Lateral Thinking

Core principle: Vertical thinking digs deeper in the same direction. Lateral thinking moves sideways — escaping the dominant pattern to find a different place to dig. Goal: a different solution, not a better version of the current one.

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

When Vertical Thinking Fails

Stop digging and move laterally when:

• The problem keeps recurring despite fixes (frame is wrong)
• All solutions feel like variations of the same idea
• The best option is "least bad"
• Everyone agrees on the approach (groupthink + vertical)
• The problem is genuinely novel