Edward de Bono, the thinker and writer who coined the term "lateral thinking," has died at age 88, the Guardian reported. The author of more than 60 books, a prolific speaker and the host of a BBC television show, de Bono sought to free readers, viewers and listeners "from the tyranny of logic through creative thinking."
He introduced the concept in his 1967 book, The Use of Lateral Thinking, arguing that logic, or vertical thinking, was stifling, and that innovative solutions and groundbreaking ideas could be reached only through creative thinking.
A vocal critic of the British education system, de Bono asserted that schools relied too heavily on vertical thinking, memorization and testing. Those methods, he said, not only hindered creative thinking but also crushed the confidence of many students. In his 1972 book, Children Solve Problems, he put forth that most children are creative problem solvers by nature, and it is schooling that changes that.
In 1985, de Bono published Six Thinking Hats, in which he proposed a way to improve business meetings that involved participants donning imaginary hats of six different colors. Each hat represented a different emotion or outlook, and by every participant donning a particular hat at the same time, meetings could be more efficient and there would be less ego involved. The book went on to become an international bestseller, and companies like Motorola, IBM and Boeing reported success with the method.
Never too shy to self-promote, de Bono once called his thinking hats method "the most important change in human thinking for the past 2,300 years." He also took criticism rather personally: in response to a negative review of Six Thinking Hats that appeared in the Independent, he wrote to the editor saying he was entitled to compensation for the loss in earnings resulting from the review. And, years after the fact, he called the same reviewer a "silly little idiot" in an interview.
In addition to his work as an author and speaker, de Bono was a savvy businessman. He founded the company Advanced Practical Thinking Training in 1991, which worked with clients like Goldman Sachs, British Airways and Siemens, and was a "remarkable success." He received honorary degrees from institutions around the world and, in 1995, received Malta's National Order of Merit.