The black hat: cautious search for flaws
The black hat is essential for our survival. It points to danger and stops us from making mistakes. It teaches us what things we should avoid and what scenarios will lead us to failure. Discrepancies between patterns and contradictions are foundational for argumentative thinking. The first lesson in caution, however, concerns the usage of this hat; being too careful will bring little success. The good news is there are time limitations in the Six Hats strategy.
⚡️We wouldn’t survive if we weren’t aware of the possible dangers that might await us: the black hat is irreplaceable, but we should use it in moderation.
The black hat needs logic to operate; without it, there can be no constructive criticism. The aim of using the black hat is not to determine what will work out and what won’t. While wearing this hat, we also look for potential faults and failures; fixing those flaws can even turn them into advantages. Though the black hat relies on logic, it also accepts uncertainty. It deals with likelihood and possibilities, not with results set in stone.
The black hat focuses on the future. However, to determine risks, consider past experiences to predict possible outcomes.
Understand which past experiences are relevant and applicable to the given situation. We should avoid abusing the black hat: it’s quite easy to criticize almost anything, but the key is to be constructive.
⚡️The efficiency of the black hat depends on whether we abstain from abusing it.
The black hat thinking considers many variables the idea has to fit: values and ethics, policies and strategies. It takes into consideration the resources available. The black hat determines whether the suggestion is safe and establishes potential weaknesses to overcome. This hat should never turn into an argument because it contradicts all values of the Six Hats method. It shouldn’t be the only mode of thinking. Hats of other colors have to precede and follow it.
Did you know? A researcher from a top IBM laboratory told Edward de Bono that the Six Hats method had reduced meeting times to one-quarter of what they had been.