Download or read book Creative Confidence written by Tom Kelley and published by Crown Currency. This book was released on 2013-10-15 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: IDEO founder and Stanford d.school creator David Kelley and his brother Tom Kelley, IDEO partner and the author of the bestselling The Art of Innovation, have written a powerful and compelling book on unleashing the creativity that lies within each and every one of us. Too often, companies and individuals assume that creativity and innovation are the domain of the "creative types." But two of the leading experts in innovation, design, and creativity on the planet show us that each and every one of us is creative. In an incredibly entertaining and inspiring narrative that draws on countless stories from their work at IDEO, the Stanford d.school, and with many of the world's top companies, David and Tom Kelley identify the principles and strategies that will allow us to tap into our creative potential in our work lives, and in our personal lives, and allow us to innovate in terms of how we approach and solve problems. It is a book that will help each of us be more productive and successful in our lives and in our careers.

Download or read book Think Like an Artist written by Will Gompertz and published by Abrams. This book was released on 2016-04-12 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Learn how to jump-start your imagination to conjure up innovative, worthwhile ideas with help from some of the greatest artists in the world. How do artists think? Where does their creativity originate? How can we, too, learn to be more creative? BBC Arts Editor Will Gompertz seeks answers to these questions in his exuberant, intelligent, witty, and thought-provoking style. Think Like an Artist identifies ten key lessons on creativity from artists that range from Caravaggio to Warhol, Da Vinci to Ai Weiwei, and profiles leading contemporary figures in the arts who are putting these skills to use today. After getting up close and personal with some of the world’s leading creative thinkers, Gompertz has discovered traits that are common to them all. He outlines basic practices and processes that allow your talents to flourish and enable you to embrace your inner Picasso—no matter what you do for a living. With wisdom, inspiration, and advice from an author named one of the fifty most original thinkers in the world by Creativity magazine, Think Like an Artist is an illuminating view into the habits that make people successful. It’s time to get inspired and think like an artist!

Download or read book An Introduction to Critical Thinking and Creativity written by Joe Y. F. Lau and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-12-22 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A valuable guide on creativity and critical thinking to improve reasoning and decision-making skills Critical thinking skills are essential in virtually any field of study or practice where individuals need to communicate ideas, make decisions, and analyze and solve problems. An Introduction to Critical Thinking and Creativity: Think More, Think Better outlines the necessary tools for readers to become critical as well as creative thinkers. By gaining a practical and solid foundation in the basic principles that underlie critical thinking and creativity, readers will become equipped to think in a more systematic, logical, and imaginative manner. Creativity is needed to generate new ideas to solve problems, and critical thinking evaluates and improves an idea. These concepts are uniquely introduced as a unified whole due to their dependence on each other. Each chapter introduces relevant theories in conjunction with real-life examples and findings from cognitive science and psychology to illustrate how the theories can be applied in numerous fields and careers. An emphasis on how theoretical principles of reasoning can be practical and useful in everyday life is featured, and special sections on presentation techniques, the analysis of meaning, decision-making, and reasoning about personal and moral values are also highlighted. All chapters conclude with a set of exercises, and detailed solutions are provided at the end of the book. A companion website features online tutorials that further explore topics including meaning analysis, argument analysis, logic, statistics, and strategic thinking, along with additional exercises and multimedia resources for continued study. An Introduction to Critical Thinking and Creativity is an excellent book for courses on critical thinking and logic at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The book also serves as a self-contained study guide for readers interested in the topics of critical thinking and creativity as a unified whole.

