Brain Boosters for Business Advantage: Ticklers, Grab Bags, Blue Skies, and Other Bionic Ideas [Hardcover]

Arthur B. VanGundy (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0893842672 | ISBN-13: 978-0893842673 | Publication Date: November 24, 1994

The difference between the right book about creative thinking and the almost right book is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug. [This book] is the right book. It is lightning.
--Michael Michalko, Author, Thinkertoys and ThinkPak

Here are 101 fun, enlightening games and activities for sparking creativity and creative problem solving in individuals and groups. These idea-generation techniques, or brain boosters, lead to the A-HA! in problem solving.

VanGundy knows the field [of creativity and idea generation] backward, forward, up, down, sideways, you name it. . . . We suspect VanGundy knows the field as well as anyone, and probably better.
--Wayne Kirchner, Personnel Psychology

These proven idea-generators provide immediate results in:

• Meetings
• Strategic planning
• New product development
• Continuous improvement efforts
• Training sessions
• And more . . . just use your imagination!

Plus, this easy-to-read resource relates the major principles of creative thinking and explains how to successfully use the techniques. In no time, your organization will be on the road to greater productivity, ingenious problem solving, and improved bottom line results!

Editorial Reviews

Review

The difference between the right book about creative thinking and the almost right book is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug. [This book] is the right book. It is lightning. —Michael Michalko, Author, Thinkertoys and ThinkPak

About the Author

ARTHUR VANGUNDY is a professor of Communications at the University of Oklahoma and owner of the consulting firm VanGundy & Associates. He is the author of Idea Power and Techniques of Structured Problem Solving, as well as numerous articles for Business Week, U.S. News & World Report, The New York Times, and Success! His corporate clients over the years have included Procter & Gamble, Dow Chemical, and Hershey Foods. Dr. VanGundy lives and works in Norman, Oklahoma.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Pfeiffer (November 24, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0893842672
• ISBN-13: 978-0893842673
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #682,951 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Boosting Brains, February 23, 2000

By 

Bernie DeKoven (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brain Boosters for Business Advantage: Ticklers, Grab Bags, Blue Skies, and Other Bionic Ideas (Hardcover)

Teams who have to create on-demand inevitably find themselves in need of new techniques for getting their mental juices flowing. As the pressure builds, efforts to be "creative" often result in long, unprofitable sessions of mutual angst and long lists of second-rate, derivative ideas. Brain Boosters for Business Advantage: Ticklers, Grab Bags, Blue Skies, and Other Bionic Ideas is creativity guru Arthur VanGundy's playful collection of genuinely fun exercises for massaging the mind. Each of the 101 activities is clearly described and illustrated, with a facilitator's insight into group creative process, and a scholar's devotion to accrediting original sources. Exercises are for both individual and group mindbending, but most are extremely suitable for team brainstorming. VanGundy isn't afraid to let us know which activities are his favorites. Among his favorites, one of mine is called "Balloon, Balloon, Balloon." It has just the right amount of zaniness and physical activity to loosen up mind and body. First, people are asked to write "silly, nonsensical phrases" on slips of paper. Some examples: "worm lips on parade, "rhubarb ink javelins," "rotating cat lemons," and "vibrating elephants in your ear." Next, the slips of paper are rolled up and put into balloons of different colors. Participants tap the balloons around the room for a few minutes, collect one balloon of each color, pop the balloons and use the combined nonsense to create new ideas. For example: "Pen holders built into a chair's arms (from "arms" and "rhubarb ink javelins.") and "A built-in stereo radio in the top of the seat back (from "back" and "vibrating elephants in your ear")." VanGundy is careful to guide the reader through the collection, recommending his favorites, indicating which of his Boosters would be best for which purpose: strategic problems, product and process problems, advertising/marketing problems, and people/human resource problems. He introduces the collection with some hard-earned wisdom about the nature of creativity and group under pressure. His chapter on Creativity Principles is comprehensive, succinct, and worth committing to memory. His one basic rule: "defer all judgment when generating ideas."

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, April 10, 2000

By 

Michael Michalko (Churchville, New York USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brain Boosters for Business Advantage: Ticklers, Grab Bags, Blue Skies, and Other Bionic Ideas (Hardcover)

I'm the author of "Thinkertoys (A Handbook of Business Creativity)," ThinkPak (A Brainstorming Card Deck," and "Cracking Creativity (The Secrets of Creative Genius)," and, as such, I, generally read most everything that hits the market. Without hestitation, Andy Van Gundy's book ranks as one of the best. It's an excellent collection of techniques. Perhaps, one of the best on the market.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Down to earth, August 8, 2001

By 

Jack Brutschin (Amsterdam Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brain Boosters for Business Advantage: Ticklers, Grab Bags, Blue Skies, and Other Bionic Ideas (Hardcover)

Mr. VanGundy has written a book which is very helpful if you are looking for a book which is brief, precise and before you start to use any of the systems it is very accessable to look for the right kind of system in any given situation. I simply love the "professor" approach, as the creativeness is at the end all up to you!