Serious Creativity: Using the Power of Lateral Thinking to Create New Ideas (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

De Bono's term "lateral thinking" (the title of a previous book) refers to problem-solving by apparently illogical methods. In a fertile user's manual to the mind, de Bono, a prolific author and business consultant, tackles creative thought as a skill that can be taught, a systematic process of breaking free of old concepts and finding alternatives. In an informal, discursive style, he presents an arsenal of techniques for cultivating ideas and harvesting the usable onesto avoid mixed metaphor; also, harvest is late stage of agricultural process, so should come after 'nurture' or 'cultivation' . Rooted in his theory that creativity flows out of the way human perception works as a self-organizing information system, these techniques include random word generation, multiple focuses, "provocations" that provide a novel framework through which to look at things, and the "six hats method" encouraging cooperative exploration instead of adversarial thinking. His insights seem broadly applicable to business, education, law and other fields.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

A fundamental book on deliberate creative thinking from a world-renowned expert in the field and the inventor of the systematic process of lateral thinking. Used correctly, creating thinking can save companies millions of dollars as the best and cheapest way to get added value out of existing resources and assets. Line drawings.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: HarperBusiness (May 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0887306357
• ISBN-13: 978-0887306358
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #428,750 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars buy only this one..., December 5, 1999

By A Customer

By now I think I have read about fifteen of De Bono's books and this is certainly the best. Many of the others seem to be mostly regurgitations of the the same old stuff. Does he get paid by the word? He claims to have written about 25 books, but I think he has to a great extent written one book over and over again. And he seems so pompous and arrogant. How can someone with such arrogance be creative? He never quotes others (perhaps to him there are no others) or cites other works on creativity, even in cases where his ideas were clearly not first his. This is an excellent book, but by an ego-centric author and that unfortunately colors all his writing.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I am impressed!, September 3, 2003

By	James Finemon "Optimal thinker" (USA) - See all my reviews

I recently attended an Optimal Thinking for Leaders seminar by Dr. Rosalene Glickman who referred to Dr. De Bono as the world authority on creativity. She recommended to the audience of 500 to read this book and especially to take note of the "Small Map" and the "Big Map". Well, I have to say De Bono is a brilliant author, and I finally understand what creativity means and how to apply it most effectively during conflicts and other situations. I highly recommend this book.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars agreeing with the reader from New York, August 27, 2002

By A Customer

I read the review written by someone from New York. I was surprised that he or she had the same feelings about the book as I had. This is a shocking book. On the one hand, it is excellent and teaches people a lot about how to think about a problem. On the other hand, the author is so self-conceited that sometimes I asked myself: if he is so creative, why didn't he invent ANYTHING apart from his own way of making money?
The funny thing is, that I still recommend this book!

Peter Fabri, Budapest, Hungary