Lateral Thinking

Lateral Thinking
Thinking that is Outside the Box!
Can You Solve this Puzzle?
Lateral Thinking
Lateral thinking is a term coined by

Edward de Bono, a Maltese psychologist, physician, and writer
de Bono defines Lateral Thinking as methods of thinking concerned with changing concepts and perception.
Lateral Thinking Example

It took two hours for two men to dig a hole five feet deep. How deep would it have been if ten men had dug the hole for two hours?
The answer appears to be 25 feet deep
But did you consider?
A hole may need to be of a certain size or shape so digging might stop early at a required depth. The deeper a hole is, the more effort is required to dig it, since waste soil needs to be lifted higher to the ground level. There is a limit to how deep a hole can be dug by manpower without use of ladders or hoists for soil removal, and 25 feet is beyond this limit.
Deeper soil layers may be harder to dig out, or we may hit bedrock or the water table. Are we digging in soil? Clay? Sand? Each presents its own special considerations. Digging in a forest becomes much easier once we have cut through the first several feet of roots. Each man digging needs space to use a shovel.
It is possible that with more people working on a project, each person may become less efficient due to increased opportunity for distraction, the assumption he can slack off, more people to talk to, etc. More men could work in shifts to dig faster for longer. There are more men but are there more shovels?
The two hours dug by ten men may be under different weather conditions than the two hours dug by two men. Rain could flood the hole to prevent digging. Temperature conditions may freeze the men before they finish. Would we rather have 5 holes each 5 feet deep?
The two men may be an engineering crew with digging machinery. What if one man in each group is a manager who will not actually dig? The extra eight men might not be strong enough to dig, or much stronger than the first two.
What is Lateral Thinking?
Lateral thinking is about reasoning that is not immediately obvious Ideas may not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic. Techniques that apply lateral thinking to problems are characterized by the shifting of thinking patterns away from entrenched or predictable thinking to new or unexpected ideas.
What is Lateral Thinking?
A new idea that is the result of lateral thinking is not always a helpful one When a good idea is discovered in this way it is usually obvious in hindsight
The Six Thinking Hats

A Lateral Thinking Strategy by Edward De Bono
Six Thinking Hats' is an important and powerful technique. It is used to look at decisions from a number of important perspectives.
This forces you to move outside your habitual thinking style, and helps you to get a more rounded view of a situation. It has the benefit of blocking the confrontations that happen when people with different thinking styles discuss the same problem. Each 'Thinking Hat' is a different style of thinking.
Many successful people think from a very rational, positive viewpoint. This is part of the reason that they are successful. Often, though, they may fail to look at a problem from an emotional, intuitive, creative or negative viewpoint. This can mean that they underestimate resistance to plans, fail to make creative leaps and do not make essential contingency plans.
Similarly, pessimists may be excessively defensive, and more emotional people may fail to look at decisions calmly and rationally. If you look at a problem with the 'Six Thinking Hats' technique, then you will solve it using all approaches.
Your decisions and plans will mix ambition, skill in execution, public sensitivity, creativity and good contingency planning.

White Hat
With this thinking hat you focus on the data available. Look at the information you have, and see what you can learn from it. Look for gaps in your knowledge, and either try to fill them or take account of them. This is where you analyze past trends, and try to extrapolate from historical data.

Red Hat
'Wearing' the red hat, you look at problems using intuition, gut reaction, and emotion. Also try to think how other people will react emotionally.
Try to understand the responses of people who do not fully know your reasoning.

Black Hat
Using black hat thinking, look at all the bad points of the decision. Look at it cautiously and defensively. Try to see why it might not work. This is important because it highlights the weak points in a plan. It allows you to eliminate them, alter them, or prepare contingency plans to counter them.

Black Hat
Black Hat thinking helps to make your plans 'tougher' and more resilient. It can also help you to spot fatal flaws and risks before you embark on a course of action.
Black Hat thinking is one of the real benefits of this technique.

Black Hat
Many successful people get so used to thinking positively that often they cannot see problems in advance. This leaves them under-prepared for difficulties.

Yellow Hat

The yellow hat helps you to think positively.
It is the optimistic viewpoint that helps you to see all the benefits of the decision and the value in it.
Yellow Hat thinking helps you to keep going when everything looks gloomy and difficult.

Green Hat

The Green Hat stands for creativity.
This is where you can develop creative solutions to a problem.

It is a freewheeling way of thinking, in which there is little criticism of ideas.

Blue Hat

The Blue Hat stands for process control.
This is the hat worn by people chairing meetings.

When running into difficulties because ideas are running dry, they may direct activity into Green Hat thinking. When contingency plans are needed, they will ask for Black Hat thinking, etc.

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Lateral Thinking

Thinking that is Outside the Box!

Can You Solve this Puzzle?

Can You Solve this Puzzle?

Can You Solve this Puzzle?

Can You Solve this Puzzle?

Lateral thinking is a term coined by

Lateral Thinking Example

But did you consider?

But did you consider?

But did you consider?

But did you consider?

But did you consider?

What is Lateral Thinking?

What is Lateral Thinking?

The Six Thinking Hats

The Six Thinking Hats

The Six Thinking Hats

The Six Thinking Hats

The Six Thinking Hats

The Six Thinking Hats

The Six Thinking Hats

The Six Thinking Hats

The Six Thinking Hats

Black Hat thinking is one of the real benefits of this technique.

The Six Thinking Hats

The Six Thinking Hats

The yellow hat helps you to think positively.

The Six Thinking Hats

The Green Hat stands for creativity.

This is where you can develop creative solutions to a problem.

The Six Thinking Hats

The Blue Hat stands for process control.

This is the hat worn by people chairing meetings.

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