Creative Thinking: Edward de Bono

I met Edward de Bono when I was around 25. I loved his work on lateral thinking and in particular the 6 Thinking Hats. What he brought to the world was an approach which says we can look at things in another way, we can go through a process to find our creativity. Here is an outline about him and in the next blog an overview of The 6 Thinking Hats.

Edward de Bono is without a doubt the world’s most famous creative thinking consultant. De Bono has been teaching people of all ages how to think in more interesting, innovative and creative ways for nearly five decades. With over 62 books to his name, De Bono is in constant demand the world over, advising governments and organisations in his role of creativity teacher and creativity consultant. While he has initiated many great concepts and tools within the field of creativity and thinking, the concept with which De Bono is most closely associated with is lateral thinking.

Lateral thinking is a term that Edward de Bono coined in 1967 to describe the process of breaking out of the habitual patterns of linear thought. Lateral thinking encourages you to change the direction of thinking, to look at things in totally different way or to reinterpret what you are looking at in fresh, original or humorous ways.

Another style of thinking invented or identified by Edward de Bono is parallel thinking, which he contrasts with traditional adversorial thinking styles where two factions argue over opposing ideas. Parallel thinking yokes opposites viewpoints and gets them to think in tandem towards a common aim, noting down the parallel track of thinking and any opposing views that may be expressed, but proceeding towards the common aim and using the dialogue and thinking process to design a mutually acceptable result.

Lateral Thinking by Edward de Bono was the first book on creative thinking that I ever read. It had a profound effect on my thinking — leading to many more creative leaps and much more “surprise” thinking. I heartily recommend you pick up a copy. To be honest, the number and diversity of De Bono’s books can be a bit overwhelming, and he can give the impression of being a bit dry and nerdy. But I think if you get, and persevere with, Lateral Thinking and The Six Thinking Hats you will give yourself sufficient tools to ‘kick-butt’ creatively.
The Six Thinking Hats method is a creative thinking system that Edward de Bono designed as a practical user-friendly way of thinking creatively and effectively. This results-orientated method is in use in businesses and schools with world over, and Edward de Bono and his trainers are constantly teaching the Six Hats Method to people and organisations eager to make the most of their creative potential.

Edward de Bono’s website: http://www.edwdebono.com/