The do-it-yourself lobotomy

THE
DO-IT-YOURSELF
LOBOTOMY
Open Your Mind to Greater
Creative Thinking
P A R T I

What Do Great

Ideas Do? Ideas First!

One thing is certain:
Whether you’re in advertising, high finance, technology, funeral
Management, or any other field, every big idea that has ever helped
Your industry was the result of creative thinking. Every solution to
Every real problem has come from a new idea. Every triumph over
Every challenge and every gain from every opportunity has been the
Result of an individual stretching her or his gray matter to a new and
Valuable place.
Great ideas are the root of just about everything new. Every new
Product, service improvement, cost savings, and efficiency idea has
Come from human creativeness. Every market-conquering, competition-smashing concept behind every advancement is the result of someone thinking of something that has not been thought of before.
The vital, urgent need for constant creative thinking is as pervasive
In industry today as computer terminals and interminable meetings.
To survive, to thrive in business in the twenty-first century you need
To be a potent idea generator.
IntroductionCreative thinking is no longer the domain of a chosen few or something companies do only at their annual planning meetings or in brainstorming sessions. Creative thinking is something that high-functioning
People at leading companies do constantly, because there is always an
Opportunity for improvement. Today, with the pace of change constantly increasing in business, there is always a need to maintain a competitive advantage. Companies and individuals both need to stay on top
Of their game.
So where do creative ideas come from? Well. . . people. The freshest, biggest ideas come from leaders in your own industry and other
Industries. Ideas also come from the customers and users

of your goods
Or services. And if your company is a player to any degree and you’re
Doing your job, creative ideas come from you. (If you’re a manager
Doing your job, they also come from your people.)
Now is the time to ask yourself, “What am I doing to enable myself
And/or my people to generate the vital business-building ideas that fuel
My company’s, my clients’, and our customers’ success?”
Take a second to let that question sink in.
Now answer honestly, “What are you doing, now, to become a better idea generator?”
If you don’t actively grease the skids of innovation and better handle the rapidity and magnitude of change today, you could be cheating
Yourself and your employer out of an incredible resource. You could be
Holding back your company and your career.
Fresh ideas are the lubrication for growth and success in business.
Whether it’s creative marketing ideas, breakthrough advertising ideas,
Customer service ideas, or fresh thinking in a thousand other areas, the
Most successful people in business are making themselves active players in this high-stakes, high-value game.
You’re reading this book because you want to improve yourself in
This area. I can help you. As a professional creative thinking coach I
Work with thousands of people in dozens of industry segments annually to help them improve their understanding and skills in this critical
If you’re not making a concerted effort to value, master, and inspire
Creative thinking and improve your skill set in this area, you may
Find yourself losing out to the competition.
4 INTRODUCTION area.