Thinking outside the box, lateral thinkers, two terms you have surely heard or will hear soon. But what do we mean by this? Why think outside the box? What can it do for you?
The birth of a concept
The concept of lateral thinking was democratized in the 1960s and theorized in 1967 by Edward de Bono in his book “The use of lateral thinking”. De Bono contrasts lateral thinking with vertical thinking. Vertical thinking is characterized as a linear continuity of steps and validation. Vertical thinking also has the unfortunate tendency to evaluate an idea on criteria that are sometimes reductive, such as price, possibility of realization, or the level of innovation.
Lateral thinking vs vertical thinking
In contrast to vertical thinking, lateral thinking aims at getting out of the ideas and preconceptions that we may have and to get off the beaten track. In other words, lateral thinking consists of thinking in an unconventional way.
What is it for?
To think outside the box. Easier said than done. But lateral thinking can be particularly useful in solving your problems. Thinking outside the box can allow you to approach your problem from a different angle and therefore find a solution you hadn’t seen before. This type of thinking can allow you to find new ways to do things, to conduct your business, to sell your products. Not to mention that it is unconventional thinking that usually leads most easily to inventions and innovations.
The tools
To break our tendency to think vertically and critically about our ideas, De Bono describes 4 techniques to help us.
- Awareness: being aware of our thinking processes and our tendency to rely on preconceived ideas helps us to detach ourselves from them.
- Random Stimulation: we need to know how to let ourselves be unfocused when we are looking for one. We tend to want to get away from all distractions so we can think, but sometimes impromptu thinking allows us to find the solution more easily than locking ourselves away for hours to think.
- Alternative: even if you have found a solution that seems to fit, don’t hesitate to consider some alternatives, this will allow you to study your problem from different angles
- Alteration: as with reverse brainstorming, the idea here is to reverse our thinking and go in the opposite direction of what we would tend to do.
Criticism
One of the main criticisms of lateral thinking is that made by Robert J. Sternberg who denounces the fact that the popularity of this method of thinking is not based on its real efficiency. Also, lateral thinking is a relatively counter-current movement to the classical thinking model. Being a lateral thinker in a “mainstream” thinking world can be complicated to bear, as humans tend to judge those who stand out quite harshly.
To use lateral thinking efficiently in your company, it is important to make this way of thinking a habit among your employees. Do you need help? Think2make offers training to help you with your ideas. To go further, we can accompany you in your creative and problem solving processes.
To know more about it
The most undervalued skill? Lateral thinking.
The Myth about Lateral Thinkers: A Know-It-All or Real-Knower?