Customer Reviews

Innovation at the Speed of Laughter: 8 Secrets to World Class Idea Generation (Hardcover)

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

 

 

The thing I really liked about this book is that it is very different from your typical business book.
For one thing, it's actually interesting.
While it's a fun and entertaining read, it's at the same time both applicable and thought provoking as well.

A second reason I greatly admire this book is that rather than just stating theories about the ideal work environment, John Sweeney goes on to actually give cold, hard facts and examples, as well as tangible and implementable ways as to how one can get from point A to point B in actually achieving the ideas which are presented. After completing the book one has realistic ideas and suggestions for how to improve a company work environment, hence increase innovation, hence productivity, and hence bottom line. And if you're like me, you also finish with a whole notepad full of other ideas you can't wait to get started on.

"Innovation at the Speed of Laughter" is a very smart book. It makes a point and makes it well, and John Sweeney gets straight to the heart of the matter without mincing words or space or hence readers' time.
The book is set aside from other books in the field because somehow John Sweeney is able to do all of the above while not patronizing his readers, being completely honest, and then making you both think and laugh all in the same book.
Highly recommend as both a usable tool and as a great read as well.

I bought a copy of Innovation at the Speed of Laughter after seeing John Sweeney present at a meeting for my company. He is a FABULOUS speaker and the book is a nice companion piece to his very positive, entertaining message. Believe it or not, John's 8 Secrets have some depth to them...not what I expected from the owner of a comedy theater. The book is both insightful and entertaining and he makes some good arguments for why people should consider implementing his 8 Secrets. Particularly as it relates to improving openmindedness in the workplace.

On the back jacket is a tongue and cheek reference to Who Moved My Cheese and FISH. I found John's book to be equally beneficial, if not more so as far as a frame work for improving workplace culture. I highly recommend it for HR and creative types.

This book is awesome and John Sweeney is also a fantastic speaker! I saw him speak at an event on the west coast and he was incredibly passionate, motivating, and hilarious. That's a rare combo and my group gave him a well deserved standing ovation. The book itself is humorous and offers sage advice for how to build a core culture that is innovative and improvisational. I have also found the 8 secrets of the Brave New Workshop to be helpful in my personal life. This is not a "fluffy" book like so many other professional growth/development books out there--this one packs a punch.

Anyone who wants their company to succeed should read this book. Sweeney not only shows keen insight into human nature, but he understands the importance of making everyone who works for a company feel worthy and respected, no matter what their function. Unfortunately, work environments like Sweeney's model are rare. Most often they're suppressed, which as he points out, leads to a lack or loss of innovation. If you own, run, or just work for a company, this is a must read!

"Innovation at the Speed of Laughter" is an easy to read, generally entertaining book, linking keys of improvisational comedy and business excellence. The book is not groundbreaking, but does approach business methods differently than most consultancies, which is in most cases a good thing. Perhaps the single quote that sums up the Brave New Workshop approach to business acumen is found on p. 121: "Man is at his best when he is thoughtful, careful, and touched with humor." I didn't expect the emphasis to be as strongly on thoughtfulness and carefulness as on humor in this book, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out otherwise. Many of the techniques espoused in the book are excellent; I was especially pleased with the "Creative Funnel Process" discussed at length in chapter ten, and diagrammed on p. 124 to good effect. I instantly appreciated the value of this and several other Brave New Workshop methods.

Despite the pros, this book is not without fault. While much humor is subject to taste, and it is true that comedy is better appreciated when seen as opposed to reading a script, some subjects are truly unsuitable for humorous or satirical use; this book flirts with bad taste in several areas, but the script for their 9/11 piece "It's Hard to be an American" (pp. 156-160) was overtly offensive. I was prepared to give the book four stars until reading that bit of "comedy"; I am now generously assigning it a three star rating.

This book is very short, and can be useful (it's certainly cheaper than hiring a consultant to evaluate your business), but it isn't universally applicable to all business models, nor is all the humor as funny as John Sweeney thinks (though much of it is). It is very short, but the lessons are easy to grasp and relevant to the contemporary business environment. I recommend the book with the caveat that you may not find the humor to be universally appropriate.

This is a delightful...but practical book on how to think outside the box. The "plays" are so clever and well done, yet make a point every time.

In reading Innovation at the Speed of Laughter, I found 30% good actionable information and 70% gobbledygook self-promotion. I got the distinct impression that the author has a great system for working within the scope of improvisational theatre and training workshops for corporate clients.

The challenge that the author has is that he didn't have enough great information to put together a "KILLER" Book on the subject. As a result, you have to wade through lots of testimonials from clients, and employees which add no discernable value to the subject. They leave the reader feeling used.

I Believe that the 8 Secrets are valuable information, but you can skip the Skit in each chapter and go straight to the Explanation of the Secret, then skip the rest of the chapter and to directly to the next Explanation of the Secret. Once you've finsished the secrets go directly to chapter 10 and read about the funnel process. You are now done and by my calculation, that will be about 35-40 pages of reading in a book of about 170 pages including foreword and introduction.

Admittedly, I'd like to attend one of the shows to enjoy the comedy, but, please don't hide 30 or 40 page of good, quality information in a morass of 170 pages. I must admit that I admire their success, but I am disappointed at the book. The Skits, A Pox on the Skits. I could have gotten the same Great Information out of a 2 hour slide show presentation.

I had the opportunity to witness John Sweeney in action at a recent company event, and after hearing him speak, I actually went out and bought his book - something I rarely, if ever, do.

It is clear that John Sweeney is quickly on his way to becoming the nation's top corporate speaker.
He sure appears to be the HOTTEST thing to hit the corporate world these days, that's for certain - and with good reason.

I can honostly foresee this Minneapolis comedy theatre owner becoming the business world's next big "it thing", both in terms of his corporate speaking profession, and also in terms of his book, rapidly gaining presence and popularity in the business world as well.

It'll be exciting to watch Mr. Sweeney grow both a speaker, and as an author, and of course, to see how soon this book gets its follow-up.