Leaders of tomorrow need an out-of-the-box approach to come up with solutions. It is not about following a straight line but rather carving your own path towards your goal. The breakthrough comes when we follow the uncharted path. It leads to radical innovations and the creation of a better life. Lateral thinking is exactly what men in the world need to adopt today to become strong leaders.

Paul Sloane is a motivation speaker and the founder of Destination Innovation: a company that aims to put lateral leadership at the forefront to give way to creative problem-solving. Described by The Independent as the “King of Lateral Thinking Puzzles,” Paul Sloane aims to provide a competitive advantage to organizations through innovation that focuses on creative thinking and creating better leaders.  

Humble Beginnings and Desire to find Creative Pathways

Paul Sloane had humble beginnings. Studying at a Catholic Boys Grammar School in the Northern part of England, Paul always was counted to be creative among his peers. After finishing school, his knack for problem-solving and academic excellence earned him a place at Cambridge University.

After finishing college, he focused his talents on sales and joined IBM’s sales and marketing division. With time and patience, his abilities grew and led him to become the managing director of Ashton-Tate, the company that pioneered the dBase database application.

Climbing further up the career ladder, Paul Sloane soon found himself leading Mathsoft as Vice President. He then went on to become the CEO of Monoactive.

The corporate ladder seems common for most achievers. However, what distinguishes Paul Sloane from the rest is the next path that he took.

Desiring to bring the concept of lateral thinking to a wider audience and to help organizations find unique and creative solutions for their endeavors, Paul Sloane encompassed whatever he learned during his years managing companies into books about lateral thinking.

It wasn’t much later that organizations and publications started to take notice. Soon, Paul Sloane found himself writing over 20 books about lateral thinking, innovation, and puzzles.

Now, he has become a household name in the crowd of thought-provoking motivational speakers to multinational clients, including Shell, BT, ICI, Philip Morris, ICI, and IBM, to name a few.

Hardships teach the value of time and relationships

Paul admits that he was fortunate not to go through many hardships in life, but he tells a story. After losing his brother and sister from ailments and almost losing his eldest daughter, he believes that he saw relationships and time in a renewed light.

To Paul Sloane, the hardest challenge men of today face are society’s expectations. They must display mental toughness and come up with solutions even if there are none in the immediate vicinity. By implementing lateral thinking, these men can venture smoothly, keeping stress away and their relationships together.

Success is what you achieve

Paul Sloane’s success mantra is simple. If a person has a strength of character, resilience, and a positive attitude to go through life, he will attain success. Success, to Paul Sloane, is achieving something worthwhile through commitment.

His entire premise for lateral thinking is rooted in this philosophy. He emphasizes that with his favorite phrase:

“Nobody said that life was going to be fair. Plan your work, then work your plan, you snooze, you lose.”