Six Thinking Hats

The yellow hat calls to mind sunshine and optimism. Under this hat, a thinker looks for the benefits in a situation. It is harder to wear than the black hat, because while the brain naturally tries to avoid dangers, it doesn’t automatically look for positives. For this reason, people need to develop “value sensitivity”—being as sensitive to value as they are to danger.

The yellow hat has a high value simply because it forces people to look for value. It should be based in logic, not fantasy. It asks questions such as, “What are the values, for whom, and what circumstances apply?”

We can choose to look at things in a positive way. Positive thinking must combine curiosity, pleasure, greed, and the wish to make things happen. This wish is a trait of successful people.

De Bono calls the yellow hat “speculative-positive” because any plan or action requires looking to the future. Since people can’t be as sure about the future as they can about the past, the deliberate search for the positive is speculative. This search can be futile, but it can also involve overlooking positive aspects, since value and benefit aren’t always obvious. Entrepreneurs look for value that hasn’t yet been spotted.