Can you imagine a company that is bounding with creativity? There is a corner with Play-Doh and finger paints to get the employees thinking more right-brained. There are foosball tables and sand volleyball courts for when  the employees need to break away, and get back in the right mindset. Television screens display all the stats that are triumphs of the company. Walls are painted bright colors, desks are constantly being moved so no one gets too comfortable, and people dress up in costume and play practical jokes on one another. Most importantly, however, are the ways new ideas are generated, and the methods that are used to spark the creativity.

Perhaps this is a look into ePrize, as Josh Linkner is the founder. Linkner paints an ideal creative world for all companies to embrace, linking great tactics with a structured system for proven creativity. A jazz musician himself, Linkner links jazz music to business, and proves that business and creativity go hand-in-hand. Interviewing more than 200 thought leaders for this book, he paints a picture of "disciplined dreaming" in a 5-step process: Ask, Prepare, Discover, Ignite and Launch.

Each step include specific instructions on ways to develop the solution and move on to the next step. Readers learn methods to develop ideas, methods to choose which ideas are best, and tactics to ensure that all voices are being heard.

This book is a must-read for all those who love the work they do and aim to make their organization the best place possible, whether that be a small-town restaurant or a large Fortune 500 company. Linkner ends with one key take-away, which I hope will leave you thinking: all it takes is one idea. One idea can change your career, one idea can change the world. Run with it, with this book in tow.

For those attending Mac-OU INC's Fireside Growth Story featuring Josh Linkner, this is an excellent way to gain insight on his way of thinking. I would suggest reading this before attending - insightful questions are sure to be the result!

"Disciplined Dreaming" will be available for purchase at the Fireside Growth Story featuring Josh Linkner on September 5, from 5 -7 p.m. For more information, please contact Joan Carleton at macINC@oakland.edu or (586) 884-9324.