Customer Reviews

The Five Faces of Genius: Creative Thinking Styles to Succeed at Work

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But so are most books of this type. The book's best feature is a nice combination of detail with theory. There are lots of exercises and a generally cheery "you can do it!" tone. That's good, but the book's recurring emphasis on developing multi-modal approaches to problem-solving is better (i.e., creativity means trying approaches you're not as familiar with). Concluding sections on interacting with people of dominant types that differ from you, and how to sell your ideas to them, is probably worth the cover price alone.
The author loves examples. These examples are not always correct (salons peaked in the 1700s, not the "seventeenth century" to cite one of more than a dozen examples), nor do they fit as neatly into their creative categories as the author supposes. In part, though, the reader comes to see this as the unique characteristics of a certain creative style--seeing this and making allowance for it is good practice for the rest of the book. After all, true creativity is aware of variant creative modes, especially in colleagues or even competitors.
The morning after skimming the entire book I began to experiment with some of its suggestions. Within two hours I had come up with a metaphor that will solve one of the most intractable process problems for my company--an idea that literally took my breath away, on something I'd been struggling with for months. I put a lot of work in; this book didn't give me any answers. But in a sense it reminded me of the answer, or gave me ideas about how and where to look for the answer. I was a college football player already, to use a metaphor, and this was a long look at a pro playbook. It won't work unless you're playing college ball; if you're a top pro player, you should look at something more advanced. But if you want to develop a basis of creative talent, this'll help.

This book starts off a quick précis of the 5 faces : Seer, Observer, Alchemist, Fool, Sage. Then it gives a self-assessment of which Styles you are currently using. I scored highest on Fool & Observer, and lowest on Sage.

As I read through the book, I was disillusioned as to its worth. But when I got to Fool, I thought "that's me exactly" (there's no shame in being a 'Fool' in this schema).

So I looked back at the earlier chapters, and thought maybe the questions & examples were not as appropriate as they might have been?

Anyway, I began to appreciate the book more. Certainly the latter sections on how to apply the 5 different styles at work, and the strengths & weaknesses of teams who find themselves with & without all these players, were of more use than the theorising.

There are other books offering rival schemas, but I think this one is as good as any of the others, and easier to read.

I only read the first two sections of this book, but I did enjoy them. When purchasing this book, I was most interested in learning about the personality characteristics for each of the "five faces of genius". I found this aspect of the book very fulfilling. The author clearly presents unique qualities and behaviors associated with each "face of genius". This book supports the idea that, outside of hard work and dedication, there is more then one approach to creating valuable products.

I am so thankful to have come across this book. It helps me understand how creativity is tied to innovation, productivity, and results. I found that my greatest strength was "The Fool" (earning 8 out of 8 points) while also scoring at least 5 out of 8 on each of the other "faces." I will use this as a study guide so that I can better serve my professional clients and in executive coaching. Nice work, Annette!

As a rehabilitation physician, I am always searching for new inspirations for my patients. I found one in Annette Moser-Wellman. Even her name speaks to "Well"ness and healing!
All my patients need to discover the spark within them; the genius; the driving force that will motivate each of them to overcome adversity and disability; to become able, again. Ms. Moser-Wellman's simple test of self-discovery is enlightening, both for pointing out the reader's strengths as well as the weaknesses. In rehab, we are all about improving strengths and controlling and overcoming weaknesses, and I will use this book as a guide in my practice to motivate my patients.

I strongly recommend this as required and enjoyable reading for all my rehabilitation colleagues.

Author Annette Moser-Wellman shows people of all types how to tap their innate reservoirs of creativity to solve business problems. The book contains a quiz designed to allow you to gauge your strengths in each of the creative styles from which the book takes its title - the Seer, the Observer, the Alchemist, the Fool and the Sage. My results from the quiz revealed that I have strengths in several of the types, but my strongest Face was the Fool - and many of that type's attributes do indeed fit me.

The book provides real-world business examples to illustrate the creative strengths of each type, provides exercises designed to build your strengths in the styles you're weak in, and provides advice for working with different creative styles on the same team. The author makes a compelling case for the proposition that the key to a successful caree is finding meaning in one's work, and the surest way to do that is to master your creativity in order to enjoy your work.

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