Operational flexibility and corporate flexibility are the only ways gulf companies can compete with india and china, says lateral thinker edward de bono
Finding the flexibility in business operations – and injecting your organisation with innovation – are the only ways left for Gulf companies to differentiate themselves from countries like India and China, according to Edward de Bono, the world’s foremost creative thinker.
“It’s no longer good enough for organisations to find better ways of following the same old routines,” said de Bono. “What is needed is a new degree of flexibility, a system that’s open to innovation and suggestion, not merely a repetition of the methods of the past.
“The old efficiencies and standards of excellence still apply. The problem is that our organisations are no longer able to compete with the emerging giants of India and China, where they are able to do these things better, at a lower cost.”
De Bono will be teaching some of his patented lateral thinking techniques in person during an exclusive one-day event in Bahrain, entitled Maximising Creativity and Lateral Thinking to Deliver Strategic Success, on June 1. During a similar event recently, participants came up with 21,000 new ideas during the day.
His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, the Minister of the Prime Minister’s Court in Bahrain, has confirmed his patronage for the event and will open the event in person.
By using lateral thinking, de Bono says we can be innovative, to simplify problems and to find new ways of doing the same old things more effectively.
“It’s all about adding value in the new world of work,” he said. “Every individual in the organisation should be able to come up with new, better ways of doing things and the organisation should have a process in place which recognises these, and acts on them.”
He believes that all countries should include these teaching methods in the national educational curriculum, following the example of China, for instance.
The full-day conference is the latest in a series of thought leadership events to be held in Bahrain, organised by Global Leaders, following on from Ken Blanchard, the author of One Minute Manager, and Deepak Chopra.
For more details, visit www.globalleadersevents.com/debono. The headline sponsor for the event is Addax Bank. Partners for the event include: BSTD, Bayt.com, Zawya, Gulf Business, knet, BIBF, Bahrain Tribune, Al Ayam, Tradearabia.com, Flip Media, and The Makeover Experience.
© 2008 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