Download or read book Creative Acts for Curious People written by Sarah Stein Greenberg and published by Ten Speed Press. This book was released on 2021-09-21 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: WINNER OF THE PORCHLIGHT BUSINESS BOOK AWARD • “A delightful, compelling book that offers a dazzling array of practical, thoughtful exercises designed to spark creativity, help solve problems, foster connection, and make our lives better.”—Gretchen Rubin, New York Times bestselling author and host of the Happier podcast In an era of ambiguous, messy problems—as well as extraordinary opportunities for positive change—it’s vital to have both an inquisitive mind and the ability to act with intention. Creative Acts for Curious People is filled with ways to build those skills with resilience, care, and confidence. At Stanford University’s world-renowned Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, aka “the d.school,” students and faculty, experts and seekers bring together diverse perspectives to tackle ambitious projects; this book contains the experiences designed to help them do it. A provocative and highly visual companion, it’s a definitive resource for people who aim to draw on their curiosity and creativity in the face of uncertainty. Teeming with ideas about discovery, learning, and leading the way through unknown creative territory, Creative Acts for Curious People includes memorable stories and more than eighty innovative exercises. Curated by executive director Sarah Stein Greenberg, after being honed in the classrooms of the d.school, these exercises originated in some of the world’s most inventive and unconventional minds, including those of d.school and IDEO founder David M. Kelley, ReadyMade magazine founder Grace Hawthorne, innovative choreographer Aleta Hayes, Google chief innovation evangelist Frederik G. Pferdt, and many more. To bring fresh approaches to any challenge–world changing or close to home–you can draw on exercises such as Expert Eyes to hone observation skills, How to Talk to Strangers to foster understanding, and Designing Tools for Teams to build creative leadership. The activities are at once lighthearted, surprising, tough, and impactful–and reveal how the hidden dynamics of design can drive more vibrant ways of making, feeling, exploring, experimenting, and collaborating at work and in life. This book will help you develop the behaviors and deepen the mindsets that can turn your curiosity into ideas, and your ideas into action.

Download or read book Teaching Creative Thinking written by Bill Lucas and published by Crown House Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2017-09-26 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Teaching Creative Thinking: Developing Learners Who Generate Ideas and Can Think Critically,Bill Lucas and Ellen Spencer define and demystify the essence of creative thinking, and offer action-oriented and research-informed suggestions as to how it can best be developed in learners. Where once it was enough to know and do things, young people now need more than subject knowledge in order to thrive: they need capabilities. Teaching Creative Thinking is the first title in the three-part Pedagogy for a Changing World series, founded upon Lucas and Spencer's philosophy of dispositional teaching a pedagogical approach which aims to cultivate in learners certain dispositions that evidence suggests are going to be valuable to them both at school and in later life. A key capability is creative thinking, and, in 2021, one of the guardians of global comparative standards, PISA, is recognising its importance by making creative thinking the 'innovative assessment domain' to supplement their testing of 15-year-olds' core capabilities in English, maths and science. Creative thinkers are inquisitive, collaborative, imaginative, persistent and disciplined and schools which foster these habits of mind in learners need to be creative in engaging children and young people by embedding creativity into their everyday educational experiences. In this extensive enquiry into the nature and nurture of creative thinking,the authors explore the effectiveness of various pedagogical approaches including problem-based learning, growth mindset, playful experimentation and the classroom as a learning community and provide a wealth of tried-and-tested classroom strategies that will boost learners' critical and creative thinking skills. The book is structured in an easy-to-access format, combining a comprehensive listing of practical ideas to stimulate lesson planning with expert guidance on integrating them into your practice, followed by plenty of inventive suggestions as to how learners' progress can be assessed and tracked along the way by both the pupil and the teacher. The authors then go further to offer exemplars of success by presenting case studies of schools' innovations in adopting these approaches, and dedicate a chapter to dispelling any pressing doubts that teachers may have by exposing the potential pitfalls and offering advice on how to avoid them. Venturing beyond the classroom setting, Teaching Creative Thinkingalso delves into the ways in which a school can work towards the provision of co-curricular experiences such as partnering with a range of external community groups and better engage its leadership team and pupils' parents with the idea of creative thinking in order to support learners with opportunities to grow. The authors offer many examples which will inspire schools to do just this, and collate these ideas into building a framework for learning that equips young people in schools today with the twenty-first century skills and capabilities that will enable them to thrive in the workforce of tomorrow. Replete with research-led insight and ready-to-use strategies, Teaching Creative Thinkingis a powerful call to action and a practical handbook for all teachers and leaders, in both primary and secondary settings, who want to embed a capabilities approach in their schools.

