Stop Arguing With Yourself

Gabrielle Gawne-Kelnar is an Australian therapist who discovered Six Thinking Hats at a recent workshop. She has written a nice summary of the experience, with a good overview of the Six Hats and their usage. Worth a read.

Edward de Bono to Speak at Learning Technologies 2012

Dr. Edward de Bono will be a keynote speaker at Learning Technologies 2012 conference in London on 25-26 January. It promises to be a great event for professionals in the field learning and development. See the conference brochure for full details.

The Bias Against Creativity

Corporate creativity is a hot topic, and innovation determines whether a company lives or dies. So why do people reject creative ideas?

Jennifer Mueller, Shimul Melwani, and Jack Goncalo have a theory. In their new paper, The Bias Against Creativity: Why People Desire But Reject Creative Ideas, they explore the idea of covert biases, and they find that uncertainty produces a subconscious hostility towards creativity.

To quote the authors, "Because there is such a strong social norm to endorse creativity and people also feel authentic positive attitudes towards creativity, people may be reluctant to admit that they do not want creativity." The authors conclude that "we cannot assume that organizations, institutions or even scientific endeavors will desire and recognize creative ideas even when they explicitly state they want them. This is because [organizations] may [extol creativity] in ways that promote uncertainty by requiring gate-keepers to identify the single 'best' and most 'accurate' idea, thereby creating an unacknowledged aversion to creativity. In addition, our results suggest that... the field of creativity may need to shift its current focus from identifying how to generate more creative ideas to identifying how to help innovative institutions recognize and accept creativity."

Edward de Bono on BVO

Dr. de Bono was recently on BVO, the Business Voice. In this half-hour interview, he addresses the difference between innovation and creativity, why the business sector has been particularly quick to recognize the importance of thinking, what the internet age means for thinking, and more. Highly recommended.

Creativity Quote of the Day

"Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimension." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Creativity Quote of the Day

"Anyone can be creative provided they learn and develop their skills." - Edward de Bono

Meetings Don't Have to Be a Waste of Time

I recently had dinner with a friend who wished the new company she works for would incorporate the de Bono thinking systems, specifically Six Thinking Hats, into all of their meetings. She has one weekly meeting in particular that lasts two hours or longer. The group inevitably gets derailed discussing details unrelated to the topic at hand. Arguments ensue and the group leaves frustrated, with no action steps laid out.

We hear this a lot.

Everyone has participated in meetings that are plagued by personal attacks, low energy and boredom, competition, power plays, groupthink, rushed decision making or indecisiveness, and lack of follow through.

You know your meeting is heading in the wrong direction when no one has defined a clear focus. Why are we having this meeting? How long will the meeting last? How much time will we spend on each part of the agenda? How will we ensure everyone participates? Who will take what action after the meeting? These are the types of "Blue Hat" questions we ask at the beginning of meetings that use the Six Thinking Hats process.

When used as a meeting management tool, Six Thinking Hats gives teams a process that directs everyone towards the same objective. In Six Hats meetings you "unbundle" your thinking so you can focus on one type of thinking at a time (idea generation, etc.).

Six Hats meetings are particularly effective in neutralizing employee rank. There are also frequent requests for every person to contribute, which ensures you get the best thinking from everyone, even individuals who tend to be more introverted. Oftentimes clients will report that their typical meeting times are reduced by 50-75% once their teams are trained in the Six Hats process.

Six Thinking Hats can be used with all levels, and helps teams get to the right solution quickly and with a shared vision.

We'd love to hear from you!
What frustrates you most about meetings? What strategies have you used that resulted in more productive and effective meetings?

Use Six Thinking Hats for Success in Facilitating Virtual Meetings

Does your organization use virtual meetings to save time and money?

Recent research by CWT Travel Management Institute reveals that while the use of virtual meetings is on the rise, many people feel that virtual meetings cannot match the quality of face-to-face meetings in terms of attention and interaction between participants.

Using Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats® to facilitate meetings offers improvement in both of these areas.

Click to read: Use Six Thinking Hats for Success in Facilitating Virtual Meetings

Quote of the Day

"If you wait for opportunities to occur, you will be one of the crowd."
- Edward de Bono

Innovation Week April 4-8, 2011

Make 2011 the year you invest in innovation training to help boost your organization's productivity and profits. Join us at the de Bono Consulting corporate headquarters in Des Moines for the following training seminars.

April 4: Lateral Thinking
Deliberate, systematic process that sparks creative thinking
7 Lateral Thinking tools lead to innovation in process, product, and problem solving.

April 5: Six Thinking Hats
Organize and maximize individual and team thinking
Learn how to enhance meeting effectiveness by methodically channeling group attention in six key directions. Six Thinking Hats is our most popular course and will quickly become an indispensable organizational tool!

April 4-5: Course in Creativity
Combines and integrates Lateral Thinking & Six Thinking Hats
Learn powerful methods that will enable you to lead effective meetings, rigorously evaluate ideas, manage risks, maximize opportunities, and drive innovation.

April 5-8: Focus on Facilitation
Learn Advanced Facilitator Tools & Become an Accredited de Bono Facilitator
Focus on Facilitation is the optimal application course for leading group innovation.

Visit our de Bono Events Calendar or call 866.621.3366.

