Jack's Notebook by Gregg Fraley

Try it, you’ll like it. My first business novel was probably, The One Minute Manager. It was not until 1992 that I read Goldratt’s The Goal. This past week, I read Gregg Fraley’s, Jack’s Notebook. If you are not a fan of this format, I can relate. They seem to be long on "fluff" and woefully short on "how to" advice. And yet, I really do believe that it helps the reader stay involved, which should increase the number of buyers actually completing any given text. Jack’s Notebook A business novel about Creative Problem Solving Guess what? You can judge a book by its cover! At least this one. When it arrived, I carefully opened the package, and was pleasantly surprised. Seems everyone is an author today, but not every author has a real publisher like Thomas Nelson behind them. First, it is hard bound. The jacket cover is very well done. It sets the mood, as does the chapter break cover pages. Each sets up the coming chapter with a few words and a distinctive style that says, "Hey, pay attention. This is important!" Content This is first and foremost a book about problem solving. Fraley wants to share how important the creative process is to that larger goal. And he pulls it off very well. The perfect blend of business to personal story telling, much like Eli Goldratt did in, The Goal. So few people want to acknowledge that families are as much an ‘organization’ as IBM. Maybe even more complex! The graphics hit the perfect balance. I hate books that are full of charts and graphs. They break my concentration! Fraley also takes advantage of his speaking talents by following (in book form) the three concepts applied by great speakers: 1)Tell ‘em what you are going to tell them; 2) Tell ‘em; 3) Tell ‘em what you told them. The CPS (Creative Problem Solving) model seems well documented, however, this is my first formal introduction. I love the fact that Fraley suggests that the best use involves “jumping around” in one’s application of the key components as necessary, given the dynamic nature of the challenges facing business organizations today. One note, this is not just for, “for profit” businesses. Hence his including a very robust set of personal distractions in the book, that, imagine this, need solved! At 242 pages, it is a little long for my attention span. But methinks each page was necessary. That is my biggest compliment to Gregg Fraley: I am convinced that the content is perfect for the task of sharing CPS and the importance of creativity in problem solving. Need a breakthrough? Buy and read, Jack’s Notebook. Today. Jeff ‘SKI’ Kinsey ©2008 Throughput.us LLC. All rights reserved.