Category Archives: Creativity Books

CATS: The Nine Lives of Innovation

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CatsCATS: The Nine Lives of Innovation
by Stephen C. Lundin, Ph.D.

Another “mini-book” (169 pages) hits the book store shelves … this one from Stephen C. Lundin, author of the bestseller FISH! which has been published in 34 languages. The author is a writer and filmmaker with a background in business, management, and education.

Lundin unveils the next big trend in business—innovation as a tool of personal success. I can’t think of a better time to focus on obtaining the many valuable benefits of such a powerful resource. Within these pages, readers will learn about innovation and how companies and people can innovate more. The author’s belief is that innovation and creativity can be learned, and there are certain things that can be done to enhance creativity. Learn how to tap into your power of innovation and then unleash it in every member of your organization. You’ll learn how to recognize and deal with the four basic challenges that must be overcome in order to enhance your innovation edge:

  1. Doubts, Fears, and Distractions (fraidy cats never innovate).
  2. Being Normal (stop being normal—make your own rules).
  3. Failure (embrace it—it’s the only way to learn).
  4. Foster Creativity (don’t be a control freak).

Lundin then describes the Nine Lives of Innovation, each of which is a step toward realizing your inner CAT and becoming a fully contributing member of an innovative organization.

  1. Create an Innovation Friendly Environment.
  2. Always Be Prepared.
  3. Know That Innovation Isn’t Normal.
  4. Welcome Physical Provocation.
  5. Enjoy Social Provocation.
  6. Promote Intellectual Provocation.
  7. Put Failure Into Perspective.
  8. Fail Early and Fail Well.
  9. Understand Natural Energy.

The author also demonstrates his own creativity by utilizing additional learning tools such as:

  • CAT Nip—an activity that provokes your thinking or tests your newfound CAT skills.
  • CAT Pause (paws, get it?)—A break in the action that creates a space for reflection.
  • CAT’S Eye View—A real life example used to illustrate a point.

CATS is full of simple yet profound information and anecdotes that can be used to spark the curiosity and creativity within every employee and, thus, inspire innovative approaches to ordinary situations.

(This book review was originally published in 2009 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 20.)

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

The Black Swan

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The Black SwanThe Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Let me begin by stating right up front that this book isn’t for everyone. Check the following list to see if you should even bother reading on.

  • Are you comfortable operating “outside the box”?
  • Are you a risk taker?
  • Are you willing to extend your comfort zone?
  • Are you comfortable with the unknown?
  • Can you foresee opportunities?
  • Can you imagine the “impossible”?

If you’re not comfortable with the above questions or feel you must honestly answer “no” to any of them, do yourself a favor, save yourself some time and money, and find another book. This one won’t interest you.

If you can honestly answer yes to the above questions, you’ll find this book interesting and useful in advancing your career and successfully dealing with anything life may hold for you in the future.

Now, let’s begin by learning more about a “Black Swan” as defined by the author Nassim Nicholas Taleb:

A Black Swan is a highly improbable event with three principal characteristics:

  • It is unpredictable;
  • it carries a massive impact;
  • and, after the fact, we concoct an explanation that makes it appear less random, and more predictable, than it was.

Why the term “Black Swan”? Relatively simple. People in the Old World were convinced that all swans were white. Pretty hard to argue that point as no one had ever seen a swan of any other color. The sighting of the first black swan was obviously quite a shock to everyone.

However, that is not where the significance of the story lies. It illustrates a severe limitation to our learning from observations or experience and the fragility of our current knowledge. One simple observation can invalidate a general statement derived from a thousand years of confirmed sightings of millions of white swans. All you need is one single black swan. Need examples? No problem.

  • The astonishing success of Google, which propelled two young college students into the realm of billionaires, was a Black Swan.
  • 9/11 certainly falls into that category. Can you imagine gathering with a few friends on the evening of September 10 to discuss the possible odds of 19 terrorists high-jacking four major U.S. commercial airliners and directing them into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and a vacant field in Pennsylvania? Unimaginable!
  • How about the rise of Hitler and the subsequent war?
  • How about the precipitous demise of the Soviet Bloc?
  • How about the rapid growth of the Internet?
  • How about the rise of Islamic Fundamentalism?
  • How about the market crash of 1987 and the more unexpected recovery?
  • How about the fads, epidemics, fashion, ideas, the emergence of art genres and schools?

All follow these Black Swan dynamics. Literally, just about everything of significance around you might qualify. Take just a minute to look closely at your own existence. Count the significant events, the technological changes, and the inventions that have taken place in our environment since you were born and compare them to what was expected before their advent. How many of them came on a schedule?

