More Lightning, Less Thunder: How to Energize Innovation Teams [Hardcover]

Bob Eckert (Author), Jonathan Vehar (Author), Monica Mead/Susan Rossetti (Editor), Eric James Spencer/Kim Erwin (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 12, 2007

More Lightning, Less Thunder: How to Energize Innovation Teams

Introduces the fundamental behaviors and specific attitudes necessary to function in a team environment. It's designed to help you work more effectively with others to create innovative results and bottom-line improvements.

Mere tools and techniques are not enough to change the way people and organizations work together. Innovation demands that individuals adopt specific behaviors and attitudes in order to flourish within teams.

This book shares how to spark your brain and your teams to generate more creative results. So read on and find out how to wire your brain to work with other brains to achieve success!

--This text refers to the Spiral-bound edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Don't just read this book, adopt it as your personal 'Team Leadership Handbook!" -- Robert (Bob) J. Moore, Senior Director, Global Project Management Excellence, Pfizer Global Research and Development

"I know that the most difficult task is to explain complex things in simple terms. These authors have that skill." -- Andrei G. Aleinikov, Ph.D., Former Lead Researcher, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow. Author, Mega-Creator

"This little gem, synthesizes the state-of-the-art on teamwork." -- Newell Eaton, Director of Strategic Planning New York State Office of Children and Family Services --This text refers to the Spiral-bound edition.

About the Author

Jonathan Vehar and Robert "Bob" Eckert: are Senior Partners at New & Improved, a consulting company that works with a range of organizations to create Innovation Teams: teams who work together productively to create innovation. Their quick wit, piercing insights and commitment to excellence create powerful programs in the areas of creative thinking, team development, strategic planning, creative problem solving, leadership development and meeting facilitation.

Some of the organizations to benefit from their training and facilitation include: Andersen Consulting; Clorox; Deloitte & Touché; Ford; General Mills; Kodak; Kraft; Merck; Nestle; New York State Department of State; Nokia; Pfizer; Xerox; and the US Navy, as well as many social service agencies and school systems.

Jonathan was formerly the Director of Training and Consulting for the Creative Education Foundation and prior to that worked in the field of advertising and marketing. He holds a Master's Degree in Creativity and Innovation from the State University of New York. They are both regular instructors at the Creative Problem Solving Institute.

Bob speaks from a background which includes: management experience in both manufacturing and retail, work as a family therapist, creation/direction of the nationally renowned Leadership and Healthy Lifestyles program, teaching in both youth and adult criminal justice systems, and work as a senior "Outward Bound" instructor for incarcerated juveniles. He is on the design team for the Creative Education Foundation's Global Odyssey program.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 163 pages
• Publisher: New & Improved LLC; 3.0.1 edition (July 12, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971224218
• ISBN-13: 978-0971224216
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,852,158 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Illuminating, Amusing, Inspiring Read, January 31, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: More Lightning, Less Thunder: How to Energize Innovation Teams (Spiral-bound)

I LOVED this book and recommend it highly! Bob Eckert and Jonathan Vehar have created an illuminating gem in this amusing, well constructed handbook, designed to energize innovation teams where creativity and productivity are paramount. But you don't have to be a member of an innovation team to reap copious benefits from "More Lightning Less Thunder." Anyone with co workers, staff meetings or the occasional community bake sale will learn valuable lessons on how to be an effective team member and lead a more fulfilling life. If you liked "Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway" or "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" this book is for you. The title refers to a Mark Twain quote, "Thunder is good, thunder is impressive, but it is the lighting that does the work." It's appropriate that Eckert and Vehar quote Twain because they evoke the irreverent charm of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer as they lead the reader through seven enriching chapters: 1. Surrender to Humanity 2. Understand Responsibility 3. Conscious Listening, Clear Speaking, 4. Cultivate Risk Taking 5. Expect Win-Win 6. Strive for Constant Improvement. 7. Start, Finish, Start Again. It come as no surprise that Eckert was formerly an "Outward Bound" instructor for incarcerated juveniles. Reading "More Lightning Less Thunder" is like hanging out with that cool 8th grade teacher who chose to believe the dog really ate your homework because he understood you were having a bad day. In their introduction, Eckert and Vehar set out "to help you establish behaviors that lead to people working together productively to create innovative and successful results." With great humor and humanity, they deliver this in spades, giving the reader the confidence and practical tools to implement positive, lasting changes in one's life.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gotta Have This!, February 14, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: More Lightning, Less Thunder: How to Energize Innovation Teams (Spiral-bound)

This little book is BIG on content. An excellent tool to keep me on track with my working relationships AND my personal relationships. A corporate, culture changing must-have, especially for those on the path for advancement. Far superior to those 'cheesy' books on the market today.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book worth buying, June 23, 2008

By 

Tim Hurson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: More Lightning, Less Thunder: How to Energize Innovation Teams (Hardcover)

If you are interested in how to get teams to embrace creativity and perform more productively, this book is for you. Eckert and Vehar have packed in the equivalent of a two-year MBA program on team building and creative problem solving. And they've done it in an entertaining, accessible way. My business is working with Fortune 500 companies on innovation strategies, and I can say without reservation that this is one of the most useful books around. Buy it, keep it handy, benefit.