Lateral thinking isn't just about being quirky. It’s a structured way to look at problems from fresh angles, helping you break patterns, spot overlooked possibilities, and discover smarter solutions. Here’s how you can build this mindset and apply it at work.

1. Challenge Your Assumptions

We all operate with mental blinders. Our experiences and past solutions form a set of rules we stop questioning. The first step in lateral thinking is to confront those rules and ask: What if they’re no longer valid?

Examples:

• Splitting the Atom: Once thought indivisible, scientists had to challenge the core assumption that atoms couldn’t be broken apart.
• Marconi’s Radio Transmission: Experts insisted radio waves couldn’t travel across the curved Earth. Marconi tested it anyway—and succeeded.
• Netscape’s Browser Strategy: While Microsoft dominated retail channels, Netscape bypassed them entirely by giving away its browser online.

“Lateral thinking is concerned not with playing with the existing pieces but with seeking to change those very pieces.” — Edward de Bono

Lesson: You can either compete with a market leader by changing the game—or be the leader who anticipates how someone else might outmaneuver you.

Tips to Challenge Assumptions

• Ask: “Why do we do it this way at all?”
• Look at the problem through the eyes of an outsider.
• Simplify the situation to uncover buried assumptions.
• Consider doing the opposite of what the experts suggest.

2. Ask Better Questions

Asking the right questions is what turns curiosity into insight. Great lateral thinkers use questions to reframe problems, expose assumptions, and unlock new paths forward.

Examples: When Intel was losing the memory chip market in 1985, its founders asked: “What would a new CEO do?” The answer—abandon memory chips—led them to pivot into processors and become market leaders.

Tips to Ask Powerful Questions

• “What are we assuming?”
• “What if we reversed the problem?”
• “How would someone from a completely different field solve this?”
• “If we had unlimited budget, what would we try?”
• “How can we double the outcome, not just improve it?”

3. Look at Things Differently

Sometimes innovation means stepping back entirely and changing the lens. That’s what Dick Fosbury did when he flipped his back to the bar and revolutionized high jumping. Or what Henry Ford did by keeping the car still and moving the workers instead.

Tips to Shift Perspective

• Reframe the problem using different language.
• Use mind maps or draw visual diagrams to explore patterns and links.
• Start with a random object and force a connection to your issue.
• Ask someone outside your field how they’d approach it.