99% Inspiration: Tips, Tales & Techniques for Liberating Your Business Creativity

I admit, I'm a technogeek, and I wondered if a book over a decade old could really teach me anything new about business creativity. If the book is Bryan W. Mattimore's 99% Inspiration: Tips, Tales & Techniques for Liberating Your Business Creativity, the answer to my question is yes, it can teach me something. A lot, in fact. Bryan Mattimore is a creativity consultant. While to me "creativity consulting" conjures images of brainstorming software and "creativity" web sites, Mattimore writes primarily about low-tech creativity-boosting techniques. My second-favorite technique is called "The Gray Box" and involves having your group ask yes or no questions about the contents of a box until they determine what's in it. What actually was in Mattimore's box might surprise you, after you read the questions and responses. Mattimore's Idea Hooks (R) concept is nothing short of remarkable (and my favorite technique, by the way). He has developed a way to actually look at the idea "hooks" that led to great inventions and discoveries. This alone was worth the price of the book, which I actually just checked out of the library but intend to buy. The third technique I really like involves cutting-and-pasting, something I'm very familiar with as a writer. Except this is the kind I did as a kid, not the kind I'm used to now. In the book, marketing execs cut out magazine pictures and compared their product to their favorite things. Sounds kind of hokey here, but in the book, it's fascinating. I'm a creative person by nature, but 99% Inspiration really helped me think more creatively. Especially if "inspiration" doesn't come easily to you, take a look at 99% Inspiration.

As a colleague of Brian's, I'm always looking for things to criticize. But in Mattimore's case, I must say that I can't find fault with his work. This is a superb book, and my suggestion to you is buy and enjoy it. This is truly one of the better books on the market.

Bryan Mattimore presented processes that have fueled my consulting practice. I find myself flipping through all my downturned pages whenever I need creative thoughts or whenever I need a creative approach to almost any situation. This is simply a great reference book.

Mattimore gives us a readable overview of both theory and technique. Breezy style, not bogged down in rhetoric and faddish tricks as other management books often are. He explores the techniques used by proven creative-types, famous and not-so-famous. The results count, and his examples and personal experiences prove the methodologies. Readers of similar books may have seen or heard some of the stories elsewhere, but there's enough new to keep your interest. I have used his techniques and they do work for idea generation. He supplies enough, so that with a little practice, you can get started