Hbr's 10 Must Reads on Creativity

by Harvard Business Review

Does your organization support creativity—or squash it? If you read nothing else on cultivating creativity at work, read these 10 articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you ignite the creative spark across your organization. This book will inspire you to:

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Design

Audio CD

First published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Geoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

A readable collection of articles from HBR, mostly on how not to crush creativity in organizations. I thought Catmull's insight into the development of Pixar's culture was a fun read (although seemingly hard to duplicate). The two articles by Teresa Amablie I found the most interesting because they took a psychological and environmental approach to creativity and the factors that encourage or inhibit creative thinking. The time pressure insights were especially interesting. Both high or low time pressure can lead to creative thinking if people are in the right motivational mindset. And that motivation can be influenced by their bosses and the organization at larger. some business fluff but the good articles made this worth it.

[Pavel Annenkov · Rating 4 out of 5]

О ЧЕМ КНИГА:
Это сборник из 8 статей, которые выходили в разное время в журнале Harvard Business Review. Для меня HBR - это знак качества материала, поэтому книга хорошо дополнила то, что я читал на тему креативности в последние месяцы. Каждая статья дает нам новый подход для развития творческих инициатив внутри компании. Авторы еще раз доказывают, что креативность - это не что-то неуловимое и не поддающееся воздействию, а процесс которым можно управлять.

ГЛАВНАЯ МЫСЛЬ КНИГИ:
Креативность в бизнесе - это отличный источник добавленной стоимости. Каждая компания должна найти свой способ развития креативности у сотрудников и подходы для реализации их творческих порывов и предложений.

ЗАЧЕМ ЧИТАТЬ ЭТУ КНИГУ?
Чтобы выбрать какой именно креативный подход подойдет вашей компании и лично вам.

МЫСЛИ И ВЫВОДЫ ИЗ КНИГИ:
- Креативность любого сотрудника состоит из трех элементов:
1. Компетентность(сумма его навыков и знаний)
2. Умение творчески мыслить(для этого ему нужно дать инструменты такого мышления)
3. Заинтересованность в результате(внутренняя мотивация работает лучше, чем денежное вознаграждение)
Компания должна развивать в соих сотрудниках все три компонента креативности.

- Интересен метод «эмпатического проектирования», когда мы наблюдаем за клиентами в естественной обстановке и делаем новые выводы о том, как они используют наш продукт. Отсюда возникают свежие идеи товаров и услуг, о которых сами клиенты и не догадываются и о которых никогда бы нас не попросили.

- Текущая скорость создания новых продуктов, которую от нас требует рынок, заставляет нас быстро учиться командной работе и совместному принятию решений. Чтобы этому научиться и собрать правильную команду уже не обойтись без диагностики психотипотов её участников.

- Затраты времени и денег на построение межличностных отношений - это одно из лучших вложений, которое может сделать руководитель и компания.

- В бизнесе нам надо перенимать подходы из киноиндустрии. Там люди, по определению, умеют строить межличностные отношения. Это необходимо для получения ясного и понятного результата - снятого фильма. Съемочная команда - это временная система, созданная под проект. Сейчас практически во всех бизнесах много проектной работы и поэтому там надо принимать решения не только на основе научности и рациональности, но и на основе креативного подхода и умелой межличностной коммуникации.

- «Наивысшая похвала для нового решения - слова: «Так это же совершенно очевидно!»» Питер Друкер

ЧТО Я БУДУ ПРИМЕНЯТЬ:
- Больше внимания уделять работе над межличностными отношениями в команде.

ЕЩЕ НА ЭТУ ТЕМУ:
Эдвард де Боно «Гениально! Инструменты решения креативных задач»

[Anya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those were 10 short bite sized articles to make you think about new strategies, processes and improvements that can be made in a company or team.
I especially enjoyed the article about Pixar. The articles also come with further reading recommendations.
I can recommend this to anyone who'd like to implement creative ways at work.

[Simona · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

As always, excellent research and ideas from Harvard Business Review.

10 articles on the concept of creativity, how to ignite it, and how to foster it on individual and organizational levels.

My favorite articles are these:
"How Pixar Fosters Collective Creativity" by Ed Catmull.
"Putting Your Company's Whole Brain to Work" by Dorothy Leonard and Sussan Straus.
"Find Innovation Where You Least Expect It" by Tony McCaffrey and Jim Pearson.
"Collaborating with Creative Peers" by Kimberly D. Elsbach, Brooke Brown-Saracino, and Francis J. Flynn.

This book definitely shakes up preconceived views and inspires us to look at things from different, unexpected angles. It is worth reading for every manager, founder, and leader who wants to drive themselves and his/her team toward continuous innovation.

