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De bono seminar / report / 2,694w

Edward de Bono on creativity and innovation

Nyenrode Business Universiteit underscored its commitment to new and creative ways of thinkingby hosting a seminar on March 8 that combined in-depth presentations by Dr. Edward de Bono, aglobal authority in this field, and a discussion with a panel of five innovative and successfulentrepreneurs.

At 9.30am on March 8 a capacity audience packed the Pfizer Auditorium at Nyenrode. This was Edwardde Bonos second visit to the university, more than a decade after the first. Although he is now in hisseventies, the man introduced by Harry Starren, director of De Baak Management Center VNO-NCW,seemed to have lost none of his vigor. Starren chose to mention just one of De Bonos accolades, whichsays it all: He has had a planet named after him.

InteractionDe Bonos modus operandi was straightforward. Rather than using prepared sheets, he drew simplepictures and wrote down key words, which were projected on a large screen and on strategically placedmonitors. Much of his presentation hinged on interaction with his audience, who were given two, three orfour minutes to consider the questions put to them. After giving the matter at hand some thoughtindividually, they were invited to discuss it with their neighbors. De Bono stopped discussion like a football

referee stops play: by blowing a whistle.

Coming straight to the point, De Bono asked the participants: Why do we need creativity? When theyhad formulated their thoughts, he replied: Because computers will do everything else. Everything else willbecome a commodity. Our competitors abroad are catching up fast. In India, for example, 50,000 schoolsare using my training methods, so competing on cost is clearly no longer an option. Creativity, he lateradded, is necessary to solve problems and conflicts and to develop opportunities, and also for invention,design, improvement and simplification.

Considering possibilitiesEven at top universities, De Bono said, the importance of considering possibilities is neglected. Heillustrated the point with an example from his medical background De Bono holds a D.Phil. in medicine.An Australian doctor who suggested a new way of treating peptic ulcers was init ially laughed at, but hewas proved right and went on to win the Nobel Prize.

One of the obstacles that have to be overcome to give creativity a chance is language, because wordshave rigid meanings. Modern democracies are not designed to welcome new ideas either. To counteractthis, De Bono recently visited Serbia to help set up a Council for New Thinking. The main reason whycreativity is difficult is that the human brain is designed to be non-creative, he said. It uses stable,routine patterns to deal with a stable world. Harking back to the Greek Gang of Three (Socrates, Platoand Aristotle) and the clergy that controlled thinking in the post-medieval period, he explained thattraditional thinking is successful in science and technology, but inadequate in human affairs. We are oftentoo quick to make a case or pursue an argument instead of exploring a subject more broadly.

Thinking hatsTo persuade people to abandon their customary thinking patterns and think in parallel with others formore constructive results, De Bono devised the system of the Six Thinking Hats, each of whichsymbolizes a mode of thinking. Using colored pencils, he drew a white hat for information, facts and

figures; a red hat for feelings, intuition and emotions; a black hat for caution, criticism and riskassessment; a yellow hat for value, benefits and opportunities; a green hat for creativity, fertility and newideas; and a blue hat for organization, focus and objective. By using these imaginary colored hats toorchestrate the thinking of participants in a meeting, for example, a subject can be efficiently exploredfrom every angle.

De Bonos book about the six hats has been an international best seller. The hats, he claims, will fitanyone, from schoolchildren to top executives. One company is so sold on this way of working that it hashad the hats woven into its carpets, he said. Talking hats can become a kind of code language betweenpeople familiar with the theory, as in: Whats your yellow-hat thinking on this? Wearing the hats is

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popular among managers because it saves valuable time and removes cultural inhibitions, for example inthe Far East.

For a hats-on exercise De Bono asked his Nyenrode audience to consider the subject working at home.When asked which hat should be worn to make a decision, he replied: If you have worn all your coloredhats in turn and thoroughly explored a subject, the decision should be obvious. He considers sixparticipants the ideal number for a discussion using the hats principle, with one minute allowed per

person per hat. He pointed out, however, that the system is f lexible enough to adjust to a much largernumber of people.

