Disciplined Dreaming: A Proven System to Drive Breakthrough Creativity [Hardcover]

The title of this book refers to what its subtitle promises to provide: "a proven system to drive breakthrough creativity," one that requires highly- developed mental and emotional discipline. Josh Linkner introduces a methodology, a five-step process, that he calls "Disciplined Dreaming." He interviewed more than 200 people who have apparently whose creativity has driven their success. What he learned is shared in this book. After making the case for creativity in the first chapter and then explaining the Disciplined Dreaming system, Linkner organizes his material within a sequence of five steps: Ask (Chapters 3&4), Prepare (5&6), Discover (7), Ignite (8&9), and then Launch (Chapter 10). He adds an Epilogue, followed by two appendices. In the first, he invalidates "six common myths that inhibit creativity"; in the second, he provides "Additional Warm-Up Exercises to Jump Star Creativity."

Back to Disciplined Dreaming. Consider the differences between (a) allowing your mind to wander aimlessly and (b) filling your mind with a wealth of information relevant to answering a question or solving a problem and then allowing it to absorb and digest the information. (I call the latter "mulling" and it can either be active and aggressive or passive and patient. In this book, Linkner explains how to

o Define a "creativity challenge" (e.g. answering an important question, solving a serious problem or taking full advantage of a major opportunity)

o Prepare (mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and environmentally) for the process by which to create or reveal a correct answer or effective solution

o Discover various "avenues" by which to reach that answer or solution

o Ignite forces (i.e. "juices") with various techniques to generate an abundance of creative ideas

o Launch the process by which to realize (literally, make a reality) each of the best ideas within a framework provided in Chapter Ten.

Those who are curious to know the nature and extent of their readiness to embark on Disciplined Dreaming process will be delighted to know that Linkner includes "Building Your Creativity Chops: The Self-Assessment on Pages 31-38, an exercise that includes detailed explanations of the results. I also commend him on his eloquent as well as rigorous examination of immensely complicated issues associated with terms such as creativity, innovation, co-creation, integrative thinking, and inspiration. Whenever possible, he anchors information, insights, and even recommendations in a real-world context with which most readers can identify.

Readers will also appreciate what he calls "The Eight Commandments of Ideation" (Pages 164-166) as well as the aforementioned invalidation of "six common myths that inhibit creativity" and "Additional Warm-Up Exercises to Jump Star Creativity" in the two appendices. Josh Linkner brilliantly integrates what he learned from more than 200 interviews with what he has learned his own observations and (yes) disciplined dreaming. He has prepared his reader well for a journey only the reader can take. I join with him in expressing "Bon voyage!" to those who embark on it.

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Note: I wish to acknowledge my debt to Oliver Wendell Holmes who inspired the title of my review. Long ago, he observed, "I would not give a fig for simplicity this side of complexity but I would give my life for simplicity on the other side of complexity."

"In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling the main facts." -- Daniel 7:1 (NKJV)

Disciplined Dreaming has many qualities to recommend it over its competitors in the creativity literature:

1. Mr. Linkner has enough experience so that his advice is based in tangible examples that are easy to follow.
2. He's a good story teller, which keeps the book from bogging down in business jargon.
3. Although the author represents a firm that provides services in the field, he keeps the potential sales pitch under control.
4. He knows jazz and provides one of the better descriptions of how playing jazz with others is improved by having some structure and limitations.
5. Mr. Linker knows the literature and generously refers to other sources, methods, and examples to save readers who are relatively new to the subject from having to read a lot of other books.
6. The book is mostly up-to-date on methods . . . with one exception that I'll address next.

If you are familiar with the better books about throwing open an organization's doors and windows to let in outsiders to suggest and implement (such as Crowdsourcing), you'll be wondering why Disciplined Dreaming doesn't connect its process with letting interested people (both experts and non-experts) propose and comment on one another's creative concepts and potential innovations. My guess is that Mr. Linkner hasn't done as much work in this area. You'll have to read up on that subject for yourself and connect the dots to this book.

The process is pretty easy to understand:

1. Define objectives. (ASK)
2. Get ready before trying to be creative. (PREPARE)
3. Employ helpful techniques for exploring new mental territory. (DISCOVER)
4. Focus the group using helpful dynamic methods. (IGNITE)
5. Pick what to work on, set metrics, and start into implementation. (LAUNCH)

One of the nuances of the book's content that I liked was making it explicit whether the creativity goal is a breakthrough, a big improvement, or something more incremental.

Although the book is linked to the notion of being creative in any context, the actual examples are heavily in the offering development, brand and concept positioning, and business model space. You may not find this as applicable for operating cost reductions and new ways of financing . . . just because the examples aren't there.

Have fun . . . and make some profitable progress!

While venture capitalist Josh Linkner neither introduces new theories about what constitutes creativity nor makes any new arguments about why it is important, he does provide a clear, methodical guide to developing it. The result is a highly useful and often entertaining manual on this elusive subject. getAbstract recommends this book to readers looking to enhance their creativity - especially those working in or managing innovation: designers, product development teams and marketers.