Now look into your own personal life, to your choice of profession or meeting your mate, your exile from your company of origin, the betrayals you faced, any sudden enrichment or impoverishment. How often did these things occur according to plan?

For the author, black swans underlie almost everything about our world, from the rise of religions to events in our own personal lives. Why do we not acknowledge the phenomenon of black swans until after they occur? Part of the answer, according to the author, is that humans are hardwired to learn specifics when they should be focused on generalities. We concentrate on things we already know and time and time again fail to take into consideration what we don’t know. We are, therefore, unable to truly estimate opportunities, too vulnerable to the impulse to simplify, narrate, and categorize, and not open enough to rewarding those who can imagine the “impossible.”

See the critical importance to our society of creative entrepreneurs, daring dreamers, and those who thrive on thinking out of the box? Let’s go back to 9/11—an event that has impacted millions of people world wide. Had the enormous risk been deemed conceivable prior to that historic date, it never would have happened! Fighter planes would have been in the air above New York City, all commercial airliners would have had locked bulletproof doors as they do today, no one would have been able to board a plane with box cutters, no one could have requested flight lessons less the take off and landing instructions without raising suspicions. In short, the attack would not have take place, period!

Now dare to relate that Black Swan to our business environment. It’s mind boggling when you consider the present state of the economy, trade balance, immigration, the energy crisis, the stock market, health care, education, social security, Afghanistan / Iran / Russia / China, home mortgages, an election year, and the list goes on. Is anyone in any organization considering the possible Black Swans awaiting us and how we should deal with them with they appear? Few, if any!

I can think of a number of corporate Presidents, CEOs, board members, and leaders at every level that should read this book in hopes of creating a “Black Swan” mind-set and encouraging their employees to do the same. Instead they will continue to concentrate on things they already know and time and time again fail to take into consideration what they don’t know, what they might do, what potential new approach might entirely change their operation. They continue to play it safe. They will suffer the consequences later.

And yet, we envy and respect those that have and do contemplate the potential Black Swans of our past, present and future. We call them creative entrepreneurs, daring dreamers, out of the box thinkers, and yes, even nuts. We should certainly be thankful that these characters keep emerging to aid our evolution.

This is an entertaining and enlightening book, and fairly easy to read. It has an important message regarding how the world works; that the world is governed not by the predictable and the average, but by the random, the unknowable, the unpredictable―big events or discoveries or unusual people that have big consequences. Change comes not uniformly but in unpredictable spurts. These are the Black Swans of the title: completely unexpected and rare events or novel ideas or technologies that have a huge impact on the world. Indeed, the author argues that history itself is primarily driven by these Black Swans.

(This book review was originally published in 2008 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 17.)

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Shake That Brain

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Shake That BrainShake That Brain: How to Create Winning Solutions and Have Fun While You’re at It
by Joel Saltzman

Take a look at that title. You must admit that you were drawn to those three words. Add that to two aspects of the subtitle—having fun and creating winning solutions. As though that weren’t enough, take a gander at the picture of the author on the back cover, and I guarantee you’re going to take a look inside if to do nothing more than satisfy your curiosity. I can also guarantee you won’t be disappointed. Give the author credit for pulling you in—he knows how to get peoples’ attention. Joel Saltzman served time as a stand up comic and wrote for the sitcoms “Perfect Strangers” and “The Robert Guillaume Show.” He graduated from Cornell and taught at UCLA. He’s a professional speaker, consultant, and best-selling author who has conducted his Shake That Brain! programs for a variety of his well-known corporate clients.

What I really enjoy about this book is the fact that I can open to almost any page and find something of interest. I’m certain the author would recommend and prefer that readers start with page one and read the book in the order it was written. I would have to agree. However, I often like to take a look at the table of contents to see if there are any particular areas that grab my attention. I’m always pleased to discover an author who has created a format that allows me to jump around his content and still derive substance I can apply with success. Joel has certainly done that.

There are so many things I enjoyed about this book and I appreciate the fact that I can apply the majority of them to both my personal AND professional lives. It’s also an easy read as your eyes bounce from BOLD print to small print to gray scale to boxed content—it’s fast, fun and easy. In addition, the content will keep you guessing, laughing, learning, and wanting more.

