THINKING

 AWARENESS
 ALTERNATIVES
 PROVOCATIVE
 METAPHORICAL THINKING
 ANALOGY
 THE DISCONTINUITY
PRINCIPLES
 SIX THINKING HATS
MS. NORWANI MOHD NAZARI
LATERAL THINKING

De Bono identifies four critical factors associated

with lateral thinking:

recognizing the dominant ideas that polarise

perception of a problem
searching for different ways of looking at things
relaxation of rigid control of thinking
use of chance to encourage other ideas.
 Lateral and vertical thinking
Differences between lateral and vertical thinking:

Vertical thinking Lateral thinking

Selective Generative
Analytical Provocative
Sequential Can make jumps
One has to be correct at every One does not have to be
step
Categories, classifications and They are not
labels are fixed
Follows the most likely paths Explores the least likely
Finite process Probabilistic one
 AWARENESS
 Dominant idea - how is the problem being viewed?
There may be other ways.

 Tethering factors - unjustified assumptions. Eg;

workers will not strike if management is heavy handed.

 Polarising tendencies - TWO viewpoints can polarise

the situation in to an EITHER / OR situation, reducing
possible solutions.

 Boundaries - problem boundaries limit the amount of

room available to solve a problem, They need to be
ignored if solutions other than variations on old ideas
are to be found. EIB10703 : CREATIVE PROBLEM
SOLVING
 Assumptions - they should be recognised, even
if their validity cannot be assessed. Through
recognition of assumptions new insights may be
obtained.
2 techniques :
i. Assumption Smashing
ii. Challenging Assumption
iii. Assumption Reversal

EIB10703 : CREATIVE PROBLEM

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 ALTERNATIVES
 Avoidance devices
 Rotation of attention
 Change of entry point
 Quota of alternatives
 Concept changing and challenging
 Key word omission
 Fractionation and bridging devices

EIB10703 : CREATIVE PROBLEM

SOLVING
 PROVOCATIVE
 Random stimulus – Sample any rich set of
random stimuli to seek a relationship between
the object and the problem under consideration.
‘Absenteeism and a butterfly’ example.

 Intermediate impossible – Use an ideal but

impossible solution to a problem and adapt it
into a viable option. ‘shoplifting problem’.

 Reversal - turn the direction of the problem

around - instead of "how to make the factory
safer for workers" it could be "how to make
workers more safe for the factory".
EIB10703 : CREATIVE PROBLEM
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 PROVOCATIVE
 Distortion and exaggeration - take a situation to an
extreme. In quality control, where production
rejects are high, view everything produced as a
reject. Could lead to thinking of redesigning the
production line.

 Exposure - consider things unrelated to a problem.

A plastic duck could be related to organisational
problems - those above the surface and those
below it.

EIB10703 : CREATIVE PROBLEM

SOLVING
 PROVOCATIVE
 Cross fertilisation - ask experts in other areas how
they might solve the problem using their own
methods.

 Problem switching - move from one problem to

another and then back again.

 Po – one should not reject or accept an

intermediated idea which is unacceptable , but that
judgement should be suspended for the time
being.
EIB10703 : CREATIVE PROBLEM
SOLVING
 METAPHORICAL
THINKING
 Thinking technique that connecting two different
universes of meaning.
 Example:
Problem: “How might employees be
encouraged to work more effectively to increase
productivity?”
Metaphor: Human body.
Interpretation: Organization made up of different
department

EIB10703 : CREATIVE PROBLEM

SOLVING
 ANALOGY
 Statement of similarity between two different
things. A comparison between two things, typically for
the purpose of explanation or clarification.

 Escape from mental stuckness.

 Forced Analogy – Useful method of generating

ideas. Compare the problem with something else.

EIB10703 : CREATIVE PROBLEM

SOLVING
 THE DISCONTINUITY
PRINCIPLES
 Disrupt thought patterns to create the greatest
stimulus to your thinking.
 Examples of programming interruptions:
i. Changing working hours
ii. Listening to different radio station
iii.Try new menu
iv.Work a different way

EIB10703 : CREATIVE PROBLEM

SOLVING
 SIX THINKING
 A way to try onHATS
different viewpoints. Useful as a
planning activities.

EIB10703 : CREATIVE PROBLEM

SOLVING
 SIX
THINKING
HATS

EIB10703 : CREATIVE PROBLEM

SOLVING