Books
ALIEN Thinking by
How do people come up with truly original ideas? The answer is to think outside the box--way outside. For the past decade, Cyril Bouquet, Jean-Louis Barsoux, and Michael Wade, professors of innovation and strategy at IMD Business School, have studied inventors, scientists, doctors, entrepreneurs, and artists. These people, or "aliens," as the authors call them, are able to make leaps of creativity, and use five patterns of thinking that distinguish them from the rest of us. These five patterns--Attention, Levitation, Imagination, Experimentation, and Navigation--lead to a fresh and flexible approach to problem-solving. Alien thinkers know how to free the imagination so it can detect hard-to-observe patterns. They practice deliberate ways to retreat from the world in order to see the big picture underlying a problem. And they approach ideas in systematic ways that reflect the constraints of reality. Through surprising and compelling stories, the authors show how readers can use this method to develop out-of-this-world ideas. ALIEN Thinking can help any of us find innovative solutions to the most difficult problems.
Call Number: BF410 B765ISBN: 9781541750913Publication Date: 2021
Rethinking Users by
Knowing your users stimulates your imagination and helps you create more exciting and effective design solutions. But there is a problem: the normal conception of "the user" is incomplete and based on outdated notions. These notions of simple, direct relationships between people and products are no longer valid in today's complex, technologically interconnected world. This fun and practical book with a set of cards will change the way readers think about users. Rethinking Users introduces a radical new approach that questions some of our most fundamental ideas about the nature of user experience. It points to new opportunities to create products and services that help users in new ways. The book includes a deck of user archetype cards and step-by-step team activities for unlocking new user-centered thinking and design inspiration. For designers, design researchers, strategists, innovators, product managers, and entrepreneurs in almost any field.
Call Number: BF408 Y78ISBN: 9789063695811Publication Date: 2021
Upstream by
Wall Street Journal Bestseller New York Times bestselling author Dan Heath explores how to prevent problems before they happen, drawing on insights from hundreds of interviews with unconventional problem solvers. So often in life, we get stuck in a cycle of response. We put out fires. We deal with emergencies. We stay downstream, handling one problem after another, but we never make our way upstream to fix the systems that caused the problems. Cops chase robbers, doctors treat patients with chronic illnesses, and call-center reps address customer complaints. But many crimes, chronic illnesses, and customer complaints are preventable. So why do our efforts skew so heavily toward reaction rather than prevention? Upstream probes the psychological forces that push us downstream--including "problem blindness," which can leave us oblivious to serious problems in our midst. And Heath introduces us to the thinkers who have overcome these obstacles and scored massive victories by switching to an upstream mindset. One online travel website prevented twenty million customer service calls every year by making some simple tweaks to its booking system. A major urban school district cut its dropout rate in half after it figured out that it could predict which students would drop out--as early as the ninth grade. A European nation almost eliminated teenage alcohol and drug abuse by deliberately changing the nation's culture. And one EMS system accelerated the emergency-response time of its ambulances by using data to predict where 911 calls would emerge--and forward-deploying its ambulances to stand by in those areas. Upstream delivers practical solutions for preventing problems rather than reacting to them. How many problems in our lives and in society are we tolerating simply because we've forgotten that we can fix them?
Call Number: BF449 H437ISBN: 9781982134723Publication Date: 2020
Once upon an Innovation by
Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere. -Albert Einstein Since the early 2000s, business storytelling has become a widely accepted strategy for companies around the world. Stories are harnessed in advertising, marketing, PR, and even leadership and culture development. Now for the first time ever, Once Upon an Innovation builds upon these practices and applies story techniques to creative problem solving and innovation. Stories light up the imagination, fostering the creative collaboration necessary to inspire, develop, and commercialize winning ideas. Stories also trigger the brain to release oxytocin, the trust and empathy hormone, making them a powerful tool for understanding and addressing users' needs. This also means that storytelling methods can be applied to the other half of the battle-getting others on board with new ideas as they move through the various checkpoints in an organization. This easy-to-read, how to guidebook provides story-based strategies and tools to: * generate rich and meaningful ideas. * rally stakeholders and a team around a vision. * gain empathy for user and insights into users. * bring formative ideas to life for testing and prototyping. - develop storytelling skills to persuade and inspire others. With an engaging balance of anecdotes, theories, and tools, Jean Storlie and Mimi Sherlock take their combined 50+ years of experience to illustrate how storytelling can be applied to accelerate innovation and lead change. Gather around the campfire-your story starts now.
