Indians are argumentative: Edward de Bono
18 Sep, 2007, 0037 hrs IST,Harsimran Singh, TNN

NEW DELHI: Ever thought of a restaurant which serves no food but still makes money?   Or about a restaurant with no lights or a chef or even a menu?   Or a restaurant which charges not for food but time spent?    Hundreds of such creative business ideas flowed when lateral thinking Guru and inventor of Six Hats Theory, Dr Edward De Bono, arrived in the capital to provoke corporate honchos to 'think out of the box'. ET caught up with the septagenuarian author of 74 books to understand whether Indians are creative enough?

"From the limited interactions I've had, I find Indians very argumentative," says Dr Edward De Bono. "Argument is a very primitive way of discussion. In contrast, Americans are creative and have a 'go getter' attitude. The Chinese have not started thinking creatively but the Japanese are slowly shifting from logic based thinking to creative thinking. French think they are the most creative. But in fact, they are not!," he told ET on the sidelines of an Indiatimes seminar.

The Malta born psychologist and pyshician has advised hundreds of top companies like Coca Cola, Siemens, Boeing, 3M, Goldman Sachs, Nokia, Rolex, BT, Nestle, Ericsson.(the list is endless) to think out of the box and improve profitability. Dr De Bono also advises many governments on policy isasues related to economy, unemployment, education and conflict resolution. The creative Guru has an instant answer for everything - from how to solve economic problems to how to get rich to how to propose to your girlfriend (or boyfriend)! But we'll come to the last one in a while.

"How can India become a superpower?" we ask first. "If India can partner China, the two can become a superpower in a short time. Alternately, if India and China can form a coalition bringing other developing nations under its fold, it can beat all other superpowers," he adds.

And how can we solve the SEZ's land acquisition problem? "Rather than forcefully acquiring land, if the SEZ owners partner with landowners/farmers, giving them part ownership, they will be happy to give their land."