The Luck Factor by Dr. Richard Weisman

I was recently referred to the book by one of my entrepreneur friend. He persisted that this is a great book and every entrepreneur had to have one.

Well, I was very skeptical about this subject, initially. However, as I wrote about the importance of not having any biased skepticism and keeping our minds open for information (Creative Problem Solving Skills), I decided to take a look at this book.

This is an excerpt from theluckfactor.com:

In a 10-year study of the beliefs and experiences of lucky and unlucky people, Dr. Richard Wiseman discovers that good fortune is less about supernatural forces and more about a positive attitude. His outline of the 4 essential principles to luck offers specific strategies for cultivating a state of mind more receptive to what will bring personal and professional success.

Wow. A scientific approach to Luck! Get this pdf from Dr. Weisman to get a summary of his theory. I have to give this a try

Thinkertoys - Great Resource Book

If you would like to sharpen your lateral thinking skill, or simply want to improve your brainstorming and creative problem solving skill, check out Thinkertoys by Michael Michalko.

The book covers individual and group idea generation.

There are two types of individual idea generation - Linear and Intuitive.

Linear Thinkertoys are mechanical approaches to idea generation that focus on the conscious - visible pattern and steps. One obvious example of a Linear Thinkertoys is the SCAMPER approach.

Intuitive Thinkertoys focuses on the unconscious part of the brain, and it is probably suitable for artistic type of personality and issues.

It is not a silver bullet to creative thinking, and especially not a silver bullet for developing a learning organization. It takes years of practices and trials to benefit from the book, but it sure is worth the effort.