20 Best Books On Creativity And Innovation (2023 Update)

In his new york times bestseller steal like an artist, austin kleon showed readers how to unlock their creativity by “stealing” from the community of other movers and shakers. now, in an even more forward-thinking and necessary book, he shows how to take that critical next step on a creative journey—getting known. is about why generosity trumps genius. it’s about getting findable, about using the network instead of wasting time “networking.” it’s not self-promotion, it’s self-discovery—let others into your process, then let them steal from you. filled with illustrations, quotes, stories, and examples, show your work! offers ten transformative rules for being open, generous, brave, productive. in chapters such as you don’t have to be a genius; share something small every day; and stick around, kleon creates a user’s manual for embracing the communal nature of creativity— what he calls the “ecology of talent.” from broader life lessons about work (you can’t find your voice if you don’t use it) to the etiquette of sharing—and the dangers of oversharing—to the practicalities of internet life (build a good domain name; give credit when credit is due), it’s an inspiring manifesto for succeeding as any kind of artist or entrepreneur in the digital age.

Awards: 2022 international rubery book award grand prize shortlist2022 eric hoffer awards first horizon award winner & grand prize shortlist2022 independent press book awards: best debut nonfiction bookindiereader 2021 discovery awards business category book of the year read – free.ly top 100 indie books of 20212021 living now mind award winner – nonfiction authors association gold medal – readers' favorite international book award contest – marketing book of the yearindependent author network book of the year awards – 2021 business, finance, and sales book of the year – award winner in personal growth & development – 2021 international impact book awards – best book awards – 2021 interior design of the year from an author who has written for business 2 community & advertising week comes a book featured by yahoo!, booklist magazine, publishers weekly, abc's good morning washington, thrive global, and multiple affiliates of cbs, fox, and nbc.this non-fiction business and self-help creativity guide encourages innovation in aspiring entrepreneurs and business leaders. or, 'i'm just not a creative person!' improve problem-solving skills and increase the effectiveness of knowledge management in your organization to come up with the next game-changing idea to hit the market! in this book, you will: – learn how others innovate by examining the world around them – practice asking questions, and see how to recognize details in observations- complete creative exercises to get into the right mindset – understand the importance of sharing ideas, and assessing their feasibility fueling you to find: your next big idea – order to get started.

In the book, you’ll learn how to utilize the design thinking paradigm for innovation success and how successful leaders manage explore and exploit portfolios to create impact. the author explains how to: strategically employ data analytics, artificial intelligence, and neurodesign to drive innovation and business results deploy objectives and key results (okrs) for innovation teams to realize true alignment between the business and team performance use the provided hands-on tools to measure your firm’s success at creating meaningfully new and interesting products, services, and experiencespart of the design thinking series, design thinking and innovation metrics will earn a place in the libraries of managers, executives, product owners, innovation teams, entrepreneurs, and other business leaders.

From a co-founder of pixar animation studios—the academy award–winning studio behind coco, inside out, and toy story—comes an incisive book about creativity in business and leadership for readers of daniel pink, tom peters, and chip and dan heath. new york times bestseller | named one of the best books of the year by the huffington post – financial times – success – inc. – library journalcreativity, inc. is a manual for anyone who strives for originality and the first-ever, all-access trip into the nerve center of pixar animation—into the meetings, postmortems, and “braintrust” sessions where some of the most successful films in history are made. it is, at heart, a book about creativity—but it is also, as pixar co-founder and president ed catmull writes, “an expression of the ideas that i believe make the best in us possible.” for nearly twenty years, pixar has dominated the world of animation, producing such beloved films as the toy story trilogy, monsters, inc., finding nemo, the incredibles, up, wall-e, and inside out, which have gone on to set box-office records and garner thirty academy awards. the joyousness of the storytelling, the inventive plots, the emotional authenticity: in some ways, pixar movies are an object lesson in what creativity really is. here, in this book, 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 at the university of utah, where many computer science pioneers got their start, and then forged a partnership with george lucas that led, indirectly, to his co-founding pixar in 1986. nine years later, toy story was released, changing animation forever. the essential ingredient in that movie’s success—and in the thirteen movies that followed—was the unique environment that catmull and his colleagues built at pixar, based on leadership and management 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. – if you don’t strive to uncover what is unseen and understand its nature, you will be ill prepared to lead. – 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.

