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
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.

But did you

consider?
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.

But did you

consider?
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?

But did you

consider?
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

deep?

we rather have 5 holes each 5 feet

 The

But did you

consider?

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

The Six Thinking Hats

Six

Thinking Hats' is an
important and powerful
technique.

It

is used to look at decisions

from a number of important
perspectives.

The Six Thinking Hats

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.

The Six Thinking Hats

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.

The Six Thinking Hats

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.

The Six Thinking Hats

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.

The Six Thinking Hats

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.

The Six Thinking Hats

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.

The Six Thinking Hats

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.

The Six Thinking Hats

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.

The Six Thinking Hats

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.

The Six Thinking Hats

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.

The Six Thinking Hats

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.