For example: Imagine having “Yes” meetings only. In another chapter, learn why it’s wise to never take yes for an answer. You can learn to successfully do both as various situations demand. Read eye-opening quotes from notable leaders in every field of endeavor. You’ll also learn some exceptional, creative strategies, and you can expect to find an example, analogy, story or reference to support each. You’ll discover a wide variety of exercises, easy-to-apply formulas, entertaining pop-quizzes, and eye-opening teaching examples from every walk-of-life which has created a real solution-finding guidebook. Joel has provided “Chapter Take Aways” to recap and emphasize valuable content for your clarification.

I have neither the time nor the space to start describing the many tools and strategies you’ll find in this book. However, I can assure you of this: From the World’s Worst Pizza and “Seeing Eye Ponies” to the proper method of splitting a cake and Bill Gates’ “Think Week,” you’ll find this book educational, humorous, enlightening, challenging, energizing, and, in short, just plain fun.

(This book review was originally published in 2007 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 15.)

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Pop!

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Pop!POP!: Create the Perfect Pitch, Title, and Tagline for Anything
by Sam Horn

Prior to investing time, energy, and money in a book like this, you’re going to want to know more about the author. Is this a person who can speak from a place of experience, success, and the comfort of having walked the talk? In this case, the author certainly has. Sam Horn has been successfully speaking, consulting, keynoting, authoring, and conducting workshops from coast to coast. She―yes Sam is a female―knows of what she speaks. Admit it, she got you with her name, didn’t she? Take a quick look at the titles of her previous books and you’ll spot her creativity at first glance:

  • Tongue Fu!
  • Conzentrate
  • Take the Bully by the Horns
  • What’s Holding You Back?

If you want to see more examples of her unique approach to “Popping,” visit her web site at www.SamHorn.com.

If your goal is to “break out” rather than “blend in” (chapter title), you’ll want to learn more about the three components of POP!

P = Purposeful (make your point)

O = Original (distinguish yourself)

P = Pithy (concise and precise)

I’ll say this for Sam—she gets right to the point and doesn’t linger there longer than needed. Many of her major points are driven home in a single page and several times in a mere paragraph.

This book is a “must” for entrepreneurs, businesspeople, authors, and anyone who wants to sell themselves, their business, or their products. Sam reminds us that we get less than 60 seconds to capture a potential client’s interest in a day and age when they are bombarded by communication—books, e-mail, movies, commercials, IMs, sales calls, and junk mail. Using her easy-to-understand tactics will provide you with that “decisive-edge” that will make the all-importance difference for you.

The author will reveal new ways to brainstorm, communicate ideas, and connect with your clients and colleagues. You’ll enjoy her unique tools and strategies:

  • The W9 Form: Nine key questions to clarify your purpose
  • The Eureka Moment: Why people love to discover the Next New Thing
  • ContraBrand: The power of saying something that flies in the face of current wisdom
  • The Jerry Maguire Test: Five secrets to crafting a message that gets people at hello
  • Muse It or Lose It: When you think it, ink it!
  • Half-and-Half: Coin original phrases so you are the expert and sole go-to resource.

See how you feel about this book and author after reading just a few paragraphs of what lies between the covers of Pop!? That’s how your clients and colleagues will feel about you after you’ve mastered the many fresh ideas, techniques, and strategies Sam Horn offers you in her latest attempt to keep popping! By the way, don’t attempt sitting down to this banquet without easy access to two highlighters. You’ll need them both.

(This book review was originally published in 2007 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 15.)

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Re-imagine!

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Re-imagine!Re-Imagine!: Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age
by Tom Peters

I’d better come clean on this one. I’ve reviewed 140 books for our web site now and this one has probably been the most challenging for me. I must admit I’ve been mesmerized by the words of Tom Peters and his unique “take” on business, management, leadership and innovation since first reading his renowned In Search of Excellence 24 years ago. I’m proud to say I have his entire “works” in my personal library and, better yet, have actually read every one of them. I’ve always admired the exuberance, enthusiasm, and fervor Tom shares with anyone and everyone who will listen to the issues so dear to his heart. I have yet to read one of his books, this one included, that didn’t provide me with inspiration, extraordinary insight, many laughs, a few “ah-hahs,” and a revitalized dedication to my personal goal of making a difference. I’ve also disagreed with many things he has championed.

Now let’s examine his latest and most ambitious offering, Re-imagine! I’m going to use a different approach to this one by separating my positive observations from my negative commentary. Prior to sharing my review of the content, let’s examine the physical book itself. You’ve got to admit that Tom walks his talk. He has always preached the importance of “re-invention,” risk-taking, and innovation. He tackled them all in creating his latest best seller.

