Edward de Bono’s on an India mission
He is in a different part of the world, talking to government leaders, educators and heads of industry and business, telling them how to increase productivity, shore up bottomline.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: Edward de Bono is the consummate peripatetic educator. Nearly every week he is in a different part of the world, talking to government leaders, educators and heads of industry and business, telling them how to increase productivity, shore up bottomline, and even offer his ideas on resolving long-standing, bloody conflicts. The 74-year Maltese pioneer of lateral thinking would be in India to address business leaders on transforming organisations through the power of ideas and out-of-the-box thinking. What is unique about de Bono’s work is that the response is from across an unusually wide spectrum. Most recently de Bono was in the limelight here in India when former India cricket coach Greg Chappell was trying to use some of his acclaimed methods like the Six Thinking Hats to enhance the performance of the team. “The lessons are not just relevant to business people, but just about anybody. I’ve worked with the Australian rugby and football teams and also had a very useful interaction with the ex-Aussie cricket coach John Buchanan,” says de Bono.
He recounts an incident in South Africa where a minerals company was having a problem handling a vast army of unlettered and unruly miners who would often fight against each others, resulting in large-scale casualties and even deaths. “I had some lateral thinking sessions with the miners and the officials who worked alongside them, and in a month’s time the number of incidents had dropped from more than 300 to just four.”
In many ways, it could be said he is one of the best-known thinker internationally. His numerous books have been translated into 34 languages, including Arabic, Bahasa, Urdu, Slovene, and Turkish. At the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, five faculties use his books as required reading. In Venezuela, by law, all schoolchildren must spend an hour a week on his programmes and in Singapore, more than 100 secondary schools use his work as part of the curriculum.
During his visit to India, de Bono would be talking about some of his newer techniques such as the Six Value Medals. This technique helps people quickly but thoroughly scan for values, prioritise which values are the most important to pursue, and then ensure that top values are addressed and maximised at every step of the way. “It’s like putting on a pair of glasses with six lenses, one for each of the six important value categories,” says de Bono. In a career spanning more than half a century, de Bono has worked with many of the major corporations in the world such as IBM, DuPont, Prudential, AT&T, British Airways, British Coal, NTT and Ericsson. One of the biggest European corporations, Siemens, is teaching his work across the whole organisation, to all of its 3,70,000 employees. When Microsoft held their first-ever marketing summit, they invited Edward de Bono to give the keynote address in Seattle to its 500 top managers. Having already worked with several Tata group companies such as Tata Steel and TCS, and the AV Birla group, de Bono is no stranger to India and its business environment. “India has a great potential to become an innovation leader in the world. In a world where China is synonymous with low-cost, India’s businesses and government should be thinking of creativity, innovation and value addition. That’s the way ahead,” says de Bono.
He recounts an incident in South Africa where a minerals company was having a problem handling a vast army of unlettered and unruly miners who would often fight against each others, resulting in large-scale casualties and even deaths. “I had some lateral thinking sessions with the miners and the officials who worked alongside them, and in a month’s time the number of incidents had dropped from more than 300 to just four.”
In many ways, it could be said he is one of the best-known thinker internationally. His numerous books have been translated into 34 languages, including Arabic, Bahasa, Urdu, Slovene, and Turkish. At the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, five faculties use his books as required reading. In Venezuela, by law, all schoolchildren must spend an hour a week on his programmes and in Singapore, more than 100 secondary schools use his work as part of the curriculum.
During his visit to India, de Bono would be talking about some of his newer techniques such as the Six Value Medals. This technique helps people quickly but thoroughly scan for values, prioritise which values are the most important to pursue, and then ensure that top values are addressed and maximised at every step of the way. “It’s like putting on a pair of glasses with six lenses, one for each of the six important value categories,” says de Bono. In a career spanning more than half a century, de Bono has worked with many of the major corporations in the world such as IBM, DuPont, Prudential, AT&T, British Airways, British Coal, NTT and Ericsson. One of the biggest European corporations, Siemens, is teaching his work across the whole organisation, to all of its 3,70,000 employees. When Microsoft held their first-ever marketing summit, they invited Edward de Bono to give the keynote address in Seattle to its 500 top managers. Having already worked with several Tata group companies such as Tata Steel and TCS, and the AV Birla group, de Bono is no stranger to India and its business environment. “India has a great potential to become an innovation leader in the world. In a world where China is synonymous with low-cost, India’s businesses and government should be thinking of creativity, innovation and value addition. That’s the way ahead,” says de Bono.
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