Brainpower Networking Using the Crawford Slip Method

Author: H. William Dettmer

ISBN 978-1-63868-170-0 (softcover)

194 pages

Invented in 1925 by Dr. C.C. Crawford, professor of education at the University of Southern California, the Crawford Slip Method is an idea generator without equal. It is an easy-to-use, effective group survey tool that enables the collection of ideas from audiences of almost any size rapidly and anonymously.

"Brainpower Networking Using the Crawford Slip Method" explains how to focus the creativity and expertise of people with knowledge of a subject on the problems and challenges associated with solving them. This book provides step-by-step guidance for anyone to mobilize collective brainpower to identify and solve problems at any level, from the personal to the highest levels of large organizations. By following the simple, easy to understand, fully illustrated instructions in this book, system improvers can be effective with the Crawford Slip Method in a matter of days, or even several hours. The book is logically organized into chapters that lead the reader through:

• A brief history of the method
• How to motivate slip writers
• A general description of various applications
• How to conduct the slip-writing workshop
• How to create the "target" for slip writers
• How to sort and classify written slips
• How to prepare for a slip-writing workshop
• How to convert sorted slips into a useful form

Appendices provide examples of actual slip-writing targets for various specialized purposes that the reader can use exactly as provided to get started with the Crawford Slip Method.

Claude C. Crawford, Ph.D. 1897 -1992 C. C. Crawford earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas in 1918, and his Masters of Arts in 1919. His Doctor of Philosophy degree was conferred by the University of Chicago in 1924. Between 1923 and 1926 he was a professor of education at the University of Idaho. In 1926 he accepted a position as a professor of education at the University of Southern California and retired as Emeritus Professor in 1956. Crawford was the author or co-author of more than 20 books, more than 100 articles, and more than 100 pamphlets. In 1926, he created the slip method that bears his name and used it activly and continuously for 66 years thereafter.

In the late 1980s, Dr Crawford co-founded the University of Southern California Productivity Network, a part of the school.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
H. William Dettmer has more than 25 years of leadership and management experience in operations and logistic environments and is a successful manager of multimillion-dollar projects and contracting activities. Dettmer is the senior partner at Goal Systems International. Formerly an adjunct faculty member at the University of Southern California, he has taught extensively at the graduate level on many topics relating to business management. Dettmer holds a B.A. degree from Rutgers University and an M.S. degree from the University of Southern California. Dettmer is also the author of nine previous books, including "Systems Thinking and Other Dangerous Habits" (Virtual Bookworm Publishing, 2022) and "The Logical Thinking Process: A Systems Approach to Complex Problem Solving" (ASQ Quality Press, 2006).