‘Thinking Things Through’ Archives
Wayne Hurlbert’s Review of The Genius Machine
The Genius Machine has gotten more than its fair share of great reviews. I don't post them since they can be found easily. But one came in today, written by Wayne Hurlbert, that is the very model of conciseness. "This book is about a third kind of thinking, one that is directed toward improving an existing idea, thinking through a complete issue, [...]
Flash! FAA Requires More Data Points on Airbus A330. Volunteers, anyone?
I remember many happy times in First Class. I remember when they used to print your name on matchbooks and they'd be miraculously waiting at your seat when you sat down. I remember First Class on Air Canada when they rolled a huge slab of gravlax down the aisle and sliced you off a little, accompanied by a shot of cold vodka. And I remember when [...]
An Open Letter To GM CEO Fritz Henderson on Day One
Good morning Mr. Henderson — Big day for you, no question. My best wishes go out to you on Day One running the new General Motors. Clean slate, pretty much, except for those legacy issues that might hold you back. A culture of poor vision, poor design, poor assembly, poor service. That’s a lot to change all at once, but you’ll need to do [...]
Why Are You Telling Me This?
We get letters. So far, and it’s only been a few weeks that my book has been out, the letters have been pretty nice. No one, yet, has told me they took my advice and bankrupted their company, disinherited their kids, or run off with the circus. But it’s only Thursday. There’s still time. A letter arrived last weekend (okay, officially it [...]
Why Little Louie Can Never Be A Genius
Delighted as I was to be greeted Friday morning by David Brooks’s book reviewish column headlined Genius: The Modern View, and as much as I admire Mr. Brooks, I was surprised to discover that he wasn’t writing satirically when he described the path to genius. According to the two new books he was discussing, The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle and [...]
They All Laughed When I Sat To Down to Write My Book
"The Genius Machine is passionate, provocative, powerful, and practical. Gerald Sindell weaves his experience into an essential guide for creating ideas with impact. What better gift for today's troubled world than this compelling method for finding smarter solutions and getting them working." Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business [...]
Want to be Smarter?
Is it possible for a book to make you smarter? Most of us recognize that books can teach you something new, give you information about anything and everything. But the part of you that thinks is in you, isn’t it? Can a book change the way your mind works? Seems highly unlikely. (more...)
Where is The Genius in The Genius Machine?
On May 1, 2009, you will be able to purchase a copy of The Genius Machine: The Eleven Steps That Turn Raw Ideas Into Brilliance. A few months ago Jason Gardner, my wonderful editor at New World Library, asked me if I thought about processes in the book as being a real machine. That got me thinking. Where is the genius in The Genius Machine? Is it [...]
On the Shoulders of Zinsser, E.B.White, and Wm. Strunk, Jr.
In the Spring Issue of The American Scholar, William Zinsser, author of everyone’s favorite guide to writing style in English — On Writing Well — tells the story of how he came to write the book in the first place, how he found his own voice along the way, and how regular revisions have kept the book continually useful to more than a million [...]
Common Knowledge or Common Ignorance?
I don’t know much about Ward Churchill, and from the little I do know, I know I don’t want to know much more. Mr. Churchill’s ex-faculty colleagues at the University of Colorado supported his firing after they had reviewed his “research” regarding the theory that the United States Army had shipped smallpox infected blankets to American [...]
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