Olympic successDe Bono kicked off the second session, after a coffee break, by juxtaposing intelligence and thinking.Being intelligent is not enough, he said. Thinking is a skil l you can develop; it is something you canlearn. A particularly good student was Peter Ueberroth, the organizer of the 1984 Olympic Games in LosAngeles. By applying De Bonos lateral thinking he made the LA Games the first in history to declare aprofit. The Chinese, organizers of the 2008 Olympics, are already knocking on De Bonos door to helpthem repeat the feat.

Commercial benefits aside, De Bono also demonstrated that there is a drastic reduction in criminalbehavior among people who have been taught to think differently. He distinguished three types ofcreativity: one that tries to find a better way of doing something, one that looks for better things to do, andcrazytivity his word for being different without adding value. De Bono went on to outline some commonmisconceptions about creativity, for example that it must be connected with art, and that it is a talent thatcannot be learned. He also mentioned that being free and uninhibited is often mistaken for being creative.

Enlightening answersThe need to break out of existing boundaries and challenge dominant ideas and accepted assumptions isat the heart of De Bonos theories. Creativity enables people to jump to ideas that may at first seemillogical, but whose logic becomes apparent with hindsight. De Bono liberally peppered his presentationwith examples, from unusually designed glasses and bottles to a sleepers-only plane that travels only onovernight routes. His solution for a question he put to the audience How to make it difficult to get from Ato B was both simple and enlightening: you introduce a point C and make it easy to get to that.

De Bono doesnt like polarization, such as the distinction between business and leisure travel, because itdenies the large gray area in between. Its hard to challenge something that is basically ok, heconceded. So just look for alternatives without voicing criticism or attacking anyone. First the concept

has to be identified and then the possibilities can be studied. At this point De Bono introduced theconcept fan, which has a whole range of ideas at the wide end which can be narrowed down to the onethat best fulfills the purpose.

ProvocationShortly before the lunch break De Bono explained the concept of provocation or provocative operation.The idea is to disturb normal thinking patterns in order to move on. An illogical starting point may befollowed by steps that dont make sense in themselves, but interesting and useful ideas may spring fromthem. De Bono drew a parallel with annealing in science. He also gave the example of a taxi driver whodoesnt know the way. He or she may seem useless, but if such taxis are identified and are only hailed byresidents who know where they want to go, they could be a cheap and practical alternative. De Bono: Toarrive at a new idea, you first have to get movement.

Misinformation and chance

Frequently switching between abstract ideas and mundane examples, De Bono continued hispresentation after lunch. Staying with the subject of provocation, he asked his audience to redesign theumbrella and help a dog find its way to a bone. Misinformation and chance, he claimed, can lead toepochal discoveries. His examples were certainly convincing. He quoted the famous story of Newtonhitting on the theory of gravity when he was hit on the head by an apple, and said that Columbusembarked on his discovery of the New World because he thought the earth was much smaller than itactually is.

For the next exercise the participants had to draw up a list of things you need to run a restaurant. Theythen had to delete the fourth item on the list as a provocation, in order to get movement. The ideas

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springing from this exercise included bringing your own waiter and charging guests for the amount of timespent at a restaurant. This method, De Bono explained, creates provocation by using the escape.Provocation can also be facilitated by reversal, exaggeration, distortion such as changing the sequenceof something and wishful thinking.

Bridging the gapDe Bono used the idea that employees eager to get promoted should wear a yellow shirt as an example

of the signal function of color. After discussing the advantages of such a code, he asserted thatprovocation must be strong and its user determined. If used in this way, provocation can bridge the gapbetween where you are and where you want to go. He also gave some examples of the value of randomwords to start a provocative chain of thought. Of course a tight focus is key to successful thinking.Normally, the focus is on your purpose, he said. But you can also focus on the area where you neednew ideas, for example by using random words. The participants, he suggested, should draw up theirown creative hit list.

Humor can serve as a catalyst for a shift in perception, De Bono said. To illustrate the point, he told somejokes on the subject of golf (a random word). After concluding his presentation, he shared some moreinsights during question time: What I do is putting idea creativity on a logical basis. The problem isusually not having ideas, but being willing to do something about them. You need a single-mindeddetermination coupled with the belief that you can be successful.

In reply to a question, De Bono described the three intellectual ages of man: Up to age five, people askwhy. Up to 11, they ask why not. But after that they think they know the answers and concentrate on thebecause. He concluded the session by giving his audience a phone number for free ideas and awebsite for information about his training programs (www.qreacom.nl).

