Critical and Lateral Thinking

A common frustration of new business school students is that professors are trying to teach them “what to think” about business. There are certainly some instructors who make this mistake, but this is not the objective of faculty. Rather, the goal is to help students develop critical thinking skills, and lateral thinking skills.

Critical thinking is established when we use a criteria for making decisions and analysis (the words critical and criteria both derive from the Greek word kritērion, defined as a means of judging).
Lateral thinking is the process of problem solving through creativity and non-traditional approaches. Imagination and possibilities are emphasized over step-by-step approaches.

Most people will have a natural inclination towards one of these approaches. Therefore, when instructed in a style using the opposite approach it might feel as if they are being taught what to think. In reality, they are being taught how to think critically and laterally. The ability to blend critical and lateral thinking is essential to career success, since it is a key element in seeing things from different perspectives.

It is important to note that professional educators tend to view critical and lateral thinking development as a career-long process. For example, the two most influential management educators of the 20th Century, Peter Drucker and W. Edwards Deming, were researching and publishing well into their 90’s. Albert Einstein worked on his Grand Unification Theory until the day of his passing. It doesn’t matter if we are learning how to think about management or the universe. To an educator, there is always an opportunity learn more about one’s chosen vocation.

Do any of us know more about our fields of endeavor than Drucker, Deming, or Einstein knew about their fields? If they never stopped sharpening-their-edges, why should we? These men are not icons by accident. They gave us a formula for success: Choose your vocation wisely, and know as much about it as possible. Learn a little more every day; apply what we have learned, and good things will happen.

When presented with new knowledge from professional educators, however, it is not uncommon for some people to reject it believing they are being told “what to think”. Understanding the mission of educators, however, removes this incorrect perception. The goal of a competent educator is not to tell people what to think. Rather, it is to help people think critically and laterally.

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