Po (lateral thinking)


Po is a word that precedes and signals a provocation. A provocation is an idea which moves thinking forward to a new place from where new ideas or solutions may be found. The term po was created by Edward de Bono as part of a lateral thinking technique to suggest forward movement, that is, making a statement and seeing where it leads to. It is an extraction from words such as hypothesis, suppose, possible and poetry, all of which indicate forward movement and contain the syllable "po." Po can be taken to refer to any of the following: provoking operation, provocative operation or provocation operation. Also, in ancient Polynesian and the Maori, the word "po" refers to the original chaotic state of formlessness, from which evolution occurred. Edward de Bono argues that this context as well applies to the term.
For example, Sales are dropping off because our product is perceived as old fashioned.
  1. po: Change the colour of the packaging
  2. po: Flood the market with even older-looking products to make it seem more appealing
  3. po: Call it retro
  4. po: Sell it to old people
  5. po: Sell it to young people as a gift for old people
  6. po: Open a museum dedicated to it
  7. po: Market it as a new product
Some of the above ideas may be impractical, not sensible, not business-minded, not politically correct, or just plain daft. The value of these ideas is that they move thinking from a place where it is entrenched to a place where it can move. The above ideas might develop into...
  1. po: Change the colour of the packaging
  2. * update the product casing to bring it up to date
  3. po: Flood the market with even older-looking products to make it seem more appealing
  4. * take a cut down version and release it as an older cheaper one to make this product seem like the top of the line
  5. po: Call it retro
  6. * instead of retro say "tried and tested" or "industry standard"
  7. po: Sell it to old people
  8. * good idea
  9. po: Sell it to young people as a gift for old people
  10. * good idea
  11. po: Open a museum dedicated to it
  12. * exhibit only your competitor's products
  13. * sell this product in the museum
  14. * make the experience educational within your sector
  15. * open a café
  16. * accept group bookings
  17. * add a theme park
  18. po: Market it as a new product
  19. * give it a new name and call it state of the art
The point of these examples is that an initial po may seem silly, but a further development may seem very good indeed. The intermediate silly idea is a necessary step to find the good idea. If silly ideas are not allowed to form, the subsequent good idea will be undiscovered. Po allows silly ideas to form so that good ones can follow.
Po is also an interjection - consider as an alternative to yes or no. Indicating that you need to know more before answering an expression of an idea or thought. Imagine it as a word that means: "I think I know what you mean, but can you say it in another way so I may more fully understand you". Its use indicates respect for the other, It is considered a language laxative - to encourage more conversation. and explanation.
Po is used as a term of self discovery when used in connection with the "color corrected co-creation wheel of Barbara Marx Hubbard.