Panel discussionAt 4pm the final session, a discussion with a panel of successful entrepreneurs, kicked off with theintroduction of the panelists by moderator Harry Starren, a writer and presenter who heads amanagement training center. He rounded up questions from the audience, which he reformulated and fedone by one to various members of the panel.

On the panel, Edward de Bono was joined by Frank Crebas, who developed the hugely successfulwebsite Marktplaats.nl and then sold it to eBay; Marijke Schaaphok, whose companies MasMedia andStrix Television produce often controversial TV programs; Fokke de Jong, founder of Suitsupply, whichsells own brand tailored suits and shirts at prices that have shaken the tailoring business; Michiel Muller,

whose Route Mobiel has taken on the Dutch monopolist in roadside assistance; and Duncan Stutterheim,founder and director of ID&T, which organizes large-scale dance events.

Secrets of their successThe first question to be fielded was a key one: is success a choice? Crebas reply tended to theaffirmative. The key is to keep a focus on your target, he said. His focus is currently on his latest venture,which is based on the novel idea of making clothes out of stinging nettles. The next question, how tostimulate creativity, was taken by De Jong. We give our people the space to make creative mistakes, hesaid. We even encourage it. His company Suitsupply does not use advertising agencies but relies on thecreativity of its management. Unlike De Jong, TV producer Schaaphok does not stop at managers in thequest for creativity; she wants everyone in her company to come forward with good ideas.

Duncan Stutterheim voiced his belief that ID&Ts creative forces are best used by keeping a tight focus onmass dance events. Creativity is the engine of the company. Our customers are between 16 and 26

years old theyre looking for new things all the time. Aware that he himself belongs to an oldergeneration, he added that he does not intend to stay in his current position for more than five years.

GoldmineAsked why he set up in competition with ANWB, which has looked after the interests of its motorizedmembers for decades, Muller had this to say: ANWB copied our idea of unmanned gas stations. That iswhat prompted us to take a closer look at what else they did. We then realized that if even a fraction oftheir members switched to Route Mobiel, it would be a goldmine. We attacked their strong point,breakdown assistance, because we believed we could be more efficient, cheaper and better. Unlike them,we have outsourced everything.

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Challenging standardsSchaaphok is convinced that if your belief in your product is strong enough, you can sell it. She related anexample of her powers of persuasion, from a reality TV show where a millionaire is invited to take his pickfrom a parade of would-be brides. At a late stage in the production the bridegroom told her he was gay.She managed to convince him that he was in fact bisexual, and he went on to marry the bride of hischoice. When someone from the audience raised the ethical aspect of her actions, Schaaphok confessed:

Sometimes I think I crossed a boundary there. She is now toying with an idea for a show where paternityis (dis)proved on the basis of a DNA test: The standards have to be challenged, or youll never leave thebox.

De Bono introduced a reality check by pointing out that the panel consisted exclusively of leaders ofsuccessful ventures: Many other people also tried and failed. He was not shy about his own success,however. I have 1,200 trainers doing my work for me around the world. I am the one who benefits.

A lively discussion followed, about the need for a strong drive and how to maintain it for ongoing success.Success creates its own drive, Muller asserted, and so do the opportunities and ideas that lie ahead.You only start a venture if you have the drive, De Jong added. Schaaphok agreed: Its a given, youdont even think about it.

Buying or being boughtThe role of competition in entrepreneurial success was addressed next. Buying your competitors is oneoption; being bought by them is another. Frank Crebas, former owner of Marktplaats.nl, experienced thelatter. We showed eBay a simpler and cheaper formula than their own. We bought Marktplaats for300,000, and all we had to do was manage its growth. We needed a new server every month. Initially wedid not want to sell, so eBay had to pay a fortune for the site.

For Stutterheim new, creative ideas are what his business is all about (We have a market researchdepartment, but only to see if were on the right track). Some of his fellow panelists showed moreconfidence in marketing. Suitsupply, for example, put a Pacman-style game on its website and offeredfree shirts to prize winners.

The panelists concluded their contribution to the seminar with exhortations to go for it. The mottos theyquoted Just do it and Think different have proved their value for Nike and Apple, two of the biggestbrands in the global marketplace.