Lateral Thinking
Lateral thinking is a deliberate method of using information to restructure patterns and generate new ideas, complementing traditional logical thinking by using provocation and challenging accepted concepts.
THE IDEA
Lateral Thinking
The emphasis in education has always been on logical sequential thinking which is by tradition the only proper use of information. Creativity is vaguely encouraged as some mysterious talent. De Bono calls the complementary approach lateral thinking. Lateral thinking is not a substitute for the traditional logical thinking but a necessary complement. Logical thinking is quite incomplete without lateral thinking.
Lateral thinking makes quite a different use of information from logical (vertical) thinking. With vertical thinking one uses information for its own sake in order to move forward to a solution. With lateral thinking one uses information not for its own sake but provocatively in order to bring about repatterning. For instance the need to be right at every step is absolutely essential to logical thinking but quite unnecessary in lateral thinking. It may sometimes be necessary to be wrong in order to dislocate a pattern sufficiently for it to reform in a new way. With logical thinking one makes immediate judgements, with lateral thinking one may delay judgements in order to allow information to interact and generate new ideas.
The twin aspects of lateral thinking are first the provocative use of information and second the challenge to accepted concepts. Underlying both these aspects is the main purpose of lateral thinking which provides a means to restructure patterns. This restructuring of patterns is necessary to make better use of information that is already available. It is an insight restructuring.
The mind is a pattern making system. The mind creates patterns out of the environment and then recognizes and uses such patterns. This is the basis of its effectiveness. Because the sequence of arrival of information determines how it is to be arranged into a pattern such patterns are always less than the best possible arrangement of information. In order to bring such patterns up to date and so make better use of the contained information one needs a mechanism for insight restructuring. This can never be provided by logical thinking which works to relate accepted concepts not to restructure them. Lateral thinking is demanded by the behaviour of this type of information processing system in order to bring about insight restructuring. The provocative function of lateral thinking and the challenging function are both directed towards this end. In both cases information is used in a manner that goes beyond reason for lateral thinking works outside of reason. Yet the need for lateral thinking is based quite logically on the deficiencies of a self-maximizing memory system which is the type of system that makes the mind capable of humour.
Lateral thinking works at an earlier stage than vertical thinking. Lateral thinking is used to restructure the perceptual pattern which is the way a situation is looked at. Vertical thinking then accepts that perceptual pattern and develops it. Lateral thinking is generative, vertical thinking is selective. Effectiveness is the aim of both.
In ordinary traditional thinking we have developed no methods for going beyond the adequate. As soon as something is satisfactory our thinking must stop. And yet there may be many better arrangements of information beyond the merely adequate. Once one has reached an adequate answer then it is difficult to proceed by logical thinking because the rejection mechanism which is the basis of logical thinking can no longer function well. With lateral thinking one can easily proceed beyond the adequate by insight restructuring.
Lateral thinking is especially useful in problem solving and in the generation of new ideas. But it is not confined to these situations for it is an essential part of all thinking. Without a method for changing concepts and bringing them up to date one is liable to be trapped by concepts which are more harmful than useful. Moreover rigid concept patterns can actually create a great number of problems. Such problems are particularly fierce, since they cannot be altered by available evidence but only by insight restructuring.
The need to change ideas is becoming more and more obvious as technology speeds up the rate of communication and progress. We have never developed very satisfactory methods for changing ideas but have always relied on conflict. Lateral thinking is directed towards bringing about changes in ideas through insight restructuring.
Lateral thinking is directly concerned with insight and with creativity. But whereas both these processes are usually only recognized after they have happened lateral thinking is a deliberate way of using information in order to bring them about. Some people may be better at lateral thinking just as some people may be better at mathematics but this does not mean that there is not a process which can be learned and used. It can be shown that lateral thinking can make people generate more ideas and by definition gifts cannot be taught. There is nothing mysterious about lateral thinking. It is a way of handling information.
