Dr James Bannerman is the only person in the world with a PhD in Lateral Thinking. More specifically, his PhD research involved him interviewing a rich variety of leading experts on business creativity and innovation including Tony Buzan (the inventor of Mind Maps), John Adair (the first ever Professor of Leadership) and the ‘Father’ of Lateral Thinking himself: Edward de Bono. This is significant because evidence suggests that effective ‘Lateral Thinking’ skills are going to become increasingly important between now... Read More
Dr James Bannerman is the only person in the world with a PhD in Lateral Thinking.
More specifically, his PhD research involved him interviewing a rich variety of leading experts on business creativity and innovation including Tony Buzan (the inventor of Mind Maps), John Adair (the first ever Professor of Leadership) and the ‘Father’ of Lateral Thinking himself: Edward de Bono.
This is significant because evidence suggests that effective ‘Lateral Thinking’ skills are going to become increasingly important between now and 2030 if we want to survive and thrive, in business and beyond.
Added to this, James is also the best-selling author of 2 books on the amazing power of creative thinking – i.e. Genius! and Business Genius! (both published by Pearson) – which highlight how we all have ‘genius moments’ from time-to-time, and with the help of ‘deceptively simple’ mindtools and inspirational techniques we can start to prosper from more.
What tends to appeal to the organisers of international corporate events and conferences, however – who are looking for speakers who can stimulate new ideas and new solutions – is not so much James’s PhD (or his award-winning lectures on MBA programmes at business schools like WBS), but the benefits and added value his extensive real business experience and creative skills can bring to such engagements too.
Since 2000, for example, Dr James Bannerman has worked with the leaders, managers and teams of over 300 different companies across the globe (from Aston Martin to British Airways, Disney to DLA Piper and Duracell, and The European Space Agency to Roche, Schroders and SingTel) combining creativity with psychology to help them think differently and achieve higher-level performance. Also, prior to this, James was a platinum-selling singer-songwriter (BMG) and freelance cartoonist (e.g. Punch), who trained in clinical psychotherapy and began his creative journey with a Masters degree in English Literature at Edinburgh University.
Dr James Bannerman’s style of delivery = Entertaining, Interactive, Thought-Invoking and Business-Relevant.