De Bono Quotes & Sayings

People should realize we're jerks just like them. — Edward De Bono

The effective thinker treats arrogance as the major sin of thinking. — Edward De Bono

As competition intensifies, the need for creative thinking increases. It is no longer enough to do the same thing better ... no longer enough to be efficient and solve problems. — Edward De Bono

Maybe the social value of truth is as a destination - so long as we do not assume we have arrived there. — Edward De Bono

Effectiveness without values is a tool without a purpose. — Edward De Bono

The concept of logical thinking is selection and this is brought about by the processes of acceptance and rejection. Rejection is the basis of logical thinking. — Edward De Bono

It is not the logical part of thinking that changes emotions but the perceptual part. If we see something differently, our emotions may alter with the altered perception. (p64) — Edward De Bono

America is an idea, but it's an idea that brings with it some baggage, like power brings responsibility. It's an idea that brings with it equality, but equality even though it's the highest calling, is the hardest to reach. The idea that anything is possible, that's one of the reasons why I'm a fan of America. It's like hey, look there's the moon up there, let's take a walk on it, bring back a piece of it. That's the kind of America that I'm a fan of. — Edward De Bono

A myth is a fixed way of looking at the world which cannot be destroyed because, looked at through the myth, all evidence supports the myth. — Edward De Bono

You can analyse the past, but you need to design the future. That is the difference between suffering the future and enjoying it. — Edward De Bono

Analysis is simplifying, breaking down things into parts, picking out strands and elements. Analysis is comparing unknown things with things that are known. Analysis also involves picking out relationships and putting them back together as a whole. — Edward De Bono

I'm in love with this country called "America." I'm a huge fan of America. I'm one of those annoying fans - you know, the ones that read the cd notes and follow you into bathrooms and ask you all kinds of annoying questions about why you didn't live up to that. I'm that kind of fan. I've read the Declaration of Independence, and I've read the Constitution of the United States, and they are some liner notes, dude. — Edward De Bono

Instead of waiting for our attention to be pulled towards something unusual, we can set out frameworks for 'directing' our attention in a conscious manner. — Edward De Bono

Thinking is the ultimate human resource. Yet we can never be satisfied with our most important skill. No matter how good we become, we should always want to be better — Edward De Bono

Traditional thinking is all about "what is" Future thinking will also need to be about what can be. — Edward De Bono

An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea. — Edward De Bono

Lateral thinking ... is the process of using information to bring about creativity and insight restructuring. Lateral thinking can be learned, practised and used. It is possible to acquire skill in it just as it is possible to acquire skill in mathematics. — Edward De Bono

In real-life situations apparently logical lines of argument are often (not always) based on an inability to see alternative possibilities.
In a similar way the ability to think of an alternative explanation is by far the best way of destroying the arrogance of an apparently logical line of argument. — Edward De Bono

The image that concerns most people is the reflection they see in other people's minds. — Edward De Bono

We may have a perfectly adequate way of doing something, but that does not mean there cannot be a better way. So we set out to find an alternative way. This is the basis of any improvement that is not fault correction or problem solving. — Edward De Bono

The purpose of science is not to analyze or describe but to make useful models of the world. A model is useful if it allows us to get use out of it. — Edward De Bono

To deal with future we have to deal with possibilities. Analysis will only tell us what is. — Edward De Bono

Mock the devil, and he will flee from thee. — Edward De Bono

It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all. — Edward De Bono

Creativity gives hope that there can be a worthwhile idea. — Edward De Bono

I must say, I don't feel very qualified to be a pop star. I feel very awkward at times in the role. — Edward De Bono

You hold onto religion, you know, rules, regulations, traditions. I think what God is interested in is people's hearts, and that's hard enough. — Edward De Bono

Explaining belief has alwayas been difficult. How do you explain a love and a logic at the heart of the universe when the world is so out of whack? Explaining faith is impossible - vision over visibility - instinct over intellect - a songwriter plays a chore with the faith that he will hear the next one in his head. — Edward De Bono

In a sense, words are encyclopedias of ignorance because they freeze perceptions at one moment in history and then insist we continue to use these frozen perceptions when we should be doing better. — Edward De Bono

Some people drift along like a cork on a river, feeling that they cannot do anything except drift, moment to moment. This is an attitude of mind. Everyone can be constructive even in tiny ways. — Edward De Bono

Everyone has the right to doubt everything as often as he pleases and the duty to do it at least once. No way of looking at things is too sacred to be reconsidered. No way of doing things is beyond improvement. — Edward De Bono