Innovation: Tubeless Toilet Paper from Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark estimates that the 17 billion toilet paper tubes produced each year in the U.S. generate 160 million pounds of trash. According to a recent USA Today article, the company will launch tube-free Scott toilet paper. This innovation removes an unnecessary element of their product to help the environment and reduce material costs.

Quote of the Day

"Companies can't predict the future, but they can build organizations that will survive and flourish under just about any possible future." - Lowell Bryan

Lowell Bryan is an author and director at McKinsey & Company

Halloween 2010: Top Costumes, History, Myths, More

Did you know . . . There are some 36 million potential trick-or-treaters (children aged 5-13) in the U.S., according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

National Geographic News presents the facts on the history of Halloween, highlights this year's most popular costumes for adults and kids, and features fun stats on record-breaking pumpkins.
Click to get the white hat info you need to amaze your friends at this year's Halloween party!

Share your creative costume ideas by clicking the comments link below.

Edward de Bono's Idea to Replace Parking Meters

Edward de Bono argues that if you want to shorten the time people park in one spot you should simply legislate to require them to keep their car headlights on whenever they’re parked. No need for meters, easy to police, and you’re guaranteed they will keep their stay nice and short!

Contribute your thoughts about this idea by clicking the Comments link below.

The Need For Innovation Skill Development

Once a month MSEL (Master of Science in Executive Leadership) at the University of San Diego provides a forum to the community featuring exceptional guest speakers presenting information on a variety of relevant and stimulating topics. Barbara Stennes, de Bono Consulting's CEO, has more than 15 years of experience working with teams motivated to increase results through innovation. Barbara will present "The Need For Innovation Skill Development" at MSEL's event on November 9.

Barbara will provide tips on how to identify barriers to innovation and provide an interactive overview on thinking skills such as: Six Thinking Hats, Lateral Thinking, Power of Perception, and more.

MSEL PRESENTS Barbara Stennes:
Tuesday, November 9, 2010: 8:00 am –9:00 am
Check‐in and breakfast begin at 7:15 am
University of San Diego
Mother Rosalie Hall Room 102
www.sandiego.edu/msel

Event Details: The Need For Innovation Skill Development
Register Online by Friday, Nov 5: Register Online

de Bono Global: South Africa Events

de Bono Consulting CEO and President, Barbara Stennes, will meet with Edward de Bono at the Annual International de Bono Thinking Systems Distributor meeting, October 11-13 in Cape Town.

Dr. de Bono will also be speaking at the Progress Conference in Cape Town on October 14. The Progress Conference will feature ways to leverage the minds of your employees, colleagues, and customers to facilitate PROGRESS.

Innovation Week: Get Certified in Lateral Thinking & Six Thinking Hats

We've received a lot of requests recently from trainers who'd like to certify in more than one of the de Bono Thinking Systems without having to travel to multiple certification events. To meet this need, we've put together an intensive week-long event, November 1-5, which will provide the learning and credentials required to train your employees in our 2 most popular programs, Lateral Thinking and Six Thinking Hats.

This new certification event combines core content from de Bono tools, methods, and frameworks to foster a comprehensive understanding of how the thinking systems work together and separately.

Click to learn how you can certify in Lateral Thinking & Six Thinking Hats November 1-5 in Des Moines, or call 866.621.3366 for more information.

Bonus: Attendees will also learn the Focus on Facilitation tools at no additional charge!

New Case Study: Emerson Scroll Compressors LLC Plant Gets Measurable Results

The Challenge: Growth Creates Communications Roadblocks

The Solution: Teach and Apply de Bono Communication and Problem-Solving Skills to Rekindle Honest Interaction Between Managers and Employees

The Results: Emerson Scroll Compressors generated ideas that were good for the environment & their bottom-line within the first year:
- Reduced scrap by 20%, resulting in an annual savings of $48,000
- Saved the plant $130,000 in utility costs in one year

Total Savings: Read the new de Bono case study . . .
Plant Managers Use Innovative Communication Tools to Tap Strengths of Straight-Shooting Workforce

de Bono Events: September Virtual Training Series

Our September training calendar is packed with great opportunities for you to learn Edward de Bono's Thinking Systems - without having to leave your desk.

Simply spend 2 hours with us one day a week, for three consecutive weeks.

Visit the links below or call Natalie Jenkins at 866.621.3366 to learn how these powerful thinking systems can help drive business strategies and innovation at your organization.

Six Value Medals: September 1, 8, 15
Learn 6 tools for values-based decision making that will help you scan for values, prioritize, and ensure that top values are addressed every step of the way. The perfect tool for choosing which creative ideas will deliver the desired value.

Six Thinking Hats: September 7, 14, 21
Six Thinking Hats is a thinking management tool that opens the door to innovative thinking, thorough decisions, easier problem resolution, improved communication, and more efficient and productive meetings. Learn specific techniques that will keep your meetings focused, efficient, productive, and results-oriented.

Power of Perception: September 15, 22, 29
10 thinking tools will help you become a strong and confident decision maker. Learn to accurately weigh risks against rewards, and uncover hidden opportunities.

View all de Bono training events.

Defining Learning Transfer

In their recent newsletter, Fort Hill Company defined Learning Transfer as the "process of putting learning to work in a way that improves performance . . . it takes place over time, involves multiple steps, and is influenced by a number of factors; it is not a 'one and done' event."

Read the complete article.