Leveraging the Power of Lateral Thinking
Lateral thinking is a term coined by Edward de Bono, a
noted psychologist, physician and writer. It first
appeared in the title of his book "The Use of Lateral
Thinking", published in 1967 (and still a great read).
De Bono defines lateral thinking as methods of
thinking concerned with changing concepts and
perception. Lateral thinking focuses on reasoning that
is not immediately obvious and about ideas that may
not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step
logic. In other words, lateral thinking is a wonderful
tool for Jesters to tease out blind spots!
There are several ways of defining lateral thinking. For
instance, the idea that "one cannot dig a hole in a
different place by digging the same hole deeper".
More effort using a similar approach
will not necessarily succeed. Traditional logic
assumes certain perceptions, concepts and
boundaries. Lateral thinking is concerned not
with playing with existing assumptions but with
changing them.
To really understand the need for lateral thinking (and
the power when Jesters implement it in
organizations), it is necessary to be
aware
of five basic errors in thinking: 1. Partialism 2.
Adversary Thinking 3.
Time Scale Error 4. Initial Judgement and 5.
Arrogance
and Conceit.
Partialism: This error occurs when the thinker
observes a situation through one perspective only.
That is, the thinker examines only one or two factors
and arrives at a premature solution.
Adversary Thinking: This is a "you are wrong.
so, therefore, I should be right." type of reasoning.
Time Scale Error: This is a kind of partialism
in thinking in which the thinker sees the situation from
a limited time-frame. It can be likened to short-
sightedness.
Initial Judgement: Here, the thinker becomes
very subjective. Instead of considering the situation or
issue objectively, the thinker approaches it with
prejudice or bias.
Arrogance and Conceit: This error is
sometimes called the "Village Venus Effect" because
like the villagers who think that the most beautiful girl
in the world is the most beautiful girl in their
village, the thinker believes that there is no better
solution other than that he has already found.
Organizations are full of people making the above
errors in judgement because they have blind spots in
their logical thinking processes (how many of these
errors do you see being made around you in your
organization?) Jesters, through lateral thinking, bring
completely different processes to bear that
create new perspectives, ideas and solutions. Next
month we will continue to chat about lateral thinking,
focusing on the ways you can improve your ability to
develop and leverage it!
Want a chance to flex your lateral thinking skills? Try
to figure out the solution to the following classic
anecdote:
A merchant who owes money to a money lender
agrees to settle the debt based upon the choice of two
stones (one black, one white) from a money bag. If his
daughter chooses the white stone, the debt is
canceled; if she picks the black stone, the
moneylender gets the merchant's daughter in
marriage. However, the moneylender
"fixes" the outcome by putting two black
stones in the bag before the selection. The daughter
learns of this. What does she do?
When you think you know the answer, click here.
