Michael Michalko is one of the most acclaimed creativity experts in the world. He lives in Rochester, New York. His bestselling books include Thinkertoys, Cracking Creativity, Creative Thinkering and Thinkpak (A Brainstorming Card Deck). He has given speeches, workshops, and seminars on fostering creative thinking for clients ranging from associations and government agencies to Fortune 500 corporations, such as DuPont, Kellogg’s, General Electric, Kodak, Microsoft, Exxon, General Motors, Ford, AT&T, Wal-Mart, Gillette, and Hallmark. He lives in Rochester, New York.
As an officer in the U.S. Army, Michael organized a team of NATO intelligence specialists and international academics in Frankfurt, Germany to research, collect, and categorize all known inventive thinking methods. His team applied these methods to various NATO military and political problems and produced a variety of breakthrough ideas and creative solutions to new and old problems. After leaving military service, he was contracted by the CIA to facilitate think tanks and brainstorming sessions using his creative-thinking techniques. Michael later applied these creative-thinking techniques to problems in the corporate world. The results were exceedingly successful.
In hindsight, every great idea seems obvious. But how can you be the person who comes up with those ideas? In this revised and expanded edition of his groundbreaking Thinkertoys, creativity expert Michael Michalko reveals life-changing tools that will help you think like a genius. From the linear to the intuitive, this comprehensive handbook details ingenious creative-thinking techniques for approaching problems in unconventional ways. Through fun and thought-provoking exercises, you’ll learn how to create original ideas that will improve your personal life and your business life. Michalko’s techniques show you how to look at the same information as everyone else and see something different. With hundreds of hints, tricks, tips, tales, and puzzles, Thinkertoys will open your mind to a world of innovative solutions to everyday and not-so-everyday problems. First published in 1991, sold over 100,000 copies, this second (2006) edition contains updated examples, three new Thinkertoys and an entirely new group brainstorming section with five new chapters.
