Dr Michael Hewitt-Gleeson
Michael Hewitt-Gleeson (born Melbourne 1947) is a cognitive scientist and author of Software For Your Brain (1989), ISBN 09473511088 which first published his invention of the universal brain software known as the digital switch cvs2bvs or cvs to bvs.
For eight years (1977 to 1984) Dr Hewitt-Gleeson and Edward de Bono collaborated to launch a project to get THINKING taught in schools as a school subject. This was the Learn-To-Think Project and was first published in their textbook The Learn-To-Think: Coursebook and Instructors Manual, ISBN 0-88496-199-0 which was co-authored by Hewitt-Gleeson and De Bono in 1982.
Their original textbook on thinking skills was featured as a cover story on all global editions of Readers Digest (article entitled Seven Steps to Better Thinking, April 1983) with a readership of 78 million readers in 70 countries and published in 21 languages. This global publication event was the widest ever distribution of thinking skills and remains so to this day.
To advance this project they created and co-owned several corporate entities: Edward de Bono & Associates Inc, New York (1977), The Cognitive Research and Training (CoRT) Foundation Inc, New York (1983) and The Edward de Bono School of Thinking Inc, New York (1983).
In 1983 they developed The Six Thinking Caps method for teaching thinking skills. In the Preface of a recent edition of Six Thinking Hats Edward de Bono acknowledges that their thinking hats method “may well be the most important change in human thinking for the past 2300 years”.
Today the School of Thinking (SOT) is an independent, pro bono school now based on the internet at www.schoolofthinking.org and operated from Melbourne by Hewitt-Gleeson. In 2009 SOT exported more than one million thinking lessons to members in 45 countries.
Hewitt-Gleeson is an acknowledged world authority on lateral thinking who has four published titles on Lateral Thinking. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Cognitive Science, International College, Los Angeles (1980). In 1980, Cambridge Professor Edward de Bono was Hewitt-Gleeson’s tutor for the world’s first PhD in Lateral Thinking in which he proposed The Theory of Newsell. His examiner was the distinguished Professor George Gallup, Founder of the Gallup Poll, Princeton.
He has been a Council Member of The Leadership and Learning Council at Melbourne Grammar School since 2006. In 2005 he was appointed by Victorian Premier Steve Bracks as an Ambassador for Think Victoria and Club Melbourne. He is the first Visiting Academic Fellow in Innovation Thinking at the Biosciences Research Division at La Trobe University (2007).
Hewitt-Gleeson developed many of his training strategies for SOT based on his military training and service in the 1st Australian Task Force (1968-1969) during the Vietnam War. His military experience and awards include:
• Corps Medal, The Veterans Corps of Artillery (VCA), State of New York (New York 1990)
• Flying Officer, Royal Australian Air Force, (Melbourne 1969-1974)
• Language Instructor, Vietnamese and Allied Cultural Association (Vung Tau 1968)
• Vietnam Logistic and Support Medal (Vung Tau 1968)
• Vietnam Campaign Medal (Nui Dat 1969)
• Graduate, Jungle Training Centre, Canungra, Australia (Queensland 1968)
• Officer Training Unit, Scheyville, NSW Australia (non-graduate 1968)
• Australian Active Service Medal (1995)
• Australian National Service Medal (2002).
Hewitt-Gleeson has been an international consultant on strategy and sought by organizations and corporations from the United Nations, and the White House to IBM, Fujitsu, BMW, Jack Welch of General Electric, AMP, Telstra, Vodaphone, Saatchi & Saatchi, Australian Institute of Sport and St Kilda Football Club. He has lectured widely in many nations including Canada, China, Bermuda, Indonesia, Tahiti, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Netherlands, Mexico, Spain, France, Israel, Japan, Italy, Greece, Malta, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia.
His work has been featured in Forbes, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Personal Success (cover story May ‘91), Readers Digest, Wall Street Journal, GQ (cover story), The Australian, The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, The West Australian, BRW, Financial Review, Australian Anthill and many publications. He has been featured in numerous radio and television programs and internet blogs worldwide.
Dr Hewitt-Gleeson is a Patron of Marie Stopes International Australia. He is a member of The Melbourne Savage Club.
