Let me start with an interesting story on unconventional or lateral thinking from the Edward de Bono book Lateral thinking.

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At the end of the story you will understand the meaning of the “lateral” for sure.

A long time ago, when a person who owed money could be thrown into jail, a merchant in London had the misfortune to owe a huge sum to a money-lender. The money-lender, who was old and ugly, fancied the merchant’s beautiful teenaged daughter. He proposed a bargain. He said he would cancel the merchant’s debt if he could have the girl instead.

Both the merchant and his daughter were horrified at the proposal. So the cunning money-lender proposed that they let Providence decide the matter. He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money-bag and then the girl would have to pick out one of the pebbles. If she chose the black pebble she would become his wife and her father’s debt would be cancelled. If she chose the white pebble she would stay with her father and the debt would still be cancelled. But if she refused to pick out a pebble her father would be thrown into jail and she would starve.

Reluctantly the merchant agreed. They were standing on a pebble-strewn path in the merchant’s garden as they talked and the money-lender stooped down to pick up the two pebbles. As he picked up the pebbles the girl, sharp-eyed with fright, noticed that he picked up two black pebbles and put them into the money bag. He then asked the girl to pick out the pebble that was to decide her fate and that of her father.

The girl put her hand into the money-bag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it she fumbled and let it fall to the path where it was immediately lost among all the others.

‘Oh, how clumsy of me,’ she said, ‘but never mind – if you look into the bag you will be able to tell which pebble I took by the colour of the one that is left.’

Since the remaining pebble is of course black, it must be assumed that she has taken the white pebble, since the money-lender dare not admit his dishonesty. In this way, by using lateral thinking, the girl changes what seems an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one. The girl is actually better off than if the money-lender had been honest and had put one black and one white pebble into the bag, for then she would have had only an even chance of being saved. As it is, she is sure of remaining with her father and at the same time having his debt cancelled.

Lateral thinking is not only concerned with problem-solving; it has to do with new ways of looking at things and new ideas of every sort. Would you like to know more? Read the Edward de Bono book Lateral Thinking and develop your own potential for thinking in this manner.

6 Hats

Edward de Bono is also the author of so-called 6 Hat Decision Making. Below in the table there is a short description of this thinking method.

The method of Six Thinking Hats is primarily used for effective decision making within the group but can be also used for making personal decisions.

Would you like to know more about Edward de Bono? Here is his book Six Thinking Hats.