Tear down the obstacles to creative innovation in your organization unlocking creativity is an exploration of the creative process and how organizations can clear the way for innovation. in many organizations, creative individuals face stubborn resistance to new ideas. managers and executives oftentimes reject innovation and unconventional approaches due to misplaced allegiance to the status quo. questioning established practices or challenging prevailing sentiments is frequently met with stiff resistance. in this climate of stifled creativity and inflexible adherence to conventional wisdom, potentially game-changing ideas are dismissed outright. senior leaders claim to value creativity, yet often lack the knowledge to provide a creative framework. unlocking creativity offers effective methods and real-world examples of how the most successful organizations create cultures of innovation and experimentation. best-selling author and scholar michael roberto presents a thorough investigation of organizational obstacles to creative thought. highly relevant to the growth crises many enterprises face in today’s economic landscape, this book examines how to break barriers to spark creativity and foster new ideas. this insightful and informative work allows business executives, senior managers, and organization leaders to: recognize the six organizational mindsets that impede creativity and innovation learn how to tear down the barriers that obstruct the creative process create an environment that allows talented people to thrive encourage creative collaboration in teams throughout an organization leaders do not have to conceive innovative ideas, but rather open the path for curious and creative employees within their organization. unlocking creativity: how to solve any problem and make the best decisions aids organizations in removing obstacles to the creative process and helps to form an atmosphere of imagination and innovation.

Be your own kind of creative. everyone has a creative core. everyone! but, in order for it to thrive, it needs to be nurtured. that's where "whole lotta creativity going on" can help. it's not a how-to book, but rather a fun book, filled with 10 different types of unusual and thought-provoking activities and exercises, which can be used to ignite and invigorate your creative spark. sometimes, those that don't feel they are creative, surprise themselves the most when they unlock the door, clear away the dust, and begin to discover and unleash the creative side of themselves. for others, perhaps, their creative spirit hasn't been given enough of an opportunity to really flourish and express itself in its own unique way. this book contains 60 different creativity stretchers to get you going which are grouped into the following categories: – awareness, sensory, and experience – creativity in action – ideation – imagination – pictures, patterns, and abstractions – snap portraits – snap solutions – stop and reflect – thought expression – word play

In this long-awaited sequel to the international bestseller the artist's way, julia cameron presents the next step in her course of discovering and recovering the creative self.walking in this world picks up where julia cameron's bestselling book on the creative process, the artist's way, left off to present readers with a second course—part two in an amazing journey toward discovering our human potential. full of valuable new strategies and techniques for breaking through difficult creative ground, this is the "intermediate level" of the artist's way program.a profoundly inspired work by the leading authority on the subject of creativity, walking in this world is an invaluable tool for artists. this second book is followed by finding water, the thrird book in the artist's way trilogy.

What does an idea look like? and where do they come from? grant snider's illustrations will motivate you to explore these questions, inspire you to come up with your own answers and, like all gordian knots, prompt even more questions. whether you are a professional artist or designer, a student pursuing a creative career, a person of faith, someone who likes walks on the beach, or a dreamer who sits on the front porch contemplating life, this collection of one- and two-page comics will provide insight into the joys and frustrations of creativity, inspiration, and process–no matter your age or creative background. also available: the shape of ideas 2018 wall calendar (isbn: 978-1-4197-2456-5)

A unique resource for first-year composition, habits of the creative mind encourages college writers to be curious and follow their own paths in order to discover their own interests. portable and flexibly arranged, the second edition of this innovative text offers frameworks to develop persistence in planning, revising, and learning from failure, with all new examples of writers at work on interesting problems as models for reflection. with input from instructors who use habits, a new instructor's manual provides practical suggestions for incorporating this approach to exploring questions and facing complexity.

Attention all creatives: learn how to power up your creativity! if you’re longing to take your vision, energy, and output to the next level, this book is the resource you need to make it happen. author rachael taylor—successful artist, pattern designer, entrepreneur, and cofounder of the make it in design online education platform—shares creative motivation and guidance that will help you achieve your goals and thrive. so, what are you waiting for?

"jeff and staney emphasize that small acts of creativity can have huge consequences and that ordinary people can do extraordinary things if they can see the opportunities in front of them."–mitch jacobson, executive director, austin technology incubator, ut blackstone launchpad, university of texas at austinnearly all of today's major innovation workshops and programs call on organizations to drive innovation. what they miss is that innovation comes from the personal creativity of individuals. and creativity doesn't require an advanced education or technical skills–all employees can be creative. often, all they lack is a fitting mindset and the right skills. the creative mindset brings how-to advice, tools, and techniques from two master innovators who have taught and worked with over half of all fortune 500 companies. jeff and staney degraff introduce six essential creative-thinking skills that can be easily mastered with limited practice and remembered as the acronym create: concentrate, replicate, elaborate, associate, translate, and evaluate. these six skills, sequenced as steps, simplify and summarize the most important research on creative thinking and draw on over thirty years of real-world application in some of the most innovative organizations in the world. individual creativity is an immense untapped resource, and you don't have to be beethoven to make a big difference. as the spirit of chef gusteau proclaims in the pixar classic ratatouille, "anyone can cook."