It’s larger than most books at 7″ x 9″ and contains 352 pages, each possessing the potential to blind your eyes, slap your face, shut your mouth, open your mind, sit you down, and force you to take a deep breath as you re-evaluate everything you ever believed to be true. However, that’s just potential. In his effort to “reinvent the business book,” Tom has pulled out all the stops. Some of you may find it stimulating and enjoyable while others may find the chaotic and unconventional design and layout nauseating at best.

This book’s design is indeed a departure from “traditional” business books. It doesn’t look like any management book you’ve seen in the past. Every inch of every page is filled with vivid photos, bold colors (especially Peters’ trademark red), icons and text-laden sidebars. Word size, color and even typeface refuse to stay stable within a single sentence. Exclamations everywhere!!! CAPITALIZED TEXT. Red text and red backgrounds hit you in the face on most every page. Pictures, pictures and more pictures. There are pictures of products, corporate logos, Hollywood stars, politicians, sports figures, soldiers, and countless famous people from every walk of life. Some readers may find it annoying that pictures of Tom himself can be found by the dozens throughout the book—everything from a full-page photo on the cover to every possible cheesy pose you can imagine in every chapter! And before each chapter a page is wasted on a BIG EXCLAMATION MARK!

Now let’s discuss the pros and cons of the content.

On a positive note …

This book is saturated with great pictures, quotes, facts, analogies, examples, reality, challenges and information. In fact, some people suggest you read only four to five pages at one sitting to avoid information overload and total exhaustion.

Tom kicks things off with an inspiring, even startling, introduction. He avoids his usual histrionics and fireworks starting slowly building his case quietly and firmly. It’s quite obvious that he’s creating a firm foundation that can handle the bomb bursts of his later frenzies. Momentum builds as Peters steadily presents his major theme: “We’re in a new business climate and we’d better make some big changes.”

As always, Tom does everything he can to move his readers to take action. You can find it on most every page. He doesn’t care if you agree or disagree with his philosophy. He simply wants you to take a stand, move to action, and make a difference. He feels our country needs many more voices on every front.

Tom admits to previous mistakes as he points out that being correct is not the issue. We need new ideas, new practices, new ways of working before hell arrives in the proverbial hand basket—and the more ideas we can try, the better. We all need to enjoy some excellent failures.

As always, he shares an abundance of his stream-of-consciousness phrases and proves once again that he has a profound understanding of our challenging business climate. He’s known for his bombastic and passionate ideas and certainly won’t disappoint his readers in this best seller. Like him or not, Tom Peters is one of the most influential management gurus of recent times, and this book will contribute much to keeping his legend alive.

At the end of each chapter you’ll find a thought-provoking and very entertaining “Was/Is” comparison.

On a somewhat negative note …

I found that a great deal of the information Tom shares in Re-imagine! is not new. Much of what he says was regurgitated from one or several of his earlier works. This will be quite evident to anyone who has read any of his previous books.

Repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition. Isn’t that aggravating? I found a great deal of repetition within these covers. Many words, phrases, sentences, strategies repeated page after page, chapter after chapter. Repetition can be productive but only to a degree.

Tom seems to be promoting his new buzzword, “re-imagine,” in the hopes that it will catch on and become part of our business lingo. I don’t know how others may feel about it, but I can’t seem to come to grips with it. I wish him well but honestly feel this one will fall short.

I must admit that I was a bit surprised to find Tom taking a few shots at a few fellow authors. Jim Collins, author of Built to Last and Good to Great, seemed to be one of his favorite targets. I couldn’t decide whether it was truly a philosophy dispute or maybe a tinge of professional jealously. It just seemed out of character for the Tom Peters I’ve grown to know and admire over the years.

In summary, Tom’s focus is obviously on all things NEW. His chapters include New Context, New Technology, New Value, New Brand, New Markets, New Work, New People, and New Mandate. First-time readers of Tom’s material will find this book fascinating and will more than likely become true converts … anxiously awaiting his inevitable upcoming book. Those who have been long-time fans who have read Tom’s previous books may enjoy this offering but probably won’t consider it his best work.

Personally, I’m not sure if this one is as good as it is bad or as bad as it is good. Read it, decide for yourself and let me know what you think.

(This book review was originally published in 2005 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 14.)

