Course ID: 6TH

6 Thinking Hats: Better Group Decisions Through Parallel Thinking

Most meetings mix facts, opinions, emotions, risks, and ideas all at once—creating confusion and slow, circular decisions. In this interactive 2-hour workshop, participants learn Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats method to guide discussions one mode at a time—improving clarity, collaboration, and decision quality through parallel thinking. You’ll leave with an easy facilitation script and a tool you can use immediately for problem-solving, planning, and tough trade-off decisions.

Note: This course can be customized to provide between 2.0 and 4.0 CPE credits.

Learning Objectives

Recall and differentiate the purpose and output of each of the Six Thinking Hats (White, Red, Black, Yellow, Green, Blue) by classifying statements and questions into the correct hat.
Identify and apply the Six Thinking Hats method to a business scenario by sequencing hats appropriately for (a) decision-making, (b) problem-solving, or (c) planning, and justifying the sequence selected.
Recall and facilitate a structured “parallel thinking” discussion using the Blue Hat by timeboxing, prompting, and transitioning between hats to keep the group in one thinking mode at a time
Identify and produce a one-page decision record (Blue Hat output) that documents: facts/assumptions, options considered, selected decision, key risks and mitigations, and next-step actions/owners.

Major Topics

What Six Thinking Hats is and why de Bono proposed it as an alternative to argument-based thinking (parallel thinking)
The purpose of each hat and when to use it
Practical “hat sequences” for common business needs (decisions, problem-solving, planning, risk review)
How to prevent common failure modes (skipping hats, argument drift, premature evaluation)
Personal and team application plan (next meeting script, roles, and follow-up)

Advanced Preparations

None

Who Should Attend

For anyone looking for a structured method to guide group decision-making and avoid defensive arguments.

Fields of Study

Personal Development

Prerequisites

None

Provider

Business Learning Institute

CPE Credits

4.0

Level

Basic

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