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468 PART 5: THE LEADER AS SOCIAL ARCHITECT
it is possible to activate different areas of the brain. If the answer isn’t in the part
of the brain being used, it might be in another that can be stimulated by a new
experience. For example, a NASA scientist was taking a shower in a German hotel
while pondering how to fi x the distorted lenses in the Hubble telescope in 1990.
Nobody could figure out how to fi t a corrective mirror into the hard-to-reach

space inside the orbiting telescope. The engineer noticed the European-style show-
erhead mounted on adjustable rods. This perception connected with the Hubble
problem as he realized that corrective mirrors could be extended into the tele-
scope on similar folding arms. Lateral thinking came to the rescue. 42
To facilitate the creative flash from people, some managers reorganize fre-

quently to mix people into different jobs and responsibilities, or they hire people
with diverse experiences. Frequent change can be traumatic but it keeps people’s
minds fresh and innovative. Having someone with a real estate background run
a bank branch brings a fresh perspective to problems. People with diverse skills
challenge the status quo when developing strategies or responses to customers. 43
Personal approaches to stretch your mind when solving problems could in-
clude behaviors such as changing your sleeping hours, taking a different route
to work, reading a different newspaper or listening to a different radio station,
meeting new people, trying new recipes, or changing your restaurant, recreation
or reading habits, all of which might stimulate a new part of the brain and trigger
a lateral response. Unilever Best Foods asks 1500 managers to leave their offi ces,
laboratories, or factories for three days, twice a year, to visit customers and learn
more about them. Card designers at American Greetings are free to change their
work location, enjoy a library of hundreds of magazines and thousands of books,
and confer with counterparts in other industries, such as automotive and appli-
ance manufactures. Nike designers got the idea for the high gloss finish on the Air

Jordan XIX at the Detroit auto show. 44
Alex Osborn, the originator of brainstorming, developed many creative tech-
niques. One effective technique that is widely used to stimulate lateral thinking
is the checklist in Exhibit 15.5. The checklist seems to work best when there is a
current product or service for sale that needs to be improved. If the problem is to
modify a cell phone design to increase its sales, for example, the checklist verbs in

Exhibit 15.5 Lateral Thinking Checklist
Verb Description
Put to other uses? New ways to use as is? Other uses if modified?
Adapt? What else is like this? What other idea does this suggest?
Modify? Change meaning, color, motion, sound, odor, form, shape? Other changes?
Magnify? What to add: Greater frequency? Stronger? Larger? Plus ingredient? Exaggerate?
Minify? What to subtract: Eliminate? Smaller? Slower? Lower? Shorter? Lighter? Split up? Less
frequent?
Substitute? Who else instead? What else instead? Other place? Other time?
Rearrange? Other layout? Other sequence? Change pace?
Reverse? Transpose positive and negative? How about opposites? Turn it backward? Turn it upside
down? Reverse role?
Combine? How about a blend, an alloy, an assortment, an ensemble? Combine units? Combine
purposes? Combine appeals? Combine ideas?

Source: Alex Osborn, Applied Imagination, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1963.