This cutting-edge handbook takes stock of a diverse set of theoretical and methodological perspectives that address creativity, innovation, and the ways in which they intersect. considering the development of the field, the handbook examines current trends to chart a path forward for promising future research. leading international contributors showcase some of the most advanced and interesting work in the creativity and innovation field, providing a platform for idea exchange and cross-fertilization. reviewing the foundations for conducting rigorous creativity research, chapters elaborate on theoretical models that explain both individual and team creativity and innovation, and discuss the relationship between creativity and standardization. the handbook also analyzes the role of social influences in the processes of creativity and innovation, as well as how to make sense of and study creativity and innovation. in doing so, the handbook highlights both quantitative and qualitative research methods for conducting creativity-innovation research. presenting an expert analysis of research on creativity and innovation, this handbook will be a vital reference point for scholars and students in these fields, in addition to the areas of organizational innovation and organizational behavior. it will also be useful for practicing managers interested in understanding creativity and innovation.

Ideo, the widely admired, award-winning design and development firm that brought the world the apple mouse, polaroid's i-zone instant camera, the palm v, and hundreds of other cutting-edge products and services, reveals its secrets for fostering a culture and process of continuous innovation. there isn't a business in america that doesn't want to be more creative in its thinking, products, and processes. at many companies, being first with a concept and first to market are critical just to survive. in the art of innovation, tom kelley, general manager of the silicon valley based design firm ideo, takes readers behind the scenes of this wildly imaginative and energized company to reveal the strategies and secrets it uses to turn out hit after hit. ideo doesn't buy into the myth of the lone genius working away in isolation, waiting for great ideas to strike. kelley believes everyone can be creative, and the goal at his firm is to tap into that wellspring of creativity in order to make innovation a way of life. how does it do that? ideo fosters an atmosphere conducive to freely expressing ideas, breaking the rules, and freeing people to design their own work environments. ideo's focus on teamwork generates countless breakthroughs, fueled by the constant give-and-take among people ready to share ideas and reap the benefits of the group process. ideo has created an intense, quick-turnaround, brainstorm-and-build process dubbed "the deep dive." in entertaining anecdotes, kelley illustrates some of his firm's own successes (and joyful failures), as well as pioneering efforts at other leading companies. the book reveals how teams research and immerse themselves in every possible aspect of a new product or service, examining it from the perspective of clients, consumers, and other critical audiences. kelley takes the reader through the ideo problem-solving method: – carefully observing the behavior or "anthropology" of the people who will be using a product or service – brainstorming with high-energy sessions focused on tangible results – quickly prototyping ideas and designs at every step of the way – cross-pollinating to find solutions from other fields – taking risks, and failing your way to success – building a "greenhouse" for innovation ideo has won more awards in the last ten years than any other firm of its kind, and a full half-hour nightline presentation of its creative process received one of the show's highest ratings. the art of innovation will provide business leaders with the insights and tools they need to make their companies the leading-edge, top-rated stars of their industries.

This book is about what makes life worth living. professor mihaly csikszentmihalyi interviewed more than ninety of possibly the most interesting people in the world – people like actor ed asner, authors robertson davies and nadine gordimer, scientists jonas salk and linus pauling, and senator eugene mccarthy – who have changed the way people in their fields think and work to find out how creativity has been a force in their lives. in his bestselling book flow, professor csikszentmihalyi explored states of "optimal experience" – those times when people report feelings of concentration and deep enjoyment – and showed that what makes experience genuinely satisfying is a state of consciousness called "flow". here professor csikszentmihalyi builds on his flow theory, profiling individuals who have found ways to make flow a permanent feature of their lives and at the same time have contributed to society and culture.

