Thinking Managers

Edward de Bono of www.thinkingmanagers.com argues that intelligence is just one of the components necessary for good quality thinking.

Intelligence does not necessarily equate to better thinking

‘Are intelligent people capable of better thinking?’ Although this is a fundamental question, we rarely answer it.

It is often assumed that the answer is ‘yes’, because that is partly how we define intelligence. If someone is intelligent, they seem more capable of thinking than other people. However, in my experience across a very wide range of people, this obvious answer is not true.

We have analysis – the ability to understand things. It is true that intelligence, understanding and analysis do seem to go together. However, someone might be very good at analysis and poor at design thinking or operational thinking, which are the ways of thinking that make things happen.

Where ‘design’ is involved, you put things together to deliver a desired value. Excellence at analysis does not equate to excellence in design. Philosophy is taught as part of the school curriculum in some countries. The intentions are good because the idea is to teach thinking. However, philosophy teaches analysis rather than design thinking.

We have information. Intelligent people are able to understand and absorb information more readily. Because of this, they tend to have more information to play with. The right information can act as a substitute for thinking.

Intelligent people working in a certain field pick up the idiom of that field and then become capable of juggling the relevant information. A powerful new idea can result. But the generalised skill of thinking is not there if you take that same mind and apply it to a completely different field.

Intelligence can be likened to the horsepower of a car. Or you could say intelligence is a ‘potential’ (which could be determined by the speed of transmission along the neurones in the brain).

Thinking is like the skill you use to drive the car. The driver of the fast car might, in time, acquire the skill needed to drive that fast car. However, that is not the same as ‘driving skill’ in its broad sense of reacting to conditions and other drivers.

There is an overlap of thinking and intelligence in the area of understanding, but they can diverge in other areas. For instance, an intelligent person might form a view on a certain subject. This view could be determined by personal experience, emotions and even prejudice. Intelligence can then be used to defend this view.

This is not good thinking. Good thinking would involve exploring the subject, the generation of alternative views, listening to others' views, considering the context and purpose of the thinking – and then designing the way forward. No matter how brilliant the defence of a point of view, it is not enough.

Good thinkers are supposed to have certain general habits and intentions, including considering all factors, generating alternatives, listening to others and defining the objective. These might exist as intentions but are not necessarily used by thinkers.

About the author
Edward de Bono is the world's leading authority in the field of creative thinking and the teaching of thinking as a skill.