Edward de Bono
 If you never change your mind, why have one?
Edward de Bono
An early recollection I have of Dr Edward de Bono was of his BBC TV series of programmes de Bono's Course in Thinking. I can still recall his method of presentation, as he sat alongside an overhead projector and used very simple diagrams to present his ideas. As with the Tony Buzan course, Use Your Head, there was a distinct feeling that the medium was the message. Again, as with Buzan, de Bono was encouraging a move to a novel kind of thinking. Whereas traditional thinking tends to be critical and analytical, de Bono was recommending a shift to a more constructive and creative style of thinking, which he has described as 'design thinking'.
Edward de Bono - Key Elements
Some of the key elements of de Bono's approach are as follows:
- Lateral thinking
de Bono coined the term 'lateral thinking' to describe the shift needed to take you to a different, more creative mode of thinking. In terms of digging a hole, 'vertical thinking' would represent digging more deeply in the same place and staying within the same perceptual framework. By contrast, lateral thinking represents the willingness to move to a different position and a different perceptual framework and start digging a fresh hole.
- Lateral thinking techniques
de Bono has devised a number of techniques to facilitate lateral thinking and creativity. One of these is termed 'provocation', and here you aim to stimulate fresh thinking by throwing in a crazy idea, i.e. the provocation, such as 'bicycles have no handlebars'. You then explore the implications of your provocation. Random words taken from a dictionary can also be used as provocations.
- Six Thinking Hats
de Bono developed the Six Thinking Hats technique to help people in meetings to work constructively together, rather than to get into time-wasting arguments. The essence of the technique is that at any given time everyone is pulling in the same direction, e.g. exploring the advantages of a proposal ('yellow hat' thinking) or looking for new possibilities ('green hat' thinking).
Further Information
For further information about Edward de Bono and his ideas see:
- Edward de Bono's Authorised Website
Edward de Bono - Biography
Google's 'Edward de Bono' page
The London Speaker Bureau - Edward de Bono
Wikipedia page on Edward de Bono
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