The search for and practice of creativity is a concern that afflicts many companies, especially those that depend on it for their activity, as marketing companies do. That’s why we want to explain to you we want to explain to you what the 6 hats technique consists of, by which every emotion and thought we can have is categorized in different colored hats, depending on the perspective with which we look at them.

What is the 6 hats technique?

This technique was created by Edward Bono as a way to solve conflicts and controversies in companies so that the ‘problem’ could be observed from different perspectives (each hat of a different color) to solve it in the most creative way possible.

How does this technique work?

The 6 hats technique is based on the assumption that our brain behaves chaotically when faced with a problem, jumping from one thought to another without any control, or, on the other hand, it locks into a thought and tries to attack the problem without leaving those margins. Neither of the two seems to be an effective approach to problem solving.

Therefore, Bono proposes 6 colored hats (or 6 ways of thinking) to be able to ask all the questions we need and approach the problem from different perspectives. In this way, not only can we find more solutions; we also train the brain to learn how to think.

The 6 hats and their colors

White. Naturalness and Facts.

White is the purest color. It radiates naturalness. This hat gives us an objective perspective, where what prevails are data and scientific facts and not opinions or emotions. What do we know? What we don’t know? What are the client’s objectives and context? What information do we need to complete the briefing…?

Red. Intuition

Red is the color of passion. Unlike white, this is the hat of emotions, intuition and irrationality. It is important because it adds the human factor to the equation. Especially when the team comes into play. What do I think of this solution? What is my reaction? Does my intuition tell me this is right or wrong? …

Green. Ideas

As the color of nature, it inspires growth, energy, creation. That is why it is the hat of imagination. This is where brainstorming comes in. We try to find a solution to the problem in a creative way. Can it be done differently? How? What new ideas can come out of this? What opportunities does a 360° strategy offer us?

Black. Criticism and Risks

Black symbolizes darkness. Therefore, it also refers to uncertainty and the dangers of choosing one solution or another. This perspective helps us to consider the possible risks and to act accordingly What are the risks? Why doesn’t it work? What are we forgetting? What failure scenarios can we encounter?….

Amarillo. Optimism

Contrary to the black hat, yellow is related to light and sunshine. It is the optimistic outlook. It is one of the most difficult, as we have to try to find advantages, values or possible ways out of the solution we choose. What is the best way to approach this? What are the benefits? What makes this successful?

Blue. Control and Results

This is the last hat. Blue is the color of tranquility, so it represents the decisions of the one who has everything under control. It is therefore considered the hat of hats, and is usually the leading perspective, mediating between others to achieve a successful solution. What is the problem? What process will we use to wear this hat? What is our objective? How do we approach it?

Benefits of the 6 hats technique

As we have seen, creative thinking is something that can be trained, and it is a practice that is implemented in many marketing agencies to foster camaraderie and enable the team to come up with joint solutions.

Using this technique is an advantage for multiple reasons, but the first is the fact of organizing all the thoughts to be able to see them from an external perspective; getting to focus on the best solution.

In addition, it narrows down the problem and encourages dialogue. It is a technique that can also help to learn in a lateral way, stimulating creativity and problem solving in an integral way.