Top quotes by Edward de Bono

There's a danger in the internet and social media. The notion that information is enough, that more and more information is enough, that you don't have to think, you just have to get more information - gets very dangerous. Votes: 31

One very important aspect of motivation is the willingness to stop and to look at things that no one else has bothered to look at. This simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity. Votes: 26

Studies have shown that 90% of error in thinking is due to error in perception. If you can change your perception, you can change your emotion and this can lead to new ideas. Votes: 24

An expert is someone who has succeeded in making decisions and judgements simpler through knowing what to pay attention to and what to ignore. Votes: 24

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. Votes: 20

Humor is by far the most significant activity of the human brain. Votes: 18

If you never change your mind, why have one? Votes: 18

Creative thinking - in terms of idea creativity - is not a mystical talent. It is a skill that can be practised and nurtured. Votes: 16

Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way. Votes: 16

Dealing with complexity is an inefficient and unnecessary waste of time, attention and mental energy. There is never any justification for things being complex when they could be simple. Votes: 14

It has always surprised me how little attention philosophers have paid to humor, since it is a more significant process of mind than reason. Reason can only sort out perceptions, but the humor process is involved in changing them. Votes: 13

We need creativity in order to break free from the temporary structures that have been set up by a particular sequence of experience. Votes: 13

I think there is a danger with young people of being dependent in the sense that they don't acquire any identity or self-image of themselves as thinkers. Votes: 13

Teaching thinking for just five hours to unemployed youngsters increased employment 500 percent. Votes: 12

Most executives, many scientists, and almost all business school graduates believe that if you analyze data, this will give you new ideas. Unfortunately, this belief is totally wrong. The mind can only see what it is prepared to see. Votes: 11

In the future, instead of striving to be right at a high cost, it will be more appropriate to be flexible and plural at a lower cost. If you cannot accurately predict the future then you must flexibly be prepared to deal with various possible futures. Votes: 10

If you wait for opportunities to occur, you will be one of the crowd. Votes: 9

A good listener is very nearly as attractive as a good talker. You cannot have a beautiful mind if you do not know how to listen. Votes: 9

A painter may be looking at the world in a way which is very different from everyone else. If he's a craftsman, he can get other people to see the world through his eyes, and so he enlarges our vision, perception, and there's great value in that. Votes: 8

There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns. Votes: 7

Humour is by far the most significant activity of the human brain. Votes: 6

Logic will never change emotion or perception. Votes: 6

The need to be right all the time is the biggest bar to new ideas. Votes: 6

In a sense, words are encyclopedias of ignorance because they freeze perceptions at one moment in history and then insist we continue to use these frozen perceptions when we should be doing better. Votes: 5

Argument is meant to reveal the truth, not to create it. Votes: 5

What the joke displays is a switch in perception. This is important in changing the way we think. Votes: 4

Asking a question is the simplest way of focusing thinking...asking the right question may be the most important part of thinking. Votes: 3

I must say, I don't feel very qualified to be a pop star. I feel very awkward at times in the role. Votes: 3

I think school is a place where thinking should be taught. Votes: 2

In a sense, words are encyclopedias of ignorance because they freeze perceptions at one moment in history and then insist we continue to use these frozen perceptions when we should be doing better." Votes: 1

An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea. Votes: 0

Some people drift along like a cork on a river, feeling that they cannot do anything except drift, moment to moment. This is an attitude of mind. Everyone can be constructive even in tiny ways. Votes: 0

Creative thinking is not a talent, it is a skill that can be learned. It empowers people by adding strength to their natural abilities which improves teamwork, productivity and, where appropriate, profits. Votes: 0

As competition intensifies, the need for creative thinking increases. It is no longer enough to do the same thing better . . . no longer enough to be efficient and solve problems. Votes: 0

Critical thinking does seem a superior sort of thinking because it seems as though the critic is actually going beyond the scope of what is being criticized in order to criticize it. That is only rarely a true assumption because, most often, the critic will seize on some little aspect that he or she understands and tackle only that. Votes: 0

Don't criticise a hypothesis, come up with a better one. Votes: 0

You cannot dig a hole in a different place by digging the same hole deeper Votes: 0

The power of a car is separate from the way the car is driven. Votes: 0

The simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity. Votes: 0

Thinking is the ultimate human resource. Yet we can never be satisfied with our most important skill. No matter how good we become, we should always want to be better Votes: 0

There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all... Votes: 0

Most of the mistakes in thinking are inadequacies of perception rather than mistakes of logic. Votes: 0

This new meta-system is very much in favor of the self, but a self that is based on a proper sense of dignity, not on an inflated ego. A person who dare not admit he is wrong inflates his ego but weakens his self. Votes: 0

Lateral thinking is concerned not with playing with the existing pieces but with seeking to change those very pieces. It is concerned with the perception part of thinking. This is where we organise the external world into the pieces we can then 'process'. Votes: 0