Download or read book Test Your Creative Thinking written by Lloyd King and published by Kogan Page Publishers. This book was released on 2003 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you want to learn a different way of thinking?Do you want to stretch your mind?Almost everyone is born with the capacity to be creative, but few realise it and such skills are often neglected or untapped. Lateral thinking is all about thinking 'outside the box', breaking out of familiar thought patterns and coming up with new possibilities. It is one of the keys to improving creativity.This book of brand new lateral puzzles aims to encourage you to think creatively. Whether at work, as part of an assessment or simply for fun, learning to think creatively can be hugely rewarding and make a real difference to your ability. By trying to find unusual or unexpected associations, patterns and connections, you can learn to keep an open mind and to look at everything in a different way.With plenty of questions and tips, this book provides an ideal opportunity for anyone to practice thinking laterally and improve their creativity.

Download or read book The Star Principle written by Richard Koch and published by Piatkus. This book was released on 2010-03-04 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Richard Koch has made over £100 million from spotting 'Star' businesses. In his new book, he shares the secrets of his success - and shows how you too can identify and enrich yourself from 'Stars'. Star businesses are ventures operating in a high-growth sector - and are the leaders in their niche of the market. Stars are rare. But with the help of this book and a little patience, you can find one, or create one yourself. THE STAR PRINCIPLE is a vital book for any budding entrepreneur or investor (of grand or modest means). It is also invaluable for any ambitious employee who realises the benefits of working for a Star venture - real responsibility, fast personal development, better pay, great bonuses and valuable share options. Whoever your are, identifying and investing in Stars will make your life much sweeter and richer in every way.

Download or read book Too Fast to Think written by Chris Lewis and published by Kogan Page Publishers. This book was released on 2016-10-03 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Our lives are getting faster and faster. We are engulfed in constant distraction from email, social media and our 'always on' work culture. We are too busy, too overloaded with information and too focused on analytical left-brain thinking processes to be creative. Too Fast to Think exposes how our current work practices, media culture and education systems are detrimental to innovation. The speed and noise of modern life is undermining the clarity and quiet that is essential to power individual thought. Our best ideas are often generated when we are free to think diffusely, in an uninterrupted environment, which is why moments of inspiration so often occur in places completely separate to our offices. To reclaim creativity, Too Fast to Think teaches you how to retrain your brain into allowing creative ideas to emerge, before they are shut down by interruption, distraction or the self-doubt of your over-rational brain. This is essential reading for anyone who wants to maximize their creative potential, as well as that of their team. Supported by cutting-edge research from the University of the Arts London and insightful interviews with business leaders, academics, artists, politicians and psychologists, Chris Lewis takes a holistic approach to explain the 8 crucial traits that are inherently linked to creation and innovation.

Download or read book Authoring a PhD written by Patrick Dunleavy and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2017-04-28 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This engaging and highly regarded book takes readers through the key stages of their PhD research journey, from the initial ideas through to successful completion and publication. It gives helpful guidance on forming research questions, organising ideas, pulling together a final draft, handling the viva and getting published. Each chapter contains a wealth of practical suggestions and tips for readers to try out and adapt to their own research needs and disciplinary style. This text will be essential reading for PhD students and their supervisors in humanities, arts, social sciences, business, law, health and related disciplines.

Download or read book Great Minds Don t Think Alike written by Emily Gosling and published by Ilex Press. This book was released on 2018-09-06 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Great Minds Don't Think Alike surveys some of the most brilliant minds of the past and present. Discover the methods and rituals they used to forge a constructive, creative pathway, from the downright peculiar to the reassuringly pedestrian. Learn the importance of daily routines with Sylvia Plath, embrace randomness with David Bowie and transcend tragedy with Frida Kahlo. With 56 tried and tested creative techniques from inspired, and inspiring, minds - among them, architects, musicians, playwrights, painters and philosophers - enjoy an illustrated compendium of ingenious insights to kickstart your own creative process.

