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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27618 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 183 pages

Free Book Source
"The book is rich with examples from the real world...An excellent book."

Review

“stimulating and well written.”

business executive

“a practical, step-by-step guide that can help everyone ‘get creative’ and use that more effectively.”

long range planning journal

“if you are only going to read one business book this year, this is the one. no modern business leader should be unaware of these insights.”

brian mcbride, vp northern europe, dell computer corporation

“sloane delivers rocket fuel for the business brain.”

bill penn, ceo, sparx group

“every business should embrace lateral thinking. every leader should embrace this book.”

ajaz ahmed, ceo, akqa

“this book teaches leaders how to transform creativity into meaningful innovation.”

shawn javid, ceo, insightful inc.

“replete with lateral thinking puzzles to amuse, bemuse and encourage new ways of approaching problems. there are also plenty of real-life examples to reassure you that this stuff does work.”

jim ewan’s blog

“paul sloane’s new book is a lot of fun and helps you spot the places where you might not be thinking laterally enough. it also offers real-life lateral-thinking triumphs, debunking of popular myths and tips on structured thought to help avoid committing logical fallacies.”

easyjet inflight magazine

“lively and energetic…packed with real-life examples, practical methods and lateral thinking exercises…a really exciting book and a worthwhile read for managers and students alike.”

business executive

“practical methods and exercises are provided to help executives to both develop their own capacity for innovation and encourage and reward it in team members.”

reference and research book news

“the book is rich with examples from the real world where creative thinking and action have led to astonishing successes (even with numerous failed attempts) and examples where conservationism and conventional thinking had led to obsolescence and catastrophe.

an excellent book.”

free book source

Ajaz Ahmed, CEO, AKQA
"Every business should embrace lateral thinking. Every leader
should embrace this book."

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Customer Reviews

At last, some unconventional wisdom!
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.

Genuinely does "what it says on the tin"
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.

Intelligent, practical and readable
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.