Edward de Bono Biography

In 1967, he published his first book, The Use of Lateral Thinking, which is considered to be one of his best-works. He introduced the concept of lateral thinking through it.

He then started working on his next book, New Think, which was released in 1968 along with another publication titled, The Five-Day Course in Thinking.

In 1969, The Mechanism of Mind was published which talks about the sustaining prototype of the mind. He then authored a more detailed book titled, Lateral Thinking: Creativity Step by Step, the next year.

1971 was an extremely productive year for the writer. After building a strong foundation with his ideologies, he authored Technology Today, Practical Thinking and Lateral Thinking for Management.

From 1972 to 1976, he authored a number of other books including Children Solve Problems, Po: A Device for Successful Thinking, Teaching Thinking and The Greatest Thinkers: The Thirty Minds That Shaped Out Civilization. Around this time, he also established the Cognitive Research Trust.

In the 1980s, he published the following books; Atlas of Management Thinking, De Bono’s Course in Thinking, Tactics: The Art and Science of Success and the famous, Six Thinking Hats. 

One of his works published in 1982, titled De Bono’s Course in Thinking was also made into a television show that was aired on BBC.

In 1995, he created a documentary based on the future titled, 2040: Possibilities by Edward de Bono. This documentary served as a discourse which was intended to prepare the audience with the process of being released from cryogenic freeze cells in the future.

In 1996, a de Bono Institute was established as a center for new thinking. The same year, he authored the book, Textbook of Wisdom.

In 1997, he was invited to be a speaker at the leading ecology conference, which was held in Beijing. The subsequent year, he authored, How to Be More Interesting.

He was convinced that the betterment of humanity would eventually be through better language. Thus, he published the book, The Edward de Bono Code Book.

From 2004 to 2009, he then went on to publish a wide array of his works, including How to Have A Beautiful Mind, Six Value Medals, How to Have Creative Ideas, Six Frames For Thinking About Information and Think! Before It’s Too Late.

He coined and introduced the concept of ‘lateral thinking’, in 1967. This approach helps people solve problems through a imaginative yet incidental approach. This methodology is now used in a number of corporate offices around the world and has proven to be extremely useful in terms of problem identification, problem solving and inducing motivation. Thus, he is known as the father of ‘lateral thinking’.

In 1985, he authored Six Thinking Hats. This book is considered to be one of his greatest literary works and provides the readers with effective tools for group discussion and individual thinking. It also provides a more detailed insight into the concept of ‘parallel thinking’ and ‘critical thinking’. 

In 1992, he became the first recipient of the Capire Prize in Europe, for outstanding achievement.

In 1994, he was presented the Pioneer Prize in the field of Thinking, at the International Conference on Thinking at MIT, Boston.

In 1971, Edward de Bono married Josephine Hall-White. They had two sons. They later parted ways.

Edward de Bono died on June 9, 2021, at the age of 88.