Genius!: deceptively simple ways to become instantly smarter

217 Pages·2012·7.588 MB·English

by  Bannerman, James

This book isn’t going to turn you into a genius.
But you knew that already.
What it will do is increase the number of genius moments
in your life. You know, those amazing times when you cleverly
solve a problem that others have been struggling with, or come
up with a brilliant idea that makes the ordinary extraordinary.
We could all do with a touch more inner genius. The ability
to see what others miss. The ability to shape an ingeniously
persuasive argument. The ability to create, adapt, adjust,
rethink, tweak and polish. This is the stuff that amazing
careers and great businesses are built on.
And while we can’t all be the next Einstein, Shakespeare or Steve
Jobs, we can all develop and hone our genius thinking skills.
With the help of this inspiring book you’ll be able to:
– Solve problems and dissolve obstacles
– Spot opportunities that others miss
– Win arguments with persuasive lines Deceptively simple ways to
– Turn the distinctly average into something truly special
become instantly smarter
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James Bannerman

Deceptively simple ways to
become instantly smarter
James Bannerman
Pearson Education Limited
Edinburgh Gate
Harlow CM20 2JE
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Website: www.pearson.com/uk
First published in Great Britain in 2012
© James Bannerman 2012
The right of James Bannerman to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988.
Pearson Education is not responsible for the content of third-party internet sites.
ISBN: 978-0-273-77226-2
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bannerman, James.
Genius! : deceptively simple ways to become instantly smarter / James
Bannerman.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-273-77226-2 (limp)
1. Genius. 2. Creative ability. 3. Cognition. I. Title.
BF412.B33 2012
153.4’2--dc23
2012008815
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without either the prior
written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying
in the United Kingdom issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron
House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. This book may not be lent,
resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of by way of trade in any form of
binding or cover other than that in which it is published, without the prior
consent of the Publishers.
All trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners. The use of
any trademark in this text does not vest in the author or publisher any trademark
ownership rights in such trademarks, nor does the use of such trademarks imply
any affiliation with or endorsement of this book by such owners.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
16 15 14 13 12
Text design by Design Deluxe
Typeset in 9.5/14 Helvetica Neue Light by 30
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Henry Ling Ltd., at the Dorset Press,
Dorchester, Dorset
Dedicated to my father – Henry
Campbell Bannerman (1931–2010)
– who gave me the freedom and
opportunity to follow a creative path
And to A, T, and S xxx

CONTENTS
Acknowledgements xi
About the author xiii
Author’s note xv
Introduction xvii
How to get the best out of this book xxiii
INSTANT GENIUS
1
CUNNING CANDO: The 5 essential Cunningly
Clever Tools for fixing everyday challenges 3
Cunning Connections 8
Cunning Alterations 20
Cunning Navigations 28
Cunning Directions 42
Cunning Oppositions 54
The deceptive power of a ‘Twist of Thought’ 65
GENIUS AT WORK
77
Introduction 79
7 answers to 7 questions 81
How to get the most out of the rest of this book 87
The 5 Golden Guidelines for using Cunningly Clever
Creativity to generate ideas 89
Be specific 89
vii
Keep separate 89
No buts 90
Crazy’s good 91
Keep moving 92
The Cunningly Clever Creativity Toolkit 93
Analogy 94
Bisociation 97
Clever copycat 100
Delete 103
Enlarge 106
Future thinking 109
Goat 112
Halo 115
Indiana Jones 118
Jumble-it-up 121
KISS 124
Lovely limitations 127
Multiply 130
Nutty Nero 133
Outlaw 136
Personalisation 139
Quick-slow 142
Reduce 145
Swapshop 148
Transfer 151
U-turn 154
Variations 157
Wobble 160
X-ray 163
Yogurt 166
Zebra 169
And finally… 172
viii CONTENTS
Ideas into action 173
The 4 Cs 174
1. Choose 174
2. Check 175
3. Cycle 176
4. Climb 180
Conclusion 183
Further information 185
CONTENTS ix