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The vertical thinker says: ‘I know what I am looking for.’ The lateral thinker says: ‘I am looking but I won’t know what I am looking for until I have found it.’

Edward de Bono

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
The simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity.
EDWARD DE BONO

Creativity Focus Powerful Process Simplicity Source
Don’t criticise a hypothesis, come up with a better one.
EDWARD DE BONO

Better Criticism Oneself
Once a new idea springs into existence, it cannot be unthought. There is a sense of immortality in a new idea.
EDWARD DE BONO

Existence Ideas Immortal Spring
The power of a car is separate from the way the car is driven.
EDWARD DE BONO

Car Drive Power Separate
Although feelings are not supposed to intrude on business discussions, they do anyway – we just disguise them as logic.
EDWARD DE BONO

Business Discussion Feeling Logic
Complexity means distracted effort. Simplicity means focused effort.
EDWARD DE BONO

Complex Distraction Effort Simplicity
Teaching thinking for just five hours to unemployed youngsters increased employment 500 percent.
EDWARD DE BONO

Employment Teaching Thinking
A discussion should be a genuine attempt to explore a subject rather than a battle between competing egos.
EDWARD DE BONO

Attempt Complete Discussion Ego Explore Genuine Subject
On trade, our hypocrisy is at its most appalling. Trade reform isn’t about charity, it’s about justice, and this campaign, Trade Justice is an unstoppable idea.
EDWARD DE BONO

Charity Hypocrisy Idea Justice Stop Trade
I do a great deal of work with young children, and if you give a child a problem, he may come up with a highly original solution, because he doesn’t have the established route to it.
EDWARD DE BONO

Children Deal Establishment Greatness Route Work Young
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
I’m a very loyal and unreliable friend.
EDWARD DE BONO

Friendship Loyalty Myself
We still seek to solve conflicts with ‘judgement’ instead of designing the way forwards.
EDWARD DE BONO

Design Judgement Seek
Dealing with complexity is an inefficient and unnecessary waste of time, attention and mental energy. There is never any justification for things being complex when they could be simple.
EDWARD DE BONO

Attention Deal Mental Energy Necessary Simplicity Time
You can analyse the past, but you have to design the future.
EDWARD DE BONO

Analysis Design Future Past Yourself

The vertical thinker says: ‘I know what I am looking for.’ The lateral thinker says: ‘I am looking but I won’t know what I am looking for until I have found it.’

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The vertical thinker says: ‘I know what I am looking for.’ The lateral thinker says: ‘I am looking but I won’t know what I am looking for until I have found it.’

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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