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Six Thinking Hats
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Part 2Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 2: “The Red Hat”
Part 2, Introduction Summary
Red connotes images of fire, warmth, and feelings. Normal business meetings don’t usually allow emotions, but they come in anyway in the guise of logic. The red hat provides the opportunity to acknowledge feelings, emotions, and intuition. A range of emotion can be expressed, including love or hate for an idea, uncertainty, and mixed feelings. The emotions can be directed toward intellectual feelings, as in the example, “That idea is very interesting” (48).
In red hat thinking there is no need to justify feelings; to do so would mean that people only put forth feelings that could be validated. The hat must be applied to a specific idea or situation, and the thinker cannot change the idea.
When red hat thinking is in use, every individual present is asked their feelings about the issue in turn. They cannot pass, although they can use terms such as neutral, confused, or mixed. The facilitator can prompt for more information about such feelings.
Part 2, Chapter 10 Summary: “The Red Hat: Emotions and Feelings”
Red hat thinking is about emotions, feelings, and the “nonrational aspects of thinking” (50). While they are the opposite of the neutral white hat thinking, they have an important part in the six hats method because they are strong and real to people. Gut feelings, senses of right and wrong, likes and dislikes, and hunches all have a place in a discussion. The red hat permits their official expression.
Part 2, Chapter 11 Summary: “Red Hat Thinking: The Place of Emotions in Thinking”
The traditional view of emotion is that is has no place in good thinking. De Bono contradicts this view, saying that any good decision must be emotional in the end. He places emphasis on “in the end” because the final decision on an issue will be determined by values and emotions.
There are three points at which emotion may affect thinking. The first is the existing of a strong background emotion attached to a person or situation, such as jealousy or fear. The second is when emotion is triggered by an initial perception, which may be untrue. The third is after the map of a situation has been created; the map must include the emotions that are turned up in red hat thinking.
Decisions have “value bases” to which people react emotionally, so it is valid after all the facts are assembled to make statements such as preferring a particular choice because “the time is [not] right for negotiation” (54). Red hat thinking is also valuable for individuals assessing personal thinking. It allows them to admit the feelings involved in a situation.
Part 2, Chapter 12 Summary: “Red Hat Thinking: Intuition and Hunches”
Intuition refers to both the sense of a sudden insight and the immediate understanding of a situation. The latter might be based on knowledge gained through similar situations.
De Bono deals with the role of the “immediate understanding” aspect of intuition as he explores red hat thinking. This mode of thought legitimizes intuition, as it does emotion. It is “part of the map” (58) and can be treated as one would an adviser.
Intuition is not the same as opinion. Opinion can be based on intuition, but it is also influenced by judgment and interpretation. Opinions may be expressed via red, black, or yellow hats, but under the red hat they are better expressed as a feeling.
Part 2, Chapter 13 Summary: “Red Hat Thinking: Moment to Moment”
Red hat feelings can include a discussion of the conduct of the meeting itself, such as the sense of being bullied or that the meeting is not being well-led. It is important to say one is making a red hat statement, putting on the red hat, and other references to the mode in order to minimize the expression of emotion.
Part 2, Chapter 14 Summary: “Red Hat Thinking: The Use of Emotions”
Thinking can change emotions. Once emotions have been expressed through the red hat idiom, others can try to explore or change them. This might take the form of asking someone to perceive a situation differently, including imagining a different emotional background. For instance, someone could ask the group to try to imagine a negotiation in an attitude of trust rather than the prevailing suspicion.
Red hat thinking can be used to establish bargaining positions. For instance, in a negotiation someone might say that a certain aspect of a deal is very important.
Part 2, Chapter 15 Summary: “Red Hat Thinking: The Language of Emotions”
The hardest part about wearing the red thinking hat is “resisting the temptation to justify an expressed emotion” (67). Red hat thinking makes this justification unnecessary, because emotions and feelings do not reflect logical thinking. Furthermore, emotions are complex and the words used to express them are loaded with connotations. Red hat thinkers have the right to express feelings as they wish.
Part 2, Chapter 16 Summary: “Summary of Red Hat Thinking”
De Bono reviews the concepts around red hat thinking by saying that it legitimizes emotions and feelings. It allows emotion to be part of the “thinking map,” both during the discussion process and at the end in which a direction is chosen. It lets people express their emotions quickly and to explore the feelings of others; neither party needs to justify the feelings.
The red hat covers two types of feelings: Ordinary emotions, such as fear and suspicion, and more complex judgments, such as intuition and taste. If an opinion has a large amount of the latter type of feeling, it can fit under the red hat mode.
Part 2 Analysis
De Bono makes the point that in normal business situations, emotions do not play a part—even though they come in regardless and add value to decision-making. To counter this perception, he introduces several rules that legitimize the use of red hat thinking and help thinkers to bring emotion out into the open. One need not justify feelings; every individual present must express their feelings under the red hat; and both ordinary emotions and more complex ones, such as intuition, can be expressed. Furthermore, “ordinary” emotions may include ones that would typically be suppressed in a business setting, such as jealousy, fear, and misplaced first impressions.
The Benefits of Game-Playing can be seen in all these rules surrounding the red hat. As de Bono states, it is “exactly this artificiality” (71) that is the value of the red hat mode. People don’t need to justify their feelings—which might bring up “loaded” language, or words with emotional connotations—because the red hat asks for and permits their expression. This rule also functions to speed up the thinking session. Having every person express their feelings is similar to taking turns in a game. The idiom of “putting on the red hat” allows people to bring up all types of emotion, even hunches. De Bono does not consider the possibility that, even if the hats are treated as a form of game-playing, some participants may not express their true emotions.
The red hat also further develops the theme of Flexibility Within a Structured Thinking Session. The red hat is useful near the beginning of a session to assess feelings about an idea or issue. It is also useful near the end of a session, to check in with emotions generated by the proposed course of action. As de Bono says in Part 2, “any good decision” (52) is emotional in the end.
Unlike many other writers of business books, de Bono does not spend much time on the concept of team-building. He believes that there is no need to build trust with the Six Hats method because everyone is looking in the same direction at the same time. The idiom of the hats formalizes the process, and corrective measures are in place to keep the group focused on a single direction. The latter point is especially true with the use of the red hat. The hat is always applied to a specific idea or situation; this keeps participants from stating opinions that are not relevant to the issue at hand.
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