Download or read book Both And Thinking written by Wendy Smith and published by Harvard Business Press. This book was released on 2022-08-09 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An insightful and inspiring book on using "both/and" thinking to make more creative, flexible, and impactful decisions in a world of competing demands. Life is full of paradoxes. How can we each express our individuality while also being a team player? How do we balance work and life? How can we improve diversity while promoting opportunities for all? How can we manage the core business while innovating for the future? For many of us, these competing and interwoven demands are a source of conflict. Since our brains love to make either-or choices, we choose one option over the other. We deal with the uncertainty by asserting certainty. There's a better way. In Both/And Thinking, Wendy Smith and Marianne Lewis help readers cope with multiple, knotted tensions at the same time. Drawing from more than twenty years of pioneering research, they provide tools and lessons for transforming these tensions into opportunities for innovation and personal growth. Filled with practical advice and fascinating stories—including firsthand tales from IBM, LEGO, and Unilever, as well as from startups, nonprofits, and even an inn at one of the four corners of the world—Both/And Thinking will change the way you approach your most vexing problems.

Download or read book The Creative Professional s Guide to Money written by Ilise Benun and published by HOW Books. This book was released on 2011-03-01 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Creative Professional's Guide to Money teaches creatives everything they need to know about the financial side of running a creative business. Creatives - which include anyone promoting their own creative services (designers, copywriters, photographers, illustrators, interior designers, web designers, and more) - are great at their work, but when it comes to running the financial side of their business, most would rather not talk about it. This book focuses on proven techniques and resources used by a wide range of successful creatives to manage their business finances. Expert advisers are interviewed on topics such as accounting, taxes, contracts and financial planning. Using examples, case studies, and real-life stories from actual creatives, this book addresses: How to build the financial structure of a creative business from the ground up How to set up and achieve long-term financial goals and plan for a prosperous retirement Common financial mistakes small business owners make and how to avoid them How to handle taxes and insurance How to perform day-to-day accounting tasks How to create a budget and adhere to it What to charge for work and how to determine a profit margin How to talk about money with clients and prospects

Download or read book Creativity Inc The Expanded Edition written by Ed Catmull and published by Random House. This book was released on 2014-04-08 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The co-founder and longtime president of Pixar updates and expands his 2014 New York Times bestseller on creative leadership, reflecting on the management principles that built Pixar’s singularly successful culture, and on all he learned during the past nine years that allowed Pixar to retain its creative culture while continuing to evolve. “Might be the most thoughtful management book ever.”—Fast Company For nearly thirty years, Pixar has dominated the world of animation, producing such beloved films as the Toy Story trilogy, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Up, and WALL-E, which have gone on to set box-office records and garner eighteen Academy Awards. The joyous storytelling, the inventive plots, the emotional authenticity: In some ways, Pixar movies are an object lesson in what creativity really is. Here, Catmull reveals the ideals and techniques that have made Pixar so widely admired—and so profitable. As a young man, Ed Catmull had a dream: to make the first computer-animated movie. He nurtured that dream as a Ph.D. student, and then forged a partnership with George Lucas that led, indirectly, to his founding Pixar with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter in 1986. Nine years later, Toy Story was released, changing animation forever. The essential ingredient in that movie’s success—and in the twenty-five movies that followed—was the unique environment that Catmull and his colleagues built at Pixar, based on philosophies that protect the creative process and defy convention, such as: • Give a good idea to a mediocre team and they will screw it up. But give a mediocre idea to a great team and they will either fix it or come up with something better. • It’s not the manager’s job to prevent risks. It’s the manager’s job to make it safe for others to take them. • The cost of preventing errors is often far greater than the cost of fixing them. • A company’s communication structure should not mirror its organizational structure. Everybody should be able to talk to anybody. Creativity, Inc. has been significantly expanded to illuminate the continuing development of the unique culture at Pixar. It features a new introduction, two entirely new chapters, four new chapter postscripts, and changes and updates throughout. Pursuing excellence isn’t a one-off assignment but an ongoing, day-in, day-out, full-time job. And Creativity, Inc. explores how it is done.

