Book Highlights - ALIEN Thinking by Cyril Bouquet, Jean-Louis Barsoux, Michael Wade

Imagination is socialized out of us by our education systems.

The harsh reality is that creative-thinking efforts often generate the illusion of imagination but yield disappointing results.

We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing. --George Bernard Shaw

The longer you pursue an idea, the more you feel as though your reputation is tied to it.

"If you freeze an idea too quickly, you fall in love with it. If you refine it too quickly, you become attached to it."

• Jim Glymph

ALIEN thinkers use experiments to validate and investigate.

A recurrent theme among ALIEN thinkers working in organizations is the need to stay in "submarine mode" - below the radar, off the grid - so as not to activate the corporate immune system (disapproving bosses or colleagues) when the project is still weak.

When you stop (convincing) and you start (motivating), you make the alliance with the part of the (funder) that would likely to say yes. This is when you understand that it should be a (partner) rather than a (sponsor) who is paying for your dream.

Labels like (sponsor), (supplier), and (retailer) tend to limit what you expect from partners and what you think you can offer them in return. They encourate a mindset of extraction rather than synergy.