Most corporations operate on the idiom of: “maintenance and problem solving”. That is to say keep going day by day – and solve problems if and when they arise. Quite a lot of lip service is paid to creativity but, in truth, not very much is done. And what is done is of the weak “brainstorming” type. Most organisations simply do not appreciate the power of a new idea. They think of creativity as some peripheral luxury – like putting cherries on a cake. Earlier this year I was talking to senior management of Ingwe Coal in South Africa. The day following the seminar, the senior engineer told me that using a technique I suggested they had designed a new way of cutting coal – the first new way in eighty years. This would give them thousands of tons more coal every week. In 1971 at a talk to Shell Oil in London I suggested a different way of drilling an oil well. That is now standard practice (not because of me) and gives between three and six times as much oil as before from each well. Competence and efficiency are not enough. The future is going to depend on the design of ideas. Because it would be absurd for any corporation, no matter how large, to believe that they had enough creativity internally, I am setting up, with a major advertising agency, a special “Idea Design Unit” for the direct purpose of designing ideas. This unit will use the resource of the Creative Team on my website on a commercial basis. When information, technology and competence all become commodities – as they are becoming – the only thing that will matter is the design of ideas. More and more technology will not provide value. The design of “value concepts’ will. Creativity is by far the cheapest way of getting added value from existing assets. Most technology companies are operating way below their potential through failure to design value concepts. Information and analysis are far from enough. They are merely the baseline. Competition is no longer enough. The emphasis is now on “Surpetition” (a concept I introduced in a book of that name). Most world problems will not be solved by yet more analysis. There is a need to design a way forward. That is the theme of my book called “New Thinking for the Millennium”. You can analyse the past but you have to design the future. Edward de Bono, July 1999 About the author: Dr Edward de Bono is a world leading authority on thinking skills. Creator of the famous Six Thinking Hats®, Lateral Thinking and many other workshops he has authored 62 books published in 32 languages.   Holst is Dr Edward de Bono’s partner in Europe. Click here for more information about Dr de Bono and his tools. Would you like to change how people think? Consider adding Dr Edward de Bono’s tools to your portfolio and become an accredited de Bono trainer.