Thoughts Brewing Blog

Human Skill Development: Lateral Thinking Part II

Written by Damien Griffin | Apr 30, 2023 11:23:00 PM

Real talk - this post is mainly for me.  

I came across some more lateral thinking techniques and I want to capture them in one place.

I am sharing to save you time if you are also building this skill-set.

 

Techniques

Random Starting Points

Have a topic, idea, or problem in mind.

Find a random word (nouns are generally preferred):

  • Say a page number out loud, find the nearest book or magazine, open to that page and pick the first noun that you see
  • Open a dictionary to a random page and pick the first noun that you see
  • Use a random word-generating app
  • Look for objects around you that have nothing to do with your topic (yet…)

Use this word as a random starting point for your thinking.  Consider how your original topic could be solved using this random starting point.

This technique can help you break your normal thinking process and end up with really interesting solutions.  

Your final solution does not have to include or be about the random word.  It is just a catalyst to help you think about your topic differently.

 

“Po”

Po is a word that was created by Edward De Bono to indicate that a provocation will follow.  A provocation is an idea that is intended to cause movement in thinking.  They are used to stimulate new ideas (good or bad).

Provocations can be funny, stupid, impractical, “out there”, irrelevant, etc.  They are meant to disrupt the normal way of thinking and see what else comes up.

De Bono’s famous example of this was when he suggested that a factory be downstream of itself to minimize water pollution.  The initial response was that it didn’t make any sense.  In the end the factory took in their water downstream of where they output their water.  This greatly reduced their pollution since it affected their business operations.  It was so effective that it is still regularly practiced today.

 

Why? Why?  Why?...

Challenge EVERYTHING.  

Question EVERYTHING.

Approach your ideas, problems, challenges, and even things that are working with childlike curiosity.  

Ask “why” at least 5 times in a row.  If you aren’t able to clearly explain things then maybe there are some alternatives that might work better for you.

 

Start at the End

Plan things in reverse order.  

A lot of times this is actually easier than going from start to end.

The issue is usually lack of detail.  If you really consider exactly what you want and how you want things to be then the steps start to logically create themselves.

 

Conclusion

There are plenty of techniques available to develop your lateral thinking skills.  

Like most skills, the more you practice, the easier, faster, and more effectively you will be able to use it.

Happy thinking…