We create human-centered interactions and experiences in our eld. Empathetic purpose drives our every decision. Mobile First? In reality, it's humans first. This same mentality, turned inward, forms the cornerstone of something amazing: a creative culture. Designers and front-enders have a unique advantage in solving the cultural problems in business that are sucking the life out of us. Several, in fact. The principles discussed in this book derive from the perspectives and skillsets we already use daily: empathy, objectivity and, yes, ample creativity. Join Justin Dauer as he notes through examples, case studies, and human-centered tactics how we can all get there. Foreword by Jeffrey Zeldman, founder of A List Apart / co-founder of A Book Apart.
The only way to change culture is to create culture. Andy Crouch says we must reclaim the cultural mandate to be the creative cultivators God designed us to be. In this expanded edition of his award-winning book he unpacks how culture works and gives us tools to partner with God's own making and transforming of culture.
World renowned psychologist Robert Sternberg presents a fresh and compelling picture of the creative process from the inception of an idea to its ultimate success. With illuminating examples, Sternberg reveals the paths we all can take to become more creative and shows how institutions can learn to foster creativity. “What is creative is new and often brings about positive change. But what is new is also strange, and what is strange can be scary, even threatening—which is why ‘they’ don’t want to hear it. But they are unwise not to listen, for the creative person with original ideas is the one who, with support, will advance and improve the milieu to the benefit of all.” —from Defying the Crowd
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.
Creating the Innovation Culture gives managers practical strategies and hands-on advice for encouraging and managing innovation. This may mean actually encouraging dissent, which is the source of innovation, while avoiding too much conflict, which can paralyze a workplace. Identifies how to encourage dissent and innovation Illustrates how managers can inadvertently stifle dissent Explains how to recognize when healthy dissent crosses into conflict Outlines the role of the manager as a broker of innovation and collaboration Shows managers how to act as "e;political handlers"e; in getting dissenters' ideas accepted Includes sample dialogues and an Underground Dissent QuizCreating the Innovation Culture is not about suppressing conflict, but about how to surface, increase, and manage a level of healthy dissent. It's about fostering an environment where innovation occurs because of the culture, not in spite of it."e;Frances Horibe's insightful narrative is both thought-provoking and entertaining. Creating the Innovation Culture is a vital part of any library-especially for those of us who toil daily to harness and encourage creativity. In business today, innovation is everything. This book is an exploration of the delicate balance between innovation and dissidence."e;Derek BurneyPresident and CEOCorel Corporation"e;In this lively, well written book, Horibe helps us realize that we need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. She wisely points out that great leaders seek out and encourage people who will challenge them and their rules. This book is full of great tips on how to be this type of leader so you, too, can help innovation flourish in your organization."e;Susan RobinsonSenior Vice PresidentHuman ResourcesManulife Financial"e;It was George Bernard Shaw who once remarked with undeniable logic that all progress has to depend on the 'unreasonable man' because they are the ones who don't adapt to the world as it is. This, of course, makes perfect sense, but only up to the point where one is faced with having to deal with the reality of it in an organization."e;Whether you're one of the dissenters, someone managing dissent, or merely an observer, there's something in Creating the Innovation Culture for everyone-an understanding of dissent and innovation, advice, new ideas, and a hint of the consequences if we don't learn to deal with those 'unreasonable men.'"e;David CarlsonVice President, Americas, Quality & Customer RelationsAlcatel"e;Creating the Innovation Culture shows us how to manage the most creative behaviour in an organization-dissent. It accurately and effectively describes why the need for dissent is so important to stimulate innovation that we must promote, support, and manage dissent if our businesses today are going to survive and flourish."e;Geoff Smith Vice President, Business DevelopmentMitel"e;Frances Horibe illustrates her very astute understanding of the forces at play inside organizations. By challenging our zealous devotion to vision, quality, teams and alignment, she points out how our best intentions conspire to stomp out the very innovation that we are all dependent upon. She offers pragmatic solutions for how to continue to hear dissent, how to keep it in the open, get it out of the underground, and prepare the ground for innovation. This is a must-read for leaders serious about creating the conditions for innovation."e;Rod BrandvoldVice President, Organizational DevelopmentCognos Inc."e;Frances Horibe has made a compelling case for leaders to encourage diversity of ideas and to embrace 'dissenters' for their organizations to be innovative and successful."e;Sol KasimerChief Executive OfficerYMCA"e;We are on the edge of awareness that organizations have to learn how to really think, not just 'manage knowledge.' This book builds this awareness in plain, simple, and hard-hitting language."e;Dr. Min BasadurMichael G. DeGroote School of Busines
This myth-busting book shows large companies can construct a strategy, system, and culture of innovation that creates sustained growth. Every company wants to grow, and the most proven way is through innovation. The conventional wisdom is that only disruptive, nimble startups can innovate; once a business gets bigger and more complex corporate arteriosclerosis sets in. Gary Pisano's remarkable research conducted over three decades, and his extraordinary on-the ground experience with big companies and fast-growing ones that have moved beyond the start-up stage, provides new thinking about how the scale of bigger companies can be leveraged for advantage in innovation. He begins with the simply reality that bigger companies are, well, different. Demanding that they "be like Uber" is no more realistic than commanding your dog to speak French. Bigger companies are complex. They need to sustain revenue streams from existing businesses, and deal with Wall Street's demands. These organizations require a different set of management practices and approaches -- a discipline focused on the strategies, systems and culture for taking their companies to the next level. Big can be beautiful, but it requires creative construction by leaders to avoid the creative destruction that is all-too-often the fate of too many.