In practice lateral thinking and vertical thinking are so complementary that they are mixed together. Nevertheless it is best to treat them as distinct in order to understand the basic nature of lateral thinking and acquire skill in its use. The differences between lateral and vertical thinking are very fundamental. The processes are quite distinct. It is not a matter of one process being more effective than the other for both are necessary. It is a matter of realizing the differences in order to be able to use both effectively. This also prevents confusion because the principles governing the use of information in lateral thinking are quite different from the ones used in vertical thinking.
It may seem artificial to separate lateral thinking and try to teach it on its own when it is so much a part of thinking. There is a reason for doing this. Many of the processes of lateral thinking are quite contradictory to the other processes of thinking (it is their function to be so). Unless a clear distinction is made there is the danger of giving the impression that lateral thinking undermines what is being taught elsewhere by introducing doubt. It is by keeping lateral thinking distinct from vertical thinking that one can avoid this danger and come to appreciate the value of both. Lateral thinking is not an attack on vertical thinking, but a method of making it more effective by adding creativity.
The other danger which arises from failure to keep lateral thinking separate is the vague feeling that one is teaching it anyway in the course of teaching other things and therefore there is no need to do anything special about it. In practice such an attitude is quite wrong. Everyone naturally feels that they themselves use lateral thinking and that they always encourage it in their students. It is very easy to have this feeling but the fundamental nature of lateral thinking is so different from that of vertical thinking that it is impossible to teach both at the same time. It is not enough to introduce a mild flavour of lateral thinking. One wants to develop enough skill in it for it to be used effectively, not just acknowledged as a possibility.
It is difficult to acquire any sort of skill in lateral thinking simply by reading about it. In order to develop such skill one must practise and go on practising, using structured exercises rather than relying on reading alone. Nor are exhortation and goodwill enough. There are specific techniques for the application of lateral thinking. The purpose of such techniques is twofold. They can be used for their own sake but more importantly they can be used to develop the lateral habit of mind.
In order to use lateral thinking effectively one needs a practical language tool. Such a tool is necessary to allow one to use information in the special way required by lateral thinking and also to indicate to others what is being done. This tool is PO. PO is an insight tool. PO is the laxative of language. It acts to relax the rigidity of the tight patterns so easily formed by mind, and to provoke new patterns.
Lateral thinking is not concerned with generating doubt for the sake of doubt or chaos for the sake of chaos. Lateral thinking acknowledges the extreme usefulness of order and of pattern. But it emphasizes the need for changing these to bring them up to date and make them even more useful. Lateral thinking particularly emphasizes the dangers of rigid patterns which the mind is so apt to construct because of the way it handles information.
When to use it
Innovation workshops in companies seeking to develop new products or services.
Creative writing sessions to overcome writer's block by forcing unusual connections.
Strategic planning when traditional linear approaches have failed to produce progress.
Educational settings to teach students how to approach problems from multiple perspectives.
In a strategy meeting, reverse an assumption about the business and explore what would follow before evaluating the result.
In education, dedicate separate lessons to lateral thinking exercises (e.g., random word association) to cultivate creativity without undermining logical reasoning skills.
When designing a new product, deliberately challenge core assumptions (e.g., 'what if the product had no screen?') to force lateral moves.
In personal problem-solving, set a timer for 10 minutes to list only illogical or impractical solutions before evaluating any.
Using a random stimulus to generate ideas when a brainstorming group keeps returning to the same suggestions.
Using sequential analysis to evaluate ideas after a period of lateral exploration in a research project.
Developing a marketing campaign using both provocative concepts and logical execution
Solving a technical problem by first thinking laterally to consider unconventional approaches
Giving a product team a separate period for generating alternatives before it ranks them.
Recasting a stalled project in terms of the result needed rather than the method already chosen.
Asking students to compare different representations of an open-ended problem.
Generating alternative strategies in strategic planning or risk management.
