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We need both information and thinking. Information is no substitute for thinking and thinking is no substitute for information.

Edward de Bono

Companies that solely focus on competition will ultimately die. Those that focus on value creation will thrive.
EDWARD DE BONO

Company Competition Death Focus Thrive Ultimate
Intelligence is something we are born with. Thinking is a skill that must be learned.
EDWARD DE BONO

Born Intelligence Learning Skill Thinking
We still seek to solve conflicts with ‘judgement’ instead of designing the way forwards.
EDWARD DE BONO

Design Judgement Seek
Complexity means distracted effort. Simplicity means focused effort.
EDWARD DE BONO

Complex Distraction Effort Simplicity
Complexity creates confusion, simplicity focus.
EDWARD DE BONO

Complex Creation Creativity Focus Simplicity
You can analyse the past, but you need to design the future. That is the difference between suffering the future and enjoying it.
EDWARD DE BONO

Design Difference Enjoyment Future Need Past Suffering Yourself
A memory is what is left when something happens and does not completely unhappen.
EDWARD DE BONO

Complete Memories
Don’t criticise a hypothesis, come up with a better one.
EDWARD DE BONO

Better Criticism Oneself
Lateral thinking is the process of using information to bring about creativity and insight restructuring. Lateral thinking can be learned, practised and used. It is possible to acquire skill in it just as it is possible to acquire skill in mathematics.
EDWARD DE BONO

Creativity Information Mathematics Process Thinking
Western traditions of education have emphasized knowledge analysis, description and debate. They all have a part to play, but today there is a whole vast aspect of doing that has just been left out. Operacy is what keeps society going.
EDWARD DE BONO

Analysis Debate Description Education Society Tradition
Traditional thinking is all about “what is” Future thinking will also need to be about what can be.
EDWARD DE BONO

Future Thinking Traditional Willing
The winner is the chef who takes the same ingredients as everyone else and produces the best results.
EDWARD DE BONO

Best Chef Ingredient Result Win
Possibilities play a much bigger role in thinking than most people believe. Without possibilities you cannot make progress.
EDWARD DE BONO

Play Possible Progress Thinking
Creativity gives the possibility of some sort of achievement to everyone.
EDWARD DE BONO

Achievement Creativity Possible
The awful thing is that you can never be aware of what you are not aware of.
EDWARD DE BONO

Aware Awful Yourself
Creativity and lateral thinking have exactly the same basis as humour.
EDWARD DE BONO

Basis Creativity Thinking

We need both information and thinking. Information is no substitute for thinking and thinking is no substitute for information.

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We need both information and thinking. Information is no substitute for thinking and thinking is no substitute for information.

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Popular Authors

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