Thinking types- Parallel thinking

You can't solve the problem using same logic that has created it. --- Albert Einstein. 

Parallel thinking works on the same basis as mentioned by Albert Einstein in the above quote. Parallel thinking is a term coined and implemented by Edward de Bono The logic is simple you cant drill two holes on a wall by digging same hole dipper n dipper. So you need to move your drill in parallel direction to drill one more hole. In the same way parallel thinking says team should decide one direction of thinking and everyone should think in that direction.

Parallel thinking is about aligning the thinking processes of everyone in the meeting. Instead of person A being positive about his or her idea at the same time as person B is being negative about it, everyone is asked to tackle the issue from the same direction at the same time. In the simplest terms, both persons A and B are asked to think positively about each idea in turn and then think negatively about each idea in turn. In this way, we get each person to find the good in each idea and the bad in each idea. The process isn't guaranteed to make one of them change their mind, but it is guaranteed to get more out of each idea and to restrict any disagreement until both ideas are fully explored.

My company uses the technique both internally and, where appropriate, within team building sessions with our clients. An important ingredient in any team building activity is its ability to offer insights into team processes, hopefully enabling teams to take back improvements that make them more effective in the workplace.

Implementation of Parallel thinking is "Six Hats Thinking" and "Lateral Thinking" by Edward de Bono which I will post on my blog soon. Some of the companies which uses parallel thinking are Nestle, Blackberry, Motorolla, Microsoft etc. See more companies list here .

BlackBerry

References:

Edward de Bono Parallel thinking 


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