Books by Edward de Bono

The Six Hats method is a devastatingly simple technique based on the brain's different modes of thinking. The intelligence, experience and information of everyone is harnessed to reach the right conclusions quickly. This title shows how meetings can be transformed to produce quick, decisive results every time.

The greatest gift we can give our children is the ability to think for themselves. The author shows how any parent can develop the thinking skills of their children. It provides techniques for coping with the many problems and opportunities that lie in wait for your child.

From confusing manuals to uninterpretable jargon and bureaucratic red-tape, modern life can be highly complicated and frustrating. For many of us it is almost impossible to make sense of. In this book, the author shows you how to bring clarity into our increasingly complicated lives.

THE classic work about improving creativity from world-renowned writer and philosopher Edward de Bono.In schools we are taught to meet problems head-on: what Edward de Bono calls 'vertical thinking'. This works well in simple situations - but we are at a loss when this approach fails. What then?Lateral thinking is all about freeing up your imagination. Through a series of special techniques, in groups or working alone, Edward de Bono shows how to stimulate the mind in new and exciting ways. Soon you will be looking at problems from a variety of angles and offering up solutions that are as ingenious as they are effective. You will become much more productive and a formidable thinker in your own right.'If more bankers and traders had read Lateral Thinking and applied the ideas of Edward de Bono to their own narrow definitions of risk, reward and human expectations, I suspect we would be in much better shape than we are'Sir Richard BransonEdward de Bono invented the concept of lateral thinking. A world-renowned writer and philosopher, he is the leading authority in the field of creative thinking and the direct teaching of thinking as a skill.Dr de Bono has written more than 60 books, in 40 languages, with people now teaching his methods worldwide. He has chaired a special summit of Nobel Prize laureates, and been hailed as one of the 250 people who have contributed most to mankind.Dr de Bono's titles include classic bestsellers such as Six Thinking Hats, Lateral Thinking, I Am Right You Are Wrong, Teach Yourself How To Think, Teach Your Child How To Think, and Simplicity - all now re-issued by Penguin.www.edwdebono.com

Split into short, digestible sections perfect for grazing rather than devouring, Textbook of Wisdom is perfectly designed so you can return again and again, mining for wise words to carry through life that will open your mind to creativity and new possibilities.

Don't chase the market leader, be the market leader. Edward de Bono, the bestselling author of Serious Creativity and inventor of lateral thinking teaches you how to move beyond the baseline of competition and find success with sur/petition. It's simple.

In Practical Thinking de Bono's theme is everyday thinking, how the mind actually works - not how philosophers think it should.

Western thinking is failing because it was not designed to deal with changeIn this provocative masterpiece of creative thinking, Edward de Bono argues for a game-changing new way to think. For thousands of years we have followed the thinking system designed by the Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, based on analysis and argument. But if we are to flourish in today s rapidly changing world we need to free our minds of these boxes and embrace a more flexible and nimble model.Parallel Thinking is an invaluable insight into the word of creativity; de Bono unveils unique methods of brainstorming and explains preconceived ideas of what creativity involves and is. This book is not about philosophy; it is about the practical (and parallel) thinking required to get things done in an ever-changing world.

First published in 1967, this remarkable title from one of history s greatest minds remains a must-read in the world of creative thinking. Based on the tenet that an error can lead to the right decision, de Bono guides the reader through a series of non-mathematical problems and puzzles, all designed to help us analyse our personal style of thinking, work out its strengths and weaknesses, and to consider the potential methods that we never use.There are three courses, each five days long and each created to focus on a different style of thinking, featuring: The Bottles ProblemThe Blocks ProblemThe L-GameThe End GameA true life-changer, this book will have you thinking in ways that you never thought were possible.

Reveals how playing with ideas, making connections, speculating and using the imagination are at the heart of being an interesting person. With seventy exercises that can help you bring humour, insight and surprise to everyday situations, this book can ensure that people not only find you company but also won't be able to forget you.

Our happiness and success depend on clear thinking. But too many of us are compromised by confusion, trying to do too much at once, and not knowing what to do next. This title shows that good thinking depends on a five-stage process that anyone can learn. It will enable you to assess your goals, sort available information, and more.

