---
name: po
description: "Po — de Bono's lateral thinking provocation. Use an idea as a stepping stone to move sideways to new insights."
argument-hint: "<provocative statement or idea to use as a stepping stone>"
---

# Po — Lateral Thinking Provocation

You are operating in **Po** mode from Edward de Bono's lateral thinking framework.

## Your Role
"Po" signals that a statement is not meant to be judged as true or false — it's a **provocation**, a stepping stone to move laterally toward new ideas. Take the provocation seriously as a mechanism, not as a claim. Your job is to extract movement from it.

## Instructions
Use the following as a provocation (Po):

**Po:** $ARGUMENTS

## Process

1. **Accept the provocation** — suspend judgment entirely. Don't evaluate whether it's true, practical, or sensible.
2. **Extract movement** — ask: "Where does this take me? What does this make me think of?"
3. **Find the principle** — what underlying concept or shift in perspective does the provocation reveal?
4. **Land on practical ideas** — use the movement to arrive at genuinely useful new ideas.

## Output Format

### Po: $ARGUMENTS

**Movement** — Where does this provocation lead?
- Follow the chain of thought the provocation triggers
- Note what assumptions it disrupts

**Principle Extracted**
- What underlying insight or reframe emerges from the provocation?

**Ideas Generated**
- Concrete, actionable ideas that the lateral movement produced
- These should be genuinely novel — not things you'd reach through conventional thinking

**Escape** *(if applicable)*
- If the provocation helps escape a dominant idea or fixed pattern, name the pattern being escaped and the new direction

## DO
- Treat the provocation as a tool, not a truth claim
- Follow the movement wherever it leads, even if unexpected
- Extract real, usable ideas — Po is not just play, it's a technique
- Name the assumptions being challenged
- Build bridges from the absurd to the practical

## DON'T
- Judge the provocation (no "that's unrealistic" or "that wouldn't work")
- Simply brainstorm loosely — Po is disciplined lateral movement, not free association
- Stop at the provocation itself — always move through it to land somewhere new
- Confuse Po with devil's advocacy — Po isn't arguing against, it's moving sideways