Call Number: HD30.3 S885ISBN: 9781592986019Publication Date: 2020
Design Thinking by
Design thinking is a powerful process that facilitates understanding and framing of problems, enables creative solutions, and may provide fresh perspectives on our physical and social landscapes. Not just for architects or product developers, design thinking can be applied across many disciplines to solve real-world problems and reconcile dilemmas. It is a tool that may trigger inspiration and the imagination, and lead to innovative ideas that are responsive to the needs and issues of stakeholders. Design Thinking: A Guide to Creative Problem Solving for Everyone will assist in addressing a full spectrum of challenges from the most vexing to the everyday. It renders accessible the creative problem-solving abilities that we all possess by providing a dynamic framework and practical tools for thinking imaginatively and critically. Every aspect of design thinking is explained and analyzed together with insights on navigating through the process. Application of design thinking to help solve myriad problems that are not typically associated with design is illuminated through vignettes drawn from such diverse realms as politics and society, business, health and science, law, and writing. A combination of theory and application makes this volume immediately useful and personally relevant.
Call Number: BF449 P935ISBN: 9781138673472Publication Date: 2018
The Net and the Butterfly by
In The Charisma Myth, Olivia Fox Cabane offered a groundbreaking approach to becoming more charismatic. Now she teams up with Judah Pollack to reveal how anyone can train their brain to have more eureka insights. The creative mode in your brain is like a butterfly. It's beautiful and erratic, hard to catch and highly valued as a result. If you want to capture it, you need a net. Enter the executive mode, the task-oriented network in your brain that help you tie your shoes, run a meeting, or pitch a client. To succeed, you need both modes to work together--your inner butterfly to be active and free, but your inner net to be ready to spring at the right time and create that aha! moment. But is there any way to trigger these insights, beyond dumb luck? Thanks to recent neuroscience discoveries, we can now explain these breakthrough moments--and also induce them through a series of specific practices. It turns out there's a hidden pattern to all these seemingly random breakthrough ideas.
Call Number: BF449.5 C112ISBN: 9780735216778Publication Date: 2017
Designpedia by
Understanding the goals of the world of business and dealing with the development of new solutions calls for a basic ingredient: creativity. And yet, just being, or wanting to be creative is not enough--it is essential to train and develop this ability in order to achieve results. In other words, we need a guide to show us the way and provide us with the tools needed to progress. Designpedia is an essential manual for Design Thinking which brings together all the tools you need to achieve innovation and entrepreneurship goals and organized around four basic processes: mapping, exploring, building and testing. It also reveals how, as long as you use the right tools, you can create original and effective solutions. Includes case studies to show how this is working for big companies (Orange or BBVA) as well as startups (Dovase or Bydsea).
Call Number: HD30.29 G246ISBN: 9781910649046Publication Date: 2016
eBooks
Problem-Solving by
Problem-solving and better thinking skills are among the top skills that employers are looking for. This book presents various methods of problem-solving that can be adapted to any field. It focuses on a set of a dozen new approaches with an ending result to finding better solutions to problems that you may have previously found difficult. The book discusses problem-solving based upon new thinking skills and presents the relationship between problem-solving and creativity. A connection between problem-solving and re-engineering is presented as the book explores the ability to tackle new and difficult problems in all aspects of life. It points you in the direction of how to easily find better solutions to problems that previously were found to be difficult. Target audience is general engineers, systems engineers, scientists, technologists, mathematicians, and lawyers.
ISBN: 9781000395969Publication Date: 2021
What's Your Problem? by
"The author makes a compelling case that we often start solving a problem before thinking deeply about whether we are solving the right problem. If you want the superpower of solving better problems, read this book." -- Eric Schmidt, former CEO, Google Are you solving the right problems? Have you or your colleagues ever worked hard on something, only to find out you were focusing on the wrong problem entirely? Most people have. In a survey, 85 percent of companies said they often struggle to solve the right problems. The consequences are severe: Leaders fight the wrong strategic battles. Teams spend their energy on low-impact work. Startups build products that nobody wants. Organizations implement "solutions" that somehow make things worse, not better. Everywhere you look, the waste is staggering. As Peter Drucker pointed out, there's nothing more dangerous than the right answer to the wrong question. There is a way to do better. The key is reframing, a crucial, underutilized skill that you can master with the help of this book. Using real-world stories and unforgettable examples like "the slow elevator problem," author Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg offers a simple, three-step method - Frame, Reframe, Move Forward - that anyone can use to start solving the right problems. Reframing is not difficult to learn. It can be used on everyday challenges and on the biggest, trickiest problems you face. In this visually engaging, deeply researched book, you'll learn from leaders at large companies, from entrepreneurs, consultants, nonprofit leaders, and many other breakthrough thinkers. It's time for everyone to stop barking up the wrong trees. Teach yourself and your team to reframe, and growth and success will follow.
