The Hothouse Effect: Intensify Creativity in Your Organization Using Secrets from History's Most Innovative Communities [Hardcover]

Barton Kunstler Ph.D. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 26, 2003

Examines the dynamics of communities that have stood out as bastions of creativity and intellectual progress, such as ancient Athens to the American jazz scene of the 20th century, and identifies the factors that drove their ususual creative fervor.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Business to Business (Atlanta): "Highly literate and entertaining."

Review

The Futurist: "Inviting readers to consider the nature of creativity itself, Kunstler makes a strong case for the idea that any group or organization, no matter its aims and objectives, can become a hub of creative activity by encouraging all its members to use their individual talents and interests in a common cause."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 17 and up
  
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM (December 26, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814407692
• ISBN-13: 978-0814407691
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,259,177 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely the "BEST" book I've read in a long time!, March 1, 2004

By 

Joseph Romano (Cleveland, OH, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hothouse Effect: Intensify Creativity in Your Organization Using Secrets from History's Most Innovative Communities (Hardcover)

With its fantastic cover, electric colors, and jacket heading
which reads "Intensify Creativity in Your Organization Using
Secrets from History's Most Innovative Communities," the
"Hothouse Effect" is nicely packaged as an organizational
self-help book. But it is so much more than that. Although it
succeeds in this regard, it is organized in a way that allows
the reader to absorb practical strategies for innovation and
creativity in the workplace. The "Hothouse Effect" is not about
business as usual. As one reader to another, I suggest that you
follow the hyperlink, highlighted in green on the jacket cover,
and read the book.

Dr Kunstler has written an engaging and transcendent book that
takes the reader on a spectacular journey through and around
time to such places as Athens, Florence, Paris, Boston & New
York. Much of the text reads like a fast moving can't put this
book down novel, but it is pure non-fiction, and the characters,
whether historical or contemporary, are real people who have
successfully intensified creativity through an explosive
interrelationship of individual to group which Dr. Kunstler
calls the "Hothouse Effect." The secrets of this phenomenon are
here for anyone seeking an edge in this highly competitive,
interconnected globe of ours.

This is a ten-star book that should be on every business
manager's desk and made into software for the desktops of every
employee, teacher, student, artist, and musician.
The "Hothouse Effect" is absolute "Hyper-thought."

Joseph A. Romano

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars enlightening, February 23, 2004

By 

Richard Prince (Bedford, NY.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hothouse Effect: Intensify Creativity in Your Organization Using Secrets from History's Most Innovative Communities (Hardcover)

Dr.Kunstlers "The Hothouse Effect" reveals the dynamic that I suspect we are seeing in the phenominal developments coming out of China today in their industrial and scienfific push towards world leadership. Reading it reveals clues to what breeds competitiveness and innovation. It may be a wake up call !
R.Prince. Pres.
Easy-China (USA)

6 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This hothouse is lukewarm at best, October 2, 2004

By 

Jerald A. Hofman "jerry_hofman" (Topeka, KS USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hothouse Effect: Intensify Creativity in Your Organization Using Secrets from History's Most Innovative Communities (Hardcover)

If you are searching for a resource to help you generate practical ideas to stimulate creativity and innovation in your organization, look elsewhere. The author is at his best when describing the culture and history of ancient Athens, Renaissance Florence or even the 20th centry Bauhaus. In fact, if you are looking to stimulate your own thoughts by researching these historical periods or locations, you might be better served to read historical works with more depth and then draw your own conclusions to apply to the place where you work.

In the end, this type of work represents the worst in "business research." The CHAI-T process described is a pseudoscientifical worm submerged in tequila-like snakeoil. The plotting of points on graphs and the creation of various geometric shapes smacks of another ancient practice ... smashing a vase on a table and having an expert come over interpret the remaining shards.

If you are looking for a more digestible and applicable resource, that offers no scientific delusion, read Tom Kelley's "The Art of Innovation" or even Seth Godin's "Purple Cow." You'll invest less time and come away with some practical ideas for your team or corporate culture.