Lateral Thinking

The elevator riddle is tricky because we assume facts that aren't there, like the man's height. Lateral thinking is the skill of challenging those assumptions to find creative solutions that aren't immediately obvious.

It's about stepping sideways—laterally—from the predictable path of logic to explore new possibilities. For instance, instead of building a better mousetrap (a direct solution), a lateral thinker might ask how to make the house less appealing to mice in the first place.

Ask this: What am I assuming is true here that might not be?

Lateral thinking, a term coined by Edward de Bono, is the direct opposite of traditional, or 'vertical,' thinking. Vertical thinking is logical, sequential, and analytical—like digging a single hole deeper and deeper. Lateral thinking is about deliberately trying to dig a hole in a completely different place to see what you find.

It works by using techniques to provoke new lines of thought. These can include questioning basic assumptions, reversing a problem statement, or using random prompts (like opening a dictionary and using the first word you see) to break out of rigid thinking patterns.

For example, a marketing team struggling to sell a new, healthy snack might use vertical thinking to tweak the recipe or lower the price. A lateral approach would be to reframe the product entirely—not as a 'snack,' but as a convenient 'meal supplement' for busy athletes, opening a completely new market.

In daily life, if you keep losing your keys, the vertical solution is to try harder to remember where you put them. The lateral solution is to make them impossible to lose in the first place by installing a key hook by the door, using a digital lock, or attaching a Bluetooth tracker.

Lateral thinking doesn't replace vertical thinking; it complements it. You use lateral thinking to generate a wide range of creative possibilities, and then use vertical thinking to evaluate their logic and practicality.

Edward de Bono formally developed lateral thinking as a set of techniques for creativity, contrasting it with analytical 'vertical thinking.' While its effects can be difficult to quantify, research explores its application in education and management, and meta-analyses suggest creativity training is broadly effective.

• De Bono introduced lateral thinking as a skill for generating new ideas by deliberately escaping established patterns, unlike vertical thinking which operates strictly within them. [1] (1970)
• Early reviews noted that while influential, empirical evidence for specific techniques was often anecdotal, highlighting the challenge of objectively measuring creative output. [2] (1989)
• De Bono's work, particularly tools like 'Six Thinking Hats,' provided managers with a practical language for creativity, helping shift the perception of innovation from an innate gift to a learnable process. [3] (2009)
• Quantitative reviews and meta-analyses have since found that creativity training programs, which often incorporate lateral thinking principles, are generally effective at enhancing creative performance across various domains. [4, 5, 6] [4] (2004)

A primary critique is the lack of rigorous, empirical evidence proving its superiority over other creativity methods. Some critics argue it's a rebranding of older creativity concepts and that its techniques can feel forced or produce impractical ideas if not grounded by logical evaluation. It may also be less effective for problems that require deep, specialized expertise and incremental improvement rather than a complete reframing.