Michael Hewitt-Gleeson

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Michael Hewitt-Gleeson (born Melbourne 1947) is the co-founder with Edward de Bono and principal of the School of Thinking (SOT) that was initially based in New York for 14 years (1974-1989).

Hewitt-Gleeson is an authority on lateral thinking, author of Software For Your Brain, and inventor of cognetics. In 1984-85, Hewitt-Gleeson brought cognetics to TV with his design of Viewer-driven Television (VTV).[1] VTV used an interactive television format where the programming was driven in real time by the viewers, not by the station; it was aired on public-access channels in New York City.

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[edit] Academic and professional background

Hewitt-Gleeson 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 Hewitt-Gleeson proposed the Theory of Newsell.

Hewitt-Gleeson's other professional appointments include:

Hewitt-Gleeson has been an international consultant on strategy to international organizations and corporations from the United Nations, and the White House to IBM, Fujitsu, BMW, and Jack Welch of General Electric. [1] He has lectured widely in more than 15 nations in the world, including Canada, China, France, Israel, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom, apart from the United States, and Australia.

His works has been featured in Forbes, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Personal Success (cover story May '91), Readers Digest (April 1983, cover story, worldwide editions), and Wall Street Journal, amongst several others, and also in numerous radio and television programs worldwide.

[edit] Legal disputes

In New York in 1985, due to a dispute over publishing rights and attributions, Hewitt-Gleeson closed down the School of Thinking, which he started with de Bono. In 1988, Hewitt-Gleeson re-started the School of Thinking in Melbourne. According to legal findings[citation needed], the school was closed because Edward de Bono, who was principal shareholder of the School of Thinking, had offered conflicting publishing rights both to the School of Thinking and to Pergamon Press.

There was also a dispute over ownership of course materials such as the School of Thinking's Six Thinking Caps.

Dr Edward de Bono and Dr Michael Hewitt-Gleeson co-authored an early version of the PMI lesson in the Learn-To-Think Coursebook and Instructors Manual (1982 Capra New). This book became the subject of a cover story on all international editions of the Readers Digest in April 1983. In September 1983, Michael Hewitt-Gleeson, Eric Bienstock and Edward de Bono were brainstorming ways to exploit the publicity from the story. They developed the idea of 'coloured thinking caps' taken from the icon in the magazine. The book Six Thinking Hats was subsequently published in 1985.

On 21 April 2008 Edward de Bono wrote on his authorised website:

"There have been so many false claims by Michael Hewitt Gleeson that it is time to tell the truth.

"Michael tells how he met me in Melbourne in 1972 and I told him about my work in thinking. Later in 1979 (his date) he asked me if he could set up the Edward de Bono School of Thinking in New York.

"Obviously my work already existed otherwise there would have been no point in setting up such a school. So my work in schools pre-dated the setting up of the School of Thinking by many years. Once the School was set up it taught my work exclusively - at least for most of its life.

"Michael also claims that he left New York as the result of a legal dispute because, he claims, I had granted the rights in my work both to Pergamon Press and to the School. If I did not possess those rights how could I have granted them to anyone? This was never the basis of the legal problem which resulted in Michael leaving New York. Those legal problems were to do with something quite different. Pergamon had publishing rights on my work. The School had the right to use the material directly in their teaching.

"The work mentioned above is the CoRT programme of tools for perceptual thinking such as PMI, CAF, C&S, OPV, etc. This work had been in use in schools many years before the School of Thinking was set up. In no way was this material developed by the School or by Michael. The School of Thinking asked if they could publish a course book with these tools in it. I agreed and the whole book consisted of these tools. Because there were a few pages at the end of the book authored by Michael, and out of courtesy to him, his name was also on the book. This does not in any way make him the originator or owner of these tools. These remain my intellectual property. Any claims by Michael to the contrary are deliberately false and misleading.

"My books on lateral thinking were written in the early 1970’s. Again this was years before the School was ever set up. I am not aware that Michael is an expert in lateral thinking – as he claims.

"Michael did write a thesis for a correspondence college. This was almost totally based on my work so as his supervisor I could hardly avoid granting him a Ph.D. To the best of my recollection there was very little that was new and original in the book."

On the "Six Thinking Hats" De Bono wrote:

"Michael also claims that he and the School invented the Six Thinking Hats. This is untrue and complete rubbish. Eric Bienstock was in London and came to see me. I told him that I had worked out the concept of the Six Thinking Hats. This was based on my experience in medicine and the way chemicals in the brain sensitise certain circuits according to different moods.

"Eric relayed this to Michael and I may indeed have communicated the concept directly to Michael. It was then used in the Readers’ Digest article. Since the Edward de Bono School of Thinking was set up to teach my work I saw no harm in telling them about my latest work.

"In no way whatever was the concept designed by Michael or the School of Thinking. Indeed the manuscript of the book was already with the publishers, who have a long lead time before publication of the book in 1985.

"I want to state categorically that the Six Thinking Hats was entirely my intellectual property and claims to the contrary are false and rubbish.

"I think it sad and unfortunate that anyone who claims thinking ability should base his work on stolen intellectual property. If Michael wants to use my work he should take out a licence, agree to pay royalties and stop making false claims as to the origin of the work.

"It may even be that those who have paid money to take Michael’s courses might have a legal claim for a refund if they were led to believe that the material they were being taught had been developed by Michael.

"As regards Michael’s book ‘Software for the Mind’, this was actually a title I had suggested to him.

If you are reading this I would like you to make these matters known as widely as possible. Michael should teach his own work not steal mine and claim it as his own."

On which Michael reacted publicly as follows on 22 April 2008:

"I have been advised to post here my version of the origin of 'Thinking Hats' and 'Brain Software': <http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=AFn.G&m=1f.5kCfOszmVIv&b=7d5Lg5XoyWiKFliAs7xUZA>

"Actually, I am pleased that Edward has now committed his version in writing after all these years. The errors, libels and false claims he has posted can be now more easily shown to be at odds with the evidence. While he provides no facts (dates, names, third parties etc) in his version, anyone reading my version will be able to compare and trace timelines and have the facts corroborated.

"I have made plans to be commercially very active in the China market. Accordingly, I have forwarded de Bono's post to my lawyers in Melbourne, Shanghai and New York with instructions to protect my name, SOT brand and business potential in the China market should Edward de Bono, his representatives, publishers or agents infringe our rights in any way."

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b http://www.celebrityspeakers.com.au/brspeaker_bio.asp?Speaker_Index_Text=117 Celebrity Speakers homepage

[edit] External links