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Thinking for a Change

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Thinking for a ChangeThinking for a Change: 11 Ways Highly Successful People Approach Life and Work
by John C. Maxwell

John C. Maxwell is back again to add to his more than 30 previous titles with his encouraging tone and down-to-earth writing style. As usual he offers a very simple premise: “To do well in life, we must first think well.” This certainly is not a new premise. In fact, it’s been around for years, and we’ve heard it paraphrased by dozens of authors of note. However, as usual, Maxwell simplifies, clarifies, and guides his readers on the journey of mastering “good thinking” to achieve their personal and professional potential. Through his extensive research over the years he has found that “successful people think differently than unsuccessful people.”

The author details the impact and practical value of 11 kinds of thinking:

  • Big-Picture Thinking
  • Focused Thinking
  • Creative Thinking
  • Realistic Thinking
  • Strategic Thinking
  • Possibility Thinking
  • Reflective Thinking
  • Popular Thinking
  • Shared Thinking
  • Unselfish Thinking and
  • Bottom-Line Thinking.

Maxwell suggests that his readers scrutinize each chapter dedicated to the various types of thinking. He then provides you the opportunity to evaluate yourself at the end of each chapter by answering the thinking question. He finally provides action steps to implement the kind of successful thinking described in each chapter.

Useful tips characterize the author’s surprisingly concrete lessons. The step-by-step format is bolstered by relevant inspirational quotes, personal insights and high-profile anecdotal evidence about the likes of Priscilla Presley, George Lucas and George Washington Carver. Maxwell presents countless examples, but what makes them so relevant is that they’re all based on real companies and individuals.

Ending each chapter, emphasizing the discipline needed to think your way to the top, are exercises designed to evaluate and increase your personal progress in each area.

Thinking for a Change is written for the general business market for which the author offers useful thinking methods to incorporate into your days, weeks, months and years to improve your effectiveness.

(This book review was originally published in 2003 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 12.)

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

How Would You Move Mount Fuji?

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How Would You Move Mount Fuji?How Would You Move Mount Fuji?: Microsoft’s Cult of the Puzzle – How the World’s Smartest Companies Select the Most Creative Thinkers
by William Poundstone

For a number of reasons, today’s hiring managers from Wall Street to the Silicon Valley are totally restructuring their approach to interviewing job prospects. Few will admit it has anything to do with the fact that our litigious society makes it very difficult to ask almost any personal question of today’s job applicant. The majority of those interviewing today don’t even bother checking references because they know anyone they call will provide little or no information on the employee in question for fear of legal retribution. Again, few will admit these facts for obvious reasons. However, for these and other motives including a hypercompetitive global marketplace, a hot new trend in hiring is emerging. “Puzzle interviews” using tough and tricky questions to gauge job candidates’ intelligence, imagination, and problem-solving ability, are becoming the norm in many companies.

This book is a study of corporate hiring, an assessment of IQ testing’s value, a history of interviewing and a puzzle book. The author, William Poundstone, is a science writer who explains the thinking behind this kind of interviewing. In a straightforward manner, the author describes the roots of logic questions in interviews, drawing on the history of IQ testing in hiring interviews, psychological studies and interviews with Microsoft ex-interviewers and interviewees. He certainly makes a strong case for eliminating standard questions like “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” and replacing them with logic puzzles.

For years, Microsoft’s interview process has included a notoriously grueling sequence of brain-busting questions that separate the most creative thinkers from the merely brilliant. Anyone who’s interviewed for a job at Microsoft is intimately familiar with questions like the one in this book’s title (How would you move Mount Fuji?). They’ve probably also pondered such problems as:

  • Why are manhole covers round?
  • How do they make M&Ms?
  • What does all the ice in a hockey rink weigh?
  • How many piano tuners are there in the world?

Questions like these, which test problem-solving abilities, not specific competencies, are commonplace during job interviews at Microsoft and the many other firms who have adapted this unique approach.

Basically, this book is separated into two parts: The first discusses the history of puzzles and their intellectual and academic standing. This section starts off by narrating the origin of puzzle-solving as a criterion for selecting people; then, it talks about how and why many companies use them in interviews. Poundstone talks about the general approaches to solving puzzles, and then closes on a note for employers on how to design puzzles that are useful.

The second part of the book is strict puzzle solving. The book has plenty of puzzles scattered through it and two chapters devoted solely to listing puzzles. The author goes on to discuss the puzzles he has listed and suggests thought processes about how to solve them. This exposition is more interesting than it sounds. Poundstone not only explains his answers thoroughly, but also uncovers many layers of thinking that show the complexity and beauty of the art of solving puzzles.

Almost half of the book is devoted to an “answer” section, where Poundstone gives possible solutions to the brainteasers. Although it lacks a specific focus, this is a fun, revealing take on an unusual subject.

