“A thinking system based on argument is excellent just as the front left wheel of a car is excellent. There is nothing wrong with it at all. But it is not sufficient." – Edward De Bono

Edward De Bono’s ‘Six thinking Hats’ provide us with a powerful decision making tool. These hats are simple to implement, can be learned rapidly and are used to achieve long-lasting results. Each hat has a different colour. The thinker wears one hat at a time and uses only that mode of thinking which goes with that particular colour.

This tool is being used effectively across the globe.

* It is said that this powerful tool helped Australia win the America’s Cup in 1983. The America’s Cup is the most prestigious Match Race in the sport of sailing. It is one of the oldest active trophies in international sport. But since then Australia has not been able to win this cup.

* MobiFon-Connex was the first mobile telecommunications company to win a GSM license in Romania. In 1999 they started training their employees to be better thinkers by using Six Thinking Hats and Lateral Thinking tools. The results were so good; they decided to incorporate the Six Thinking Hats tool into all phases of their Business Process Reengineering project. By 2004, MobiFon (Connex) and Orange had more than US$200m in debts. The company was bought over by Vodaphone in 2005.

* Some years back, British Airport Authority implemented a new approach to parking at Heathrow Airport. Use of the six hat techniques resulted in lower costs, reduced traffic and improved customer satisfaction. But after a few years the problems seems to be coming back.

Are we missing out on something? Is this tool only useful in short term?

I believe there are two reasons to it.

First, it’s important that the tool should be used properly. Sometimes during implementation one person wears one hat, another person another hat, etc. This leads to people looking in different directions. This is not the best way to use this tool. Wouldn’t it be better if at any given moment everyone is thinking in the same direction? This might give better results and also there won't be much interference from individuals egos.

Second, there seems to be something missing in the technique. I call the missing part the “Visionary Hat”. When thinking in one direction it’s important that the vision of the company in the long run should be kept in mind. This is the “umbrella thinking” which is needed under the Seventh Visionary hat. Only then can an organization ensure that the effect of the six hats technique lasts for a long duration.