SundayJan 04, 2026
Quotes: 53419 Authors: 9969
Edward de Bono (born May 19, 1933) is a Maltese psychologist and physician. He writes prolifically about lateral thinking - a concept he pioneered. De Bono is also a consultant, working with such companies as Coca-Cola and Ericsson.
Traditional thinking is all about 'what is;' Future thinking will also need to be about what can be.
We may need to solve problems not by removing the cause but by designing the way forward even if the cause remains in place.
The need to be right all the time is the biggest bar to new ideas. It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong than to be always right by having no ideas at all.
Water is essential for soup but soup is more than water. Competence is essential for business but business is more than competence. What is added to water gives the 'value' of the soup. What is added to competence gives the value delivered by business. Competence is becoming a commodity, Information is becoming a commodity. State of the art technology is becoming a commodity. So what is going to differentiate businesses? How are these commodities to be designed to deliver value? That means design. That means creativity. That means new ideas. Ideas are going to become more important in business than they have ever been.
Perception is real even when it is not reality.
A memory is what is left when something happens and does not completely unhappen.
Effectiveness without values is a tool without a purpose.
Mock the devil, and he will flee from thee.
If you do not design the future, someone or something else will design it for you.
Many highly intelligent people are poor thinkers. Many people of average intelligence are skilled thinkers. The power of a car is separate from the way the car is driven.
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