lateral Thinking- Uses

When we are about to establish the first factory, we were faced with a dilemma as to whether to follow the practices that are followed by other companies or choose our own path. The selection was not easy but we were convinced that if we follow the path taken by others then we will get the same results and the same problems and issues that they are facing. So after a long deliberation we decided to follow a new set of rules and new direction. The results were that a company with only 5 lacs seed money grew in 12 years to be a 900 Cr company and the first to be a debt free company along with a excellent quality award and JVM achievement award for me for Asia Pacific region along with a growth rate of about 40-42% each year.

In order to achieve it the lateral thinking techniques as propounded by Edward De Bono were of immense help. This from setting up, buying machinery, selection of workers and managerial staff, training, labor laws. production targets and setting up a new work culture with empowerment to the workers . The techniques especially used were,generation of alternatives, challenging assumptions, innovation, design, suspended judgement, dominant ideas and crucial factors, analogies, random simulation, choice of entry point and attention areas and the six thinking hats.

Just as an example can one think of a company which had no Engineers, technicians, MBA in its employment and only employed people between 18 to 22 years of age with no experience and who should not have worked anywhere and still be successful. A company where the workers take the mangers interview for employment, no rules except one, no production targets. A company which rewards mistakes. A company where the utilization rate of machinery was 99.97% for 10 years with fully automatic line. Well these are some examples of using lateral thinking and not following the practices followed by other and being unreasonable as others called it.

" Swim upstream. Go the other way. Ignore the conventional wisdom. If everyone else is doing one way there is a good chance you will find your niche by going in exactly the opposite direction."

Sam Walton