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Asking a question is the simplest way of focusing thinking asking the right question may be the most important part of thinking.

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
It’s always amazed me how little attention philosophers, psychologists, or anyone else actually has paid to humor.
EDWARD DE BONO

Amazing Attention Humor Pay
Language is the biggest barrier to human progress because language is an encyclopedia of ignorance. Old perceptions are frozen into language and force us to look at the world in an old fashioned way.
EDWARD DE BONO

Fashion Human Language Progress Way
It is historical continuity that maintains most assumptions, not repeated assessment of their validity.
EDWARD DE BONO

Assume History Maintain Repeat Valid
It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.
EDWARD DE BONO

Better Enough Ideas Right Wrong
Unhappiness is best defined as the difference between our talents and our expectations.
EDWARD DE BONO

Best Definition Expectation Happiness Ourselves Talent
The concept of logical thinking is selection and this is brought about by the processes of acceptance and rejection. Rejection is the basis of logical thinking.
EDWARD DE BONO

Acceptance Concept Logic Rejection Selection Thinking
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
It is well known that “problem avoidance” is an important part of problem solving. Instead of solving the problem you go upstream and alter the system so that the problem does not occur in the first place.
EDWARD DE BONO

Avoidance Important Place Problem System
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
There’s a danger in the internet and social media. The notion that information is enough, that more and more information is enough, that you don’t have to think, you just have to get more information – gets very dangerous.
EDWARD DE BONO

Dangerous Information Social Media Thinking Yourself
We may have a perfectly adequate way of doing something, but that does not mean there cannot be a better way. So we set out to find an alternative way. This is the basis of any improvement that is not fault correction or problem solving.
EDWARD DE BONO

Better Improvement Perfection Problem Solve Way
The mind can only see what it is prepared to see.
EDWARD DE BONO

Mindset Preparation See
I know it aches, how your heart it breaks. You can only take so much. Walk on.
EDWARD DE BONO

Heart Hurt Known Myself Pain Walk
We may need to solve problems not by removing the cause but by designing the way forward even if the cause remains in place.
EDWARD DE BONO

Place Problem Remove Solve
A myth is a fixed way of looking at the world which cannot be destroyed because, looked at through the myth, all evidence supports the myth.
EDWARD DE BONO

Destroy Evidence Support Way World
Creativity makes life more fun and more interesting.
EDWARD DE BONO

Creativity Fun Interest Life
Creative thinking – in terms of idea creativity – is not a mystical talent. It is a skill that can be practised and nurtured.
EDWARD DE BONO

Creativity Ideas Nurture Practice Talent Thinking
Humor is probably the most significant characteristics of the human mind. Far more significant than reason. In fact, reason is actually a very cheap commodity.
EDWARD DE BONO

Cheap Human Humor Mindset Reason
Every valuable creative idea must always be logical in hindsight. If it were not, we would never be able to see its value.
EDWARD DE BONO

Creativity Idea Value
It has always surprised me how little attention philosophers have paid to humor, since it is a more significant process of mind than reason. Reason can only sort out perceptions, but the humor process is involved in changing them.
EDWARD DE BONO

Attention Change Humor Mindset Paid Philosophy Reason Surprise
A characteristic of intuitive solutions and new ideas is that of being obvious once they are discovered.
EDWARD DE BONO

Character Discover Ideas Intuition Solution
Most executives, many scientists, and almost all business school graduates believe that if you analyze data, this will give you new ideas. Unfortunately, this belief is totally wrong. The mind can only see what it is prepared to see.
EDWARD DE BONO

Analysis Believe Business Data Executive Ideas Mindset Perspective Science Wrong
Simplicity before understanding is simplistic; simplicity after understanding is simple.
EDWARD DE BONO

Simplicity Understand
In the art world, creativity involves aesthetic sensibility, emotional resonance and a gift for expression.
EDWARD DE BONO

Aesthetic Art Criteria Emotional Expression Reason World
In a sense, words are encyclopedias of ignorance because they freeze perceptions at one moment in history and then insist we continue to use these frozen perceptions when we should be doing better.
EDWARD DE BONO

Better Ignorance Moments Oneself Word
In the future, instead of striving to be right at a high cost, it will be more appropriate to be flexible and plural at a lower cost. If you cannot accurately predict the future then you must flexibly be prepared to deal with various possible futures.
EDWARD DE BONO

Future Possible Preparation Strive

Asking a question is the simplest way of focusing thinking asking the right question may be the most important part of thinking.

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Asking a question is the simplest way of focusing thinking asking the right question may be the most important part of thinking.

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