Edward de Bono
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Edward de Bono

Six Thinking Hats; lateral thinking.

Physician and author who created lateral thinking and the Six Thinking Hats framework for structured creative problem-solving.

Wikipedia
#27Mental Model Curators
58/ 100
Authority scoreEstablished
1lists#27peak1primary1category
14
Top 100 Mental Model Curators
Rank #27·Six Thinking Hats; lateral thinking.
Frameworks

Attributed to Edward de Bono

Mental models, principles, and operating frameworks extracted from sources where Edward is the credited author or speaker.

18frameworks
01
Blue Hat Process Control
Thinking about thinking itself
Strategy·from Six Thinking Hats
02
Concept Extraction
Extract concepts from ideas
Innovation·from Flowscapes
03
Concept Fan
Generate ideas
Innovation·from Flowscapes
04
Creating a Flowscape
Map your perceptions
Mindset·from Flowscapes
05
Flowscape
Understand and change perceptions
Mindset·from Flowscapes
06
Flowscapes
Visualizing perception
Mindset·from Flowscapes
07
Lateral Thinking
Deliberately cut across established mental patterns to generate genuinely new ideas
Innovation·from I Am Right, You Are Wrong: From This to the New Renaissance: From Rock Logic to Water Logic
08
Parallel Thinking
Everyone looks in the same direction at the same time
Strategy·from Six Thinking Hats
09
Po: Provocation and Zero-Hold
Use a single signal word to introduce productive provocations and suspend premature pattern entry
Innovation·from I Am Right, You Are Wrong: From This to the New Renaissance: From Rock Logic to Water Logic
10
Random Entry Technique
Obtain a genuinely external entry point to break free of dominant thought patterns using a randomly selected word
Innovation·from I Am Right, You Are Wrong: From This to the New Renaissance: From Rock Logic to Water Logic
11
Rock Logic vs Water Logic
Replace fixed categorical thinking with context-sensitive, flow-based perception
Mindset·from I Am Right, You Are Wrong: From This to the New Renaissance: From Rock Logic to Water Logic
12
Six Thinking Hats Method
Six colored hats for six directions of thinking
Innovation·from Six Thinking Hats
13
The Concept Fan
Breed specifics from broad concepts
Innovation·from Flowscapes
14
The De Bono Self-Organizing Information System Model
Understand the brain as a pattern-making system that excels at developing ideas but struggles to generate them, requiring lateral thinking to escape established patterns
Innovation·from The Mechanism of Mind: Understand How Your Mind Works
15
The De-Confliction Design Method
Evaporate conflicts at their root instead of merely managing symptoms
Strategy·from Conflicts
16
Triangular Thinking for Conflict Resolution
Replace two-sided arguments with three-party creative design
Strategy·from Conflicts
17
Water Logic
Logic of perception
Mindset·from Flowscapes
18
Water Logic vs Rock Logic
Replace rigid adversarial reasoning with fluid perceptual thinking that creates new ideas
Mindset·from I Am Right, You Are Wrong
Domains

Framework distribution

18frameworks
Innovation8 frameworks · 44.4%
Mindset6 frameworks · 33.3%
Strategy4 frameworks · 0.1%
Bibliography

Sources by Edward de Bono

12sources
Book
2020
Conflicts
Book·4 frameworks extracted
2020
Flowscapes
Book·14 frameworks extracted
2018
Handbook for a Positive Revolution
Book
1990
I Am Right, You Are Wrong
Book·2 frameworks extracted
1990
I Am Right, You Are Wrong: From This to the New Renaissance: From Rock Logic to Water Logic
Book·8 frameworks extracted
1985
Six Thinking Hats
Book·6 frameworks extracted
1969
The Mechanism of Mind: Understand How Your Mind Works
Book·2 frameworks extracted
—
I Am Right – You Are Wrong
Book
—
Lateral Thinking
Book
—
Serious Creativity
Book
—
The Mechanism of Mind
Book
—
Water Logic
Book
Appears alongside

Top neighbors of Edward de Bono

8people
01
Aaron Stupple
explanations-and-progress curator.
1shared list
02
Adam Mastroianni
Experimental History; meta-science curator.
1shared list
03
Adam Robinson
Robinson Global Strategic Advisors; meta-learning.
1shared list
04
Alain de Botton
School of Life; philosophy-as-life-tools curator.
1shared list
05
Alan Watts
eastern-philosophy translator for the West.
1shared list
06
Andy Matuschak
evergreen notes; spaced-repetition-based memory systems.
1shared list
07
Anne-Laure Le Cunff
Ness Labs; mindful productivity / tiny experiments.
1shared list
08
Atul Gawande
checklist; medicine-meets-systems essayist.
1shared list
Last updated
10 May 2026
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