What is Lateral Thinking?

Edward de Bono - Lateral Thinking

Creating is important but where does it come from?

• Sometimes we think that it is a natural talent, that some people are born with it
• But creating is actually a skill which everyone can learn
• It is true however that some people might have better creativity than others

Lateral Thinking

• The brain forms patterns, routines, ways of doing and looking at things.
• When you move across the tracks, hindsight, it is perfectly logical, based on the understanding of the brain as a pattern making system which makes asymmetrical patterns.

Tools that can be taught :

1. Challenge - where we challenge the existing concept/idea
2. Concept extraction - where we find a concept and find new ways out of it
3. Provocation - we set a provocation and move forward from that to a new idea
4. Random entry - where we enter a different point

These are all logically based on the behaviour of asymmetrical patterns.

*It is not a matter of sitting around and waiting for new ideas to happen, we can take steps just like math.

*Lateral Thinking can be used and applied deliberately, the more you practice, the better you get. It is not a complex matter.

*Learning lateral thinking goes way beyond traditional brainstorming which is a weak process, not wrong as it is in the right direction, but just by suspending judgement, it is not enough. We should treat the idea of creativity, the ability to produce ideas, as a formal skill, which can be learned, used and practice deliberately. It is completely different from just sitting and hopping that someone, somewhere, has an idea which is not the case, you have to sit down and really generate those ideas.