Thinkertoys

A Handbook of Creative-Thinking Techniques

Michael Michalko

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Paperback

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English

Ten Speed Press
08 June 2006

Business & management

In hindsight, every great idea seems obvious. But how can you be the person who comes up with those ideas?

In this revised and expanded edition of his groundbreaking Thinkertoys, creativity expert Michael Michalko reveals life-changing tools that help you think like a genius. From the linear to the intuitive, this comprehensive handbook details ingenious creative-thinking techniques for approaching problems in unconventional ways.

Through fun and thought-provoking exercises, you'll learn how to create original ideas that improve your personal life and your business life. Michalko's techniques show you how to look at the same information as everyone else, yet see something different. With hundreds of hints, tricks, tips, tales and puzzles, Thinkertoys will open your mind to a world of innovative solutions to everyday and not-so-everyday problems.

By: Michael Michalko
Imprint: Ten Speed Press
Country of Publication: United States
Edition: 2nd Revised edition
Dimensions: Height: 230mm, Width: 187mm, Spine: 26mm
Weight: 839g
ISBN: 9781580087735
ISBN 10: 1580087736
Pages: 352
Publication Date: 08 June 2006
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Contents Preface to the New Edition xi The Barking Cat (Introduction) xvii initiation 1 Chapter One: Original Spin 3 Chapter Two: Mind Pumping 11 Chapter Three: Challenges 22 Chapter Four: Thinkertoys 35 Part One: Linear Thinkertoys 41 Group A Chapter Five: False Faces (reversal) 43 Chapter Six: Slice and Dice (attribute listing) 53 Chapter Seven: Cherry Split (fractionation) 60 Chapter Eight: Think Bubbles (mind mapping) 66 Chapter Nine: SCAMPER (questions) 72 Group B Chapter Ten: Tug-of-War (force-field analysis) 111 Chapter Eleven: Idea Box (morphological analysis) 117 Chapter Twelve: Idea Grid (FCB grid) 126 Chapter Thirteen: Lotus Blossom (diagramming) 132 Chapter Fourteen: Phoenix (questions) 137 Chapter Fifteen: The great Transpacific Airline and Storm Door Company (matrix) 144 Chapter Sixteen: Future Fruit (future scenarios) 150 Group C Chapter Seventeen: Brutethink (random stimulation) 157 Chapter Eighteen: Hall of Fame (forced connection) 170 Chapter Nineteen: Circle of Opportunity (forced connection) 179 Chapter Twenty: Ideatoons (pattern language) 184 Chapter Twenty-One: Clever Trevor (talk to a stranger) 190 Part Two: Intuitive Thinkertoys 199 Chapter Twenty-Two: Chilling Out (relaxation) 203 Chapter Twenty-Three: Blue Roses (intuition) 210 Chapter Twenty-Four: The Three B's (incubation) 218 Chapter Twenty-Five: rattlesnakes and Roses (analogies) 223 Chapter Twenty-Six: Stone Soup (fantasy questions) 239 Chapter Twenty-Seven: True and False (janusian thinking) 248 Chapter Twenty-Eight: Dreamscape (dreams) 256 Chapter Twenty-Nine: Da Vinci's Technique (drawing) 261 Chapter Thirty: Dali's Technique (hypnogogic imagery) 268 Chapter Thirty-One: Not Kansas (imagery) 273 Chapter Thirty-Two: The Shadow (psychosynthesis) 281 Chapter Thirty-Three: The Book of the Dead (hieroglyphics) 287 Part Three: The Spirit of Koinonia 293 Chapter Thirty-Four: Warming Up 299 Chapter Thirty-Five: Brainstorming 311 Chapter Thirty-Six: Orthodox Brainstorming 323 Chapter Thirty-Seven: Raw Creativity 341 Part Four: Endtoys 363 Chapter Thirty-Eight: Murder Board 365 Chapter Thirty-Nine: You Are Not a Field of Grass 374 Index 381 About the Author 395

Michael Michalko is one of the most highly acclaimed creativity experts in the world. As an officer in the U.S. Army, he organized a team of NATO intelligence specialists and international academics in Frankfurt, Germany, to research, collect, and categorize all known inventive-thinking methods. His team applied these methods to various NATO military, political, and economic problems and produced a variety of breakthrough ideas and creative solutions to new and old problems. After leaving military service, he was contracted by the CIA to facilitate think tanks using his creative-thinking techniques. He specializes in providing creativity workshops, seminars, and think tanks for clients who range from individuals to Fortune 500 companies.

Reviews for Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative-Thinking Techniques

Shows you how to expand your imagination. --Newsweek A special find. Period. --Executive Edge A must-have book in any business setting. --Women in Business Shows you how to expand your imagination. --Newsweek A special find. Period. --Executive Edge A must-have book in any business setting. --Women in Business Shows you how to expand your imagination. --Newsweek A special find. Period. --Executive Edge A must-have book in any business setting. --Women in Business Shows you how to expand your imagination. --Newsweek A special find. Period. --Executive Edge A must-have book in any business setting. --Women in Business