Yet the book inspires and will not disappoint De Bono fans. With organisations reaching a plateau, creativity is growing in importance, as valuable as any other function-finance, raw materials or production. As De Bono puts it. “Water is necessary for soup but soup is more than water.” Water is basic competence. But it is creative thinking that will give the competitive edge.
De Bono firmly believes that creativity is not natural talent, not a mystery but is a skill that can be learned and applied. To him lateral thinking is only a special type of information handling and he weaves the arsenal of tools and techniques for serious creativity around three basic approaches, challenge, provocation and alternatives While all this is not earthshakingly new, the methodology is communicated with the usual meticulous aplomb
The most interesting and perhaps the most practical tools-random input, creative pause, concept fan and the stratal method will sensitize the most logical mind. It will stimulate a desire to practise “creativity on demand “The minute details on various processes and techniques are given at the appropriate points in the book. In each case a fundamental creative process is put into action in a particular way There lies the brilliance of the author. For example, provocation n a common approach to creativity the systematic step by step framework to focussed creativity through provocation is De Bono’s forte
The author concludes with a note on the structured application of serious creativity in organisations and sustaining the process is elaborated through training formats and evaluation
For all those who will be horrified by the title-SERIOUS creativity, because creativity is fun, spontaneous and the domain of ‘rebels’, this book may also be valuable– You may change your mind–at least attempt-an understanding of the logic in creativity.
“There is nothing more marvellous than thinking of a new idea.
There is nothing more magnificent than seeing a new idea work.
There is nothing more useful than seeing a new idea work.”
Happy Reading!!
Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience
– Ralph Waldo Emerson –
