“I may be wrong and you may be right, and by an effort, we may get nearer to the truth.”

-Karl Popper

BAM124 Thinking, Knowing and Arguing

Business and Management

Agenda

• Introduction to the module

• Thinking as a skill

• Parallel thinking

• Six thinking hats

Think about your study habits.

Suppose you need a surgical operation. How confident would you feel if you knew the surgeon had adopted the same study habits during her time at medical school?

Activity 1

Activity 2Repeat activity 1 with different people in the role of observer. Try to avoid conflict and think more cooperatively – think in parallel.

Edward de Bono – an expert on thinking

• Thinking is a skill– Thinking ability is not genetically

determined and something we can’t change

• Like our other skills, we can improve our thinking

• Intelligence is like the power of a car’s engine– A powerful car can be driven badly by a

poor driver.

Edward de Bono – an expert on thinking

• Thinking is to intelligence as driving is to the power of a car

“I am not especially interested in the

measurement of intelligence… If you

line up a number of people and ask

them to race, you will end up by

comparing their natural running

ability. If you design suitable roller

skates for all of them they will all go

further and faster… So I am more

interested in designing thinking tools

and training methods.” Edward de Bono (1982) de Bono’s Thinking Course p.11

“No human yet exists who can use all the potential of his brain. This is why we don’t accept any pessimistic estimates of the human brain. It is unlimited!”

Professor Pyotr Kouzmich Anokhin quoted in Buzan & Buzan (2003) The Mind Map Book (p33)

Edward de Bono – an expert on thinking

• Thinking should not be gloomy and solemn as Rodin’s Thinker seems to be

Edward de Bono – an expert on thinking

• Thinking should be brisk and active

• If you playact being a thinker you will become one

• So let’s not feel inhibited about imagining we’re wearing different coloured hats!

Black Hat

Why It May Not WorkBlack is sombre and serious. The black hat is cautious and careful. It points out the weaknesses in an idea.

Blue HatBlue is cool, and it is also the colour of the sky, which is above everything else. The blue hat is concerned with control, the organization of the thinking process and the use of the other hats.

Green HatCreative ThinkingGreen is grass, vegetation and abundant, fertile growth. The green hat indicates creativity and new ideas.

Yellow HatWhy It May WorkYellow is sunny and positive. The yellow hat focuses on benefits and making things happen.

White HatInformation & DataWhite is neutral and objective. The white hat is concerned with objective facts and figures.

Red HatFeelings & Intuition Red suggests anger and emotions. The red hat gives the emotional view.

FOCUS

Edward de Bono – an expert on thinking

• The hats are roles–A person cannot be described as

red hat thinker or a black hat thinker, for example

–Everyone adopts different roles at different times

• The hats are useful for at least four reasons

Edward de Bono – an expert on thinking

• It’s easier and more effective to think in one role at a time– It’s not easy to think, for example, about the

facts, the reasons why an idea is a bad one, and the alternatives all at the same time

• Using the hats, we make sure we spend some time on all six important aspects – So we’re unlikely to forget to consider

alternatives, for example

Edward de Bono – an expert on thinking

• The red hat ensures that we acknowledge our feelings for what they are– So we don’t try to find logical reasons not

to do something when really we simply don’t want to do it

• The hats can be used to make thinking with other people more productive– ‘Parallel thinking’ avoids unhelpful

arguments

Activity 3Repeat activity 1 with different people in the role of observer. Use the six thinking hats to think in parallel.

Do six thinking hats exercise 1

I need more light in my study

Everyone must plant one tree a year.

Source: Edward de Bono’s Mind Pack (1995)

Exercise….

People have to go back to school for one week every year of their lives.

Source: Edward de Bono’s Mind Pack (1995)

Exercise….

It only rains at night.

Source: Edward de Bono’s Mind Pack (1995)

Exercise….

Source: Scannell, Edward E & John W Newstrom (1983) More Games Trainers Play McGraw-Hill, p129

Source: Scannell, Edward E & John W Newstrom (1983) More Games Trainers Play McGraw-Hill, p129

Source: Scannell, Edward E & John W Newstrom (1983) More Games Trainers Play McGraw-Hill, p129

Directed tasks A• Read the module handbook

• Locate and bookmark the website

• Scan the reading list on the website

• Use the six thinking hats to think about this: ‘using the six thinking hats in my degree studies’– You’ll need to use the blue hat first to

make sure you’re clear about the focus of the thinking (but don’t ask me – think!)

Directed tasks B• Consult de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats

book in the library

• Listen to de Bono talking about creative thinking at http://www.debonogroup.com/debono.htm#audio

Directed tasks C• Try using the six thinking hats for at

least one other task of your choosing – at work, on your degree course, or in your personal life