First published in 1981, this was the first book ever to be written explicitly for the right side of the reader s brain. Much has been made of the research conducted into the left side of the brain home to language and logic. The right side works in images, whole patterns and undefined feelings none of which can be verbalized. This more elusive thinking often functions as what is loosely called intuition . In Atlas, de Bono shows us how to use the right side. It is an atlas because it is a visual reference of images and illustrations that point the reader in the right direction (literally). For anyone who has ever been told to trust their instinct, or who is concerned with management and decision-making, this book is a de Bono classic.

First published in 1977, in this extraordinarily prescient book Edward de Bono sets out his method for achieving the ultimate 21st century goal: work-life balance. Defined in terms of life-space and self-space, de Bono invites the reader to look at their life and measure the gap between these spaces the smaller the gap, the greater our chances at happiness; but if the life-space is vastly bigger than the self-space, our coping ability is compromised and anxiety is likely. For anyone concerned with happiness and life-fulfilment this book is essential reading, and is perhaps more resonant with readers now than ever before.

Most of our everyday decision-making tends to be confrontational. Whether in large meetings, one-to-one or even in our own heads, opposite view points are pitted against each other. This book reveals how we can all be winners. It helps you to become a better thinker and decision maker.

The Mechanism of Mind presents Edward de Bono s original theories on how the brain functions, processes information and organises it. It explains why the brain, the mechanism , can only work in certain ways and introduces the four basic types of thinking that have gone on to inform his life s work, namely natural thinking , logical thinking , mathematical thinking and lateral thinking . De Bono also outlines his argument for introducing the word PO as an alternative to the word NO when putting lateral thinking into practice. Drawing on colourful visual imagery to help explain his theories and thought-processes, from light bulbs and sugar cubes to photography and water erosion, The Mechanism of Mind remains as fascinating and as insightful as it was when it was first published in 1969. This is a must-read for anyone who wants to gain a greater understanding of how the mind works and organises information and how Edward de Bono came to develop his creative thinking tools.

Why do some people always seem to have new ideas while others of equal intelligence never do? Lateral Thinking is Edward de Bono s original portrayal of what lateral thinking is, how it works and how to use it to develop your own potential for thinking and problem solving.First published in 1967 as The Use of Lateral Thinking, this classic international bestseller remains as relevant to learning, problem solving and creative thinking today as when it was first published. De Bono argues that conventional vertical thinking often inhibits our ability to solve problems and come up with new ideas. He then shows that lateral thinking is a far easier and more natural way to generate simple, sound and effective ideas and offers guidance on how to develop your own ability to think laterally. Lateral thinking is a technique that anyone can learn and benefit from.

If you want to be the best, focus on your most valuable asset: the power of your creative mindAs competition and the pace of change intensify, companies and individuals need to harness their creativity to stay ahead of the field. Under pressure, people often think they can't be creative; many more are convinced they are not creative at all because they have never been 'arty'. Creative genius Edward de Bono debunks these common notions in this remarkable book. He shows how creativity is a learnable skill - one that everyone can use to improve their performance. He then explains how you can unlock your own creativity to reap the personal and professional rewards it will bring. Learn how to:be creative on demand with de Bono's step-by-step approach add value to ideas and turn them into financial assets boost creativity with the power of lateral thinking break free from old ways of thinking with creative challenging

The world is full of problems and conflicts. So why can we not solve them? According to Edward de Bono, world thinking cannot solve world problems because world thinking is itself the problem. And this is getting worse: we are so accustomed to readily available information online that we search immediately for the answers rather than thinking about them. Our minds function like trying to drive a car using only one wheel. There's nothing wrong with that one wheel - conventional thinking - but we could all get a lot further if we used all four... De Bono examines why we think the way we do from a historical perspective and uses some of his famous thinking techniques, such as lateral thinking, combined with new ideas to show us how to change the way we think. If we strengthen our ability and raise our thinking level, other areas of our life - both personal and business success - will improve.De Bono is the master of the original big 'concept' book and his enticement to us to use our minds as constructively as possible should appeal to a whole new generation of fans.

