Lateral Thinking Helps Your Employees Connect The Dots

By Author: SamJacob Thomas
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Charles Darwin explained the Evolution Theory with the famous phrase ‘survival of the fittest’. While that is true for biological evolution of species, one cannot help but marvel at how apt it is when it comes to companies, as well. In the race to outdo competitors, companies are constantly thinking of innovative solutions to offer to their customers. However, creativity is not like a faucet, something which can be turned on and off at will. Then, what is the best way to equip your employees with these skills? Read on about Edward De Bono and his methods, which will help you identify that!

Who is Dr. De Bono?

‘Inventor’, ‘author’, ‘physician’ and ‘consultant’: these are a few words used to describe the renowned Dr. Edward De Bono. An international speaker, he is famous for coining the term ‘lateral thinking’. His techniques of innovation skills, creative thinking skills and six thinking hats have ...
... revolutionized problem-solving. These thinking systems are practical, powerful and easy for any individual to understand.

So what’s different?

Lateral thinking, in layman terms, means out-of-the-box thinking. Wait; don’t roll your eyes just yet! We do know that this term is over-used, but read on, it does get more interesting.

By defying conventional thinking processes, this process tries to conjure up solutions with the aid of reasoning and logic. By encouraging employees to break free from mundane problem-solving techniques, this enables them to see things from a different perspective. Subsequently, ideas are evaluated and the ones that can produce tangible results are chosen to be developed further.

What are its applications?

• To challenge the current state of affairs in order to come up with new solutions

• To think of each problem as an opportunity to innovate

• To solve problems using unconventional methods

• If a concept results in good ideas, to build on it to create more ideas

• To narrow down ideas, which can be put into action

The applications of lateral thinking are not limited only to the corporate environment. Having undergone this training, employees will be able to apply this thought process in their personal lives as well. By boosting confidence, employees will be in a better position to come up with innovative solutions to any challenge they face. Further, they will be able to think of solutions independently instead of relying on predefined norms.

As Calvin famously said, “From now onwards, I’ll connect the dots in my own way”.