Download or read book Why Didn t I Think of That written by Charles W. McCoy and published by Prentice Hall Press. This book was released on 2002 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Critical thinking, proactive decision-making, and dynamic creativity are thinking skills essential to success in our professional and personal endeavors. Few of us, however, know how to maximize these skills at critical moments. In Why Didn't I Think of That? Charles McCoy, who honed his critical thinking techniques on the bench of the Los Angeles Superior Court, shows you how to sharpen your left-brain power -- observation, accuracy, and analysis -- to achieve optimum results. McCoy creatively entertains as he teaches, offering insight gained from prominent cases over which he has presided. He draws examples from catastrophic events (Exxon Valdez oil spill, Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster), real business problems encountered by major corporations and government agencies (Pepsi, Citibank, the U.S. Marines, NASA), the civil rights struggles of Dr. Martin Luther King, as well as fictional events (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and It's a Wonderful Life).

Download or read book The Creative Curve written by Allen Gannett and published by Crown Currency. This book was released on 2018-06-12 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Big data entrepreneur Allen Gannett overturns the mythology around creative genius, and reveals the science and secrets behind achieving breakout commercial success in any field. We have been spoon-fed the notion that creativity is the province of genius -- of those favored, brilliant few whose moments of insight arrive in unpredictable flashes of divine inspiration. And if we are not a genius, we might as well pack it in and give up. Either we have that gift, or we don’t. But Allen shows that simply isn’t true. Recent research has shown that there is a predictable science behind achieving commercial success in any creative endeavor, from writing a popular novel to starting up a successful company to creating an effective marketing campaign. As the world’s most creative people have discovered, we are enticed by the novel and the familiar. By understanding the mechanics of what Gannett calls “the creative curve” – the point of optimal tension between the novel and the familiar – everyone can better engineer mainstream success. In a thoroughly entertaining book that describes the stories and insights of everyone from the Broadway team behind Dear Evan Hansen, to the founder of Reddit, from the Chief Content Officer of Netflix to Michelin star chefs, Gannett reveals the four laws of creative success and identifies the common patterns behind their achievement.

Download or read book Creativity written by John Cleese and published by . This book was released on 2022-06-16 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ____________________________ We can all be more creative. John Cleese shows us how. Creativity is usually regarded as a mysterious, rare gift that only a few possess. John Cleese begs to differ, and in this short, immensely practical and often very amusing guide he shows it's a skill that anyone can acquire. Drawing on his lifelong experience as a writer, he shares his insights into the nature of the creative process, and offers advice on how to get your own inventive juices flowing. ____________________________ 'Humorous and practical ... Whether you're hoping to write a novel or paint a masterpiece, you're sure to feel inspired' OK Magazine 'His candor is endearing ... An upbeat guide to the creative process' Kirkus 'A jovial romp ... Cleese fans will enjoy, and writers and other artists will breeze through, picking up a few nuggets of wisdom along the way' The Festival Review 'A sincere and thoughtful guide to creativity, and a very useful book' Graham Norton 'Wise words on the serious business of being silly' Sunday Business Post

Download or read book How to Fly a Horse written by Kevin Ashton and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2015-01-20 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a technology pioneer at MIT and as the leader of three successful start-ups, Kevin Ashton experienced firsthand the all-consuming challenge of creating something new. Now, in a tour-de-force narrative twenty years in the making, Ashton leads us on a journey through humanity’s greatest creations to uncover the surprising truth behind who creates and how they do it. From the crystallographer’s laboratory where the secrets of DNA were first revealed by a long forgotten woman, to the electromagnetic chamber where the stealth bomber was born on a twenty-five-cent bet, to the Ohio bicycle shop where the Wright brothers set out to “fly a horse,” Ashton showcases the seemingly unremarkable individuals, gradual steps, multiple failures, and countless ordinary and usually uncredited acts that lead to our most astounding breakthroughs. Creators, he shows, apply in particular ways the everyday, ordinary thinking of which we are all capable, taking thousands of small steps and working in an endless loop of problem and solution. He examines why innovators meet resistance and how they overcome it, why most organizations stifle creative people, and how the most creative organizations work. Drawing on examples from art, science, business, and invention, from Mozart to the Muppets, Archimedes to Apple, Kandinsky to a can of Coke, How to Fly a Horse is a passionate and immensely rewarding exploration of how “new” comes to be.