3. Escaping the Yes/No Paradigm deBono offers an exercise to facilitate the development of lateral thinking in which the syllable PO is substituted for the word NO. The word NO represents a common concept of pessimism and one that supports the rejection and restriction of ideas. Using PO continues to build on the idea of escaping from concepts of conformity.

In this case, PO allows for “the escape from the Yes/No system” of our society (deBono, 1971, p. 134). By escaping from the hold of the Yes/No concept, one can more easily realize the full capacity of an idea, rather than focusing on what is right or wrong. Whereas Yes/No serves as a belief or conclusion, PO is a proposal that can lead to the formulation of ideas beyond the limits of one’s own experience. Thus, one can replace NO with PO in order to shift one’s thinking from that of judging a situation as right or wrong (via Yes/No) to hypothesizing to uncover the potential possibilities. This lateral thinking allows you to overcome the assumptions and ideas of current theories and concepts, which deBono terms as the Intermediate impossible. Here are two examples that deBono (1971, p. 141) provides:

A. Problem: To reduce traffic congestion in cities.

Intermediate impossible: PO automobiles should have square wheels.

Idea: Cars could not move—road would have to move.