Problem Solved: Business Meets Lateral Thinking with Paul Sloane

Paul Sloane’s always been interested in lateral thinking puzzles and has written international best sellers on the subject. He shares how he’s translated those methods into solving problems in the business world. A professional who’s helped busy executives with creativity and innovation in their companies for over fifteen years, he describes some of his methods to raise the bar for leadership and problem solving. Listen and learn

• How lateral thinking starts with approaching problems from the side,
• Examples of his 12 “great ways to innovate,”
• Why corporate culture provides little incentive to innovate and how he advises to change that, and
• Some of the most interesting puzzles he’s faced in the corporate world.

Author, speaker, and innovator Paul Sloane explains his cutting-edge approach to business problems and solutions for listeners with concrete examples and the philosophy behind what he does. It all starts with countering the staid habit of vertical thinking. That’s where “you build block on block on block, and that's fine. But lateral means coming at the problem from the side. It means finding a new and fresh and different approach to the problem,” says Sloane. He says that’s how great leaps, like our modern grocery shopping system, have evolved. 

Unfortunately, he says that corporate culture is often works against innovation, mostly at the middle level when goals are geared toward meeting one’s numbers rather than risk taking that might not pan out. Sloane has numerous methods to address these, from brainstorming groups to creativity training. “Everyone can be more creative than they think. Everyone started out as creative. Kids are terrifically creative,” he says and he discusses how he helps to revive that creativity within corporate walls. Listen in to find out more about his effective ideas.