Attention is a key part of thinking clearly and productively, and yet we pay very little attention to attention itself. If you see someone lying injured in the middle of the road, for example, your attention would go to that person but, if a bright pink dog wandered past at the same time, your attention would automatically stray to the dog. That is precisely the weakness of attention - it is pulled to the unusual. How much attention do we pay to the usual?So, what can we do about it? Instead of waiting for attention to be pulled towards something unusual, we can set out frameworks for 'directing' our attention in a conscious manner. Just as we can decide to look north, west or even south-east, so we can set up a framework for directing our attention, and that's where Edward de Bono's 'six frames' come in. Each frame is a direction or method in/with which to look, based on a different shape - triangle, circle, heart, square, diamond, slab.Today we are literally surrounded by information and it has never been so easy to obtain. Yet, information itself is not enough; it's how we look at it that really counts. Using the 'six frames' technique is the key to extracting real value from the masses of facts and figures out there and, like all de Bono's techniques, it is simple, effective and will utterly change the way you interpret information.

Optimise your thinking, decision making and problem solving with the inventor of the term 'lateral thinking'.

Everybody wants to be creative. Creativity makes life more fun, more interesting and more full of achievement, but too many people believe that creativity is something you are born with and cannot be learned.In How to Have Creative Ideas Edward de Bono - the leading authority on creative thinking - outlines 62 different games and exercises, built around random words chosen from a list, to help encourage creativity and lateral thinking. For example, if the task were to provide an idea for a new restaurant and the random word chosen was 'cloak', ideas generated might be: a highwayman theme; a Venetian theme with gondolas; masked waiters and waitresses. Or, if asked to make a connection between the two random words 'desk' and 'shorts', readers may come up with: both are functional; desks have 'knee holes' and shorts expose the knees; traditionally they were both male-associated items.All the exercises are simple, practical and fun, and can be done by anyone.

H+ (Plus) A New Religion? provides a framework for achievement through daily acts of help or contribution. Whether this is offering other people something to laugh at or helping an elderly person cross the road, through these altruistic acts comes a sense of achievement, and from achievement comes self-esteem and a belief in oneself.Edward de Bono's new groundbreaking book offers an entirely positive way of life: with the emphasis not on sins that are to be avoided, but on things that are to be done. 'H' stands for:- Happiness- Help- Hope- Health - and, most importantly, Humour.

Traditional thinking habits of businesses need to be greatly improved. Analysis and judgement are no longer enough to make important corporate decisions; you can analyse the past but you have to design the future. Corporate decisions depend on values. Disputes and conflicts often arise because of a clash of those values; each party in the dispute wants to pursue its own values, often at the expense of the other party. It is therefore essential that companies, managers and employees have a full understanding of the values of everyone involved to design a way forward that benefits all parties. From the bestselling author of How to Have a Beautiful Mind and Six Thinking Hats, this groundbreaking business book provides a basis for value assessment, an essential tool in decision-making for 21st century corporations. De Bono demonstrates that values come into all areas of thinking, behaviour and decision-making and outlines a framework to focus employees' attention on a variety of values including human values, organisational values, cultural values and perceptual values. By introducing a scoring system to rate different values as strong, sound, weak or remote de Bono helps readers to prioritise and make executive decisions that count.

People spend a fortune on their bodies, their faces, their hair, their clothes. Cosmetics, plastic surgery, diets, gym membership - everyone's trying to be more attractive. But there's an easier way to become a beautiful person. It doesn't have to be physical. No matter how you look, if you have a mind that's fascinating, creative, exciting - if you're a good thinker - you can be beautiful.And being attractive doesn't necessarily come from being intelligent or highly-educated. It isn't about having a great personality. It's about using your imagination and expanding your creativity. And it's when talking with people that we make the greatest impact. A person may be physically beautiful, but when speaking to others a dull or ugly or uncreative mind will definitely turn them off.In clear, practical language, de Bono shows how by applying lateral and parallel thinking skills to your conversation you can improve your mind. By learning how to listen, make a point, and manoeuvre a discussion, you can become creative and more appealing - more beautiful.

What we have not sufficiently developed is the thinking concerned with what can be. This is thinking that is creative and constructive, and which seeks to solve conflicts and problems by designing a way forward. This title emphasises on thinking that is on design and not judgement.