An excellent tool kit for introducing Lateral Thinking to the workplace
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This book is many things in one simple digestible volume. The books primary focus is the steps and environment required to introduce and encourage lateral thinking in the workplace. As its title states the book is about the skills needed for lateral thinking rather then teaching the reader to think laterally. The book comes packed with tools and techniques and has many examples of the power of lateral thinking and the results it has brought. To round the book off it contains a course which is aimed at senior management; the aim of this course is to pull together everything in the book and teach the participants about lateral thinking, it's application and the changes they will need to make to allow lateral thinking to develop in their staff.
The only downside is that whilst the book has many different tools they are not introduced in depth and very few examples of their use is given. Pairing this book with something like Thinkertoys would make for an all round approach.
So if you want create the environment or define the steps for lateral thinking then this book is for you. If you want to learn detailed Lateral thinking methods look elsewhere.
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Breaking out of the thinking straitjacket
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In Chapter 11, Paul Sloane remarks that 'many of the rules that apply in businesses were set in earlier times and have endured by force of habit'. The main objective of the book is to give the reader tools and tips for becoming a lateral leader and empowering colleagues to challenge these rules, often by thinking the apparently unthinkable. This objective is 100% achieved.
Each Chapter ends with a lateral thinking puzzle to illustrate the importance of 'thinking outside the box' when trying to solve a problem creatively, and with a number of Exercises with titles like Brainstorming, Reverse the Problem and What If?
Perhaps the best examples of the personal habits to be overcome in building a lateral thinking team are the tendency to jump to conclusions, impatience to offer solutions, and reluctance to listen properly to other people's ideas.
The author successfuly shows us how to cast aside the blinkers and find the best answers to even the most intractable problems.
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At last, some unconventional wisdom!
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At times when management literature abides with dos and donts based on conventional wisdom, here is a powerful defender of the values of unconventional wisdom. Paul Sloane makes a strong case for innovation and lateral thinking in business, where doing new, different things in new, different ways is more important than doing the same things more efficiently. The book is rich with examples from the real world where creative thinking and action have led to astonishing successes (even after numerous failed attempts)and examples where conservatism and conventional thinking have led to obsolescence or catastrophe. The author argues that creative skills can and should be developed at the individual level, the team level and the company level and the book abounds with tips and techniques to help people and organizations expand their potential for innovation. Lateral thinking puzzles placed at the end of each chapter, help reinforce the fact that we all think "in boxes" with assumptions and preconceptions that do not always correspond to reality. An excellent book.
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Intelligent, practical and readable
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This is a delightfully fresh approach to a very well-worn subject: how to enable innovation and creativity in business. Paul Sloane sets out the vital importance of innovation in modern business, using a very wide range of stimulating examples and case studies. He also offers a number of very practical methods businesses can use to encourage and foster a climate of innovation. You won't find all the techniques useful, but there's such a broad spread there's bound to be a few which work for any particular business.
The writing is intelligent but very readable, so it works on two levels: as a light, thought-provoking read and as a practical manual for taking action with a particular business.
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Genuinely does "what it says on the tin"
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Very readable, down-to-earth, highly practical and yet also totally inspiring, this book does much more than simply tell you that innovation in business is important - it actually shows you what that means in practice and HOW to make it happen. Through games, exercises, puzzles and challenges, it helps to release your own creative ability and to show in very realistic and achievable ways how you can extend that to your whole team. I am normally sceptical of management books, and find most of them unbearably smug. This one isn't at all: more than anything it feels REAL, and very energising. I never used to think of myself as a particularly creative person, but I have approached my work with a completely different attitude since reading this excellent book, and recommend it whole-heartedly to anyone who wants to release extra "buzz" in themselves or their team.
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