Creative Confidence

 

When people you respect and admire literally send you a book in the mail, there's probably a reason and you should read it.

A brilliant man named Tony Thompson read this in a business class and thought it might appeal to my management style. Not only was it a great read with great lessons, it was a quick read - especially for what could be considered a "business book."

David and Tom Kelley are brothers and creators; they're the guys behind IDEAO and the Stanford d.school. Their mission is to help people understand the power of creative thinking in creative new products and pathways. It's filled with fascinating case studies about how creativity allows people to look at the world differently, in turn becoming more useful and successful.

There are so many great case studies here, but my favorite is one where a company was trying to create more useful kitchen tools. As they developed an ice cream scooper, they could have made the handle better, created better leverage, etc. Instead, they simply watched people use ice cream scoopers. What they discovered is every single person did one specific thing: they licked the scoop before putting it in the sink. So, how did they use that information? They made a scooper with smooth lines to make that last act of ice  cream scooping more enjoyable!

There are more complex ideas here, too, about medical advancements and other major business innovation made possible just by people unlocking their creative thinking. At one point when I was reading this, I wanted to crawl out of my skin because I was so excited about different ways to look at the things I do every day.

This books is useful and powerful AND interesting to read. I'm now waiting for Tony to send me another one...