It's always amazed me how little attention philosophers, psychologists, or anyone else actually has paid to humor. — Edward De Bono

Creativity is a great motivator because it makes people interested in what they are doing. Creativity gives hope that there can be a worthwhile idea. Creativity gives the possibility of some sort of achievement to everyone. Creativity makes life more fun and more interesting. — Edward De Bono

What the joke displays is a switch in perception. This is important in changing the way we think. — Edward De Bono

Teaching thinking for just five hours to unemployed youngsters increased employment 500 percent. — Edward De Bono

Creativity and lateral thinking have exactly the same basis as humour. — Edward De Bono

Once a new idea springs into existence, it cannot be unthought. There is a sense of immortality in a new idea. — Edward De Bono

It is historical continuity that maintains most assumptions,
not repeated assessment of their validity. — Edward De Bono

A person who knows all the answers, has an opinion on everything, has a certainty backed up by rational argument, has very little possibility of further progress. Such a person is unlikely to walk away from a discussion with anything more than a reaffirmation of how right he or she has been all along. — Edward De Bono

Complexity means distracted effort. Simplicity means focused effort. — Edward De Bono

If you do not design the future, someone or something else will design it for you. — Edward De Bono

We need both information and thinking. Information is no substitute for thinking and thinking is no substitute for information. — Edward De Bono

A question is a polite way of demanding something. — Edward De Bono

In the art world, creativity involves aesthetic sensibility, emotional resonance and a gift for expression. — Edward De Bono

Asking a question is the simplest way of focusing thinking ... asking the right question may be the most important part of thinking. — Edward De Bono

To develop thinking as a skill, it should be deliberate, focused, confident, and enjoyable. — Edward De Bono

Language is the biggest barrier to human progress because language is an encyclopedia of ignorance. Old perceptions are frozen into language and force us to look at the world in an old fashioned way. — Edward De Bono

There may be more danger in prejudices which are apparently founded in logic than in those which are acknowledged as emotions. (p69) — Edward De Bono

A discussion should be a genuine attempt to explore a subject rather than a battle between competing egos. — Edward De Bono

It's not enough to rage against the lie.. you've got to replace it with the truth. — Edward De Bono

Opportunity ideas do not lie around waiting to be discovered. Such ideas need to be produced. — Edward De Bono

Democracy is an excellent way of ensuring that nothing much gets done. There are always interests that might get trampled upon [and no elected politician would wish to make permanent enemies by trampling upon others' interests]. — Edward De Bono

Creative thinking - in terms of idea creativity - is not a mystical talent. It is a skill that can be practised and nurtured. — Edward De Bono

A problem is simply the difference between what one has and what one wants. — Edward De Bono

The solid wealth of insurance companies and the success of those who organsie gambling are some indication of the profits to be derived from the efficient use of chance. — Edward De Bono

You do not go out into the street in your underwear, although usually you are wearing underwear. The underwear is not visible but it is there all the time. It is the same with concepts. They are there. They underlie practical things we do- even when we are not conscious of them. — Edward De Bono

One can think of a secretary actively operating a filing system, of a librarian actively cataloguing books, of a computer actively sorting out information. The mind however does not actively sort out information. The information sorts itself out and organises itself into patterns. The mind is passive. The mind only provides an opportunity for the information to behave in this way. The mind provides a special environment in which information can become self-organising. This special environment is a memory surface with special characteristics. — Edward De Bono

It wouldn't cost too much to change the rules of trade so that poor countries can work their way out of poverty. But the world's leaders won't act unless they hear enough people telling them. And every day they fail to act, thousands of people die because they can't afford the basics of survival. — Edward De Bono

To be successful you have to be lucky, or a little mad, or very talented, or find yourself in a rapid growth field. — Edward De Bono

This new meta-system is very much in favor of the self, but a self that is based on a proper sense of dignity, not on an inflated ego. A person who dare not admit he is wrong inflates his ego but weakens his self. — Edward De Bono

Most people ... are put off science because maths is the gateway and they can't handle it. What we should be teaching is operational maths because, in general, the maths we need to carry out science is pretty straightforward. — Edward De Bono

Critical thinking does seem a superior sort of thinking because it seems as though the critic is actually going beyond the scope of what is being criticized in order to criticize it. That is only rarely a true assumption because, most often, the critic will seize on some little aspect that he or she understands and tackle only that. — Edward De Bono