Hewitt-Gleeson is a best-selling author of books and numerous articles on lateral thinking, selling and leadership. His books are:
• The Learn-To-Think: Coursebook and Instructors Manual (co-author Edward de Bono) (1982), ISBN 0884961990
• NewSell (1984), ISBN 0932648568
• Software For Your Brain (1989), ISBN 09473511088
• NewSell 2 (1990), ISBN 0947351221
• Software for the Brain 2: Handbook for Lateral Thinkers (1991), ISBN 0947351388
• THINK: An Action Program for Lateral Thinking (1993), ISBN 0947351515
• THINK AGAIN: A Brain Users Guide to Lateral Thinking (1993), ISBN 0947351515
• SELL: the lateral thinkers’ guide to selling and leadership (1993), ISBN 0947351639
• Clever: A Coursebook (1993) ISBN 0947351671
• The X10 Memeplex: multiply your business by 10! (2000), ISBN 0724801111
• WOMBAT SELLING: how to sell by word of mouth (2006) ISBN 1740664280
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••• CONTACT: You can email Michael by clicking here …
December 30th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Learn Thinking! Teach Thinking!
October 9th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
[...] You are now invited to participate in the next intake of Advanced Leadership Training SOT. There are no fees. This is a 30-day leadership training program under the personal direction of SOT Principal, Michael Hewitt-Gleeson. For an insight into how his views on leadership have been informed by his personal experience you can click through here to read Michael’s story. [...]
August 23rd, 2009 at 9:52 am
Your thinking lessons are quite addictive. The most enjoyable and worthwhile use of the internet I have experienced.
February 13th, 2009 at 8:31 am
As a school that has for many years considered thinking as an important teaching and learning focus, your studies, your detailed explainations and complex descriptive philosophies will in the future take Baranduda PS to new and exciting levels of educational metacognition. I thankyou for this and the students will be better informed and better controlled thinkers as a result.
November 29th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Michael,
Thanks for helping make ClarkMorgan ‘Training Firm of the Year’ for 2008, two years in a row! Your insights into CVS2BVS, Uncheck2Check, and your ability to inspire my team helped us beat international training companies to the post. As we venture cautiously into 2009, with the financial crisis still ballooning around us, we are now more confident with this latest feather in our cap.
Cheers,
Morry
October 3rd, 2008 at 10:09 am
thank you – enjoyable experience
September 29th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
TO MICHAEL
It has been an wonderful experience for me to learn, understand and sometimes use it in real life. I will keep on using these methods espeically in a diverse society like India
July 18th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Dear Michael
After doing 2 of your courses I would like to ask you how you think about the following
Why does one person’s opinion and voice often be allowed to unilaterally outweight the voice and wisdom of all others as a collective in a so called democratic society? I will give one example -a person decides he does not like some steps on a house near the river. He goes to the Council and asks what can be done to remove the steps -they were approved. The owner of the house is not allowed to know who complained yet this one individual is now expecting the Council to do something about removing these steps. I could give another example that exhaustive community consultation a hammerhead turning circle needs to be built to make our road safer, one person complains and now it is in the Supreme Court What thinking methods could we use – have treid CVS to BVS
Kind regards
Sue Minshall
May 2nd, 2008 at 6:34 am
Great work.
I like the principle of Wombat Selling.
Thank you for SDNT and CVSTOBVS.
February 8th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Marvelous work!
I wish I could do something like this.
December 11th, 2007 at 9:51 am
Michael.
Remember this…CVS to BVS! cvs to bvs, cvs to bvs.
You presented this to me at a CEO’s conference this year and this little phrase and mindset helped me totally come up with an innovative solution to my problem.
Since your lively and inspiring talk, I have launched my own business and also http://www.livemygoals.com which contains a free goalsetting and visualisation widget. It’s taking off, and still in beta!
I can honestly say that CVS to BVS was one of the tipping points in generating the out of the box creative thinking that enabled me to launch the website and keep the cashflow going.
Thanks!
November 26th, 2007 at 10:00 am
Hi Michael{
First of all, thank you for inviting me to the Leadership training program; after reading about you , I know I´m in for a very interesting and helpful journey.
September 3rd, 2007 at 8:16 am
Hi Michael,
I would like to be a part of your thinking school – I am not one who can bring financial/corporate ties but I am very interested in education (thinking and doing maths at secondary level) If you have a meeting please let me know so I can attend.
Kind regards Christine
August 21st, 2007 at 12:27 pm
I love your book on Wombat selling it was really help full and enlightening i would love to sit with you and ask you ways of lateral marketing for my type of sales roll
July 6th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
It was really good to read the above, as it gave me a more rounded feel of your background, experiences and what you are about
I appreciate, admire, respect and acknowledge your passion and committment
may the sun shine on you
January 14th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
Where can I buy “Software for your Brain” It was highly recomended to me but I cant find it in stores or online.?