Title: The Do-it yourself Lobotomy
Author: Tom Monahan
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons New York
ISBN: 0-471-41742-4
Format: Hardback, 262 pages
Price: £21.50
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Tom Monahan is obviously himself a creative whizz. In this book he attempts to stimulate and inspire readers to generate greater flexibility and imagination in their life and their work. His use of the word ’lobotomy’ (which personally I find rather difficult) highlights his major message –‘let go’, throw away your conscious knowledge ,the established ideas (Does that include do-it-yourself books?). Your own knowledge ,he says limits your development, prevents you from being more creative.
As I continued to read I had the impression that Tom Monahan was leaping around a stage dazzling the audience with the promise of unlimited potentials. He has some scientific ‘facts ( I must admit to skipping some of this-being myself an unrepentant skipper-and therefore ipso facto a creative person !). Actually I cannot quite understand where these facts fit into to an argument which promotes the letting go of knowledge.
I did love the quotations-although it is at the least bad form not to attribute them completely and properly.He has got some gems, though many come from a world of music which has passed me and would appeal to many, I would guess. Eg (Picasso): ‘It's taken me all of my life to have the mind of a child’
I did enjoy reading this book. Its iconoclasm appealed although somehow it did not seem to fit with the ‘scientific’ illustrations. I enjoyed his emphasis on allowing and not forcing creative thinking by ‘letting go’. He points out –with some acerbity-that creativity is not the same as talent: ‘You don’t need talent to be creative. You just need to have original ideas.
He introduces tools to improve creativity, eg pushing beyond the known, asking better questions, questioning early,100mph thinking, brainstorming quickly without comments are some of the examples of these. His mind works so quickly that sometimes one needs more illustrations. When he describes 100 degree thinking, he illustrates it by an anecdote of his dog getting in the car backward.
He turns around some cliches: a good one is thinking outside the box, which he transforms to thinking outside the galaxy. The problem is that the book and the lessons it conveys are only suitable to those who are inclined to be creative in any case. I cannot believe that it would appeal to someone rigid and set in their ways, who regards the prospect of change with horror and has their own fixed routine for getting things done. It does in fact preach to the converted, amongst whom I suspect are many training consultants. To such as they, and I include myself as one of them, there are some brilliant gems in amongst the scintillations which can be adapted into stimulating activities to flex minds and challenge fixed attitudes.
I must admit I did return to the skipped-over bits for another go. I would recommend Tom Monahan for refreshing tired trainers but be warned-you have to create your own work from it. It does not do it for you. And on reflection, I hate the title!
Judy Usiskin