Many highly intelligent people are poor thinkers. Many people of average intelligence are skilled thinkers. The power of the car is separate from the way the car is driven. — Edward De Bono

Man owes his success to his creativity. No one doubts the need for it. It is most useful in good times and essential in bad. — Edward De Bono

To cultivate a pleasure in being wrong sounds perverse, yet losing an argument means escaping from an old idea and the acquisition of a new way of looking at things. — Edward De Bono

I used to think that one day I'd be able to resolve the different drives I have in different directions, the tensions between the different people I am. Now I realize that is who I am. I do feel I'm getting closer to the song in my head. I wasn't looking for grace. But luckily grace was looking for me. — Edward De Bono

You cannot dig a hole in a different place by digging the same hole deeper — Edward De Bono

You can analyse the past, but you have to design the future — Edward De Bono

A painter may be looking at the world in a way which is very different from everyone else. If he's a craftsman, he can get other people to see the world through his eyes, and so he enlarges our vision, perception, and there's great value in that. — Edward De Bono

The winner is the chef who takes the same ingredients as everyone else and produces the best results. — Edward De Bono

Every valuable creative idea must always be logical in hindsight. If it were not, we would never be able to see its value. — Edward De Bono

Lateral thinking is concerned not with playing with the existing pieces but with seeking to change those very pieces. It is concerned with the perception part of thinking. This is where we organise the external world into the pieces we can then 'process'. — Edward De Bono

If you never change your mind, why have one? — Edward De Bono

I do a great deal of work with young children, and if you give a child a problem, he may come up with a highly original solution, because he doesn't have the established route to it. — Edward De Bono

A memory is what is left when something happens and does not completely unhappen. — Edward De Bono

We may need to solve problems not by removing the cause but by designing the way forward even if the cause remains in place. — Edward De Bono

Humor is probably the most significant characteristics of the human mind. Far more significant than reason. In fact, reason is actually a very cheap commodity. — Edward De Bono

I'm a very loyal and unreliable friend. — Edward De Bono

You can't dig a different hole by digging the same one deeper. — Edward De Bono

The awful thing is that you can never be aware of what you are not aware of. — Edward De Bono

The quality of our thinking will determine the quality of our future — Edward De Bono

The music that really turns me on is either running toward God or away from God. Both recognize the pivot, that God is at the center of the jaunt. — Edward De Bono

The analysis of data will not by itself produce new ideas ... — Edward De Bono

Possibilities play a much bigger role in thinking than most people believe. Without possibilities you cannot make progress. — Edward De Bono

Western traditions of education have emphasized knowledge analysis, description and debate. They all have a part to play, but today there is a whole vast aspect of doing that has just been left out. Operacy is what keeps society going. — Edward De Bono

Argument is meant to reveal the truth, not to create it. — Edward De Bono

You cannot look in a new direction by looking harder in the same direction. — Edward De Bono

Simplicity before understanding is simplistic; simplicity after understanding is simple. — Edward De Bono

The Church has its problems, but the older I get, the more comfort I find there. — Edward De Bono

Complacency with our traditional judgement based thinking methods is not enough. Our existing thinking habits are excellent just as the rear wheel of a motor car is excellent but not enough. We need to put far more emphasis on creative and design thinking. Judgement and analysis are not enough. — Edward De Bono

It has always surprised me how little attention philosophers have paid to humor, since it is a more significant process of mind than reason. Reason can only sort out perceptions, but the humor process is involved in changing them. — Edward De Bono

They enjoy thinking. They enjoy being creative. They enjoy having ideas. Most people do not enjoy thinking at all. — Edward De Bono

When the story of these times gets written, we want it to say that we did all we could, and it was more than anyone could have imagined. — Edward De Bono

When the positive revolution takes hold it will no longer be enough for politicians to gain points through attack or being negative. Politicians will be expected to be constructive. — Edward De Bono

A good listener is very nearly as attractive as a good talker. You cannot have a beautiful mind if you do not know how to listen. — Edward De Bono

I'm tired of dreaming. I'm into doing at the moment. It's, like, let's only have goals that we can go after. — Edward De Bono

Child mortality [since 2000 is] down by 2.65 million a year. That's a rate of 7,256 children's lives saved each day ... It drives me nuts that most people don't seem to know this news. — Edward De Bono

Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way. — Edward De Bono

We need creativity in order to break free from the temporary structures that have been set up by a particular sequence of experience. — Edward De Bono

Don't criticise a hypothesis, come up with a better one. — Edward De Bono