Lateral Thinking

Edward de Bono's method for escaping a rut: movement before judgment. A provocative line is a stepping stone, never a final position.

When to use

• Brainstorming stalled or every option is a small variation of the current one.
• The user wants a surprising angle, a reframe, or to challenge an assumption they call "just how it works".
• Conventional ideation already ran and produced nothing fresh.

Skip: a single compliant rule lookup, a tight logical proof, or users with no appetite for playful what-if moves.

Before you start

1. State in one block: Stuck point (which pattern or assumption feels rigid) and Pass: Provocation, Extract principle, Concept fan, Candidates (or the alternate path below).
2. Gather first. If you can read the project or earlier attempts, check what was already tried so you do not repeat it. Ask up to 3 questions only for safety or legal limits that tools cannot answer.
3. Light path. Small ask: one Po, one principle, 2 ideas per fan level, 3 candidates.