MICHAEL RAY | ROCHELLE MYERS
1 Practical Tools for the Art of Business
There are lots of books about business. There are probably an equal number about creativity. This book is about creativity in business.
This book is the distillation of the course that Michael Ray and Rochelle Myers taught at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. It is theoretical. It is practical. It is wonderful.
The special delight of this book is the mixing of the theoretical and the research findings with the practical applications. The authors present us with points, then give us stories and examples from the world of business and underpinnings from the world of scientific and psychological research that help explain why the examples work.
If you are looking for a book to give you a quick, simple way to come up with creative ideas in business, though, this ain't it. This is a book that presents you with tools and some understanding of why they work, so that you can apply them in your life and in your business. The key to the book is the title of one of the very first chapters: "Business As Art."
To practice an art, you must be creative. You must go beyond the established norms and rules. But you must also master some craft. This book will give you an introduction to the craft of creativity, an introduction to the ways that you can make your creativity not only more effective, but more powerful as a transformer of your business.
2 Title Needs Revision
Calling this book Creativity in Business is about as accurate as calling the New York Times something like Sportsweek. This was a great book but it basically encompassed WAY more than its promised subject. Most of this book is about eastern philosophy and western physics as it relates to business. I didn't expect to get a chapter on the universe and my cosmic place in it and how to meditate to tap into it. If you have read anything by Thich Naht Hanh or the Dalai Lama you can skip this one. Otherwise, it's probably worth a read.
3 Not structured, but some nice pieces
A collection of thoughts, insights, anecdotes, exercises and real life examples of applying creativity to business. If this is a structured approach, as the authors imply, the structure is hard to detect. However, the exercises are intriguing and the anecdotes are inspiring. Nice section on destroying the Voice of Judgment that shoots down creativity. I'm baffled by the other reviews that describe this as a "new age" or "occult" book. It is well-documented that creativity and intuition go hand-in-hand, but I guess this is just too esoteric an idea for most business people.
4 Not structured, but nice bits & pieces
A collection of thoughts, insights, anecdotes, exercises and real life examples of applying creativity to business. If this is a structured approach, as is implied by the authors, the structure is hard to detect. However, the exercises are intriguing and the anecdotes are inspiring. Nice section on destroying the Voice of Judgment that shoots down creativity.
5 The Zen of Creativity
When I picked up this book, I expected something more structured and similar to many of the other business books I've read. To my surprise, the authors have approached their subject by integrating Eastern philosophy into Western business. In my 25 years in business, I have experienced many of the concepts they mention, so it's reaffirming to understand some of the scientific explanations and similar experiences other successful business people have had. Business creativity requires this type of "out of the box" thinking. This is a terrific, mind-opening book - highly recommended.
6 Best in Class
This trailblazing book shows how to blend practical hard skills and creative intuition to achieve business accomplishment and personal fulfillment. A joy to read and incredibly inspiring, it is the best in a growing class of books on the art of success. The book, based on a Stamford University MBA course, shows how enlightened Stanford's business program is.
7 Disappointing
Coming out of Stanford, I expected a solid book. Instead it's a new age, kind of occult book that I did not finish reading. Surely, this can't be what is taught at Stanford this days or is it.
8 Giving Yourself the Space to Create Leads to Success
I was surprised at how much was captured in CREATIVITY IN BUSINESS. In my position I am constantly trying to be creative, both to share information and perspectives internally and to explain our strategy to the outside world. I have read other books on creativity and found new ideas here. I like the mix of stress reduction with common sense suggestions, such as "sense and see what is around you" and "ask dumb questions" which I still feel I can only do the first time I meet someone. The exercises are also helpful. The Stated-Goal Exercise reminds me of the "stalls" described in THE 2,000 PERCENT SOLUTION by Mitchell, Coles, and Metz. "Stalls" hinder creativity. Here's how. The Communications Stall means we are working with unclear messages and incorrect interpretations. The Disbelief Stall suggests that many do not believe they can be creative. The Tradition Stall says that we just keep doing things the same way. The Bureaucratic Stall tells us that we must still spend time doing unproductive activities like filling out forms. The Misconception Stall says that we are operating under poor assumptions, and The Unattractiveness Stall means that if something looks unpleasant, we do not want to look any further. As a meditator and someone who believes you do best what you are passionate about, giving yourself the space to create always leads to success. These stories and ideas helped me create the space. In addition to CREATIVITY IN BUSINESS and THE 2,000 PERCENT SOLUTION, which I highly recommend, Mr. Ray and Ms. Meyers also suggest other books to read in this area. Go ahead, read and create!
9 Little to do with creativity and much to do with religion.
I was extremely disappointed in this book. And, after reading it I am very concerned about the credibility of Stanford University's business program. "Creativity in Business" was not a practical guide to increasing creativity within the workforce. Instead, too many pages were devoted to occult and New Age practices such as getting in touch with spirit guides.
This book is going into my garbage can, not my library!
10 A great book. I wished I had followed it ten years ago.
Heuristics such as "Ask dumb questions", do what is only "easy, effortless, and enjoyable" might sound simplistic and trite, but this book has lots of substance and interesting annecdotes by a list of very credible individuals. It is many cuts above "Do What You Want and The Money Will Follow". Based on the Stanford University course on the art of success that started in the 80's," Creativity in Business" is much more than new age thinking. No rah, rah's here, just a personal glimpse at the reflections of some very successful and interesting people. I have read this book several times, and unfortunately, didn't have the courage or conviction at a younger age to realize how important it is to total well being to enjoy one's work. It is never too late.
Read this book. If you don't make great changes in your own life, at least you will enjoy reading about a group of successful innovative and creative thinkers. Much emphasis is put on intuition and instinct, the value of being naive, and forging onward without a definitive game plan. Passion and an instinctual trust in one's own abilitity to succeed, is a recurrent character trait of most of those interviewed.
