Preface - The Paradox of
Creativity 1
Introduction to Creativity and
Innovation 3
- So what's the point of being
creative? 3
- Creativity is having your cake and eating
it too 6
- Seventeen Principles
or Creativity 7
- Don't forget the problem 8
- The most important creativity
principle 12
Chapter 1: How to Be Creative and
Write Graffiti 13
- To be more creative, forget what you
know 13
- How creative are you really?
14
- Creativity put in a can 16
- Even lawyers can be creative
18
- Does it matter if your brain is tilted left
or right? 19
Chapter 2: Robbed Blind by the
Creativity Bandits 23
- Who stole your creativity?
23
- The four great brain
robbers 25
- Societal bandits demand your
conformity 26
- Educational bandits demand one right
answer 27
- Organizational bandits demean the human
spirit 28
- Self bandits - The greatest brain
robbers 29
- Perception can be deceiving
29
- Classic exercises with non-classic
solutions 32
Chapter 3: Do Be Do Be
Do 35
- You can be more creative than Einstein or
Picasso 35
- Dispelling your romantic notions about
creativity 36
- Are you too intellectual to be
creative? 38
- So much for the easy life
39
- It's publish and creatively promote or
perish 41
- Don't pay the price; enjoy the
price 44
Chapter 4: 101 Ways to Skin a Cat
or Do Just About Anything 45
- Getting the right answer may put you on the
wrong track 45
- Break it before someone else breaks
it 49
- Exercises to motivate you to look and look
and look 50
Chapter 5: A Great Memory for
Forgetting 53
- Is your photographic memory out of
film? 53
- Growing an idea tree 56
Chapter 6: The Advantages of
Drinking on the Job 61
- Cycle designed by a psycho?
61
- Don't nuke your ideas with VOJ
63
- Some great "wacky" ideas saved from
VOJ 63
- Don't bank on your banker or suggestion
programs 65
- Attack of the VOJ idea killers
66
- Treat all your ideas to some
PMI 66
- Most organizations say they are Innovative
- So what? 69
- Organizations need the highly creative more
than vice versa 72
- Why know-it-alls suffer from specialist's
disease 74
- MBA doesn't stand for
Mercedes-Benz
awaiting 75
- Beware of specialists who aren't so
special 76
- The cure for specialist's
disease 80
Chapter 7: Goaling for
It 83
- Goaling for what? 83
- Goal setting is creative, believe it or
not! 84
- Why most people don't "goal" for
it 85
- The ultimate goal is not a goal
87
- Going for the real thing in career
success 88
- Life without purpose is life without
direction 93
Chapter 8: In the Land of the
Blind, One Eye Is King 95
- You can observe a lot just by
watching 95
- Why didn't I think of that?
97
- Exercises with obvious solutions not so
obvious to most people 99
Chapter 9: Thinking Way Out in
Left Field 103
- Seeing double or better
103
- Mind benders which may run your brain off
its rails 108
- Rebus mind benders 110
- More exercises for divergent
minds 112
Chapter 10: Boy Are You Lucky You
Have Problems 117
- So what's your problem?
117
- My house burnt down and now I can see the
moon 119
- The good, the bad, and the ugly of
problems 120
- Other people's problems can be your
opportunities 123
- Big problems, big
opportunities
Chapter 11: How to Be a Successful
Failure 127
- To be more successful, fail a lot
more 127
- Afraid of being a fool is
foolish 129
- Try celebrating your failures
130
- Setbacks experienced by successful
people 131
- Warning: Success often leads to
failure 133
- What a difference being different
makes! 134
- For happiness and longevity, try
eccentricity 139
- Rules and assumptions not to be ruled
by 140
- Breaking the rules for fun and
profit 141
- Ya gotta break the rules when ya
speak 142
Chapter 12: Creative Thinking Is
an Exercise in Silliness 145
- Growing up may be harmful to your
health 145
- Humor is no laughing matter
147
- More graffiti to cleanse your
mind 150
- Putting humor to serious use
152
- There is reason to be
unreasonable 154
- What if we ask dumb questions?
157
Chapter:13: Don't Put Off Your
Procrastinating 159
- Procrastinate and be more
creative 159
- Generating more stunning solutions by
slowing down 163
Chapter 14: Be Persistent and Wind
Up a Genius 165
- Genius is nothing more than persistence
disguised 165
- Don't be a victim of incorrect
thinking 167
- Belief is a disease 170
- Liberation is a state of mind
172
- To know and not to do is not yet to
know 174
Chapter 15: Be a Creative Loafer Now and
Zen 177
- Is time on your side? 177
- Concentrating on concentration
179
- Worrying about matters that don't matter at
all 181
- Being bored is an insult to
oneself 183
- Lack of spontaneity is a trait of the
dead 186
- Be a creative loafer and be more
productive 187
- How to leisure your life away
188
- Eat, drink, and be merry because tomorrow
we die 191
Chapter 16: Creativity Is a
Three-Letter Word 193
- Why you must become a quick-change
artist 193
- A new paradigm for success
195
- Look inside if you want to find more
outside 198
- Highly creative people never soar too
high 199
-
Business innovation takes
thinking for a change 202
Appendix
Bibliography and Recommended Reading
When
a true genius appears in the
world, you will know him by this
sign, that all the dunces are in
confederacy against him.
- Jonathan
Swift
