Finance

This bestseller is an outstanding resource for trainers, facilitators and anyone who wants to add zest to meetings.

A better idea is to get a different book (for example, the Improvement Guide).

There are many (self-help) books for quality professionals, most of which are either rehashes of other more detailed books or simply exhortations to do this or do that. This book is a collection of the best columns of ("It worked for me!") useful tips that have appeared in the regular "One Good Idea" column of "Quality Progress" between April 1988 and January 1998. The columns deal with process improvement, training, data and statistics. I found 42 of the 101 (roughly two-page) articles to be of immediate benefit to me. That's less than $0.50 (US) per useful tip!

I came across this book while buying another one at Amazon. I've always followed Bob Pike so I bought this book unseen.

The book is laid out nice so all you have to do is pick a game and follow the brief instructions. There is one game per page so that tells you that it's not difficult to follow.

The one thing I didn't like about this book is that you really have to plan on a lot of time to prepare for each game way before the class. Some of the games, each participant needs a specialized tool or article such as a photo, paper cups, toothpicks, candy bars, etc.

Also some of the more detailed games require you as the trainer to do a lot of advance prep for items such as a paper license plate, index cards, lists of objects, cartoons, nickels, and lottery tickets. Once you have any of these items prepared, then the game is fun....but I found that I don't have a lot of extra time to prepare items such as these for large classes.

Nutshell: Easy Instructions, Great Games, Tons of Advance Prep Work Needed (for most games).

A small book that is very popular among trainers. The Games and activities are chosen from the Creative Training Techniques Newsletter (By Bob Pike) and are suitable for a variety of topics and situations. The activities are very eclectic and many are unique since they are contributed by different people. The presentation is also very clear. However, the one thing that the book lacks is a topical index so that you can check the type of the activity and its suitability to different training topics and areas: You have to go through the whole book looking for the icebreakers, the activities, etc. and the areas that they suitable for.

I have used several of these games with great success. Most are intelligent and fun, unlike several other books I have read. The organization of the book is a little odd but that's only a minor complaint. It's still fairly easy to find what I'm looking for.

This book is both original and good. The part that is good is not original and the part that is original is not good.

This book is an excellent collection of creative-thinking techniques that will make you more creative in your business and personal lives. This ranks close to the classic book on creative-thinking "Thinkertoys" by Michael Michalko.

James M. Higgins' packs every one of his 220 pages with solid content. He collected problem-solving techniques from organizations and individuals from all types of business and several countries. He wrote them up, summarized them, and presented them to us in easy-to-read, digestible, format. Most important, he explains them so that they can be taken and used.

Higgins spends two short chapters discussing problem solving and innovation, then he gets down to the techniques. He has techniques for recognizing and identifying problems, analyzing the environment, brainstorming problem-solving ideas, and choosing solutions. One of my favorite facts about this book is that he has 38 techniques for individuals to brainstorm ideas, yet also has another 32 group brainstorming techniques. He really includes something for everyone in this smorgasbord.

I have adapted and used a number of these successfully: the Lotus Blossom and Two Words Techniques have been excellent brainstorming processes for me. I have shown a large number of people the Why-why diagram for uncovering the root causes of problems. I have shared my copy of this book with five or six people, each of whom went out and bought their own copy.

If you're looking for an easily read book that gets you started on formal, process-oriented problem solving (as advocated by Quality Management philosophies), this is a great starting point.

It takes the honesty of reflection about what truly happens in the workplace, to possibly deeply appreciate this work... William Warriner captures all the subtle nuances of 'relationships' in offices, all the 'usually unsaid'behind the statistics! savour.......
Heat shimmers from cars / surrounding my parking space; /they all want my job.
He has a certain sense / that history begins / with his arrival.
In youth, we learnt that / a company must grow; now/we teach it to shrink

A fantastic book with some real gems.

Here's an example ... " A tropical beach, at last. I trace in the sand a lazy spreadsheet."

At first look it may sound trite and yet on consideration the thoughts behind are so deep. We all look forward to get away for a holiday, and yet so many of us have got so caught up in routines and our fast paced lives that we've forgotten how to really enjoy our leisure.

William says it beautifully ... and in 17 syllables :-)