Gift of randomness

‘The simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity.’ (Edward De Bono)

Edward de Bono, the originator of lateral thinking, was convinced that creative thinking is a skill that can be learned. He introduced pioneering techniques to enable people to do just that. One of my favourites involves posing a challenge (e.g. how to achieve high levels of engagement in a team meeting), then selecting – or inviting someone else in a group to choose – a completely random object. This could be, for example, a biro pen.

De Bono then invites the thinkers to pay no attention to the challenge itself and, instead, to describe anything they notice, feel or associate with the pen: ‘It has a tip – a point’. ‘The tip is sometimes outside and sometimes hidden inside.’ ‘It’s full of ink.’ ‘The ink is blue.’ ‘Blue reminds me of cold.’ ‘The cylinder holds the cartridge.’ ‘The biro is a means to an end.’ ‘It’s used for writing.’ ‘It can also be used for drawing.’ ‘The pen needs to be held.’

De Bono then invites the group to draw on those observations as a stimulus for thinking about the original challenge: ‘How clear and agreed are we on our point, our purpose?’ ‘Which (or whose) ideas are expressed in our meetings and which (or whose) are we missing?’ ‘Who feels involved and who feels left out in the cold?’ ‘What are the outcomes we’re working towards?’ ‘What other benefits could we aim for?’ ‘Who holds us to account?’

When have you used lateral thinking? How did you do it? What did it help achieve?