Here is a quick summary of the top ideas that I'm planning on exploring (and reading up on) further:

1. Extrinsic vs. intrinsic motivation.
Extrinsic motivation comes from the outside of the individual (extra money or threat of firing), and intrinsic motivation comes from inside (a person's interest in certain activities/deep love of particular challenges). According to research, people are more creative when they are intrinsically motivated. Extrinsic motivation, although it sounds good (hey, extra bonus at work!), eventually leads to feelings of control and bribery.

2. 3 components of creativity = expertise (technical/procedural/intellectual) + creative thinking skills + motivation.

3. Project postmortems can bring a lot of insights and lessons. (THINK: What went wrong here?)

4. Successful innovation relies on people with different cognitive approaches for assimilating data and solving problems. Abstract thinkers vs. experiential people. Don't get trapped into comfortable clone syndrome. Promote 'whole-brained' teams.

5. Functional fixedness is a severe barrier to innovation. We can overcome this bias by changing how we describe the object and think about its components.

6. Top 5 ways to bolster creativity at organizations:
1) hire for curiosity 2) model inquisitiveness 3) emphasize learning goals 4) let employees explore and broaden their interests 5) Have 'Why?', 'What if?' and 'How might we?' days.

7. Adopt 5 practices for creativity at work. 1) Fresh eyes 2) Step back to gain perspective 3) Imagine unorthodox combinations 4) Experiment quickly & smartly 5) Navigate hostile environment both inside & outside the company.

8. Tips on working with artists and preserving their identity at work. 1) Offer broad suggestions 2) Temper your enthusiasm 3) Delay decision-making 4) Show respect and like-mindedness.

9. Catalyzing creativity under pressure:
1) Resists the illusion that pressure spurs creativity (research confirms that this is very rare).
2) On low-pressure days, encourage people to play with ideas and develop something new.
3) Articulate realistic goals.
4) Protect time-pressured creative thinkers from distractions and unrelated demands.
5) Explain why tight deadlines are necessary.
6) Encourage one-on-one collaboration.
7) Minimize abrupt schedule changes.

[Prasanna Bhagavatula · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s certainly a good treatise and yet I would have liked it more had it given more sparkling creative ideas

[Greg’s Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I am looking for a collection of the best articles on creativity, this book will be my go-to resource. It has the right combinations of theories and actionable insights anyone who wants to know the best thinking on the subject will appreciate.

Readers will learn from multiple views of business leaders, academic researchers, and many more. I’ve learned how Pixar foster creativity in its team, the research result on how to better nurture this in every company, how to bring the whole brain of your company to work, and many more.

Reading this book is a good investment of my time.

[Ivy Digest · Rating 2 out of 5]

How creative is a collection of various reprints from the Harvard Business Review? Well-written but examples are dated, with the earliest article from 2002. If you subscribe to HBR, or you read on psychology and creativity, you won't miss much.

If you want to know how to hone creativity to earn you money, read "Creativity" by the pioneer of "Flow" Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi for a thorough and timeless discussion of the process. @IvyDigest

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

On Creativity is series of essays that are short, straight forward and easy to read. Endorsed by the Harvard Business Review, the essays focus on bringing creativity, openness and diversity to the workplace. Individuals whom currently serve in positions of authority will most benefit from this read. A prominent theme is that leaders can and should promote and foster creativity; the essays explore the how, why and relevance. I most enjoyed insights on the power of brainstorming (I often feel this can be a time sucker) and the value of contradictory opinions (they should enhance ideas). Although not all essays are relevant to the average worker or someone looking to boost their inner creativity, all readers can takeaway lessons on how creative, open and diverse minds increase productivity in the workplace.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book with several articles on creativity. It offers a vast history and even lessons on fostering your own creativity. It is targeted towards creativity in businesses and companies. It also shows when the article was first published, which I thought was great, and I like how it wasn't all just current articles. An in-depth resource on creativity.

[Firat Fidan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Şirketinizi yönetirken veya yeni bir iş kurarken stratejilerinizi belirlemede işinize en çok yarayacak olan yaratıcı düşüncelere nasıl ulaşabilirim diyorsanız bu kitabı mutlaka okuyun derim. Birbirinden farklı yorumları makalelere döken akademisyenlerin düşünceleri etkileyici ve denenmiş başarılarla dolu. HBR yayınlarından şaşmayın diyeceğim bir kitap daha 👍🏾

[Harry Fenner Crawley · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I’ve read

[Emilie Chenault · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh this was more of a skimming rather than reading

I’ve read so many HBR articles for school but surprisingly had only previously read 1 out of this book. It’ll be nice to keep this for ref.

[Paris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, very clear

[Luca Siletti · Rating 2 out of 5]

feel like I could have found the same insights scrolling LinkedIn for a few hours