Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2709 in Books
• Published on: 2000-10-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Synopsis
"Six Thinking Hats" is a de Bono classic, used by businessmen worldwide to develop techniques of creative thinking in the boardroom. "The Six Hats" method aims to make the fullest use of everyone's intelligence, experience and information. De Bono has comprehensively updated his bestselling text for this new edition.

Customer Reviews

Genuinely worthwhile
Please be wary of a review based on emotion, such as that by a reviewer initialled 'KD'. Whether or not Edward de Bono self-promotes, and whether or not this is entirely backed-up, he could never be considered an idiot (as was intimated in aforementioned review) - he is hugely respected in his field and, I for one, can forgive an occasionally unforgiving writing style, in return for the wonderful ideas presented in this book.

I do not consider a preface and background of an author to be worthy of influencing a review. This is essentially one of very few books worth reading in the whirlwind of publications on this topic. It is not a book without its faults, but I can think of very few that are. I consider a book worth reading if the money and, more importantly, time invested are outweighed by the benefits gained. This book more than satisfies that criteria...

it makes a difference
This is exactly what i like about most de Bono books. They cause an effect. They make a difference and they change the way you do things.
This book is a classic.
Read it once and it will get you excited.
Read it again and it will make you a better manager, leader, husband, and friend.
Simply amazing.

Pass the Idea

I presume to suggest that you read this book before you read de Bono's Six Action Shoes and strongly urge you to read both. As he explains in Chapter 6, "The first value of the six thinking hats is that of defined role-playing....[the second] is that of attention directing....[the third] is that of convenience....[and the fourth] is the possible basis in brain chemistry" which de Bono outlines in the previous chapter.

What about the hats? The conceit is brilliant. Each hat is of a different color: white, red, black, yellow, green, and blue. De Bono assigns to each a quite specific combination of qualities and characteristics. Since childhood, my favorite color has always been green. Here is what de Bono says about it: "Green is grass, vegetation, and abundant., fertile growth. The green hat indicates creativity and new ideas." De Bono also briefly characterizes the other colors and then devotes an entire chapter to discussing each of them in depth.

According to the subtitle, de Bono provides "an essential approach to business management." That is true. He helps his reader to increase various reasoning skills through carefully defined and structured role-playing, and, by directing and then focusing attention where it is needed most. How? By understanding and then developing entirely different perspectives which the various hats represent: White (neutral and objective), Red (powerful emotions), Black (gloomy and negative), Yellow (sunny and positive), Green (fertile and creative), and Blue (logical and in control). You get the idea. De Bono urges his reader to SEE all of the hats while associating with each its own defining qualities and characteristics.

Here's an exercise (inspired by Bono ideas) which will work very well with those who have been required to read Six Thinking Hats prior to getting together to brainstorm. Buy several of those delightful Dr. Seuss hats (at least one of each of the six different colors, more if needed) and keep the hats out of sight until everyone is seated. Review the agenda. Review what de Bono says about what each color represents. Then distribute the Dr. Seuss hats, making certain that someone is wearing a hat of each color. Proceed with the discussion, chaired by a person wearing a Blue or White hat. It is imperative that whoever wears a Black hat, for example, be consistently negative and argumentative whereas whoever wears a Yellow must be consistently positive and supportive. After about 15-20 minutes, have each person change to a different colored hat. Resume discussion. Thanks to de Bono and (yes) to Dr. Seuss, you can expect to have an especially enjoyable as well as productive session.

In addition to de Bono's Six Action Shoes, there are other excellent books also worthy of your consideration. They include Michael Ray and Rochelle Myers' Creativity in Business (based on the highly acclaimed Stanford University course) as well as several written by Guy Claxton, Michael Michalko, Joey Reiman, and Roger von Oech.