📅 Thought for today:
‘If you never change your mind, why have one?’
— Edward De Bono
#thoughtfortoday #thinking #wisdom #change #criticalthinking #lateralthinking #EdwardDeBono #socrates #parentalinfluence
When I was in my early teens my grandmother gave me a book by Edward De Bono.
It was a well-used copy of “Lateral Thinking” she had found at a jumble sale.
“I thought you might like it”, she said.
My mother was dismissive, not a fan of De Bono, as a scientist and teacher, she didn’t think his populist ideas were helpful. Critics of his work would agree.
Yet he remained popular – something in his work resonated. I often hear managers quote from “Six Thinking Hats” for instance.
I never did read that book, yet bizarrely I found it on one of our many bookshelves.
Last night I picked up his “Textbook of Wisdom”. To be honest I didn’t think science or evidence was in the slightest bit relevant – I immediately found myself thinking differently and was intrigued by how quickly and easily he had achieved this.
In deciding to write about De Bono, I turned to Wikipedia and was surprised to discover that he died in June this year. Saddened, but his legacy is in his books.
And the thought that started all this was about the pleasure of working with someone who readily, and willingly changes their mind, and in the same process enables me to see a different perspective on myself and my work. This happened in a fabulously creative session yesterday morning and the warm glow of that two and a half hour “chat” has carried over to today.
What will you change your mind about today?
