as stepping stones Example: Use church groups to connect with ethnic and rural women

Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats The Red Hat – Intuition, feelings, emotions Permission to put forward feelings Opposite of neutral and objective No need to justify or give reasons Example: My gut feeling tells me that some communities may not be receptive to this

Dr. Edward De Bono The Six Thinking Hats The Blue Hat – Managing the process Observations? Conclusions? Next step… Action Plan to move forward…