Lateral thinking stimulates creativity and innovationthe. What do graduate employers really want to find out when they ask you competencybased and strengthsbased interview questions about your lateral thinking and problem solving. Lateral thinking definition in the cambridge english. The importance of logical thinking in the workplace. Lateral thinking is related to creative problem solving and critical thinking, all valuable skills to have, and. Lateral thinking is a manner of solving problems using an indirect and creative approach via. The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmers. Idea generation and problem solving technique in which new concepts are created by looking at things in novel ways.
In this lively, energetic guide to leadership, highly acclaimed author, trainer and presenter paul sloane shares dynamic techniques that are sure to unleash creative energy and lateral thinking. Slowing down as i approached the mariaanhill tollgate just outside pinetown, i spied an empty looking gate to the right and made a bee. Lateral thinking means taking a creative approach to a problem or challenge. With the screen up, your laptop proudly displays this web page. Well not only look at some possible solutions to the following problem, but well look at how to arrive at lateral possibilities. In brief, lateral thinking involves looking at problem from a different angle. Lateral thinking, like any skill, can be greatly enhanced with a. Lateral thinking definition and meaning collins english. A successful company has employees who are able to effectively brainstorm to think out of the. New ideas could result in a new product for example, a games console. It is possible to acquire skill in it just as it is possible to acquire skill in mathematics. Often, just realizing that this should be done is enough to find a good solution getting out of the old approachold approach. I hope that the questions above help you engage with your stakeholders and understand what their projects mean for. What stood out in that book for me is you wont find anything new if you look hard in the same direction.
Oct 06, 2019 creative thinking means looking at something in a new way. Blue sky thinking refers to brainstorming with no limits. It essentially means being able to think creatively or outside the box in order to solve a problem. Lateral thinking is solving problems by an indirect and creative approach, typically through viewing the problem in a new and unusual light. Example of lateral thinking when it matters youtube. A person uses lateral thinking to move from one known idea to new ideas. Lateral thinking is defined by oxfords lexico as solving problems with an indirect and creative approach, typically through viewing the problem in a new and unusual light. Lateral thinking is coming at a problem from a different perhaps nonstandard direction. Encouraging lateral thinking helps to uncover imaginary constraints, and helps us challenge the business objectives to ensure they are sound. Lateral thinking vertical thinking is sticking with the current approach being rigidapproach, being rigid. Lateral thinking definition in the cambridge english dictionary. Some lateral thinking examples increase brainpower. Oct 20, 2009 a common business buzzword for lateral thinking is thinking outside the you know the rest.
Lateral thinking lateral thinking is the step by step approach to creativity. This is just one example of how lateral thinking and quick iteration can produce astonishing results in a. The business benefits of lateral thinking bizthoughts. Advertising people who work in advertising use this type of thinking to persuade us to buy products. Thinking creatively enterprise gcse business revision. Lateral thinking is the ability to use your imagination to look at a problem in a fresh way and come up. Lateral thinking can be learned, practiced and used. At its most basic level, lateral thinking is like looking at something at a different angle. Lawyers and detectives do employ lateral thinking when attempting to solve crimes because the sequence of events is often not as straightforward it first appears to be.
Often, creativity in this sense involves what is called lateral thinking, or the ability to perceive patterns that are not obvious. In that time, for apple, developing the interface required lateral thinking. Unlocking the creativity and innovation in you and your team paul sloane on. Creative thinking definition, skills, and examples.
Thinking creatively creative thinking is the process by which individuals come up with new ideas or new approaches to business. Lateral thinking stimulates creativity and innovationthe triz. Ever wonder what problem solving looks like in the real world. Whereas the logical vertical thinking carries a chosen idea forward, the. Youll learn what the phrase means, explore some of the basic theory behind it, and see a few examples of lateral thinking. This is just one example of how lateral thinking and quick iteration can produce astonishing results in a relatively short amount of time. If you are still not clear, here are the 6 top classic examples of exactly how lateral thinking works. Lateral thinking is sometimes called thinking outside the box it tries to come up with new and unexpected ideas. Lateral thinking is a method of solving problems by using your imagination to help you. Lateral thinking is the mental process of generating ideas and solving problems by looking at a situation or problem from a unique perspective. Dec 09, 2010 lateral thinking a real world example. What do graduate employers really want to find out when they ask you competencybased and strengthsbased interview questions about your lateral thinking.
Oct 19, 2015 innovation and lateral thinking in business. It is the ability to think creatively or outside the box. What is lateral thinking and what is an example of it. With this approach to idea generation, ideas dont need to be grounded in reality. Lateral thinking how can lateral thinking help you. Lateral thinking helped apple succeed nagpur news times. Lateral thinking how to boost your creativity playsin. Vertical thinking is sequential, while lateral thinking involves steps that arent sequential but may still reach the same end. Lateral thinking, like any skill, can be greatly enhanced with a little practice and understanding. Businesses how lateral thinking just might save your.
