Intelligence is a commodity. Expertise is valuable. The worlds of industry and commerce are moving ever faster thanks to advances in technology.
There are many advantages to this. Revolutions in remote working and quick communication mean that we never need to wait. As soon as we think of something, we can do it. We can react quickly.
That has to be good, right?
Well, yes – and no. Our brains evolved millions of years ago, when creativity and quick thinking were unimportant compared to being able to learn a task and repeat it over and over again. From the first hunter-gatherers to the skilled workers of the twentieth century – for most of human life – the ability to remember, repeat and refine has been the key to success. In a crisis, we default to the most primitive of states – ‘fight-or-flight’.
Studies show that the brain is slowly starting to change as the way we live changes, but for now, we’re stuck with the hardware in our heads. There’s good news too, though – we can upgrade the software, by applying strategies to our thinking processes.
Strategies for thinking
By using Dr Edward de Bono’s ‘brain software’, we can take a rigorous and structured approach to the way we create, decide and solve problems. We can get the best from our intelligence, and we can work together in a constructive way – without triggering our ancient ‘fight-or-flight’ mechanism.
So we can learn to think more effectively. And we need to, now that our currency is, increasingly, what our brains contain, and what our thinking can do. Read our article: Getting stronger outputs from ideas.
Learn to think more effectively
- Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats® – The internationally renowned decision-making, idea evaluation and meeting management workshop. It transforms thinking and communication, as well as halving meeting times and doubling their effectiveness. More…
- Edward de Bono’s Lateral Thinking – Empower your people to challenge current thinking, solve problems and generate new ideas with Edward de Bono’s business creativity and innovation workshop. More…
- Edward de Bono’s Focus On Facilitation™ – Evolve and enhance your facilitation skills to deal with the toughest challenges and achieve breakthrough results. Prior attendance on Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats® required. More…
More about Stephanie Butland
More about Stephanie Butland
Stephanie Butland specialises in creativity, thinking skills, team development and communication. Stephanie is a Master Trainer in Dr de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats®, Lateral Thinking and Focus On Facilitation™ techniques. She also delivers workshops in Think on Your Feet®, Writing Dynamics™ and The Skilled Presenter™ and is a Belbin accredited and CIPD qualified trainer.
