Session Brief: Six Thinking Hats

Goal

Artifact: Perspective Notes

Working Question

Which insights per thinking mode contribute to a more balanced assessment or decision on the guiding question?

Context

Concrete bounded question as one sentence (decision, idea to test, concept to review); context documents in 1-2 pages; known constraints; expectation for output (recommendation, decision, idea set).

Setup

• Format: Method session
• Duration: 45-90 min
• Mode: Workshop
• Participants: One facilitator (metaphorically wearing the blue hat throughout); four to twelve participants; one scribe for consolidation per hat; for decision questions, a decider outside the group or clearly identifiable in the group.
• Owner: One facilitator (metaphorically wearing the blue hat throughout)
• Participation mode: Team round, shared work and alignment
• Outcome logic: Finish artifact

Participation Logic

Use the session for shared understanding. Contributions are collected visibly, assumptions are aligned, and open differences remain traceable in the artifact.

Outcome Logic

The session works directly toward Perspective Notes. After the session, the artifact should be shareable, reviewable, or reusable.

Input

Whiteboard or Miro with six areas (white, red, black, yellow, green, blue); timer; visual hat symbols or colored cards; stickies per hat in hat color; question visible as header.

Preparation

Six areas on the wall. Choose sequence (classic: blue, white, yellow, black, green, red, blue; for creative exploration: blue, green, yellow, red, white, black, blue). Timer per hat at 5-10 min.

Agenda

1. Phase 1: Open with blue (process) (5 min) Owner: Facilitator Action: Facilitator clarifies question, hat sequence, timeboxes and output goal. Rule: everyone wears the same hat at the same time, no mixing. Hint: The biggest temptation is mixing, especially black thoughts in the green phase. This discipline creates the value. Output: Perspective Notes

2. Phase 2: White (facts) (8-10 min) Owner: Facilitator Action: Which facts, data, evidence are known? Which gaps are obvious? Stickies in the white area. No evaluation. Hint: If contributions contain opinions ("we know that"), rephrase or move them. White is only verifiable information. Output: Decision Inputs

3. Phase 3: Yellow (optimism) (8-10 min) Owner: Facilitator Action: Which benefits, opportunities, plausible value does the question/idea have? Arguments with mechanism ("because X"), not pure affirmation. Hint: Yellow is not naive. Every pro point must name the assumption that supports it. Otherwise it is wishful thinking, not optimism. Output: Action Items

4. Phase 4: Black (critique) (8-10 min) Owner: Facilitator Action: Which risks, weaknesses, plausible failure modes? Critique as mechanism, not rejection. Stickies in the black area. Hint: Black is the longest phase in many groups because it is practiced. Do not let it run longer than 10 min, otherwise the mood tips. Output: Perspective Notes

5. Phase 5: Green (creativity) (8-12 min) Owner: Facilitator Action: Which new ideas, alternatives, creative solutions emerge from previous insights? Use black and yellow contributions as material. Hint: If phase 5 stays empty, black was too long or too hard. Green needs energy, so optionally add a micro-break before it. Output: Decision Inputs

6. Phase 6: Red (intuition) (5 min) Owner: Owner Action: Each person gets 30 s: emotional state on the question in one sentence or gut feeling. No justification allowed. Hint: Red is short and not discussable. Anyone saying "actually" is not red. This phase reveals taboo feelings that would later sabotage decisions. Output: Action Items

7. Publish artifact (10 min) Owner: Owner Action: Check the artifact for completeness, define location, set version or status, and name review recipients. Output: Perspective Notes

Closeout

• Update result artifact: Perspective Notes
• Define location, version, and review recipients.
• Define owner, next step, and review date.

Perspective Notes: Six Thinking Hats

Working Question

Which insights per thinking mode contribute to a more balanced assessment or decision on the guiding question?

Context

Concrete bounded question as one sentence (decision, idea to test, concept to review); context documents in 1-2 pages; known constraints; expectation for output (recommendation, decision, idea set).

Participants

• Owner: One facilitator (metaphorically wearing the blue hat throughout)
• Participants: One facilitator (metaphorically wearing the blue hat throughout); four to twelve participants; one scribe for consolidation per hat; for decision questions, a decider outside the group or clearly identifiable in the group.

Input

Whiteboard or Miro with six areas (white, red, black, yellow, green, blue); timer; visual hat symbols or colored cards; stickies per hat in hat color; question visible as header.

Template

Six Thinking Hats Working Template

Goal

Structures discussion across six thinking modes: facts, feelings, criticism, optimism, creativity, and process.

Context

When and for what do we use this method?

Input

Which data, observations, decisions, or materials are available?

Execution

Short notes along the runsheet.

Output artifacts

• Perspective Notes:
• Decision Inputs:
• Action Items:

Assumptions and open questions

• ...

Decision / Next step

Owner, date, and success signal.

Completion Check

• Perspective Notes is complete enough for review:
• Location:
• Version / status:
• Review by:
• Next step:

Next Step

• Review result
• Mark open questions
• Schedule review or decision