Although the author stressed on the lateral thinking importance in the last chapter that is applicable in different aspects of life as he claims. A set of techniques used to stimulate creative or out of the box thinking. Scroll carefully because the solutions are presented at. Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples log in dictionary.
Solving business problems using a lateral thinking approach. A common business buzzword for lateral thinking is thinking outside the you know the rest. Lateral thinking involves coming at the problem from new directions literally, from the side. Lateral thinking is coming at a problem from a different perhaps. Without lateral thinking, companies cant innovate and create new products theyre just stuck with doing the same old thing, perhaps more efficiently than before, but they wont be able to lead the way. I hope that the questions above help you engage with your stakeholders and understand what their projects mean for them. Take a look at this list, and think about situations at work where you have used logic and facts rather than feelings to work toward a solution or set a course of action. It is easy to see from the example above that lateral thinking comes into play when solving crimes.
Innovation and lateral thinking in business enrique dans. Lateral thinking meaning in the cambridge english dictionary. The following are some examples of logical thinking in the workplace. All of these puzzles are plausible scenarios so theres no need to break the laws of physics, involve magic, or invoke the use of supernatural powers to solve them. The allure of blue sky thinking is based on the premise that ideas beget more ideas. Quite by chance, i read the leaders guide to lateral thinking by paul sloane over the weekend. Lateral thinking can turn your organization around and make you a better leader. Students at brown university and the rhode island school of design had the opportunity to explore this principle at the 2012 better world by design conference.
Feb 09, 2018 ever wonder what problem solving looks like in the real world. In the incredible apollo mission the nasa team showed the world an example of how. For example, if youve been involved with a student society that was struggling financially, a logical solution to the problem might be to seek to cut costs. Lateral thinking involves breaking away from traditional modes of thinking and discarding established patterns and preconceived notions. In contentional thinking, we go forward in a predictable, direct fashion. Here are some examples of lateral thinking career choices. Lateral thinking definition of lateral thinking by. Well, here are some crazy examples of people who broke all the rules. Vertical thinking is sticking with the current approach being rigid approach, being rigid. Lateral thinking does for your mind what electricity does for a light bulb. Lateral thinking definition is a method for solving problems by making unusual or unexpected connections between ideas. Lateral thinking how to boost your creativity vertical and lateral thinking. Problem solving deals with finding out what caused the problem and then figuring out ways to fix the problem. Here are some examples of lateral thinking puzzles based on a realistic scenario.
Applying lateral thinking techniques is a deliberate strategy to interrupt normal, linear thought patterns, to facilitate the transition between patterns, and to widen the range of possibilities. It is the very definition of thinking outside the box. When we solve problems, when we ideate new concepts or when we generate new ideas, we generally choose between two different approaches. Critical thinking is primarily concerned with judging the true value of statements and seeking errors whereas lateral thinking focuses more on the movement value of statements and ideas. Everyday he gets the elevator down to the ground floor to leave the. Lateral thinking involves approaching the problem from new directions literally from the side. Many years ago in a small indian village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender. The objective is to get the situation to where it should be. Lateral thinking is the process of using information to bring about creativity and insight restructuring. The concept of lateral thinking has been around for decades and it has a very specific methodology. Three madscientist marketing methods to ignite business growth.
Rather, blue sky thinking sessions are open to all creative ideas regardless of practical constraints. I thought the examples used in it were quite powerful, since i still remember them. This lesson goes over the concept of lateral thinking. Lateral thinking how to boost your creativity playsinbusiness.
In the leaders guide to lateral thinking skills, highly acclaimed author, trainer and presenter paul sloane demonstrates how the lateral leader develops the vision, culture and processes that transform a regular business into an innovation hothouse. When something creates a problem, the performance or the status quo of the situation drops. This means you can use lateral thinking tools to solve your own or your businesss problems in a new and creative way. Lateral thinking techniques performance excellence. Having been fortunate enough to travel locally recently, i found myself in a situation where lateral thinking was demonstrated in a good way, in an everyday situation. Here i offer three effective ways that you can use lateral thinking to.
For example, when solving creepy riddles like black stories the players use lateral thinking. Examples of creative solutions lateral thinking youtube. In conventional thinking people go forward in a predictable, direct fashion. The basic approach is to flip your assumptions to bypass limiting factors. May 07, 2011 edit lateral thinking and problem solvingproblem solving. Lateral thinking is an essential skill to have for work. Targetjobs gives you advice on how to answer these questions and, in particular, the competency interview question give me an example of your lateral thinking. Im so fascinated about the idea of lateral thinking, but the book was written so theoretically, and it lacks of reallife examples of applying the theory. Lateral thinking is the ability to use your imagination to look at a problem in a fresh way and come up with a new solution. The merchants daughter must choose one of two rocks from a bag one black and one white. Lateral thinking has to be distinguished from critical thinking. Everybody knows steve jobs, but a man named donald norman did the real job. Creative thinking means looking at something in a new way.
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