Lateral thinking... is the process of using information to bring about creativity and insight restructuring. Lateral thinking can be learned, practised and used. It is possible to acquire skill in it just as it is possible to acquire skill in mathematics. Votes: 0

With vertical thinking one may look for different approaches until one finds a promising one. With lateral thinking one goes on generating as many approaches as one can even after one has found a promising one. With vertical thinking one is trying to select the best approach but with lateral thinking one is generating different approaches for the sake of generating them. Votes: 0

Creativity and lateral thinking have exactly the same basis as humour. Votes: 0

The concept of logical thinking is selection and this is brought about by the processes of acceptance and rejection. Rejection is the basis of logical thinking. Votes: 0

You can't dig a different hole by digging the same one deeper. Votes: 0

Removing the faults in a stage-coach may produce a perfect stage-coach, but it is unlikely to produce the first motor car. Votes: 0

Creativity is a great motivator because it makes people interested in what they are doing. Creativity gives hope that there can be a worthwhile idea. Creativity gives the possibility of some sort of achievement to everyone. Creativity makes life more fun and more interesting. Votes: 0

It is well known that "problem avoidance" is an important part of problem solving. Instead of solving the problem you go upstream and alter the system so that the problem does not occur in the first place. Votes: 0

The purpose of art is to reflect new emerging values and to define the new heroes and heroines so that people can absorb them into their perceptions. Votes: 0

To be successful you have to be lucky, or a little mad, or very talented, or find yourself in a rapid growth field. Votes: 0

My thinking was taught to tribes in South Africa like the Zulus and Xhosas. At the time there were about 210 fights breaking out among them every month, but after they listened to my lessons, this fell to just four. Votes: 0

When the positive revolution takes hold it will no longer be enough for politicians to gain points through attack or being negative. Politicians will be expected to be constructive. Votes: 0

Unhappiness is best defined as the difference between our talents and our expectations. Votes: 0

Analysis is simplifying, breaking down things into parts, picking out strands and elements. Analysis is comparing unknown things with things that are known. Analysis also involves picking out relationships and putting them back together as a whole. Votes: 0

People should realize we're jerks just like them. Votes: 0

It's always amazed me how little attention philosophers, psychologists, or anyone else actually has paid to humor. Votes: 0

Humor is probably the most significant characteristics of the human mind. Far more significant than reason. In fact, reason is actually a very cheap commodity. Votes: 0

The image that concerns most people is the reflection they see in other people's minds. Votes: 0

Sometimes the situation is only a problem because it is looked at in a certain way. Looked at in another way, the right course of action may be so obvious that the problem no longer exists. Votes: 0

You can analyse the past, but you need to design the future. That is the difference between suffering the future and enjoying it. Votes: 0

Perception is real even when it is not reality. Votes: 0

You can analyse the past, but you have to design the future Votes: 0

Every valuable creative idea must always be logical in hindsight. If it were not, we would never be able to see its value. Votes: 0

Intelligence is something we are born with. Thinking is a skill that must be learned. Votes: 0

(...) being right all the time acquires a huge importance in education, and there is this terror of being wrong. The ego is so tied to being right that later on in life you are reluctant to accept that you are ever wrong, because you are defending not the idea but your self-esteem. (...) this terror of being wrong means that people have enormous difficulties in changing ideas. Votes: 0

Companies that solely focus on competition will ultimately die. Those that focus on value creation will thrive. Votes: 0

The winner is the chef who takes the same ingredients as everyone else and produces the best results. Votes: 0

If you do not design the future, someone or something else will design it for you. Votes: 0

We may have a perfectly adequate way of doing something, but that does not mean there cannot be a better way. So we set out to find an alternative way. This is the basis of any improvement that is not fault correction or problem solving. Votes: 0

Western traditions of education have emphasized knowledge analysis, description and debate. They all have a part to play, but today there is a whole vast aspect of doing that has just been left out. Operacy is what keeps society going. Votes: 0

We may need to solve problems not by removing the cause but by designing the way forward even if the cause remains in place. Votes: 0

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. Votes: 0

You do not go out into the street in your underwear, although usually you are wearing underwear. The underwear is not visible but it is there all the time. It is the same with concepts. They are there. They underlie practical things we do- even when we are not conscious of them. Votes: 0

The system will always be defended by those countless people who have enough intellect to defend but not quite enough to innovate. Votes: 0

It's not enough to rage against the lie.. you've got to replace it with the truth. Votes: 0

Simplicity before understanding is simplistic; simplicity after understanding is simple. Votes: 0

Opportunity ideas do not lie around waiting to be discovered. Such ideas need to be produced. Votes: 0

Traditional thinking is all about "what is" Future thinking will also need to be about what can be. Votes: 0

