Customer Reviews

Ideaship: How to Get Ideas Flowing in Your Workplace

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In a word, OUTSTANDING! Ideaship is a must read for all supervisors and managers who want to assist their people in becoming more vital to their organizations. I only wish I had this book in my hands years ago... but it's okay, I've got it now!

Jack Foster's insights are practical, humorous, and so very down-to-earth. He offers such a fresh approach to even the very basics of motivation and creativity. You're gonna love the many new words Jack will add to your vocabulary too. You might even become "ideaized".

Larry Corby's illustrations add the icing to the cake. Every few pages are sparkling with whimsy... I never knew a light bulb could smile.

Do your brain cells a favor and buy this book!

I have two problems with "Ideaship". The first is with the subtitle, "How to Get Ideas Flowing in Your Workplace". No question, this book is certainly a valuable guide for that, but it's a lot more. A few chapters into the book, it occured to me that the suggestions Mr. Foster was outling to generate ideas are, surprisingly, even more valuable for generating meaningful personal relationships--in or out of the workplace. You needn't be on the employment rolls to benefit from "Ideaship".

My other problem with this book? I now live in fear that those few, benighted people that found themselves working for me will read "Ideaship" and--if they ever had any doubts--now have confirmation that they worked for an unenlightened ninny. Where was "Ideaship" when I needed it?

If you are responsible for the output of fellow workers, or know someone that is, give yourself, or that someone, "Ideaship". Beyond that, if no one is below you on the work ladder, or if you are nowhere near a work ladder, you'll find that "Ideaship" has something (or, in fact, many things) grand to say to you about enhancing your personal relationships.

This is a splendid book and a must for all Leaders and Managers. A lot of stuff recommended by Jack Foster are not only applicable to business situations, but also to life in general. Very easy to read, the book describes the simple stuff that we can do to generate ideas, and the author does it in a ridiculously simple way.

It's not a matter of doing something massive in order to achieve great results. It's all about having a heart, and you will get the maximum output with very little effort.

I just finished reading "Ideaship". What a delight! The expected Foster brevity and pith, coupled with the charm and whimsy of Corby's drawings.

For fifteen years I was in charge of the advertising department of Sunkist Growers. A copy of "Ideaship" would have made me much more of an "ideaist". The department would have run better and we all would have enjoyed the creative process even more. Happily, I had worked at Foote, Cone & Belding while Jack was Creative Director so at least a little of his "ideaship" style had already been aquired by personal osmosis. The book would have made it so much easier.

Thanks, Jack, for such a rewarding couple of hours.

This is a simple book with a straightforward message; keep the work environment positive and challenging. The messages are good ones. There's not too much to the book beyond a series of motivational thoughts. In theory they are certainly good concepts to target. Just about everything that needs to be said can be read in the table of contents.

The idealism is positive. I disagree with taking employee trust to the degree of not verifying that people are not misbehaving. The example given of a manager not reviewing employee expense reports because trust is important is a terribly naive and irresponsible suggestion. A manager who fails to make sure that people remain honest and trustworthy is not only sending the wrong message, he/she is failing to do the job he/she is supposed to be doing.

So, this is a good read. It's a very simplified version of "How to Win Friends and Influence People." It's a list of inspirational sentences that could be made into a series of motivational posters. It's not worth stretching it into a book. Many of the pages are simple illustrations or large font short paragraphs. This is not a book; it's a Readers Digest article.

this book is filled with smart and valuable tips to get the creative juices in your office flowing. Jack Foster has done a great job putting these idea-inducing pointers into an easy and fun format that really make this book a not only educational, but fun read. I found it stimulating and motivational and I think it will help any businessowner make their workplace more creative and inspired.

This should be mandatory reading for every level of management in every business, small or large. The basic principle which Foster espouses is that creating an environment where employees...no, let's make that human beings...can be stimulated to be happy, and therefore infinitely more productive. It works.

Having supervised enterprises involving as many as 300-500 employees and as few as 3, I know from 40 years management experience that Foster's "ideaship" is the ideal prescription for any business. Instinctively, and in many ways, unknowingly, many of his precepts were personally applied with predictable success --- employees who felt good about themselves and their work.

A former employee, when asked what it was like to work
for me said, "I have never worked so hard for someone whose heart was so big."

I believe I could have done an even better job if I had Foster's book at hand.

Jack sent me a free copy of his new book "Ideaship". But if he hadn't, I'd have bought it anyway.

It's a treasure!

I have known Jack for about forty years and worked with him off and on during that time. So I've been exposed to his ideas about how to get the most creativity from people--while they're having the best times of their lives. His ideas work. I've seen the results.

Much of what I learned from Jack gave me the courage to open my own business -- a design studio. I retired some years ago and closed the business. But after reading "Ideaship", it makes me want to start it up all over again so that I could re-apply all that energy and juice that flows from Jack's book.

I know what I'll be sending to friends and former clients this Christmas.

Clearly, Jack Foster knows how to get ideas and how to get them out of others. He manages to manage with a deft touch. Jack makes the best of everything--people, situations, and ideas--by letting "it" happen. Of course, an occasional suggestion and a more than an occasional pat on the head work wonders, too. For anyone involved in creating--whether it be good morale, more productive work, or better communication (and we all should be involved in those), this book simply and logically shows you how to get results.

Foster brings FUN back into the workplace and into management. His latest effort is easy to read, easy to understand and easy to implement. If your workplace is stuck in first gear, "Ideaship" can help you shift into overdrive.