Book review - A Whack on the Side of the Head


As I start some work to bring some life back to this blog site, it seems appropriate that I start with a review of A Whack on the Side ofthe Head. From what I’ve gathered, A Whack on the Side of the Head is a bit of a classic in self improvement although I had never run across it before adding it to my 2017 reading list. And yes, as you may have guessed from the date of this entry, I am running behind on completing that list. I attribute part of that to not keeping up with the discipline needed to keep moving forward with the list, although some delay was introduced by the need to read some other materials and books during the year. Anyway, I’m back and ready to get some creative with some new entries.

A Whack on the Side of the Head covers ways to help the reader tap into their creative juices and remove those mental blocks that keep them stuck in a rut. Author Roger von Oech sets forth several examples to open the book demonstrating creative thinking and how people have solved problems in unique ways or came up with new concepts.

The bulk of the book is then spent covering 10 of the top mental blocks that von Oech identified while studying the field of creativity. von Oech not only discusses each of the blocks, but he also walks through several strategies that can be used to combat each specific mental block. The mental blocks, as described by the chapter titles, include:

  • The Right Answer
  • That's Not Logical
  • Follow the Rules
  • Be Practical
  • Play Is Frivolous
  • That's Not My Area
  • Don't Be Foolish
  • Avoid Ambiguity
  • To Err Is Wrong
  • I'm Not Creative

Each of the chapters provides nice coverage of a mental lock and each can be read independent of the others if one chooses. One of the things I especially liked as von Oech worked through each mental block were his proposals for specific strategies or that one can try to apply in real life to get past a particular mental block. These suggestions give readers something they can actually try in their own lives. A couple examples include:
  • to overcome our tendency to want to always make things logical, von Oech suggests that we perhaps try to mash together two seemingly unique concepts that have nothing to do with each other or try to think of a problem in terms of a metaphor;
  • to combat our desire to not appear foolish, von Oech suggests we can reverse our viewpoint in order to get a new perspective on a problem.

One of the nice surprises I found was at the end of the book. I’m not sure whether it was meant to be bonus material or not, but von Oech includes a chapter that puts some of the creative process into the context of a four-part lifecycle for generating ideas. He describes the four parts in terms of roles - the Explorer, the Artist, the Judge and the Warrior. One of the key pieces of this is that ultimately we should act on some idea – try to put it into practice. Otherwise, what is the point? I also liked the fact that the lifecycle was reminiscent of the balanced scorecard. von Oech points out that we cannot spend all of our time and effort on any one of the four roles set forth. Instead, we have to effectively move between the four roles and recognize when each is appropriate and when we may be spending too much or too little time in one of those areas. He even describes a framework for assessing that.

Overall, I enjoyed A Whack on the Side of the Head and I see why it is popular. It was well worth the read.

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