This book will give interviewers insights into what kind of questions to ask, and why. You should probably read this book if you fall into one of the categories below:

  • Prospective interviewees for High Tech, consulting or financial services companies. It won’t give you all the answers to memorize, but it will let you in on the puzzle genre and some of its “rules.”
  • Interviewers/HR – If you are looking to employ puzzle-type questions to hire creative employees, this will give you some insights into what questions to use and why. There are probably better books on the intricacies of interviewing, but this will give you the background needed to use puzzles in the interview process (if you decide that’s what you need.)
  • People interested in problem solving, puzzles and creativity. This covers a lot of ground in these areas and it gives you a few references for further reading.

(This book review was originally published in 2003 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 12.)

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Focal Point

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Focal PointFocal Point: A Proven System to Simplify Your Life, Double Your Productivity, and Achieve All Your Goals
by Brian Tracy

Brian Tracy is one of the world’s most successful speakers and consultants on personal and professional development. Each year he addresses some 450,000 people in the United States and abroad. His corporate clients have included IBM, McDonnell Douglas, Arthur Andersen, The Million Dollar Round Table, and dozens more. He is also the best-selling author of Maximum Achievement, Advanced Selling Strategies, The 21 Success Secrets Self-Made Millionaires, Eat That Frog! and The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success.

I share this information for those of you who have not yet had the pleasure of hearing Brian Tracy speak or the opportunity to read any of his previous best-sellers. For those of you who are familiar with his work, you may experience a little deja vu as he has combined the basic principles of career success and life balance he has advocated in the past with anecdotes for inspiration. The book proposes a unified approach to simultaneously achieving improvement at work and at home.

When our “ordinary” neighbor, colleague, or cousin suddenly rockets to success, most of us chalk up their good fortune to pure luck, politics, or backbreaking work. But in most cases these factors have nothing to do with it. Author Brian Tracy lets us in on the true secret of high achievers: They know how to find their focal point—the one thing they should do, at any given moment, to get the best possible results in each area of their lives.

In this powerful guide, Tracy brings together the very best ideas on personal management into a simple, easy-to-use plan. Focal Point helps readers analyze their lives in seven key areas and shows them how to develop goals and plans in each. Tracy provides timeless truths that have been discovered by effective people throughout the ages. He shows how to develop absolute clarity about who you are, what you want, and exactly how you can move quickly toward accomplishing those goals that bring you the highest level of personal satisfaction. Readers who follow these simple steps will accomplish more in the next couple of years than most people achieve in a lifetime!

(This book review was originally published in 2001 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 9.)

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Get Weird!

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Get Weird!Get Weird! 101 Innovative Ways to Make Your Company a Great Place to Work
by John Putzier

Here we go again! Cute title, large number of suggestions, but same bottom line message … you’d better start concentrating on how to make your company a great place to work. If you don’t, your employees will find such a place elsewhere. Workplace performance expert, John Putzier, offers a goldmine of ideas for attracting and retaining the best talent available.

He has managed to compile an incredible array of unusual yet theoretically sounds tips, tools, and techniques for today’s managers. The majority of his ideas are fast, easy to implement, inexpensive, and very unique.

By changing the very tone and culture of your company, you can enhance employee morale, creative thinking and productivity—thus creating that magnetic environment that will attract and retain today’s most productive talent.

(This book review was originally published in 2001 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 7.)

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

If It Ain’t Broke, Break It!

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If It Ain’t Broke, Break It!If it Ain’t Broke … Break It!: And Other Unconventional Wisdom for a Changing Business World
by Robert J. Kriegel

Before tickling our funny bones with his best-selling classic Sacred Cows Make the Best Burgers, Bob Kriegel shared his unconventional wisdom with readers via this hard-to-put-down, uniquely humorous approach to the subject of change.

In this book, the author points out that today’s business people have to turn the old rules inside out, upside down, and backwards not only to succeed, but to survive! He shows us how to unlock the creative thinker within us, to work smarter, not harder, and to explore new and different paths. You will discover how to break the rules of business—and break away from the pack. 

You’ll enjoy hundreds of real-life examples of break-it thinking from the annals of Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Apple Computer, The U.S. Olympic Team, PepsiCo., The L.A. Lakers, Procter & Gamble, Levi-Strauss, AT&T, L.L. Bean, The San Francisco 49ers, and many, many more.

You’ll laugh and learn with this must-have addition to any business library!

(This book review was originally published in 2000 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 5.)

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.