Edward De Bono Brainy Quotes

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

Unhappiness is best defined as the difference between our talents and our expectations. ~ Edward De Bono

We still seek to solve conflicts with 'judgement' instead of designing the way forwards. ~ Edward De Bono

If you understand the system you can design appropriate action. ~ Edward De Bono

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

That wasn't a mistake, was 'a fully justified venture which, for reasons beyond your control, did not work ~ Edward De Bono

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

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

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

I know it aches, how your heart it breaks. You can only take so much. Walk on. ~ Edward De Bono

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

In 80% of Socrates' dialogues there was no constructive outcome. He saw his role as simply pointing out what was wrong. ~ Edward De Bono

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

Intelligence is something we are born with. Thinking is a skill that must be learned. ~ Edward De Bono

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

Although feelings are not supposed to intrude on business discussions, they do anyway - we just disguise them as logic. ~ 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

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

Creativity gives the possibility of some sort of achievement to everyone. ~ Edward De Bono

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

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

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

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

You cannot look in a new direction by looking harder in the same direction. ~ 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

A good design is not a democratic consensus. ~ 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

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

I think school is a place where thinking should be taught. ~ Edward De Bono

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

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

Our existing thinking habits are excellent, just as the rear wheels of a motor car are excellent, but not enough ... ~ 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

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

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

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

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

Creativity and lateral thinking have exactly the same basis as humour. ~ 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

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

The system will always be defended by those countless people who have enough intellect to defend but not quite enough to innovate. ~ 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

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

The winner is the chef who takes the same ingredients as everyone else and produces the best results. ~ 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

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

Creativity can be learned like basketball, which does not mean we will all be NBA stars. ~ 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

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

Opportunity ideas do not lie around waiting to be discovered. Such ideas need to be produced. ~ 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

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

Don't criticise a hypothesis, come up with a better one. ~ 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

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

Everything can be simplified. With enough simplification and enough patience on the part of the parent, anything can be simplified to the point that even very young children can begin to understand it. ~ Edward De Bono

What is urgent will always take precedence over what is important. ~ Edward De Bono

There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns. ~ Edward De Bono

The need to be right all the time is the biggest bar to new ideas. ~ Edward De Bono

Companies that solely focus on competition will ultimately die. Those that focus on value creation will thrive. ~ Edward De Bono

Creativity involves provocation, exploration and risk taking. Creativity involves "thought experiments." You cannot tell in advance how the experiment is going to turn out. But you want to be able to carry out the experiment. ~ Edward De Bono

Removing the faults in a stage-coach may produce a perfect stage-coach, but it is unlikely to produce the first motor car. ~ Edward De Bono

My thinking was taught to tribes in South Africa like the Zulus and Xhosas. At the time there were about 210 fights breaking out among them every month, but after they listened to my lessons, this fell to just four. ~ 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

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

Humor is by far the most significant activity of the human brain. ~ Edward De Bono

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

Teaching thinking for just five hours to unemployed youngsters increased employment 500 percent. ~ 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

I think there is a danger with young people of being dependent in the sense that they don't acquire any identity or self-image of themselves as thinkers. ~ Edward De Bono

Dealing with complexity is an inefficient and unnecessary waste of time, attention and mental energy. There is never any justification for things being complex when they could be simple. ~ Edward De Bono

Logic will never change emotion or perception. ~ 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

Unfortunately, our existing traditional thinking habits insist that you must attack something and show it to be bad before you can suggest a change. It is more difficult to acknowledge that something is excellent and then to ask for change because although it is excellent, it is not enough. ~ 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

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

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

Real life, however, is very different from school sums. There is usually more than one answer. Some answers are much better than others: they cost less, are more reliable or are more easy to implement. There is no reason at all for supposing that the first answer has to be the best one. ~ 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

The simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity. ~ 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

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

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

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

Studies have shown that 90% of error in thinking is due to error in perception. If you can change your perception, you can change your emotion and this can lead to new ideas. ~ 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

There's a danger in the internet and social media. The notion that information is enough, that more and more information is enough, that you don't have to think, you just have to get more information - gets very dangerous. ~ 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

Everywhere I go, I see very much the same thing. I see the same compassion for people who live half a world away. I see the same concern about events beyond these borders. And, increasingly, I see the same conviction that we can and we must join together to stop the scourge of AIDS and poverty. ~ 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

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

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

Sometimes the situation is only a problem because it is looked at in a certain way. Looked at in another way, the right course of action may be so obvious that the problem no longer exists. ~ Edward De Bono

Other than his ex-wife and despite appearances with a series of cultivated blondes, Edward de Bono has never publicly aligned himself with a woman. 'I'm looking for a fat, cross-eyed hunchback,' he explains, stifling a giggle. 'A prosthetic hump would do.' His delight evaporates when asked about his three grandchildren. 'Am I a doting grandfather?' He pauses. 'I'm a ... something grandfather, yes.' The fact that De Bono remains unperturbed by this lack betrays an emotionally austere childhood, and his passions for play, toys, and bad jokes tell of the same deprivation. ~ Antonella Gambotto-Burke

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

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

Most executives, many scientists, and almost all business school graduates believe that if you analyze data, this will give you new ideas. Unfortunately, this belief is totally wrong. The mind can only see what it is prepared to see. ~ 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

In the future, instead of striving to be right at a high cost, it will be more appropriate to be flexible and plural at a lower cost. If you cannot accurately predict the future then you must flexibly be prepared to deal with various possible futures. ~ Edward De Bono