The effective thinker treats arrogance as the major sin of thinking. Votes: 0

I used to think that one day I'd be able to resolve the different drives I have in different directions, the tensions between the different people I am. Now I realize that is who I am. I do feel I'm getting closer to the song in my head. I wasn't looking for grace. But luckily grace was looking for me. Votes: 0

Language is the biggest barrier to human progress because language is an encyclopedia of ignorance. Old perceptions are frozen into language and force us to look at the world in an old fashioned way. Votes: 0

Unfortunately, our existing traditional thinking habits insist that you must attack something and show it to be bad before you can suggest a change. It is more difficult to acknowledge that something is excellent and then to ask for change because although it is excellent, it is not enough. Votes: 0

Complexity creates confusion, simplicity focus. Votes: 0

You cannot look in a new direction by looking harder in the same direction. Votes: 0

Man owes his success to his creativity. No one doubts the need for it. It is most useful in good times and essential in bad. Votes: 0

On trade, our hypocrisy is at its most appalling. Trade reform isn't about charity, it's about justice, and this campaign, Trade Justice is an unstoppable idea. Votes: 0

A discussion should be a genuine attempt to explore a subject rather than a battle between competing egos. Votes: 0

Creativity is a great motivator because it mades people interested in what they are doing. Votes: 0

A good design is not a democratic consensus. Votes: 0

Everyone has the right to doubt everything as often as he pleases and the duty to do it at least once. No way of looking at things is too sacred to be reconsidered. No way of doing things is beyond improvement. Votes: 0

A memory is what is left when something happens and does not completely unhappen. Votes: 0

Happiness is for those who don't really need it. So I can live without happiness. Votes: 0

The awful thing is that you can never be aware of what you are not aware of. Votes: 0

The analysis of data will not by itself produce new ideas... Votes: 0

Being right is not too difficult. Your choose your perception. You select your information. You leave out what does not suit you. You drag in some general-purpose value words. You throw in a sneer or two about the opposition, and you are a fine fellow who made a fine speech. Votes: 0

What is urgent will always take precedence over what is important. Votes: 0

The purpose of science is not to analyze or describe but to make useful models of the world. A model is useful if it allows us to get use out of it. Votes: 0

Only the human brain can deliberately change perceptions, change patterns, invent concepts and tolerate ambiguity. Votes: 0

In the art world, creativity involves aesthetic sensibility, emotional resonance and a gift for expression. Votes: 0

I do a great deal of work with young children, and if you give a child a problem, he may come up with a highly original solution, because he doesn't have the established route to it. Votes: 0

Creativity gives the possibility of some sort of achievement to everyone. Votes: 0

We still seek to solve conflicts with 'judgement' instead of designing the way forwards. Votes: 0

Effectiveness without values is a tool without a purpose. Votes: 0

Once a new idea springs into existence, it cannot be unthought. There is a sense of immortality in a new idea. Votes: 0

Sometimes the situation is only a problem because it is looked at in a certain subjective, negative, ungrateful way. Votes: 0

Creativity gives hope that there can be a worthwhile idea. Votes: 0

Creativity makes life more fun and more interesting. Votes: 0

Maybe the social value of truth is as a destination - so long as we do not assume we have arrived there. Votes: 0

A myth is a fixed way of looking at the world which cannot be destroyed because, looked at through the myth, all evidence supports the myth. Votes: 0

The quality of our thinking will determine the quality of our future Votes: 0

A question is a polite way of demanding something. Votes: 0

To deal with future we have to deal with possibilities. Analysis will only tell us what is. Votes: 0

To develop thinking as a skill, it should be deliberate, focused, confident, and enjoyable. Votes: 0

To me, a faith in Jesus Christ that is not aligned with the poor ... it's nothing. Votes: 0

The music that really turns me on is either running toward God or away from God. Both recognize the pivot, that God is at the center of the jaunt. Votes: 0

I know it aches, how your heart it breaks. You can only take so much. Walk on. Votes: 0

It wouldn't cost too much to change the rules of trade so that poor countries can work their way out of poverty. But the world's leaders won't act unless they hear enough people telling them. And every day they fail to act, thousands of people die because they can't afford the basics of survival. Votes: 0

Do we have the will to make poverty history? Votes: 0

This is not about charity, it's about justice... The war against terror is bound up in the war against poverty - I didn't say that, Colin Powell said that . . . Votes: 0

I'm a very loyal and unreliable friend. Votes: 0

America is an idea, but it's an idea that brings with it some baggage, like power brings responsibility. It's an idea that brings with it equality, but equality even though it's the highest calling, is the hardest to reach. The idea that anything is possible, that's one of the reasons why I'm a fan of America. It's like hey, look there's the moon up there, let's take a walk on it, bring back a piece of it. That's the kind of America that I'm a fan of. Votes: 0

