To use our price comparison to get the cheapest price, please click on the "Find the Cheapest Price" button located above for Six Thinking Hats by Edward De Bono (ISBN-10: 0140296662, ISBN-13: 9780140296662).
At this time we have not yet written a review for Six Thinking Hats by Edward De Bono (ISBN-10: 0140296662, ISBN-13: 9780140296662). Please continue to keep checking back to this page as we are constantly adding reviews.
Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
Teaches the Left Brain and Right Crossover!
| Customer Rating:  |
The Six Thinking Hats is an easy to learn and apply, but powerful method to group decision making. Edward De Bono's common sense approach is both refreshing and insightful.
The Six Thinking Hats helps people use both their left and right brains efficiently by separating them into compartments (Thinking Hats). In other words, De Bono teaches how to achieve a strong Left Brain, Right Brain Crossover.
Each of the hats uses part of the left, or the right brain.
* The White Hat addresses facts and data -Left Brain
* The Red Hat addresses emotions - Right Brain
* The Black Hat addresses the weaknesses in ideas- Left Brain
* The Yellow Hat is hopeful and positive - Right Brain
* The Green Hat addresses creativity -Right Brain
* The Blue Hat is concerned with control -Left Brain
By separating thought patterns into compartments De Bono argues convincingly it is easier to come to rational conclusions for solving problems based on all aspects of the brain. In the Conclusion of the book he states:
"The biggest enemy of thinking is complexity, for that leads to confusion. When thinking is clear and simple, it becomes more enjoyable and more effective. The Six Thinking Hats concept is very simple to understand. It is also very simple to use."
Overall a fascinating and useful thinking tool for solving problems!
The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking |
Genuinely worthwhile
| Customer Rating:  | Please be wary of a review based on emotion, such as that by a reviewer initialled 'KD'. Whether or not Edward de Bono self-promotes, and whether or not this is entirely backed-up, he could never be considered an idiot (as was intimated in aforementioned review) - he is hugely respected in his field and, I for one, can forgive an occasionally unforgiving writing style, in return for the wonderful ideas presented in this book.
I do not consider a preface and background of an author to be worthy of influencing a review. This is essentially one of very few books worth reading in the whirlwind of publications on this topic. It is not a book without its faults, but I can think of very few that are. I consider a book worth reading if the money and, more importantly, time invested are outweighed by the benefits gained. This book more than satisfies that criteria... |
it makes a difference
| Customer Rating: | This is exactly what i like about most de Bono books. They cause an effect. They make a difference and they change the way you do things.
This book is a classic.
Read it once and it will get you excited.
Read it again and it will make you a better manager, leader, husband, and friend.
Simply amazing. |
Pass the Idea
| Customer Rating: |
I presume to suggest that you read this book before you read de Bono's Six Action Shoes and strongly urge you to read both. As he explains in Chapter 6, "The first value of the six thinking hats is that of defined role-playing....[the second] is that of attention directing....[the third] is that of convenience....[and the fourth] is the possible basis in brain chemistry" which de Bono outlines in the previous chapter.
What about the hats? The conceit is brilliant. Each hat is of a different color: white, red, black, yellow, green, and blue. De Bono assigns to each a quite specific combination of qualities and characteristics. Since childhood, my favorite color has always been green. Here is what de Bono says about it: "Green is grass, vegetation, and abundant., fertile growth. The green hat indicates creativity and new ideas." De Bono also briefly characterizes the other colors and then devotes an entire chapter to discussing each of them in depth.
According to the subtitle, de Bono provides "an essential approach to business management." That is true. He helps his reader to increase various reasoning skills through carefully defined and structured role-playing, and, by directing and then focusing attention where it is needed most. How? By understanding and then developing entirely different perspectives which the various hats represent: White (neutral and objective), Red (powerful emotions), Black (gloomy and negative), Yellow (sunny and positive), Green (fertile and creative), and Blue (logical and in control). You get the idea. De Bono urges his reader to SEE all of the hats while associating with each its own defining qualities and characteristics.
Here's an exercise (inspired by Bono ideas) which will work very well with those who have been required to read Six Thinking Hats prior to getting together to brainstorm. Buy several of those delightful Dr. Seuss hats (at least one of each of the six different colors, more if needed) and keep the hats out of sight until everyone is seated. Review the agenda. Review what de Bono says about what each color represents. Then distribute the Dr. Seuss hats, making certain that someone is wearing a hat of each color. Proceed with the discussion, chaired by a person wearing a Blue or White hat. It is imperative that whoever wears a Black hat, for example, be consistently negative and argumentative whereas whoever wears a Yellow must be consistently positive and supportive. After about 15-20 minutes, have each person change to a different colored hat. Resume discussion. Thanks to de Bono and (yes) to Dr. Seuss, you can expect to have an especially enjoyable as well as productive session.
In addition to de Bono's Six Action Shoes, there are other excellent books also worthy of your consideration. They include Michael Ray and Rochelle Myers' Creativity in Business (based on the highly acclaimed Stanford University course) as well as several written by Guy Claxton, Michael Michalko, Joey Reiman, and Roger von Oech. |
De Bono will make you THINK
| Customer Rating: | | Every so often you read a book that is so obvious that you are amazed you did not see it before. For me, this is such a book. Yes, I could argue about the slow nature of the book, about the style or choice of phrase. However, the very simple idea (singular) at the core hit me like a billiard ball between the eyes at three paces. De Bono takes the idea of thinking, and breaks it down into six different aspects, and proposes that all should be allowed at appropriate times in a meeting. The key is not that (say) raw emotion can be expressed unjustified, but that where necessary such feelings are not only encouraged, but that it is an everybody thing. Participants are allowed to express a simple yes / no to an idea with no further comments. This, by the way, is 'red hat thinking'. Each aspect of thinking is given a colour, so participants will wear the SAME hat at the same time, to view topics from a similar perspective. There is no compelling reason to have physical hats, but presumably this may help initially. Examining each proposal in a critical way is allowed, but not all the way through any discussion - only at 'blackhat' time. This is a short, easy-read book. It would be possible to give a summary here of the six hats, and their meanings – however, it is better to let de Bono do that. Chapters are small and bite-sized, with an introduction and summary to each coloured hat. You do not need to read the book in one sitting, but it is probably advisable to tackle the 170 pages within 2 or 3 days. The author has written a number of other books on 'thinking', and these are referred to in the text of the volume. For me, the references were about right - neither too many (a sales pitch) or too few (not giving readers the opportunity to get further information). What did irritate me was the summary chapters for each hat, where the majority of sentences seemed to begin with e.g. "Blue hat thinking ..". At the end de Bone gives a possible framework for using the principles within a meeting. This is helpful, and adds to the comments and examples throughout the text. The overall feel is that this is a book about thinking that is based in reality. My final thoughts concern interminable meetings I have attended, and national flags. Use of the core idea of this thin volume would have saved man-months of my time, sometimes concluding that a meeting was not necessary. The national flag theme? Take a South African flag into meetings with you. This will remind you of the thinking hats, for the colours are the same. Buy it, learn it, practice it, and do it. Peter Morgan, Bath, UK (morganp@supanet.com) |
|
