Not every problem has an obvious solution. Utilize the power of lateral thinking to think imaginatively and creatively to tackle everyday problems in a new, fresh way,
Lateral thinking is about re-thinking your approach to problem solving and using an indirect method to come up with innovative results. But how easy is it to do it?
In Lateral Thinking for Every Day, acclaimed writer Paul Sloane clearly explains how you can benefit from using a lateral thinking approach. Using inspiring examples from great lateral thinkers including Lady Gaga, Elon Musk and Tim Berners-Lee, this collection of practical tips, techniques, examples and challenges is guaranteed to help you deploy powerful reasoning techniques, become more persuasive and convincing and to come up with fresh solutions to creative challenges.
Author(s): Paul Sloane
Edition: 1
Publisher: Kogan Page
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 224
City: London
Tags: Lateral Thinking; Creative Thinking; Reasoning Techniques
Praise for Lateral Thinking for Every Day
Lateral Thinking for Every Day
Copyright Page
Dedications
Contents
About the author
Introduction
Part One: The basics
01 What is lateral thinking?
02 The dangers of conformity
03 Fight the menace of groupthink
04 Contemplate the opposite
05 Break the rules
06 Think like an outsider
07 Ask dumb questions
Part Two: Historical examples
08 Seven companies that switched
09 Why do experts reject new ideas?
10 Fly, crash, adapt
11 We need to listen to contrarian thinkers
12 Lateral thinking at war
Hannibal crossing the Alps
13 Protect the parts that are not showing hits
14 Lateral thinking in architecture
15 When something unexpected happens, get curious
Part Three: Lateral thinking tools and everyday hacks
16 How to use the Six Thinking Hats
17 The Disney Method for creative ideas
18 Use the three Greeks to improve your powers of persuasion
19 Where do innovative ideas come from?
20 The Six Serving Men
21 Games that can boost the brain
22 Riddles to make you think laterally
23 The Random Word method
24 Similes displace your thinking
25 Roll the Dice
26 Lateral thinking puzzles
27 Go for quantity of ideas
Part Four: Practical tips and everyday hacks
28 Force yourself to think outside the box
29 Ways to be more spontaneous at work
30 Replace logic with emotion
31 The open-minded quiz
32 Ten things to do when you are stuck
33 Improve your powers of persuasion
34 Think like a criminal
35 Memory technique: Pegging a List
36 Memory technique: The virtual journey
37 Better a giraffe than a zebra
38 Messy beats tidy
39 Mix with more creative people
40 Questions to ask yourself after a setback
41 Lateral thinking in mathematics
42 Beware these cognitive biases
Part Five: Lateral thinking at work
43 Get someone else to do the work
44 Repurpose your product
45 The founding of Google
46 Tony Hsieh – the remarkable cultural innovator at Zappos
47 Turn a weakness into a strength
48 Move the kettle!
49 Focus on the opportunity, not the problem
50 Music without music
51 Lateral marketing: The benefits of being outrageous
52 Lateral marketing – Topical mischief
53 Transplant an idea
54 Café culture
55 What’s cooking?
56 Weird combinations
57 What if your boss is risk-averse?
58 Become an ideas carrier
59 Go back to the future
60 Don’t reject ideas with Yes but
61 Experiment, experiment, experiment
62 Welcome failure
Part Six: Lateral thinking in society
63 Cool lateral ideas
64 Lateral thinking in the fight against crime
65 A lateral way to expose war crimes
66 Acknowledge the value of ignorance and doubt
67 Lateral thinking in nature
68 Lateral thinking in art
69 Remote collaboration
70 Mental health hacks
71 Summary and conclusions
Answers
Riddles
Lateral thinking puzzles
Mathematical problems
Notes