ISBN: 9781633697225Publication Date: 2020
Design Thinking for Dummies by
Innovate your business by incorporating design thinking Organizations that can innovate have an advantage over competitors who stick to old processes, models, and products. Design Thinking For Dummies walks would-be intrapreneurs through the steps of incorporating design thinking principles into their organizations. Written by a recognized expert in the field of design thinking, the book guides readers through the steps of adapting to a design thinking culture, identifying customer problems, creating and testing solutions, and making innovation an ongoing process. The book covers the crucial and central topics in design thinking, including: Adopting a design thinking mindset Building creative environments Facilitating design thinking workshops Working through the design thinking cycle Implementing your solutions And many more Design Thinking For Dummies is a great starting place for people joining design-oriented teams and organizations, as well as small businesses and start-ups seeking to take advantage of the same methods and techniques that large firms have used to grow and succeed.
ISBN: 9781119593959Publication Date: 2020
Cognitive Skills You Need for the 21st Century by
In Cognitive Skills You Need for the 21st Century, Stephen Reed discusses a Future of Jobs report that contrasts trending and declining skills required by the workforce in the year 2022. Trending skills include analytical thinking and innovation, active learning strategies, creativity,reasoning, and complex problem solving. Part One on Acquiring Knowledge contains chapters on cognitive processes that are critical for learning. Part Two on Organizing Knowledge explains how matrices, networks, and hierarchies offer contrasting methods for visualizing organization. Part Three onReasoning discusses visuospatial reasoning, reasoning from imperfect knowledge, and reasoning strategies. Part Four on Problem Solving focuses on the knowledge and strategies required to solve different types of problems, including those that involve design and dynamic changes. Part Five onArtificial Intelligence contains chapters on the Data Sciences, Explanatory Models, the Information Sciences, and General AI. Part Six on Education consists of three chapters on educating 21st century skills at all levels of instruction. Research in Cognitive Psychology, Education, and AI providesthe foundation for acquiring these skills.
ISBN: 9780197529003Publication Date: 2020
The Creative Thinking Handbook by
More than 82 per cent of companies believe creativity directly impacts results, yet few of us understand how it comes about or how to put it into practice. Some people say that creativity is about thinking outside the box, while others believe it is about being creative inside the box; but what if there is no box? The Creative Thinking Handbook argues that we need to identify and remove the 'box' around our thinking, so we can unlock unlimited streams of creativity for professional and business success. This book offers an integrated system of personalized insights, along with clear, practical tools and strategies - including the tried-and-trusted Solution Finder model. The authors show you how to develop your creative problem-solving skills to make better decisions with an individualized step-by-step strategy. Based on long-term research and testing of the creative thinking process, The Creative Thinking Handbook helps you generate more ideas and find brilliant solutions for any professional challenge.
ISBN: 9780749484668Publication Date: 2019
The Book of Beautiful Questions by
From the bestselling author of A More Beautiful Question, hundreds of big and small questions that harness the magic of inquiry to tackle challenges we all face--at work, in our relationships, and beyond. When confronted with almost any demanding situation, the act of questioning can help guide us to smart decisions. By asking questions, we can analyze, learn, and move forward in the face of uncertainty. But "questionologist" Warren Berger says that the questions must be the right ones; the ones that cut to the heart of complexity or enable us to see an old problem in a fresh way. In The Book of Beautiful Questions, Berger shares illuminating stories and compelling research on the power of inquiry. Drawn from the insights and expertise of psychologists, innovators, effective leaders, and some of the world's foremost creative thinkers, he presents the essential questions readers need to make the best choices when it truly counts, with a particular focus in four key areas: decision-making, creativity, leadership, and relationships. The powerful questions in this book can help you:- Identify opportunities in your career or industry- Generate fresh ideas in business or in your own creative pursuits- Check your biases so you can make better judgments and decisions- Do a better job of communicating and connecting with the people around you Thoughtful, provocative, and actionable, these beautiful questions can be applied immediately to bring about change in your work or your everyday life.
ISBN: 9781632869562Publication Date: 2019
Bulletproof Problem Solving by
Complex problem solving is the core skill for 21st Century Teams Complex problem solving is at the very top of the list of essential skills for career progression in the modern world. But how problem solving is taught in our schools, universities, businesses and organizations comes up short. In Bulletproof Problem Solving: The One Skill That Changes Everything you'll learn the seven-step systematic approach to creative problem solving developed in top consulting firms that will work in any field or industry, turning you into a highly sought-after bulletproof problem solver who can tackle challenges that others balk at. The problem-solving technique outlined in this book is based on a highly visual, logic-tree method that can be applied to everything from everyday decisions to strategic issues in business to global social challenges. The authors, with decades of experience at McKinsey and Company, provide 30 detailed, real-world examples, so you can see exactly how the technique works in action. With this bulletproof approach to defining, unpacking, understanding, and ultimately solving problems, you'll have a personal superpower for developing compelling solutions in your workplace. Discover the time-tested 7-step technique to problem solving that top consulting professionals employ Learn how a simple visual system can help you break down and understand the component parts of even the most complex problems Build team brainstorming techniques that fight cognitive bias, streamline workplanning, and speed solutions Know when and how to employ modern analytic tools and techniques from machine learning to game theory Learn how to structure and communicate your findings to convince audiences and compel action The secrets revealed in Bulletproof Problem Solving will transform the way you approach problems and take you to the next level of business and personal success.