I'm tired of dreaming. I'm into doing at the moment. It's, like, let's only have goals that we can go after. Votes: 0

A person who knows all the answers, has an opinion on everything, has a certainty backed up by rational argument, has very little possibility of further progress. Such a person is unlikely to walk away from a discussion with anything more than a reaffirmation of how right he or she has been all along. Votes: 0

We need both information and thinking. Information is no substitute for thinking and thinking is no substitute for information. Votes: 0

Possibilities play a much bigger role in thinking than most people believe. Without possibilities you cannot make progress. Votes: 0

A characteristic of intuitive solutions and new ideas is that of being obvious once they are discovered. Votes: 0

Although feelings are not supposed to intrude on business discussions, they do anyway - we just disguise them as logic. Votes: 0

The weapons of the positive revolution are not bullets and bombs but simple human perceptions. Bullets and bombs may offer physical power but eventually will only work if they change perceptions and values. Why not go the direct route and work with perceptions and values? Votes: 0

Mock the devil, and he will flee from thee. Votes: 0

We do not make very full value of the opportunities provided by technology because we prefer critical to constructive thinking, argument to design. Votes: 0

The vertical thinker says: 'I know what I am looking for.' The lateral thinker says: 'I am looking but I won't know what I am looking for until I have found it.' Votes: 0

I could never be a politician because I think I'm too selfish, and I think I like to have fun.. the right to be irresponsible is a right I hold dear. Votes: 0

Child mortality [since 2000 is] down by 2.65 million a year. That's a rate of 7,256 children's lives saved each day. ... It drives me nuts that most people don't seem to know this news. Votes: 0

The mind can only see what it is prepared to see. Votes: 0

Creativity can be learned like basketball, which does not mean we will all be NBA stars. Votes: 0

Some people are aware of another sort of thinking which... leads to those simple ideas that are obvious only after they have been thought of... the term 'lateral thinking' has been coined to describe this orther sort of thinking; 'vertical thinking' is used to denote the conventional logical process. Votes: 0

They enjoy thinking. They enjoy being creative. They enjoy having ideas. Most people do not enjoy thinking at all. Votes: 0

One can think of a secretary actively operating a filing system, of a librarian actively cataloguing books, of a computer actively sorting out information. The mind however does not actively sort out information. The information sorts itself out and organises itself into patterns. The mind is passive. The mind only provides an opportunity for the information to behave in this way. The mind provides a special environment in which information can become self-organising. This special environment is a memory surface with special characteristics. Votes: 0

Complexity means distracted effort. Simplicity means focused effort. Votes: 0

The solid wealth of insurance companies and the success of those who organsie gambling are some indication of the profits to be derived from the efficient use of chance. Votes: 0

Complacency with our traditional judgement based thinking methods is not enough. Our existing thinking habits are excellent just as the rear wheel of a motor car is excellent but not enough. We need to put far more emphasis on creative and design thinking. Judgement and analysis are not enough. Votes: 0

You hold onto religion, you know, rules, regulations, traditions. I think what God is interested in is people's hearts, and that's hard enough. Votes: 0

When the story of these times gets written, we want it to say that we did all we could, and it was more than anyone could have imagined. Votes: 0

This is not about charity, it's about justice... The war against terror is bound up in the war against poverty - I didn't say that, Colin Powell said that . . . In these disturbing and distressing times, surely it's cheaper, and smarter, to make friends out of potential enemies than it is to defend yourself against them..Justice is the surest way to get peace. Votes: 0

Explaining belief has alwayas been difficult. How do you explain a love and a logic at the heart of the universe when the world is so out of whack? Explaining faith is impossible - vision over visibility - instinct over intellect - a songwriter plays a chore with the faith that he will hear the next one in his head. Votes: 0

I'm in love with this country called "America." I'm a huge fan of America. I'm one of those annoying fans - you know, the ones that read the cd notes and follow you into bathrooms and ask you all kinds of annoying questions about why you didn't live up to that. I'm that kind of fan. I've read the Declaration of Independence, and I've read the Constitution of the United States, and they are some liner notes, dude. Votes: 0

The Church has its problems, but the older I get, the more comfort I find there. Votes: 0

America is not just a country, it's an idea. Votes: 0

It is historical continuity that maintains most assumptions, not repeated assessment of their validity. Votes: 0

Our existing thinking habits are excellent, just as the rear wheels of a motor car are excellent, but not enough... Votes: 0

Most people...are put off science because maths is the gateway and they can't handle it. What we should be teaching is operational maths because, in general, the maths we need to carry out science is pretty straightforward. Votes: 0

Everywhere I go, I see very much the same thing. I see the same compassion for people who live half a world away. I see the same concern about events beyond these borders. And, increasingly, I see the same conviction that we can and we must join together to stop the scourge of AIDS and poverty. Votes: 0