To, Lo, Po, So and Go!

I DON'T OWN THE CONTENTS OF THE DOCUMENT, IT JUST FOR LEARNING PURPOSES.

It contains the famous Thinking Technique used nowadays in every problem solving situation.

This tool is one of the famous tools used as a "Teach yourself to Think" program by Edward De Bono. It is a bit of a misnomer: although de Bono does rail against classical western "dialectical" forms of reasoning as being overly focussed on analysis and criticism - which might be relevant for improving one's personal thinking style - it doesn't seem aimed at individuals trying to improve themselves so much as groups of people or committees trying to make decisions.

The central topic is a framework for brainstorming and planning. The framework is made up of the steps he calls TO, LO, PO, SO and GO, which translate to:

TO: What do I want to do?

LO: What information do I have and need?

PO: How do I get there?

SO: Which alternative do I chose?

GO: How do I put this into action?

Considering how important thinking is - for problem solving, making decisions, making plans, responding to situations and generally coping - we pay very little attention to it as a skill. Yet it is a skill, just like skiing and carpentry. We can get better at it if we want to. Learning to ride a bicycle may be awkward and artificial at first, but once we learn how then it becomes very easy and useful bicycle may be awkward and artificial at first, but once we learn how then it becomes very easy and useful.