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Help me prepare and run the exercise below. First ask for my participant count, time, setting, access needs and intended result. Check these against the stated limits. Use the supplied rules and materials. Explain any proposed changes before using them, and label them as adaptations. Do not invent source claims or require personal disclosure. Give me one step at a time when I say start. I manage the people, physical activity and clock; do not claim to observe the room. Ask me what happened before choosing a next step.

Reference revision: 4b059d9e2421a209a879ee0ed93481b33d6c7e8e0cf0f5a6043837ed2cd4539d

# Six Thinking Hats for Lateral Thinking

Participants examine a specific decision or challenge across six structured modes of thinking. The group records facts, feelings, cautions, benefits, creative ideas, and next steps into six corresponding columns.

**Time:** 40 minutes. UWT 40-minute suggested structure based on 6-column retrospective template evidence, including debrief
**People:** 4 to 24. Plenary circle for groups of 4 to 7; subgroups of 3 to 6 people for groups of 8 to 24 (for example, 17 splits into two groups of 6 and one group of 5)

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Categorize a group's perspectives on a single challenge across factual, emotional, critical, optimistic, creative, and procedural viewpoints.
**Use it when:** When a team is stuck in circular argument or repetitive viewpoints while evaluating a clear proposal or problem.
**Skip it when:** When the challenge is undefined or when the team needs an open-ended conversational check-in without analytical structure.

## Materials and tools

- 6 column boards or wall posters labeled White (Facts), Red (Feelings), Black (Cautions), Yellow (Benefits), Green (Ideas), and Blue (Process and Action)
- Sticky notes (1 pad per person)
- Felt markers (1 per person)
- Countdown timer

## Before participants arrive

1. Select a single, specific prompt or decision to examine.
2. Set up six wall charts or digital columns in order: White (Facts), Red (Feelings), Black (Cautions), Yellow (Benefits), Green (Ideas), and Blue (Process and Action).
3. Distribute sticky notes and markers to each participant.

## Say this to open

Today we are exploring one specific topic using Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats framework. Instead of debating back and forth, we will direct our attention together through six specific lenses: facts, gut feelings, cautions, positive value, creative alternatives, and concrete planning. Blue Hat sets our process and our final actions.

## How to run it

### 1. Frame topic and set process (5 minutes)

State the focus topic clearly. Read the opening script to introduce the Blue Hat. Establish the session goal and remind everyone that the room moves through one hat at a time. Participants do not write on the board yet. Confirm that debate is paused until all columns are populated.

### 2. Gather facts and gut reactions (8 minutes)

Direct the group to White Hat. Participants write known facts, data, and information gaps on sticky notes for 3 minutes, then post them. Switch immediately to Red Hat. Give 2 minutes to post gut reactions and feelings without giving reasons or justifications.

### 3. Evaluate cautions and benefits (8 minutes)

Direct the group to Black Hat. Participants write critical risks, weaknesses, and potential flaws for 3 minutes, then post them. Switch to Yellow Hat. Give 3 minutes to write positive outcomes, practical value, and best-case possibilities, then post them.

### 4. Generate creative alternatives (8 minutes)

Direct the group to Green Hat. Participants spend 5 minutes writing new possibilities, lateral workarounds, or creative alternatives that address Black Hat risks. Post notes on the Green column. Participants spend 3 minutes grouping related suggestions.

### 5. Synthesize and decide next steps (6 minutes)

Return to the Blue Hat column. Participants review the full board. Subgroups (or the plenary circle for groups under 8) select 1 or 2 specific next steps based on the Green ideas and post them onto the Blue column.

### 6. Debrief the thinking process (5 minutes)

Lead a whole-room debrief using the prepared questions. Take up to 3 short reflections from the room on how separating cognitive modes changed the quality of their ideas.


## Debrief questions

- Which lens felt easiest for our group, and which lens required the most deliberate effort?
- How did separating gut reactions (Red) from logical risks (Black) change the conversation?
- What lateral solution surfaced under Green that would have been missed in an unstructured debate?

**Finished output:** A completed six-column board displaying categorized facts, feelings, risks, benefits, creative options, and agreed action items.

## Remote

Create an online whiteboard with six columns matching the hat colors. Run a shared timer. Participants type sticky notes silently during each hat's designated time before reading across rows.

## Hybrid

Remote and in-person participants use the same shared digital board on individual devices. An in-person co-facilitator reads remote entries aloud during column transitions to maintain parity.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may contribute written notes without speaking aloud.
- Participants may pass on the Red Hat (emotional disclosure) without explanation or submit notes anonymously.

## If the session gets stuck

**Participants start debating or arguing during the White (Facts) or Red (Feelings) phases.**

Intervene immediately and redirect to the active hat. Remind the room that debate is paused and all perspectives will have their own dedicated column.

**The group gets stuck dwelling exclusively on Black Hat risks and cannot transition to Green.**

Acknowledge the risks recorded, then ask: 'Given that these risks are real, what lateral move could bypass them entirely?'


## Terms used here

- Six Thinking Hats: A thinking framework created by Edward de Bono that divides cognitive focus into six distinct modes: process, facts, feelings, cautions, benefits, and creativity.
- Lateral Thinking: Solving problems through indirect, non-linear, and creative approaches rather than conventional step-by-step logic.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in EasyRetro template collection, attributed to template creator Vindhya, referencing Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats methodology.

Retained the six-hat structure, lateral thinking goal, and Edward de Bono attribution from EasyRetro template evidence created by Vindhya. UWT consolidated the two Blue Hat phases (planning and organizing solutions) into a single Blue column for both opening process framing and closing action items. UWT also added subgroup arithmetic handling, explicit debrief timing, and access choices.

[EasyRetro](https://easyretro.io/templates/using-six-thinking-hats-for-lateral-thinking/)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/using-six-thinking-hats-for-lateral-thinking/