Proposing the opposite of a familiar product feature and looking for a useful idea within the provocation.
Resolving a team conflict by using PO to challenge entrenched positions.
Re-evaluating a long-standing business process to find more efficient methods.
Designing a creative marketing campaign by reframing the target audience's needs.
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
Brainstorming New Product Features
A team uses lateral thinking techniques such as random word association to generate unconventional product ideas, moving beyond incremental improvements.
Solving a Traffic Congestion Problem
A city facing traffic congestion challenges the assumption that more road capacity is the only response. It considers staggered work hours, remote work, and pricing changes, then analyzes which options fit local conditions.
Brainstorming session
When a team faces a stubborn problem, they deliberately set aside logical analysis and generate wild, unrelated ideas. A crazy idea like 'sell the product for free' might later spark a viable freemium model. This exemplifies lateral thinking's role in breaking fixed patterns.
Alternative uses for a brick
A classic creativity exercise: listing unconventional uses for a common object (e.g., doorstop, paperweight, weapon, bookmark). The process deliberately avoids the brick's intended use, encouraging lateral jumps.
Product Innovation
Using lateral thinking, a team might ask 'What if our product could talk?' to generate ideas for voice-enabled features, then use vertical thinking to evaluate feasibility.
Logical Problem Solving
In a manufacturing process, vertical thinking is used to identify the root cause by following a sequential chain of cause and effect.
Business Innovation
A company struggling to develop new product features applies lateral thinking by reframing the problem: instead of asking 'How can we improve our product?', they ask 'What would make our product completely obsolete?' The question may reveal alternatives that incremental feature requests miss.
Education Practice
In a classroom, a teacher asks students to solve a math problem using unconventional methods, such as drawing a picture or acting out the scenario, to stimulate lateral thinking and uncover new approaches.
Overcoming a Fixed Pattern in Problem Solving
A team is stuck on a problem of declining sales. Using lateral thinking, they deliberately generate provocative statements like 'We should double our prices and reduce advertising.' The provocation raises a possibility worth testing: could the product serve a premium market? It is a way to generate an option, not evidence that the option will work.
Using PO in a Brainstorming Session
During a brainstorming session, team members use the prefix 'PO' to introduce ideas that might seem outlandish. For example, 'PO, we eliminate customer service entirely.' The provocation can lead the group to ask which support needs could be prevented or handled through self-service. Any resulting proposal still needs evaluation.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
How can you deliberately disrupt your usual thought patterns to generate novel solutions to a current challenge?
What assumptions are you making in your current problem-solving approach that lateral thinking might help you break?
Choose a random word. What associations could it introduce into a problem you are working on?
What would you try if you temporarily set aside the first solution that seemed adequate?
How would you explain PO to a group before asking them to suspend judgment?
Why does the author argue that lateral thinking must be kept distinct from vertical thinking? Can you think of a case where mixing them caused confusion?
What signal would help a group move from generating ideas to evaluating them?
What apparently fixed feature of your project could you reverse as a provocation?
In what situations have you relied too much on one type of thinking?
How would the question change if you described the desired result without naming the current solution?
Which exercise could you repeat regularly, and how would you tell whether it helped you generate different options?
Recall a time when lateral thinking led to a creative breakthrough. What conditions made it possible?
Take an implausible idea seriously for a moment. Is there a useful feature you could extract without adopting the whole idea?
What evidence would help you evaluate an idea once the period of delayed judgment ends?
What role does delaying judgment play in generating new ideas?
Often confused with
References
- The Mechanism of Mind — Edward de Bono (1969)
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- Lateral Thinking A Textbook of Creativity (Edward de Bono)
- Lateral Thinking A Textbook of Creativity (Edward de Bono)
- Lateral Thinking A Textbook of Creativity (Edward de Bono)
- Lateral Thinking A Textbook of Creativity (Edward de Bono)
- Lateral Thinking A Textbook of Creativity (Edward de Bono)