How do you apply lateral thinking techniques in everyday decision-making?

1 Embrace Curiosity

Curiosity is the fuel for lateral thinking. To apply it in your daily decisions, you must cultivate an inquisitive mindset that questions the status quo. Instead of accepting things at face value, ask yourself 'Why?' or 'What if?' This approach can lead to unconventional solutions that might not be reached through traditional thinking. For example, when tackling a problem, consider multiple perspectives or imagine how someone from a different field might approach it. This broadens your thought process and can lead to innovative outcomes.

2 Challenge Assumptions

Assumptions can be the biggest barriers to lateral thinking. To overcome them, deliberately identify and challenge the assumptions that underpin your decision-making process. Consider what would happen if the opposite of your assumptions were true. This technique can reveal alternative strategies and opportunities that you may have overlooked. For instance, if you assume that a service can only be delivered in person, challenging this assumption could open up possibilities for remote or digital solutions.

3 Alternative Angles

To apply lateral thinking, actively seek out alternative angles when faced with a decision. This means not settling for the first solution that comes to mind but instead exploring a range of different ideas. A useful method is to reframe the problem by changing its context or by looking at it from a different angle. For example, if sales are declining, instead of just considering marketing strategies, think about how changing the product design or customer experience could have an impact.

4 Idea Generation

Generating a large quantity of ideas is at the heart of lateral thinking. Use techniques such as brainstorming or mind mapping to explore a wide array of potential solutions without judgment. The key is to allow your creativity to flow freely and capture all ideas, even those that seem far-fetched at first. Later, you can sift through these to find viable options. This process often leads to discovering a novel approach that would not have emerged through conventional thinking alone.

5 Connect and Combine

Lateral thinking thrives on making connections between seemingly unrelated ideas. To harness this in decision-making, look for ways to combine different concepts or elements from other industries or areas into your situation. This could mean adapting a successful strategy from another business sector to solve a problem in your own or merging two unrelated product ideas to create something entirely new. The synergy of these combinations can produce groundbreaking results.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?