55 pages • 1 hour read
Six Thinking Hats
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Part 3Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 3: “The Black Hat”
Part 3, Introduction Summary
The black hat is the “most used of all the hats” (71) and possibly the most important one. The hat of caution, it stands for being careful and avoiding doing things that are illegal, dangerous, or poisonous. It is an aid to survival.
De Bono claims that this hat is the basis of Western civilization, as it is rooted in critical thinking. Just as traditional Western argument points out how something is contradictory or inconsistent, the black hat shows how something doesn’t fit resources, policy, strategy, ethics, and values. The basis of the black hat is the mind’s “mismatch” mechanism, which compares something new to patterns of expectation formed by past experience. It creates discomfort and ensures that people don’t make mistakes.
It is important to allot a certain period of time to black hat thinking, so that members of a group are not constantly being critical. Cautious thinkers, however, often welcome the Six Hats method because it allows them to use their critical abilities while also giving them permission to move away from being cautious.
Part 3, Chapter 17 Summary: “The Black Hat: Cautious and Careful”
Black hat thinking is always logical, as it considers the dangers and difficulties in a situation. However, it is not balanced, because it sensitizes the brain to seek out possible dangers and obstacles. A thinker need not try to see both sides of an argument under the black hat.
The black hat legitimizes a cautious approach and should be done thoroughly, both in assessing ideas and in designing ideas. In its assessment role, it can facilitate the decision to move ahead with an idea or abandon it. It can also point out weaknesses in an idea that can be corrected. A final decision combines white hat, yellow hat, black hat, and red hat thinking.
Part 3, Chapter 18 Summary: “Black Hat Thinking: Content and Process”
The Six Hats method differs from traditional Western argument in that there is no need to discuss process in detail. However, it allows challenges, such as pointing out errors in thinking.
Those tempted to argue when not in black hat mode can reframe a thought. De Bono gives the example of pointing out that sales data is five years old during a white hat session. Rather than criticizing the use of the data, a person could simply state that there is no more up-to-date information than this five-year-old fact.
In black hat thinking, possibilities dealing with caution and avoiding error are laid down alongside each other, consistent with parallel thinking. De Bono reiterates that parallel thinking is a more valuable way to reach outcomes than logical deduction.
Part 3, Chapter 19 Summary: “Black Hat Thinking: The Past and the Future”
Black hat thinking deals with risk assessment and a consideration of what de Bono calls “operacy,” or the “action element”—what will happen if an action is taken. Operacy also asks questions such as whether a group has sufficient resources to take the action, how competitors and others might react, what might go wrong, and whether or not the action will be profitable. Speculation made while considering operacy must be based on past experiences of people both inside and outside of the group. To qualify as black hat thinking, statements about these experiences must be relevant. They must reflect similar circumstances.
Part 3, Chapter 20 Summary: “Black Hat Thinking: The Problem of Overuse”
The black hat can be overused, because it’s easier to be critical than to be constructive. A “Yes … but” contribution is simple.
Such overuse is not helpful. It may be driven by ego or habit. The Six Hats framework offers a way out of the “permanent caution” mode. People who perform well under the black hat can also do so under the yellow or green hat.
Part 3, Chapter 21 Summary: “Summary of Black Hat Thinking”
In summarizing black hat thinking, de Bono points out that it would be foolish to proceed with any suggestion without fully considering the aspect of caution. It can be used as part of an assessment and in the design process, and is very much about “fit”—whether an idea fits with past experience, policy, strategy, values, resources, and facts.
Part 3 Analysis
In Chapter 1, De Bono discussed The Importance of Parallel Thinking in disrupting the brain’s natural tendency to compare new experiences to past patterns and expectations. With black hat thinking, however, he finds value in the “mismatch” mechanism—the function of the mind that creates discomfort if the new idea or situation doesn’t match past experiences.
Cautious thinking must be done thoroughly when assessing ideas, and De Bono believes that it also comes more naturally to people than optimism. De Bono finds several reasons for this view. First, it is simply easier to be critical than to be positive. Second, what he regards as traditional Western thought relies on similar arguments and so is more familiar to thinkers. In addition, some people base their self-importance and self-image on their willingness to be critical. The key is to limit the black hat mode so that those in a thinking session are not constantly being negative.
Despite the link between traditional Western-style argument and black hat thinking, this mode also embraces The Importance of Parallel Thinking. Parallel thinking under the black hat lays risks down alongside each other as a more valuable way to reach outcomes than logical deduction, which insists on certainty. In Chapter 18, De Bono stresses that the Six Hats method deals with “possibilities and likelihood” (79) rather than logical deduction, because it’s rarely possible to be certain when making decisions in real-world situations.
To assess the risks, de Bono creates the concept of operacy, or the question of what will happen if a particular action is taken. An “apples to apples” approach ensures that only relevant statements—those based on the past experience of the group’s members—are considered during this examination.
As with all the hats, the author offers flexibility in using the black hat in a thinking session. The mode can be used to design as well as to assess an idea, and a final decision typically combines a variety of thinking modes, including the black hat. Furthermore, thinking in the idiom of a particular hat color does not exclude references to other ways of thinking. De Bono reiterates this point in Part 6, stating that some comments in a discussion won’t fall under the mode of a particular hat at all.
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