In order to succeed in today’s competitive environment, corporate and nonprofit institutions must create a workplace climate that encourages employees to continue to learn and grow. From the author of the best-selling The Mentor’s Guide comes the next-step mentoring resource to ensure personnel at all levels of an organization will teach and learn from each other. Written for anyone who wants to embed mentoring within their organization, Creating a Mentoring Culture is filled with step-by-step guidance, practical advice, engaging stories, and includes a wealth of reproducible forms and tools.
Discover why and how schools must become places where thinking is valued, visible, and actively promoted As educators, parents, and citizens, we must settle for nothing less than environments that bring out the best in people, take learning to the next level, allow for great discoveries, and propel both the individual and the group forward into a lifetime of learning. This is something all teachers want and all students deserve. In Creating Cultures of Thinking: The 8 Forces We Must Master to Truly Transform Our Schools, Ron Ritchhart, author of Making Thinking Visible, explains how creating a culture of thinking is more important to learning than any particular curriculum and he outlines how any school or teacher can accomplish this by leveraging 8 cultural forces: expectations, language, time, modeling, opportunities, routines, interactions, and environment. With the techniques and rich classroom vignettes throughout this book, Ritchhart shows that creating a culture of thinking is not about just adhering to a particular set of practices or a general expectation that people should be involved in thinking. A culture of thinking produces the feelings, energy, and even joy that can propel learning forward and motivate us to do what at times can be hard and challenging mental work.
This groundbreaking Handbook brings together leading international experts in creativity and culture research to provide an overview of current debates. It showcases the wealth of topics, approaches and definitions specific for this new, interdisciplinary field within creativity research. The theoretical and methodological innovations emerging from the joint study of creativity and culture highlight the role of creativity within today's innovation-based, multicultural societies. Drawing on theoretical and empirical reflections, including case studies from different continents and different creative domains, this Handbook provides a truly global outlook on current creativity research within an emergent, interdisciplinary field. This variety is highlighted by the Handbook's structure as it is divided into five sections: Creativity and Culture in the Psychology of Creativity; Creativity in Socio-Cultural Psychology; Creativity in Cultural Context; Creativity and Culture in Applied Domains; Cross-disciplinary Perspectives on Creativity and Culture. These sections provide a clear overview of the debates and questions of this research area as contributors share their interest in creativity not only as an individual but also a social and cultural phenomenon, and in culture as both the foundation and outcome of creative action. The Handbook will be an essential resource for researchers, particularly those based in social science and humanities disciplines.
Contemporary society has seen an unprecedented rise in both the demand and the desire to be creative, to bring something new into the world. Once the reserve of artistic subcultures, creativity has now become a universal model for culture and an imperative in many parts of society. In this new book, cultural sociologist Andreas Reckwitz investigates how the ideal of creativity has grown into a major social force, from the art of the avant-garde and postmodernism to the ‘creative industries’ and the innovation economy, the psychology of creativity and self-growth, the media representation of creative stars, and the urban design of ‘creative cities’. Where creativity is often assumed to be a force for good, Reckwitz looks critically at how this imperative has developed from the 1970s to the present day. Though we may well perceive creativity as the realization of some natural and innate potential within us, it has rather to be understood within the structures of a very specific culture of the new in late modern society. The Invention of Creativity is a bold and refreshing counter to conventional wisdom that shows how our age is defined by radical and restrictive processes of social aestheticization. It will be of great interest to those working in a variety of disciplines, from cultural and social theory to art history and aesthetics.
