DaVinci and the 40 Answers: A Playbook for Creativity and Fresh Ideas

By Mark L. Fox

Book Overview

Mark L. Fox is a leading authority on teaching practical creative thinking techniques for business. Mark has an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering with an MBA. Having held top management... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 193222663X
• ISBN13: 9781932226638
• Release Date: October 2008
• Publisher: Wizard Academy Press
• Length: 308 Pages
• Weight: 1.21 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.7" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Transform or update a business

Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (07/10) My first exposure to "Da Vinci and the 40 Answers" was through a 2-day workshop under the same name facilitated by the author, Mark L. Fox. The premise is based on the principles of TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) created by a Russian engineer/scientist Genrikh Altshuller. Altshuller's findings showed that, after studying hundreds of thousands of patents, "there are only about 1,500 basic problems." Fox further states "Every answer to every problem is found within the 40 principles of TRIZ..." For the purpose of this review, I will cover two "lenses" (principles) of TRIZ and the relationship to a business. One is "Peel the Onion." This particular lens made me stop in my tracks when I read Fox's sub-title of "Everything You Know is Wrong." Further reading explained that if we rely on conventional wisdom as the key source for making decisions failure is imminent. If we aren't willing to look at other options we stifle our own creativity. Challenging ourselves is of utmost importance if our goal is growth in our business and our personal lives. Another lens is "Brainstorming." To me, this is one of the most important aspects of managing a business. However, as Fox explains in "Da Vinci and the 40 Answers," on many occasions the brainstorming sessions don't produce effective results. According to Fox the ineffectiveness is a result of not setting rules for the brainstorming session. One rule is "Generate as many ideas as possible. Go for quantity, not quality." I've been in many sessions when the brainstorming stops when everyone agrees on one idea but this always isn't the best result. On a personal note, when in Fox's class, I was chosen to have my goal for the business brainstormed. I acquired twenty-seven new ideas that can be implemented and this was as a result of the rule "Encourage Wild and Exaggerated Ideas, No Matter How Crazy, Ridiculous, or Far-fetched the Idea Might Be." Fox comes from an engineering background with accomplishments such as Chief Engineer on the Space Shuttle program and Chairman of the "orbital debris" committee. With that comes his creative side from which he draws extensively in his book and business consulting. "Da Vinci and the 40 Answers" is concise, written in lay language, and provides a diverse list of lenses that can be used in any business or personal advancement. The examples and ideas can transform or update a business to become the forerunner in the industry. And, I can personally attest to that.

Find all the Solutions, then pick the Best

What a great nuts to bolts book on how to achieve multiple solutions to any problem. Businesses, teachers, government agencies, lawyers and just about any other group or individual can benefit from the techniques that Mark Fox presents in this book. Da Vinci and the 40 Answers introduces the reader to a systematic process to induce creative solutions by asking the reader to 'unlearn' the a+b+c method/approach to problem solving that we are all taught in grade school. Instead, Mark Fox encourages the reader to apply different 'lenses' or approaches to the problem and to search out as many potential solutions to the problem. This results in the ability to select the 'best' solution, not just the 'first' solution.

Stimulate your right brain

If you're looking for answers on a sliver platter you're out of luck, but you're looking to: Activate your creativity. Systematize your creativity on demand. Roll up your sleeves, think, expand, explore, grow, and make discoveries. Da Vinci and the 40 answers is that kind of experience. Perfect for the intrinsically curious, the emerging inventor, or anyone seeking a plethora of ideas. The author's style reveals his creative- character with stories and applications of TRIZ brainstorming. Well worth the price. My daughter is certain of this. We randomly selected TRIZ technique "Preliminary Action" to brainstorm on how to persuade mom to get her cell phone. We discovered 100 paths two may work. I highly recommend this book for work and for play to the curious thinker who loves ideas change and discovery.

So many ways of seeing

This book has given me inspiring and practicable ideas. The suggestions moved me to see things differently, and then see them differently still, and then differently again, and still again. It is packed with ideas that evoke and energize both sides of the brain...hundreds of sources to draw on and use as springboards for one's own creative thinking, whether for strategic or tactical solutions.