In 1971, Shell came up with a new method for drilling oil that increased production 3-6 times. Siemens has recently managed to cut the time it spends on production development by half. IBM, Saatchi & Saatchi, Merck, NASA and Microsoft have similar success stories—thanks to a man named Edward De Bono.

De Bono is no soothsayer, neither does he possess any supernatural powers. Rather, he is a scholar in the art of creative thinking.

A leading authority in the field of creative and conceptual thinking. De Bono is acclaimed today as the mastermind behind breakthrough theories like "Lateral Thinking" and "Parallel Thinking."

According to De Bono, creative people are not necessarily intelligent. What makes them creative is their ability to actualize their thoughts.

"Creativity is like a cooking contest. All are given the same ingredients. The winner is the one who takes these ingredients and manages to create superior value," De Bono said.

For De Bono, creativity is a key-factor for success in the 21st century. "We need creativity because first we need to change the way we are doing things, adapt to the changing world around us, achieve maximum use of available assets and finally solve problems that are otherwise difficult to solve." De Bono pointed out. "Many ask: Can creative thinking be taught, or is it a talent? Creativity is a skill that can be taught," the expert said. Creative thinking, according to De Bono, is like a car: The motor resembles human intelligence while oil resembles information and knowledge. The driver is the navigator, the thinker. "When people see a mountain, they often wish to climb it, but they fail to think how they are going to do so."

De Bono believes that people today should try to deviate from the regular norms of thinking. "The thinking we need in the new millennium is different. Up till now, we have been thinking according to standard situations and judgment," he said. "We think of something and say: 'What is it?' Instead, we have to ask: 'What could it become?'"

De Bono pointed out that it is not enough to be competent or efficient to succeed. "It's how you provide additional value. And that needs creative thinking. It is what I call: 'Design Thinking.' We are not short of information, what's important is how to use this information," the expert noted.