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Creative thinking is not a talent, it is a skill that can be learned. It empowers people by adding strength to their natural abilities which improves teamwork, productivity and, where appropriate, profits.

Edward de Bono

This new meta-system is very much in favor of the self, but a self that is based on a proper sense of dignity, not on an inflated ego. A person who dare not admit he is wrong inflates his ego but weakens his self.
EDWARD DE BONO

Dignity Himself Proper System Weakness Wrong
A memory is what is left when something happens and does not completely unhappen.
EDWARD DE BONO

Complete Memories
A good listener is very nearly as attractive as a good talker. You cannot have a beautiful mind if you do not know how to listen.
EDWARD DE BONO

Attraction Beautiful Goodness Listening Love Yourself
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
The quality of our thinking will determine the quality of our future.
EDWARD DE BONO

Determination Future Ourselves Quality Thinking
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
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
Complexity creates confusion, simplicity focus.
EDWARD DE BONO

Complex Creation Creativity Focus Simplicity
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
Sometimes the situation is only a problem because it is looked at in a certain way. Looked at in another way, the right course of action may be so obvious that the problem no longer exists.
EDWARD DE BONO

Action Problem Situation Time Way
A good design is not a democratic consensus.
EDWARD DE BONO

Democracy Goodness One Liner
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
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
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
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
I’m tired of dreaming. I’m into doing at the moment. It’s, like, let’s only have goals that we can go after.
EDWARD DE BONO

Dreams Goal Moments
It is historical continuity that maintains most assumptions, not repeated assessment of their validity.
EDWARD DE BONO

Assume History Maintain Repeat Valid
People should realize we’re jerks just like them.
EDWARD DE BONO

People Realize
To me, a faith in Jesus Christ that is not aligned with the poor it’s nothing.
EDWARD DE BONO

Faith God Poor
The effective thinker treats arrogance as the major sin of thinking.
EDWARD DE BONO

Arrogant Effect Sin Thinking Treat
Our existing thinking habits are excellent, just as the rear wheels of a motor car are excellent, but not enough.
EDWARD DE BONO

Enough Excellence Existence Habit Thinking
I think school is a place where thinking should be taught.
EDWARD DE BONO

Education School Teaching Thinking
To develop thinking as a skill, it should be deliberate, focused, confident, and enjoyable.
EDWARD DE BONO

Confidence Development Enjoyment Skills
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
Mock the devil, and he will flee from thee.
EDWARD DE BONO

Devil Run
It’s not enough to rage against the lie.. you’ve got to replace it with the truth.
EDWARD DE BONO

Enough Lying Replacement Truth
The need to be right all the time is the biggest bar to new ideas.
EDWARD DE BONO

Ideas Need Right Time

Creative thinking is not a talent, it is a skill that can be learned. It empowers people by adding strength to their natural abilities which improves teamwork, productivity and, where appropriate, profits.

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Popular Authors

Creative thinking is not a talent, it is a skill that can be learned. It empowers people by adding strength to their natural abilities which improves teamwork, productivity and, where appropriate, profits.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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