ISBN: 9781119553045Publication Date: 2019
Unlocking Creativity by
Tear down the obstacles to creative innovation in your organization Unlocking Creativity is an exploration of the creative process and how organizations can clear the way for innovation. In many organizations, creative individuals face stubborn resistance to new ideas. Managers and executives oftentimes reject innovation and unconventional approaches due to misplaced allegiance to the status quo. Questioning established practices or challenging prevailing sentiments is frequently met with stiff resistance. In this climate of stifled creativity and inflexible adherence to conventional wisdom, potentially game-changing ideas are dismissed outright. Senior leaders claim to value creativity, yet often lack the knowledge to provide a creative framework. Unlocking Creativity offers effective methods and real-world examples of how the most successful organizations create cultures of innovation and experimentation. Best-selling author and scholar Michael Roberto presents a thorough investigation of organizational obstacles to creative thought. Highly relevant to the growth crises many enterprises face in today's economic landscape, this book examines how to break barriers to spark creativity and foster new ideas. This insightful and informative work allows business executives, senior managers, and organization leaders to: Recognize the six organizational mindsets that impede creativity and innovation Learn how to tear down the barriers that obstruct the creative process Create an environment that allows talented people to thrive Encourage creative collaboration in teams throughout an organization Leaders do not have to conceive innovative ideas, but rather open the path for curious and creative employees within their organization. Unlocking Creativity: How to Solve Any Problem and Make the Best Decisions aids organizations in removing obstacles to the creative process and helps to form an atmosphere of imagination and innovation.
ISBN: 9781119545767Publication Date: 2018
Problem Solved by
*International Book Awards Finalist It can be messy and overwhelming to figure out how to solve thorny problems. Where do you start? How do you know where to look for information and evaluate its quality and bias? How can you feel confident that you are making a careful and thoroughly researched decision? Whether you are deciding between colleges, navigating a career decision, helping your aging parents find the right housing, or expanding your business, Problem Solved will show you how to use the powerful AREA Method to make complex personal and professional decisions with confidence and conviction. Cheryl's AREA Method coaches you to make smarter, better decisions because it: Recognizes that research is a fundamental part of decision making and breaks down the process into a series of easy-to-follow steps. Solves for problematic mental shortcuts such as bias, judgment, and assumptions. Builds in strategic stops that help you chunk your learning, stay focused, and make your work work for you. Provides a flexible and repeatable process that acts as a feedback loop. Life is filled with uncertainty, but that uncertainty needn't hobble us. Problem Solved offers a proactive way to work with, and work through, ambiguity to make thoughtful, confident decisions despite our uncertain and volatile world.
ISBN: 9781632659170Publication Date: 2017
Strategic Thinking in Complex Problem Solving by
Whether you are a student or a working professional, you can benefit from being better at solving the complex problems that come up in your life. Strategic Thinking in Complex Problem Solving provides a general framework and the necessary tools to help you do so. Based on his groundbreaking course at Rice University, engineer and former strategy consultant Arnaud Chevallier provides practical ways to develop problem solving skills, such as investigating complex questions with issue maps, using logic to promote creativity, leveraging analogical thinking to approach unfamiliar problems, and managing diverse groups to foster innovation. This book breaks down the resolution process into four steps: 1) frame the problem (identifying what needs to be done), 2) diagnose it (identifying why there is a problem, or why it hasn't been solved yet), 3) identify and select potential solutions (identifying how to solve the problem), and 4) implement and monitor the solution (resolving the problem, the 'do'). For each of these four steps - the what, why, how, and do - this book explains techniques that promotes success and demonstrates how to apply them on a case study and in additional examples. The featured case study guides you through the resolution process, illustrates how these concepts apply, and creates a concrete image to facilitate recollection. Strategic Thinking in Complex Problem Solving is a tool kit that integrates knowledge based on both theoretical and empirical evidence from many disciplines, and explains it in accessible terms. As the book guides you through the various stages of solving complex problems, it also provides useful templates so that you can easily apply these approaches to your own personal projects. With this book, you don't just learn about problem solving, but how to actually do it.
ISBN: 9780190463908Publication Date: 2016
