You’re in a meeting. Someone proposes switching to a four-day work week. Within seconds, the room divides: enthusiasts champion work-life balance while skeptics worry about productivity. The debate spirals into emotional arguments, and the actual merits of the idea get lost in the noise.

Sound familiar? This is exactly the scenario Edward de Bono designed PMI to prevent.

🎯 Why PMI Matters More Than Ever

In our polarized world, we’ve lost the art of balanced evaluation. Social media algorithms feed us content that confirms our existing views. News outlets present issues in binary terms. Even AI systems can amplify biases present in their training data.

PMI (Plus, Minus, Interesting) forces us to break this pattern. It’s deceptively simple: before judging any idea, you systematically explore its positive aspects, negative aspects, and interesting implications. But this simplicity masks profound power.

🔧 How PMI Works: The Three-Column Method

PMI transforms thinking from a chaotic free-for-all into a structured exploration. Here’s the exact process:

Step 1: Set Up Your Framework

Draw three columns labeled Plus (+), Minus (-), and Interesting (?). This physical structure is crucial—it prevents your mind from wandering into its preferred territory.

Step 2: Explore Each Column Thoroughly

• Plus (+): What are the positive aspects? Benefits? Advantages? Opportunities?
• Minus (-): What are the negative aspects? Costs? Risks? Disadvantages?
• Interesting (?): What possibilities does this open? What might happen? What’s worth noting?

Step 3: The Critical Rule

Complete each column fully before moving to the next. This prevents your initial bias from contaminating the entire analysis. If you think something is terrible, you still must find genuine positives first.

Step 4: Review and Decide

Only after completing all three columns do you step back and form a judgment. Often, the decision becomes obvious—or you realize you need more information.

💡 Real-World PMI in Action

Example 1: Remote Work Policy

A company considers making remote work permanent:

Example 2: AI Writing Assistant

A student considers using AI for essay writing:

⚠ Common PMI Mistakes to Avoid

1. The Fake Positive

Wrong: “Well, I guess bankruptcy would teach us a lesson…”
Right: Find genuine positives, even in bad ideas. There’s always something.

2. The Overwhelming Negative

Wrong: Listing 20 minuses and 2 weak pluses
Right: Aim for balance. If one column dominates, dig deeper in others.

3. The Vague Interesting

Wrong: “It would be interesting to see what happens”
Right: Specify concrete possibilities or implications

4. The Hidden Judgment

Wrong: Starting with your conclusion and working backward
Right: Genuine exploration with an open mind

🔄 Integrating PMI with Previous Models

PMI works beautifully with the mental models framework from the intro article on Maltese Mental Models:

• Information Overload: PMI structures your evaluation of endless options
• Decision Fatigue: The framework makes choices clearer and faster
• Confirmation Bias: Forcing positive exploration of disliked ideas breaks echo chambers

As de Bono himself noted, PMI is often the gateway drug to better thinking. Master this, and tools like CAF and OPV become natural extensions.

🔍 PMI vs. SWOT: Understanding the Difference

People often ask: “Isn’t PMI just like SWOT analysis?” While both are evaluation tools, they serve different purposes and create different thinking patterns:

The key difference: SWOT is about positioning in a competitive landscape, while PMI is about open-minded exploration. PMI’s “Interesting” column is particularly powerful—it captures possibilities that don’t fit neatly into good/bad categories, often revealing the most valuable insights.

🎮 Practice Exercises

Exercise 1: Personal Decision

Apply PMI to a decision you’re facing right now. Set a timer for 3 minutes per column. No cheating—complete each column fully before moving on.

Exercise 2: News Analysis

Take today’s top news story. Before reading any commentary, do a PMI analysis. Then compare your balanced view to the polarized takes online.

Exercise 3: Team Challenge

In your next meeting, when someone proposes an idea, suggest a quick PMI. Watch how it transforms the discussion from debate to exploration.

Exercise 4: Devil’s Advocate

Choose something you strongly believe in. Force yourself to find 5 genuine minuses. Then pick something you hate and find 5 authentic pluses. This builds PMI muscle memory.

Exercise 5: The Interesting Deep Dive

Take any mundane decision (what to have for lunch, which route to take home). Focus only on the Interesting column. Find 10 unexpected implications. This trains you to see beyond the obvious.

🗣 PMI: Your Secret Weapon for Communication and Trust

Here’s what happens when you use PMI in conversations: people stop seeing you as an opponent and start seeing you as a partner.

💬 Magic Phrases That Build Trust

🎭 The PMI Communication Transformation

• Before PMI: Waiting for your turn to argue → After PMI: Actively exploring their perspective
• Before PMI: Defending your position → After PMI: Finding paths forward together
• Before PMI: Binary thinker (right/wrong) → After PMI: Nuanced problem-solver
• Before PMI: Camp member → After PMI: Trusted mediator

✨ Why This Works

→ Intellectual Honesty: Finding genuine positives in ideas you dislike shows rare authenticity
→ Psychological Safety: People open up when they feel heard, not judged
→ Solutions Focus: You signal that outcomes matter more than being right
→ Trust Compound Effect: Each balanced conversation builds your reputation as the “fair thinker”

🏆 The Result

You become that person—the one everyone wants in difficult conversations. The bridge-builder. The voice of reason. The solution-finder. Not because you’re neutral, but because you genuinely explore all angles before deciding.

🚀 Making PMI Automatic: The PEDD Model

The goal isn’t to formally draw three columns for every decision. It’s to internalize the PMI reflex through what I call the PEDD Model—a thinking framework that emerges from consistent PMI practice:

The PEDD Model for Automated Thinking

1. Pause before judging
   • Interrupt your automatic response
   • Create space between stimulus and reaction
   • Acknowledge your initial bias
2. Explore all dimensions
   • Actively seek positives in “bad” ideas
   • Find genuine concerns in “good” ideas
   • Hunt for non-obvious implications
3. Discover unexpected insights
   • Pay special attention to the “Interesting” findings
   • Notice patterns across categories
   • Identify hidden assumptions
4. Decide with clarity
   • Base decisions on complete information
   • Acknowledge trade-offs explicitly
   • Communicate reasoning clearly to others

PEDD itself becomes a mental model—a rapid thinking sequence that eventually takes seconds but yields the benefits of formal PMI analysis. It’s particularly powerful in meetings, negotiations, and any situation requiring quick but balanced judgment.

Start with big decisions, but gradually apply PEDD to smaller choices. You’ll be surprised how often the “Discover” phase reveals game-changing insights others miss.

📊 Summary: Your New Thinking Foundation

PMI isn’t just another decision-making tool—it’s a fundamental shift in how you process information. In a world of hot takes and instant reactions, the ability to pause and explore marks you as a sophisticated thinker.

🎯 Next Steps

You now have your first concrete thinking tool. Use PMI three times today—on a work decision, a personal choice, and a news story. Notice how it changes your thinking.

Ready to expand your thinking even further? In the next article, we’ll explore CAF (Consider All Factors), which takes PMI’s balanced approach and applies it to complex situations with multiple stakeholders and hidden variables.

But first, master PMI. It’s the foundation upon which all other de Bono tools build. Make it automatic, and you’ll never think the same way again.