Disciplined dreaming: a proven system to drive breakthrough creativity Ebook

Creativity is not just another way for companies to succeed — it is a necessity. Without it, organizations may not survive. Today, when so many established business models are under attack from the relentless and destabilizing force of technology, as well as from unprecedented international competition, original thought and fresh ideas are becoming the only sustainable competitive advantage a company can possess. Disciplined Dreaming is the crystallization of Linkners techniques for idea-generation, developed from his experience as an entrepreneur, his research interviews with other 200 CEOs, entrepreneurs, and leaders in various fields, and from his prior career as a jazz musician. He calls his systematic approach to creativity Disciplined Dreaming– a highly-applicable, five-part process which allows companies and individuals to develop, manage, and thoughtfully direct their creativity in order to become more nimble, adept and competitive. Using a system like Disciplined Dreaming, even people in the stuffiest corporate bureaucracies can build and develop their creative capacity in the same way a weight lifter develops his muscles — through the use of a specific and proven methodology. Linkners ideas and techniques are easy to implement and extraordinarily effective. They include some incredible strategies, for instance: creating a fictional competitor with super-powers; asking managers to attend meetings behaving like characters from Mad Men; or, when managers suggested a particular course of action that seems limiting or unimaginative, asking them for detailed plans on what would happen if they did the opposite, most extreme thing. The Disciplined Dreaming system synthesizes all of Linkners techniques into a five-step program any manager can apply to dramatically increase creativity and produce an exponential increase in the daily flow of good ideas that drive future progress. Disciplined Dreaming will equip individuals, teams and organizations with the necessary skill-set in an age in which creativity is prized above virtually all else. The techniques in this book will help any business caught in a creative challenge, looking for more growth, or battling through the recession. They can be applied to all types of creative challenges, from startling, disruptive, breakthrough innovations to incremental advances and small improvements. The methodology is simple, backed by proven results, and demonstrated through stories and examples.  The book is also packed with practical exercises, thought-starters, workouts (to grow creative muscles) and case studies. #8 New York Times Bestseller (Hardcover Business) #2 Wall Street Journal Bestseller (Hardcover Business)  #9 Wall Street Journal Bestseller (Hardcover Nonfiction) #9 Washington Post Bestseller (Nonfiction Hardcover) #1 USA Today Bestseller (Money) #10 Publishers Weekly Bestseller (Nonfiction)