The following contains excerpts from the book, Tactics (the Art & Science of Success) Edward de Bono.
At our music school in Midland, Texas we believe that music is more than sound, it is relationships. In the study of Leadership, relationships matter. And in studying relationships, the understanding of empathy becomes of high importance.
In the author’s thesis, “There are clearly many different ways of looking at success…we shall be looking at the lessons that might be learned from a number of people who would generally be regarded as ‘successful’…We can gain new perspectives; we can learn what works for them and what does and does not work for us; we can learn what to focus upon; we can learn broad strategies that do not rely for their efficiency upon our teacher’s personal style…The purpose of this book is to provide an environment for such learning.”
“Successful people are often very single minded and determined…The positive attitude says that natural talent can be maximized and also that without further effort natural talent will be wasted…Even if successful people show a variety of styles, is there one style which – if adopted – would be likely to lead to success? The traditional image is that of a person who is strong-minded, ruthless, and hardworking. It is surprising how few of the people in this book fit that image.
At our music school in Midland, Texas we value the uniquenesses of each students and do our best to augment their strengths.
“There are two sorts of creativity. The first is the creativity of innocence. Because you do not know how something ought to be done, you are able to find an original way…create your new idea. Then check out the new idea…The second sort of creativity is that of escape. We do know how things are usually done, but we manage to escape from that…For such escape we need provocation and some of the other attitudes and tools of lateral thinking…Some artists manage to preserve a sense of wonder, which allows them to combine the virtues of experience with the perceptions of innocence…Sting: ‘I think businessmen can and should be creative. I think society should be creative. One of my maxims is that society needs to be realized and not controlled. Most of the rules in society tend to restrict creativity to a safe level, and it’s only rare individuals who manage to escape.’”
One of the most important tenets we teach students in our music school in Midland, Texas is to always be free to create, encouraging them to believe in their unique ideas and to have the boldness to step out on their ideas.
“Mistakes have also been a useful source of creativity. They provide a type of provocation. The essential provocation is that we create an unstable situation from which we can then move forward to a new perception or a new idea…People that are funny are already creative because they see the improbably and the upside-down logics. It is one of the things we actually look for; the people who have a finely gauged sense of humour are likely to be most creative…Once we understand the nature of patterning systems then we come to realize two things. The first thing is that such systems are absolutely essential for ordinary life and immensely valuable. The second thing is that we are locked into those patterns which are but a summary of our sequence of past experience, and that already existing experience can be used to form new ideas…What I am saying is that once we understand the patterning nature of perception, then the deliberate changing of concepts and perceptions is something that we can attempt. We can use lateral thinking as a formal thinking process alongside our other thinking equipment (analysis, logic, mathematics, etc.)
At our music school in Midland, Texas we encourage students to always be ‘pro-active’ in their own journey of growth.
“Strategy means putting things in place carefully, and with a great deal of thought. It is the opposite of just waiting for things to happen or taking a flyer. There is a strong sense of strategy in many successful people…Sting: ‘There’s a certain amount of inspiration and enjoying what you do – that’s the prime mover – but then there is what you might call strategy. You look at the market and see what sells, and you see what image is required. To a certain extent you taper your creativity to that particular mode’…Strategic rigidity can be as disastrous as lack of strategy…First, there is a sense in which strategy must remain flexible if aims are not to be achieved overnight. Second, we need to distinguish clearly between a plan and a strategy. A strategy should be broad and contain contingency positions; in times of uncertainty, it should be capable of taking this climate into account.”
We teach students at our music school in Midland, Texas to have strategic planning based upon ideas that are centuries old, which have stood the test of time and are still applicable to today’s pedagogy.
“Since the advent of the industrial age, armies have become larger and their weapons more sophisticated. The battlefield is now not only much more widespread but also has become multidimensional. It has moved from a few fields to an entire country and could involve continents…The battlefield itself may come under attack from long-range missiles or from air attack, and their missiles and aircraft may have to be defended. More insidious, more difficult to combat, is the attack on the will of the populace, military and civilian, through ideological weapons: subversion and propaganda.”
“It is difficult for a creative process to occur across a number of different minds (though different minds can input ingredients and, later, modifications). So the design of a successful concept tends to occur in one person’s mind. The successful person tends to be a creative designer in his or her chosen field.”
“The problem is getting all the facts together and eliminating. The toughest part of a decision is getting what you should make the decision on, and that doesn’t come out of computers; that comes out of human beings – each with his own vested interest – getting people to level with you. What you’re dealing with is people’s innate security…two important aspects of thinking. One is extracting and assessing information. The other is constructing a sort of perceptual map. This map shows the information and the biases and the areas of uncertainty. The more complete the map, the easier it becomes to find your way to where you want to go. This is exactly the approach that we take in the teaching of thinking in schools. If the map is good enough, then the actual ‘thinking’ part becomes very easy because the map shows you the route. The problem is that is a ‘perceptual’ map and not just an information map. People always make the mistake of believing that you can put all the information onto the map (or into the computer), and the right answer will pop out. But information is only one part of it. The more important part is perception: the way the information is looked at…There never is a correct perception: only alternative perceptions. They all go down onto the map. The task of the thinker is to make that map rather than to fiddle with syllogisms…thinking in real situations is more complex…Different situations demand different thinking styles. Different areas of activity demand different thinking styles. What is important is that we recognize these different styles and do not make the mistake of saying that there are some things we think about and some things we do not.”
At our music school in Midland, Texas we encourage students to learn a variety of thinking styles and creative approaches while, at the same time, encouraging them to discover their own unique strengths.