Lateral thinking, is the ability to think creatively, or "outside the box" as it is sometimes referred to in business, to use your inspiration and imagination to solve problems by looking at them from unexpected perspectives. Lateral thinking involves discarding the obvious, leaving behind traditional modes of thought, and throwing away preconceptions.
It's very important in careers such as advertising, marketing, the media and art and design where you may get questions in the selection process along the lines of "Write down one hundred ways to use a brick/paperclip", but it can also be of value in the jobhunting process itself.
Contents
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• 1 Methods
• 2 Lateral thinking and problem solving
• 3 See also
• 4 Further reading
• 5 References
[edit] Methods
Critical thinking is primarily concerned with judging the true value of statements and seeking errors. Lateral thinking is more concerned with the movement value of statements and ideas. A person would use lateral thinking when they want to move from one known idea to creating new ideas. Edward de Bono defines four types of thinking tools:
• Idea generating tools that are designed to break current thinking patterns—routine patterns, the status quo
• Focus tools that are designed to broaden where to search for new ideas
• Harvest tools that are designed to ensure more value is received from idea generating output
• Treatment tools that are designed to consider real-world constraints, resources, and support[1]
Random Entry Idea Generating Tool: Choose an object at random, or a noun from a dictionary, and associate that with the area you are