do you know the lateral thinking?
“Think outside the box”. Surely you have heard this phrase repeatedly in a company that is looking for new answers to new problems.
This is precisely the perspective that Edward de Bono specialized in, a Maltese thinker and writer who has influenced the way we generate ideas and solve problems. One of his greatest contributions is the concept of lateral thinking, a technique that focuses on finding creative and unconventional solutions to problems.
The term was first published in 1967, in his book “New thinking: The use of lateral thinking”and he himself defined it as the distancing from the mental paths traditionally followed when thinking.
Unlike critical thinking (also called “vertical thinking”), which focuses on analyzing and evaluating information to reach a conclusion, lateral thinking looks for new ways to approach any problem.
The good news is that it is a skill that can be developed and applied in different aspects of life, from everyday issues to innovation, inventions and in the workplace.
The main benefits of lateral thinking
If what you are looking for are alternatives to the usual ideas and your conceptual logic to solve challenges, lateral thinking will help you expand those frontiers.
All people have a mental model determined by our experiences, beliefs and paradigms, which arise from upbringing, education and the environment. When the time comes to find alternatives that are out of the ordinary, some people find it very complex; and this happens because they lack a mind trained and willing to be disruptive and out of the ordinary.
These techniques will expand the mental frontiers because, when practicing them:
- You will encourage your creativity and innovation;
- You will find solutions to seemingly insoluble problems;
- You will develop critical and analytical thinking in alternative ways to the conventional;
- You will improve the ability to make effective decisions,
- You will be able to imagine and analyze situations from various perspectives, even those that did not fit into your usual mental model.
The four basic elements
To think laterally, de Bono proposes four fundamental elements to develop it:
- Checking the assumptions. Similar to what we understand as “keeping an open mind”. This implies distrusting immediate responses, prejudices and previous reasoning that may arise before exposing the premises of the problem. In general, these are common places that close and encapsulate the mind, holding back creativity.
- Know how to ask the right questions. This technique encourages, instead of concentrating exclusively on the solution, it is first necessary to ask the right questions, to define what type of answer we want. This implies thinking inversely to what is usual, in a counter-intuitive way: first ask us, and then answer us.
- The entrance of creativity. Everything that implies change and possibilities based on creativity are highly positive for lateral thinking. As they incorporate elements that are not normally considered, they can serve to shed light on possible solutions, dynamics and alternatives.
- Logical thinking. Contrary to what is believed, this mental lateral vision includes deduction, logic, sequence and the ability to interpret situations. That is to say that, mentally, the two hemispheres (left, more rational; right, more ‘soft’) are intertwined to provoke solutions and triggers.
Some practical examples of lateral thinking
If someone has been trained in lateral thinking, possibly in a traditional course they have given a good space to stories and riddles, as a way of stimulating neurons and deductions.
It is not the only way to practice and understand lateral thinking. There are thousands of ideas and companies that arose as a result of applying lateral thinking.
One of them is the case of a rescue team that needed to save a person trapped in a burning building. The team tried to use a ladder to climb the building, but it was not enough, because the height did not reach. Rather than give up, one of the team members realized that the solution was right in front of them: create a fire truck with an extension ladder.
Another example is that of a company that needed to increase its sales. Instead of focusing on traditional strategies like advertising and promotions, which is what all their competitors were doing, they decided to create a unique experience for customers in their store, offering activities like workshops and tastings.
This generated greater customer loyalty and, as a result, increased sales. This is how experiential marketing started years ago, which today is considered commonplace. Although in the 70s and 80s, it was not and what existed was the traditional and purely transactional sale.
5 Ways to Apply Lateral Thinking in Your Life and Work
In case you want to start practicing it, here are a series of simple ideas that will expand your mental space and cross the usual and preconceived borders:
Break the rules
Question established rules and norms to find new solutions. For example, instead of saying “This has always been done this way here”, you can start thinking “What if, since this has always been done this way, we start reviewing it and modifying it for the current need?
Change the perspective and change your ‘hat’
Imagine that you are in the shoes of another person or even an object to find new solutions.
For this, the model of “The 6 hats to think”, another method and book by Edward de Bono, will serve you. It is a tool to promote lateral group thinking. The idea is that each hat represents a different perspective, and is used to analyze the same situation from different angles.
In a group, there will be six hats or something similar. As each person puts it into their head, they assume the role of thinking that way. After a few minutes of debate -each one from their character-, “time” is marked and they rotate hats.
The idea is that the exercise lasts several rounds, so each person changes perspectives according to the role of thought. You will see how the positions soften and really lateral solutions appear.
The six hats are:
- The white hat: represents facts and objective information.
- The black hat: represents the negative aspects and risks.
- The red hat: represents emotions and feelings.
- The yellow hat: represents the positive aspects and opportunities.
- The green hat: represents creativity and new ideas.
- The blue hat: represents critical thinking and organization.
use analogies
Find similarities between different situations to find creative solutions.
make questions
Question everything from the cause of the problem to possible solutions. The questions need to be open, that is, those that awaken the possibility of imagining alternatives. If you only ask closed-ended or rhetorical questions, you’ll only get a litany of yes and no answers.
Use the “what if…?” technique
Imagine different scenarios and how they would affect the current situation. The potential question begins to create in the mind possibilities of results that had not been contemplated before.
With this brief guide you will already be in a position to start using lateral thinking, and thus, expand the borders of your usual mental model. Because as Einstein is said to have expressed: “The mind is like a parachute: it only works if it opens.”
Daniel Colombo Facilitator and Executive Master Coach specialized in senior management, professionals and teams; mentor and professional communicator; international speaker; author of 31 books. LinkedIn Top Voice Latin America. ICF certified; Certified Coach and Member of the John Maxwell Team.