What do you think?
Rate this book
A Kick in the Seat of the Pants: using your explorer, artist, judge, & warrior to be more creative
When was the last time you had a creative idea? This morning? Last month? Last year? Sometimes you need A Kick in the Seat of the Pants to get your thinking going. This book does just that by taking you on a guided tour through the four roles of the creative process-Explorer, Artist, Judge, and Warrior.
153 pages, Paperback
Published March 12, 1986
12 people are currently reading
389 people want to read
About the author
Roger Von Oech
41 books33 followersRoger von Oech is an American speaker, conference organizer, author, and toy-maker whose focus has been on the study of creativity.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
December 27, 2018
I read this years ago right after I had read A Whack on the Side of the Head. At that time I remember being a bit disappointed. I bought a copy of this the other day from a Goodwill store for the purpose of tearing it up and using the illustrations in a collage. Well, life happened and I didn’t construct the collage at that time. The past couple of days I’ve had trouble moving forward on a project and decided to make a collage to jumpstart my creative process. There this book was among my art supplies. So I read it again. I loved it (and I’m moving forward and building momentum with my project).
The purpose of this book is different than the Whack book. That book was to spur your creativity. This book is to give you some tools to help you move your project from the “idea gathering phase” to the “successful project phase”.
Willet addresses a problem I have seen so often among project teams, which is that different skills and approaches are needed at different phases of the project. He groups these skills and approaches into four rolls, each of which is vital in the dynamic creative process. The four rolls are explorer artist judge and warrior. He then gives succinct descriptions of how to execute each role. I know from experience how important it is not to use an approach in the wrong phase.
One of the benefits of the book is that it is so succinct and well organized that it can be reviewed throughout the project to keep you focused and not get ahead of yourself.
I realize now that the reason I didn’t like it all those years ago was that I was wanting more idea-generation tools and I’d picked up a book that wanted me to go beyond the good idea to the good result.
The purpose of this book is different than the Whack book. That book was to spur your creativity. This book is to give you some tools to help you move your project from the “idea gathering phase” to the “successful project phase”.
Willet addresses a problem I have seen so often among project teams, which is that different skills and approaches are needed at different phases of the project. He groups these skills and approaches into four rolls, each of which is vital in the dynamic creative process. The four rolls are explorer artist judge and warrior. He then gives succinct descriptions of how to execute each role. I know from experience how important it is not to use an approach in the wrong phase.
One of the benefits of the book is that it is so succinct and well organized that it can be reviewed throughout the project to keep you focused and not get ahead of yourself.
I realize now that the reason I didn’t like it all those years ago was that I was wanting more idea-generation tools and I’d picked up a book that wanted me to go beyond the good idea to the good result.
February 14, 2021
Well worn copy where I've used parts of Von Oech's creative process and techniques for many years. Finally finished the unread parts of the book. Recommended as an introduction to practical creative method.
March 13, 2012
Not even close to his earlier book "A Whack on the Side of the Head". Bad sequel.
April 13, 2020
4+ This book is von Oech’s second in a series on creative thinking. The structure is aligned on the four roles one assumes when thinking creatively. Many of the examples inserted in the discussion are taken from his first book, yet I found that repetition helpful. There are plenty of new ideas and intuitive quotes in this book, too. It is a quick read that gets you thinking productively.
Von Oech recommends gathering data from multiple sources and diverse spheres as a way to generate new ideas, connections, and possibilities. Doing so involves a certain amount of risk but there are rewards, too. A practical example from recent personal experience. I just finished Larry Hite’s Book The Rule: How to I Beat the Odds (in investing) where he explains exactly how to do that. Combining the power of von Oech’s grab bag approach to finding new ways to Hite’s approach to beating the odds provides better decision-making when acting in the role of von Oech’s judge.
Von Oech recommends gathering data from multiple sources and diverse spheres as a way to generate new ideas, connections, and possibilities. Doing so involves a certain amount of risk but there are rewards, too. A practical example from recent personal experience. I just finished Larry Hite’s Book The Rule: How to I Beat the Odds (in investing) where he explains exactly how to do that. Combining the power of von Oech’s grab bag approach to finding new ways to Hite’s approach to beating the odds provides better decision-making when acting in the role of von Oech’s judge.
August 29, 2017
I need at least one good dose of von Oech every year.
November 20, 2017
Von Oech breaks the creative journey into 4 distinct modes of being (or thinking).
The Explorer searches for new material to create ideas from.
The Artist examines this material and creates new ideas.
The Judge looks through the ideas and selects which ones to continue with.
The Warrior presents the ideas and turns them into reality (such as defending them to your co-workers).
I like the idea that a creative person needs to have a passion for exploration, especially in fields outside of their own discipline or industry. I think I need to work most on my Warrior. I think I'm good at coming up with ideas, but overall I struggle to really sell them and bring them to fruition. This was a fun book that I think I'll be revisiting from time to time.
The Explorer searches for new material to create ideas from.
The Artist examines this material and creates new ideas.
The Judge looks through the ideas and selects which ones to continue with.
The Warrior presents the ideas and turns them into reality (such as defending them to your co-workers).
I like the idea that a creative person needs to have a passion for exploration, especially in fields outside of their own discipline or industry. I think I need to work most on my Warrior. I think I'm good at coming up with ideas, but overall I struggle to really sell them and bring them to fruition. This was a fun book that I think I'll be revisiting from time to time.
January 3, 2012
Interesting breakdown and metaphor for the different roles and phases needed for creative thinking. The writing and presentation were a bit fluffy, but there was enough substance to hold my attention and get me thinking about what to do differently to improve my creative thinking. My favorite anecdote was of the architect/building planner who instructed the landscapers to just put down grass. After a few months, he had them install sidewalks according to the wear patterns made between the buildings. Absolutely brilliant thinking out of the box. An easy read, and it delivered on the promise of giving me a kick in the seat of the pants.
June 12, 2009
I enjoyed this book, but I think it would have been better not to read it back to back with the first book. Many of the stories and examples were the same. In fact, it seemed like the same book from a different angle. This, I admit, was creative, but not too original. (I guess you can't be sued for plagarizing yourself) Luckily I got to read that same flower seed in the dog food story twice :)
November 24, 2015
The book is divided into four parts. To succeed in creative endeavors, one must be an Explorer looking for new ideas, an Artist creating new drawings, inventions, novels or ideas, a Judge evaluating the creations and a Warrior who goes out and sells the idea. This book is a great motivator. I have read it several times.
April 10, 2007
When a whack on the side of the brain won't cut it anymore, it is time to add another body part to self inflict bodily harm, in order to achieve . . . the vision to see what's after what comes next.
Go get it!
Go get it!
April 26, 2007
Fun - out of the box thinking- easy read
August 22, 2007
duh. I had to read this for a class...
November 19, 2010
This book is creative, motivating, and truly helpful...even if the cover is cheesy and the pictures are creepy.
April 19, 2011
Gets them creative juices flowing for sure a must read!!!
June 13, 2012
Very cute, filled with easy to read ideas.
September 4, 2012
More good ways to increase your creative thinking.
January 15, 2015
Great book to jump start your thinking
April 28, 2016
Loved this book and how it broke the creative process into 4 simple categories. It has practical examples and exercises too. Besides, the illustrations were great!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews