THERE ARE A RANGE OF WAYS OF LOOKING AT ANY PROBLEM OR OPPORTUNITY I have seen a number of creative pitches from advertising agencies that have proposed that there solution is the best solution, if not the only solution – conveniently ignoring compelling evidence that there is never one solution and rarely a best solution. […]

THERE ARE A RANGE OF WAYS OF LOOKING AT ANY PROBLEM OR OPPORTUNITY I have seen a number of creative pitches from advertising agencies that have proposed that there solution is the best solution, if not the only solution – conveniently ignoring compelling evidence that there is never one solution and rarely a best solution. There are few tools in marketing more important that lateral thinking – accepting that there is never one solution to any issue and that finding the right solution requires a structured approach to considering all the factors and options. Contrary to popular misconception – lateral thinking is not about randomly generating ideas and noting them down. Lateral thinking requires a more structured analysis – hence the development by Edward de bono (the man who coined the term ‘lateral thinking’) of his ‘Six hats for lateral thinking’. As important as lateral thinking is to finding optimal…