Activating your creative nature is a key part of flourishing emotionally, professionally, relationally, and more. everyone is creative, whether via singing in the shower, crafting budgets, making coffee, kayaking rapids, or sharing a meaningful moment with a loved one. the question is not if you are creative, but what and how you are creating. to create is simply to bring about something new. your expressions can provide experiences of joy and meaningful connection that fuel growth, increase resilience, add purpose, and provide clarity for every part of life. this neuroscience-informed, narrative-driven guide can help you add fresh delight and purpose to your work, your home, and your hobbies through rediscovery of your creative nature. – discover expressions that make you feel fully alive. spark inspiration for current and new passions that are authentically yours, not just what you have been sold. – upgrade your process with psychology-informed tools applicable for different interests, personalities, and contexts. unlock meaning and delight in your daily schedule and fuel perseverance for your dream projects. – increase meaningful connection, which research has linked to fulfillment in life. step into new confidence around exploring, refining, and sharing your creativity. – hear stories of businesspeople, artists, engineers, health professionals, and more who have increased clarity and joy in their lives by unlocking their creative nature." creativity unlocked breathed life into my work and helped me over a hurdle. i highly recommend for anyone interested in connecting their heart to their work, because all work is creative." – jessica, author"as a concrete sequential-thinker, i didn't think i was creative. this book helped me conceptualize and publish my first children's book and see that my favorite parts of my job are creative in nature." – zach, aerospace engineer"hearing others' stories of transformation and learning about creativity as a means for connection helped me celebrate how i express through research and the arts." – rebekah, poet and historian"these concepts helped me lean into expressions that make my heart come alive and affectionately hold close things that bring joy once again, after experiencing great pain and loss." – kendra, nurse

Creativity today—the management book on applied creativity—has inspired tens of thousands of managers, teachers, and students around the world. now this book is made available again in a revised version, with a new title, subtitle, and cover design, all intended to breathe a well-deserved second life into this creativity classic and to emphasize its attractiveness as a basic guide for businesses and organizations that wish to become more creative.

In 1982, business guru tom peters co-authored in search of excellence, one of the most influential business guides of all time. more recently, through 400 seminars in 47 states and 22 countries, peters reexamined, refined and reinvented his views on innovation–the #1 survival strategy, he asserts, for businesses of the next millennium.the circle of innovation brings these seminars–and peters' contagious passion–to the reader in a landmark book. through bold graphics, astounding facts and figures, and quotes whose sources range from émile zola to steve jobs, peters blows the lid off accepted management styles. here is a book that will open your eyes to new ways of envisioning the challenges of today's world. here, too, is a practical guide that will teach you how to:- reverse the rising tide of product and service "commoditization" and foster uniqueness- capitalize on the skyrocketing purchasing power of women- convert sluggish staff into vital centers of intellectual capital accumulation- build systems of elegance and beauty- liberate your creativity and individual leadership stylewhether you manage a six-person department or a 60,000-body behemoth, the circle of innovation empowers you to transform your organization, your career, yourself. inspiring, timely, this blueprint for success is pure peters–a handbook as energetic as it is profound.

A fundamental book on deliberate creative thinking from a world-renowned expert in the field and the inventor of the systematic process of lateral thinking. used correctly, creating thinking can save companies millions of dollars as the best and cheapest way to get added value out of existing resources and assets. line drawings.

A fundamental book on deliberate creative thinking from a world-renowned expert in the field and the inventor of the systematic process of lateral thinking. used correctly, creating thinking can save companies millions of dollars as the best and cheapest way to get added value out of existing resources and assets. line drawings.

The award-winning photographer and founder of creativelive shares how anyonefrom a novice to a procan establish a creative practice and unleash that power for greater health, happiness, and positive impact on career, hobby, and life. when chase jarvis turned his back on traditional careers to become a photographer, it was far from certain he'd make a living, let alone unlock a dream life that's influenced millions of people around the world. following his creative calling brought him happiness, health, and wealthbut it also awakened a passion to start creativelive, the world's largest online learning platform for creators and entrepreneurs, where aspiring novices to established pros alike have consumed billions of minutes of video learning in pursuit of their dreams in career, hobby, and life. in creative calling, jarvis shows why creativity is the new mindfulness and as important to our health as meditation, exercise, and nutrition. it's also available to everyonebeginners and lifelong creators, entrepreneurs and corporate executives. distilling his wisdom into the memorable "idea" system, jarvis illustrates the critical elements for making creative expression the path to fulfillment. imagine the possibilities and clarify your intentions. design a daily practice and a life that supports expression and transformation. execute on your most ambitious plans and make your vision real. amplify your impact through engaging your community and building an audience. each group faces unprecedented technological, economic, and environmental challenges. thus, discovering our own creative calling has become the world's most valuableand urgenttask. and the good news, as jarvis says, is that creativity isn't a skillit's a habit.